Photographing in low light - Tips and tricks...

Low light can be a real annoyance to photographers, especially when flash isn't an option. I've compiled a list of tips and tricks to help you out during a shoot with low light. As well as this i've also added  little section on how to fix bad lighting in post production on photoshop!

So let's start with when you're actually shooting...

• Up the ISO. ISO is a setting on your digital camera which will help you control the brightness of your photos. I won't go into too much detail as it can get confusing but all you need to remember is the higher the iso number (for example 800)  the more light is allowed in BUT the photo will have more noise or grain the higher you get. For example ISO 100 won't be as grainy as 800. 
• Use a lower shutter speed. The slower the shutter speed, the more light will get to the sensor. Be aware that a slow shutter will capture more movement blur. Using a tripod will stop any camera shake from your hand. A lower shutter speed can be great for evening or nighttime landscapes

An example of a slow shutter capturing the movement of the car lights. Photo by oneviewphotography

• Use a shallow aperture. Just like the shutter speed, aperture controls the light being let into the sensor but it also controls the depth of field. For more information on shutter and aperture please see my other blog post here. Using a shallow aperture such as F 2.8 can not only let in more light but also look great! 

an example of a shallow depth of field. 

Heres an example of using bounce flash..

• Use a flash gun. Sometimes using flash isn't possible, for example during certain gigs or wedding ceremonies. However a add on flash (aka not the pop up flash on your camera) can create great lighting when used correctly. There are different ways to use a flashgun, creating different effects but my personal favourite is a bounce flash. This is when you point the flash gun to the ceiling so that the light it the ceiling and creates a more natural light in the photo. Do some research and have a play around with your flashgun before using it on a client shoot! 

Fixing it in photoshop

Sometimes photos will come out dark, even if you try all the techniques above so that's where the power of photoshop comes in. Here is a few simple ways to get a better exposed photo in photoshop.

Use levels. To find the levels setting go to Image > adjustments > levels OR ctrl + L
Using the sliders in the box you can control how light/dark you want your image.

Another way to change the exposure of the image is to use Brightness/contrast. You can find this by going to image> adjustments> brightness/contrast.

Hope this is useful! Thanks for reading and don't forget to check back weekly for new tutorials and photographs!

Becky x