Now you will know that to take a photograph you need light, without light, there is no photo, we will repeat it on the blog as many times as necessary and without losing the smile. This is the first, the first lesson. Of course, the circumstances you want when you press the shutter button are not always met and you often find yourself in situations where you are in low light or worse still, there is no light at all.
Well, the latter is very difficult, because as long as you’re not in a dark room, there’s always a little ambient light. So, what do we do, keep trying? Well, if it’s a session you can postpone, then maybe it’s better to postpone, but if it’s an irreplaceable moment, a place where you won’t come back or an event you can’t change, of course you’re not going to throw in the towel. The only thing you’re going to throw away is pictures and not exactly trash.
- In today’s article.
- I’ll give you some tips for squeezing out the little light you have and getting illuminated images.
- I warn you that this is a challenge that you will encounter several times (even if I put my hand on the fire that has already happened to you).
I’ll start with the most obvious. Yes, I know, it is too obvious, but do not believe, that you have to remember it several times because sometimes, in the haste, the nerves of the moment, the concentration on the creative composition, the tiredness, the confusion of all. , blah, blah, blah, we forget the essentials. Open doors, windows, curtains, raise blinds, turn on the lights?Look for the light!
I say the same as in the previous point, obvious but necessarily reproducible (ad nauseam if necessary). If you can bring your subject closer to a light source, a window, a light pole, a lamp or candles, any light, it doesn’t matter. How small, it will help you. If your main character is not mobile, you can try to zoom in on the light source (if one is available that can be moved).
That serves as an introduction to the newest or as a reminder to the most distracted and forgetful minds, but these first two steps cannot be ignored From there, do we continue to speak in other words?
Use point measurement mode because in low light conditions, accurate measurements are more difficult. This way, you measure exactly what you want to be well exposed to and without having to worry about the rest.
It works the same way when you have light and when you don’t have it, except that in low light conditions it becomes more important, if you don’t know how to do it, here’s a detailed guide.
In many articles we have advised you to put the ISO to a minimum to avoid noise, but today I will tell you to increase it as much as your camera allows (and the noise is not too annoying). The photo with noise is preferable to the loss of a great moment.
In some photos the noise can be a creative element, in others you will have to increase the value to the point where it does not spoil the image much or allows you to capture a unique and irreplaceable moment.
Depending on the type of image you want to take or the time you want to capture, you should weigh.
Using a great opening is one of the tricks that will work best for you. Use the brightest lens you have or can get, that is, one that has a large aperture (the number “f” as small as possible), as what Mario calls the King of Targets, 50 mm f 1 / Four. In low light conditions, a great opening will undoubtedly be an excellent ally.
If you don’t have a bright lens, it’s okay, if the biggest aperture your lens offers is f/3. 5, for example, use it and if that’s not enough, use the following trick.
In addition to using a large aperture, you can take pictures at low speed, so the diaphragm will stay open longer, allowing more light to enter. What happens in that case? Whether you need a tripod for slower speeds or at least one support point for intermediate speeds.
If you’re photographing people, they won’t be able to sit still to use a speed of less than 1/25, if you don’t want an unstable photo, make sure you’re accelerating.
Although it is also possible that the people in the image are not protagonists and may appear in motion with an interesting creative effect, do you remember that you are the artist here?
In case you’re not sure how this shutter speed works, Mario explains it to you here very clearly, as if it were water?
If the above options aren’t enough or you can’t use some of them, you’ll probably have no choice but to remove the flash. And here, the trick is not to tell him to use it, but to:
Another option is to play with the flash to make creative photos, see this example:
The reflectors work with both natural and artificial light, so use them to direct light to the main subject. You can use natural reflectors, such as snow or sand, or reflectors like these.
Another trick is to wear white clothes, if you are the best reflector, at least the T-shirt or T-shirt, in this way you will reflect the light existing in the pattern in front of you.
If you’re working with a child, don’t expect your patience to live up to your needs, so it’s best to do the tests first and wait for the right time in the right place to stand (or pass) and shoot. don’t make him suffer by testing and adjusting.
And try to leave slow speed as a last resort because, unless you sleep, you just stand still. If you don’t want it to move, you won’t be able to use low speeds.
Another trick to get good results is to adjust the white balance, it’s not the same if you use the flash, use the light of a candle or a light bulb or if you enjoy that ray of sunshine that sneaks out the window.
If you are shooting in RAW, you can edit it in editing; otherwise, don’t forget to adjust it.
Finally (or almost), if you have an image stabilizer be sure to activate it to avoid tremors, if you use tripod, won’t it be necessary ?.
This last trick is the most infallible of all, it will be of no use to read this article if you do not put it into practice, the only way to get well lit photos in low light conditions is by taking pictures over and over again. mistakes, correct and make mistakes again. It’s the only way to learn it and achieve it almost without thinking, don’t wait any longer to find an opportunity like this to apply these tricks, look for it and repeat it and when a real opportunity arises, you’ll know how to deal with it. fearless (black).
These tips will serve you both separately and in combination. Evaluate in each situation what’s best for you or the tricks you can use as much as possible.
Thank you for reading so far and sharing it if you found it helpful. May the light be with you!?