Low-Light

There’s something alluring about the night. When the sun sets and shadows come out to play, the world you see through the lens becomes entirely new.

 

But with its scarcity of light, night photography presents its own unique challenges, which must be understood to capture the perfect low-light shot.

Overcoming Darkness

Like you, the camera sees less in low-light, but far, far less. There are a few ways to compensate. Wide aperture lenses, also known as ‘fast lenses’, allow more light to enter your camera because they open wider than slower lenses. The other way to compensate is to use a high ISO setting, which makes your camera more sensitive to light. This can introduce more image noise into your photos however, smudging detail and marring quality. Different digital cameras perform differently at different ISO settings, but in general cameras with larger image sensors like DSLR cameras deliver clearer results than cameras with smaller sensors like digital compacts. You can increase your shutter speed to let more light reach your camera sensor, but the longer the shutter speed, the more your hands are prone to shake and you risk blurring the picture. Long shutter speeds really require the use of a stabilizer, like a tripod, to get a sharp picture. Lastly, you can bring your own light in the form of flashes.

Kind of Blue