May 2, 2013

Low light photography.

I’m a little late to my dear friend Jenni’sBlog Every Day in May” party, but I wanted to jump in and share my tips on low light photography. I get asked about how I light my pictures almost on a daily basis so I thought this would be a good one to share for today’s prompt.

Since my husband's a musician, I end up taking a lot of pictures in places with not much light available, so I had to learn very quickly how to get around this. Now that I’m a natural light photographer, knowing how to light in any situation (especially the tough ones) is extremely important.

Here are my tips:

≫≫ Don’t use the flash! If you absolutely have to, do it, but I don't recommend using it- especially the flash that came on your camera. Done correctly flash can be used beautifully; but assuming we don't have all that fancy gear and experience using flash the right way, practice getting the shot without it.

Home is with You // Low light photography

≫≫ Watch your ISO. Shooting in low lighting will cause you to bump up your ISO in order to get a faster shutter speed. Make sure not to crank it up too high or you'll start to get very grainy pictures. How high you can go before you start to see any grain will differ from camera to camera, so practice different ISO's with your camera to see where the cut-off point is. And just like with flash, grain done right can add drama to a picture, but not in every picture.

Home is with You // Photography tips

≫≫ Find the light. Even the most dimly lit places have light coming from somewhere, so do your best to find it and use it to your advantage. If you're shooting outside at sunset don't be afraid to shoot into the sun. If you’re inside, find a window or other light source.

Home is with You // sunset

≫≫ Get down girl, go ‘head, get down. (Kanye anyone?) Seriously though, often when you’re outside and the sun is sinking low, it’s best to get down (squat, lay, whatever) to get more light in your image. This is especially helpful if you’re shooting something that’s also down low, like a pretty flower.

Home is with You // Low light.

I hope you've found these tips helpful, and if you're stopping by from Story of my Life please be sure to say hi and introduce yourself!



6 comments:

  1. stumbled on your blog through the #blogeverydayinmay link up : )
    love your post and your blog and photography skills are simply beautiful!!
    xo-the lane

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  2. Great tips! I wish I were a better photographer, but honestly lately I pretty much use my iPhone for all picture taking. My digital SLR sits on the shelf and makes me feel guilty, but I just don't know how to use it!!

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  3. Great tips! Thanks for sharing. I really want to get into photography. Need a decent camera first!

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  4. i found you through the link up! i love these tips! i usually use my iphone for pictures since it's always in my hand but i'm thinking i need an dslr later this year. i used to carry my film one around but dslr makes more sense now.

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  5. Gorgeous wheat pics....loved the tips, of course :)

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  6. very helpful, and beautiful :) found you through the link-up :)

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Thank you so much for taking a moment to comment! ♡

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