42nd Street Photo’s Tips of Taking Photos in Poor Light conditions

Digital photography isn’t exactly rocket science. If you’re an amateur photographer and want to take photos with the simplest point and shoot camera, you can always capture the best images provided you have the proper lighting, preferably natural. For the most part, digital cameras perform the necessary adjustments automatically.

However, when it comes to shooting in low light conditions, things get a bit more complicated. So, 42nd Street Photo suggests a few tips you should consider when you want to photograph your subject and, let’s say you’re not allowed to use the flash. Keep in mind though, that using the flash doesn’t always mean your pictures will be perfect. The built-in flash, especially, may compress the depth in your digital images while your subject benefits of the lighting effect on the front.

To avoid this, take a look at how the light falls on the surroundings of your subject. A good way to avoid light issues is to increase the ISO to the highest possible number when you shoot in darker locations. The largest the number, the highest the luminous sensitivity. One downside of doing that would be an increase in noise, but that can be fixed using software to sharpen your digital photos. In case you don’t adjust the ISO, you might need to use a tripod to avoid camera shake. With digital photography you will learn that noise is a factor you should always consider.

Another way of taking photos in poor light is to shoot RAW, if possible. This is an image format that contains the most of the possible data from your image sensor in the camera. It’s called RAW because it’s neiter processed nor edited. RAW files are larger than JPEG, you’d need extra time to reduce their size by converting it to, and you will end up with a set of beautiful images if you shoot RAW.

And, finally, use fast lenses. A faster lens lets in more light so you can use a faster shutter speed.

There are obviously much more details to cover. Hopefully, this post gives you a good overview regarding how to approach digital photography in low light.

 

 

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