Many who have taken up photography at least once will agree that it is impossible to prepare for every situation. Brilliant moments that need to be captured urgently will not wait for perfect lighting. In fact, dark scenes often make for fantastic photos. It can be night views in nature or a portrait of a person in a dark room, you can get great photos with limited light – you just have to practice a little.

DSLR cameras are a great tool for taking quality photos even in low light with large sensors and a low-light lens, but no tool is better than your own knowledge, so keep reading this article and learn about 8 tips to get the best results. using DSLR cameras.

1. Preparation.
Low-light photography is much easier with advance planning. It is important to think about what kind of light there will be? What is the best time to take a photo? Different subjects like landscapes benefit from choosing the right time, such as sunset for a warm glow, dusk for a blue hue, or total darkness to really capture any light source.
The right tools make low-light photography a lot easier, and some pictures just aren’t possible without them. Plan to bring a tripod, flash, and fastest lens. It is also recommended to take a small flashlight, which will be useful for your own visibility.

2. Prevent camera shake with a tripod.
Less light means a slower shutter speed. A slower shutter speed, in turn, leads to camera shake. Using a tripod can eliminate the foggy effect. While a tripod won’t eliminate blur for moving subjects, it will help eliminate the blurriness of the entire picture caused by camera shake. A tripod will allow you to use a slower shutter speed and will also give you a sharp image compared to the sharpness you will get if you hold the camera in your hands. Use a remote switch (or a timer if you don’t have one) to take an even sharper photo. Even with a tripod, your hand on the camera can cause some blurring. It’s important to make sure the stand doesn’t restrict your perspective – if you need to, do your research first and then come back to position your gear once you’ve found the right place to set it up.

3. Use shutter priority or full manual mode.
If you’re ever thinking of turning off auto mode, low light is the best time to do so. Use shutter priority mode when using manual mode. This will allow you to choose the right shutter speed for your photo. If you want to ‘freeze’ the action, try to keep it above 1/200. If you have a tripod and the subject is stationary (or you want to create a foggy effect), you can use a much slower shutter speed. Using shutter priority will ensure that the shutter speed remains at your chosen level while you select the other necessary settings. With more experience, you will be able to fully master the manual mode.

4. A noisy image is usually better than a blurry image.
When shooting in low light, you have to choose between noise from a high ISO or blur from a slow shutter speed. 90% noisy, sharp images are better than a blurry image. The other 10% is for intentional motion blur using long exposures.
Noise can be corrected to some extent in Photoshop, but sharpness cannot be replicated. If you take a blurry photo, it cannot be corrected in post-processing. Better to be wrong in the noise than in the blur of the image.

5. Know your gear: How high ISO is too high?
Some cameras do very well at high ISO, while others produce grainy and spotty pictures. Under which category does your camera fall? This is an important metric to know in order to confidently set your ISO height while maintaining image quality. Try shooting a few test shots at each ISO, then rate them on your computer. Where does the noise appear? Where does this noise end up being too low quality? While this is a matter of individual opinion, look for things like color noise or patches of unusual color and large loss of detail.

6. Open your camera’s aperture settings.
When lighting is limited, it’s important to let in as much light as possible. This means – use a wide aperture or a low f-number. However, not all lenses are created equal when it comes to aperture. Your DSLR likely comes with a maximum aperture of f/3.6, but many lenses can go as low as f/1.8 or even lower. If you’re currently using a stock lens, you’ll see a big jump in your low-light image quality with a faster lens.
Wide-angle lenses are more expensive, but you can find non-zoom lenses for under 300 euros.

7. Try a long exposure.
Blur isn’t always a bad thing. Moving water, clouds in the sky or the blurring of a crowd of people are just a few examples that can result in very creative and effective pictures. Blur, when done right, gives an image a sense of movement and is something every photographer should try at least once. Set up your tripod and use a slow shutter speed starting at 30 seconds and experiment with that by changing it up or down. Lower the shutter speed if you want more blur, but increase it if you want a sharper shot. Long exposures can also be used with still subjects using a lower ISO without blurring.

8. Don’t be afraid of the flash!
Many new photographers are afraid to use flash – how many pictures have you seen with an obvious flash look? A flash can be a great tool, but it must be used correctly. First you need to learn how to adjust and adjust the flash manually. Even if you have a pop-up flash, you can set it to half or 1/16 to avoid the bright flash look. Unlike manual exposure, using manual flash doesn’t have a meter, so it takes some practice, but it’s worth it. It also helps to photograph against any existing light object, otherwise your picture will have a black background.

The lower the light level, the harder the shot, but low light photography can produce great results. Photographing the same scene at night will produce completely different results than photographing it during the day.

Mastering low light photography can be a difficult, long process. If you don’t want to spend so much time on it, but the shots are necessary, we offer you the help of our professional photographers, who will perfectly cope with any kind of conditions.
It also requires different hardware, which can cost more than expected. The opportunity to rent equipment and practice on it is very useful in the learning process. Here you can view our equipment rental offer!

It remains only to not be afraid and try. We believe that with time you will be able to achieve fantastic results in any conditions!

Yours, Fotosesijas.com!