Take good photos in low light condition

Light plays a decisive role in the formation of a photograph, canvas prints whether it is film or digital. We know that the process of taking a photograph is the process by which the sensor senses light, and the amount of light that falls on the sensor determines whether or not the photo is well exposed. We can compare the light to water, the aperture represents the size of the tap opening, and the shutter represents the time of the tap opening. Only when the flow and outflow time are guaranteed, can we make a picture perfectly fixed.

However, at night, indoors, it's fair to say that in many cases we don't get much lighter, print canvas online and even at full aperture we have to use a slow shutter speed to get enough exposure. However, slow shutters have an inherent weakness that is easy to shake. Any slight shake during the time the shutter is open can make the picture blurry. There are many ways to avoid shaking, such as using a tripod to fix the camera, but not every time we go out with a tripod, most of the time, we are still hand-held shooting, at this time we should do?

In the film era, there was no solution, because the sensitivity was fixed, frames for canvas prints even with the aperture turned up to the maximum, the film with low sensitivity was not very good at night exposure, and without the support to fix the camera, unless you have a surgeon's diamond hand, you will definitely get a blurry picture. But in the digital age, increased sensitivity makes it easy to speed up the shutter at night. Of course, high sense also has its inherent shortcomings, the higher the sensitivity, the more screen noise, noise is different from the film particles, particles look and feel quite aesthetic, but the irregular noise looks ugly.

Gao Gan case noise is inevitable, but we can think of some way to get it lower, at first we want to make sure you use raw format, because at the time of using JPG format pictures, is the chance to try using the built-in algorithm for noise reduction processing, but no matter how advanced the built-in algorithm, or will be not good-looking noise. When shooting raw, the image will not be de-noising, it will capture all the information on the sensor, and this combined with the dynamic range of raw can control the noise in the later stages. Most post-processing software has good de-noising tools, which will not be detailed here.

Another method is to use stack noise reduction. Take multiple photos of the same image in a row, and then mix them in Photoshop. Since each time the noise appears is random, the noise may appear in the same place this time and there is no noise in the next photo.

Even if we don't have a tripod, we need to use our own hands to enhance the stability of shooting. First, we need to find a place where we can replace the tripod to fix the camera, or find a solid place as our support, such as a wall.

In addition, we all know the concept of security shutter, safety shutter is refers to the reciprocal of the focal length, therefore, the longer the focal length, need safety shutter is faster, so want to shoot in low light environment, it is best to use short focal lens, like a wide Angle lens, it can help us to handheld shooting at slower shutter speed, still have a good effect.

Q: what are the most difficult shooting conditions you have encountered in a low-light environment?

A: the Kennedy assassination, I still remember that scene, someone was screaming, it was A complete mess, it was completely out of control, there was almost no light, but you didn't have A chance to use the flash. The final image that people saw was truly chaotic and crazy. Sometimes I wonder if I could take better pictures with a digital camera.

Q: what is your camera Settings?

A: aperture priority and manual. I don't use very high sensitivity, up to 1000, except in special cases.

Q: do you use autofocus or manual focus?

A: it depends. If you're in a low-light environment, manual focusing can be unreliable because it takes a long time to focus. When I started taking pictures, the camera didn't have a rangefinder system, so I had to estimate the focus, and I was good at that. Sometimes I use autofocus, but if I'm shooting important scenes or people, I still use manual focus.

Q: what's the difference between film and digital for you?

A: when shooting on film, the final result is uncertain. In low light, after the photo was taken, I would rush out of the demo and then decide how many gears to push. Generally, I will rush out about 8 photos to judge the pros and cons. The advantage of digital is that you can deepen the idea more, without getting bogged down in technical details.

Q: do you have any Suggestions for using flash in low light?

A: I'm not a big fan of flash photography because it can overwhelm the original elements and reduce the impact. In natural dark light, the photos take on a unique texture. You can also try lighting up the background to create a soft warm tone.

Q: how about giving us a piece of your personal advice?

A: don't be afraid. Your photos will surprise you. Make sure there's light on the face of the person you're photographing, aluminum photo prints and then go for it. I was impressed with the ability of digital cameras to deal with low light, even capturing areas you can't see.