| Low Light Photography
This article discusses some tricks of the trade for good low light photography without using a flash.
I often see people carrying around Digital SLR’s that cost more than pretty much everything I own, but they take horrible low light photos. I’ve been doing low light without a flash for quite a while now, so here are some tips.
1. High ISO Speed – Put your camera on the highest ISO speed that it still looks acceptable. I usually use ISO 800 on my K10D, but the higher the better. Just keep in mind that most digital cameras take noisy photos at anything over 800 or 1600. This depends on model and make of course and can be much lower on cheaper or older cameras.
2. Low Shutter Speed – I take most of my shots between 1/30th and 1/120th of a second. Sometimes I turn the shutter speed lower if the light is really bad. You can adjust it to the higher end depending on this third tip.
3. High F-Stop – This is probably the most important ingredient to good low light photos. Granted, you could use a flash, but in most low light shots you would wash out the natural shadows and highlights. I use an old Pentax 50mm fixed kit lens with a maximum F-Stop of 1.7. It’s possible to find lenses with F-Stop’s of 1.8, 1.4, or 1.2 frequently. Keep in mind that each ‘full stop’ allows in twice the amount of light that the previous one did. Each of these would be a ‘full stop’: 1.4, 2, 2.8. More light coming into the lens means you can run a higher shutter speed at the cost of a narrower depth of field. Another thing to consider is that any lens over about F1.7 (or 1.8) is going to cost you a fortune. Chances are you can find a fixed focus or ‘prime’ lens for your camera in the 50 to 100 mm range with a 1.7 to 1.8 F-Stop for a fair price. Interestingly enough, most camera manufacturers actually list the 50mm fixed as a standard lens for their cameras. I guess people forget the beauty of simplicity in a zoom lens world.
I would like to post a little update on this part. I recently acquired a Super-Takumar 1:1.4/50mm lens and it’s spectacular. My tests in low light really don’t show much difference in light gathering over the 1.7, but I’ll keep testing and post my results eventually.
4. Manual Focus – I can’t begin to stress how important this is for low light. You just can’t trust an auto focus system if there isn’t enough light. Learn how to enable manual mode on your camera and get some practice using it. If you’re uncomfortable focusing manually use this trick of mine. Adjust the focus on your lens until you think it’s in focus and then dial it back just a bit. Start snapping your photos and dial the focus in a bit at the same time. I generally dial in and take 3 or 4 shots just to make sure I got a good one. This trick keeps me from missing 99% of my low light shots. Yes, you do end up with a lot of bad photos, but you can always delete those later.
If you have any comments, questions, or any expertise you would like to add to this article simply post a comment or email me. I’ll be sure to come back and update it as soon as possible.
Posted by falcoln0014 
March 2008
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