Low Light Photography: Mistakes & Tips

Lighting  •  Photography Tips

Low light photography is hard. It’s not only the photographer that usually finds it difficult working in poorly lit conditions, but the camera struggles a bit too. However, if we pay attention to a few things, you’ll be surprised to see how photographing in low light doesn’t have to be that difficult. To help you with a few tips and tricks for low-light photography, today we have photographer Kai Wong. Let’s follow along and see what he has to share:

A basic way to let in more light in dimly lit conditions is to simply leave the shutter open for a longer duration. However, there’s a high chance of introducing camera shakes and that is why you should be either using a sturdy tripod or placing the camera on a flat surface. You can further reduce shake by either using a remote shutter release or the self-timer function in your camera. If you can’t shoot on a tripod and will need to work hand-held, then changing the shutter speed just enough to let in some light will have to do. Refer to the reciprocal rule, and use a shutter speed twice as fast as recommended by the reciprocal rule.

Another option is to bump the ISO in poor lighting conditions. But as noise can be an issue, you can enable the long exposure noise reduction feature in your camera. Using this method, your camera takes a second blank frame to record noise and subtracts that from the original image. This way you can get much cleaner files to work with.

Focusing is another aspect where cameras face a major issue in low light conditions. Autofocus features of most cameras struggle to work in dark conditions. So, it’s a good idea to switch over to manual focusing mode when working in low light. If possible, shine a portable light to assist you in focusing. Focusing manually saves a lot of time and is more accurate in low-light conditions.

Be sure to watch the complete video for more tips on low-light photography. We’re sure you’ll find all of them quite useful.