Many keen camera users have a compact, sophisticated point-and shoot camera which is used for most if not all of their photography needs. Most of these cameras are from manufacturers such as Canon, Sony or Samsung. It the camera is fairly new, it probably features a high megapixel count and a host of other fabulous technical features, not to mention its probably sleek and sexy too.
With all this technology at your disposal, you may well be puzzled and disappointed when you try to take a photo in low light conditions, like at night or indoors away from windows. You may have found that photos you take at night come out either blurry, horribly washed out by the flash, grainy/noisy, lacking in color, or all of the above.
The reason for this? Every camera is equipped with the capability to take quality, clear and concise photographs. However, it is extremely difficult for a camera to approximate what you actually see in poor lighting. The main reason for this problem is that a cameras shutter must stay open longer in order to expose the sensor to enough light to take the photograph. In addition, it is almost nearly impossible to hold a camera steady using only your hands. So, what are your options? Well, you could try utilizing the flash on the camera; however this tends to give an unnatural quality to your photos as well as giving the people in the photo an ugly complexion. You can also try using ISO; however, this feature has its own set of problematic tendencies.
So this is the problem...but what is the solution? Here are a couple of tips to improve your low-light photography:
1) When you purchase a camera, ensure it is equipped with an 'optical image stabilization' feature. This technology refers to a sensor inside the camera that will compensate for any movement from the person holding the camera and correct it to make sure you have a quality photo.
2) Try turning off the flash and asking your subjects to remain very still. Have your subjects move nearer to you in low-light or simply play around with your cameras Night Mode setting in the menu. It is important to remember that in Night ode, you must remain very still.
3) If you are taking a photo of something thats not moving (a building for example), turn the flash off and brace the camera against something. A little table-top tripod is perfect for this (and small enough to carry around everywhere you go), but in a pinch you could use anything " the crook of a tree, a table, or a lamppost with a flat side (hold the camera firmly against it in the portrait position). Now your photo wont be affected by camera shake and you can snap away. - 30452
With all this technology at your disposal, you may well be puzzled and disappointed when you try to take a photo in low light conditions, like at night or indoors away from windows. You may have found that photos you take at night come out either blurry, horribly washed out by the flash, grainy/noisy, lacking in color, or all of the above.
The reason for this? Every camera is equipped with the capability to take quality, clear and concise photographs. However, it is extremely difficult for a camera to approximate what you actually see in poor lighting. The main reason for this problem is that a cameras shutter must stay open longer in order to expose the sensor to enough light to take the photograph. In addition, it is almost nearly impossible to hold a camera steady using only your hands. So, what are your options? Well, you could try utilizing the flash on the camera; however this tends to give an unnatural quality to your photos as well as giving the people in the photo an ugly complexion. You can also try using ISO; however, this feature has its own set of problematic tendencies.
So this is the problem...but what is the solution? Here are a couple of tips to improve your low-light photography:
1) When you purchase a camera, ensure it is equipped with an 'optical image stabilization' feature. This technology refers to a sensor inside the camera that will compensate for any movement from the person holding the camera and correct it to make sure you have a quality photo.
2) Try turning off the flash and asking your subjects to remain very still. Have your subjects move nearer to you in low-light or simply play around with your cameras Night Mode setting in the menu. It is important to remember that in Night ode, you must remain very still.
3) If you are taking a photo of something thats not moving (a building for example), turn the flash off and brace the camera against something. A little table-top tripod is perfect for this (and small enough to carry around everywhere you go), but in a pinch you could use anything " the crook of a tree, a table, or a lamppost with a flat side (hold the camera firmly against it in the portrait position). Now your photo wont be affected by camera shake and you can snap away. - 30452
About the Author:
Tobias Sterling is an experience photographer who is passionate about sharing his knowledge with fellow photograpgy enthusiast. His articles including Sensual Fine Art Photographs and Photographing Portrait and People can be found on Clivir.com - the free learning community.
