Thread: Taking low light photos...tips and tactics

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It seems I am always chasing the elusive 'perfect night shot' at our parties and haunts.

If you want snapshots, you need the flash. That's okay, except it makes the room look like all the lights are on. I don't like that!

If you want a nice shot, you need a tripod or monopod and a longer exposure. No chance of action shots there!

There must be a happy medium. Please share any tips or tricks you have learned over time so we can all take better photos!

I use a 35mm film camera with 800 speed film and a tripod.

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/pixbyboo...60762352092095

There is HUGE dif between the flash and non flash pics.

Last year was the first time I attempted taking pics without a flash. I loved the results and will use this method from now on. I take digital pics as well, but there's no beating the no-flash pics for a spooky mood.

Back inna day I shot a lot of 35mm film. You can get great reults using "Fill-in Flash". Picture a pretty girl posing in front of a setting sun with palm trees silouetted behind her...
How to get the same effect using a digi-cam is beyond me.

Ok - this is the only way I've had any luck. I have a Canon A80. I turn the flash off, mount on a tripod and set the dial to either C1 or C2. Then I shoot and usually they come out pretty well. You can check out my night pics on my Photobucket. Flash pics NEVER come out for me and this is the only way I've been able to get half way decent pics. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Wilbret: That is a great pic! So there is no way to get a good night shot using a digital camera? I know we sure haven’t had any luck.

We take a lot of night shots with digicams. The problem is you HAVE to stabilize the camera. For me, that's just weird when trying to get photos of people. You can't expect them to be motionless.

If you can adjust your aperture, you can take all kinds of cool shots with your camera. You can actually do WAY MORE with your digital camera than with a film camera. On our camera, we can actually set it to expose for over a minute! It will pick up the faintest light and give you a great overexposure, with all motion captured. You can also speed it up if needed.

I bought a monopod a while back and we'll see if that's easier to use in a party setting than a tripod. I just hate having tons of pictures of people that look like we had all the lights on.

I will play with the camera tonight and see what we learn, but we won't be able to recreate the actual mood lighting....

I thought the 800 film I used caught the motion of the fogger pretty nicely. I am thinking of trying 1000 speed film next year. THAT would probably catch people pretty well...especially if the ambient light was good.

Fuji makes cameras that are generally better than others in low-light shots.
F10,F11,F20,F30, F31 are the model numbers.
I have the F20. An awesome camera for $200.
For example, if you are taking pictures indoors in a conference room, a cafeteria, etc.. most cameras need a flash for a good picture. Even if the room seems bright, it probably isn't bright enough for photography. If you are beyond the range of the flash (10-13 feet in most cases), the picture will come out dark and grainy. Without the flash, it will be eually as bad. Now my camera for example, the Fuji F20, I would set it to iso 400, turn off the flash, and take a great picture. A tripod or steady surface will greatly improve this.
If there is no motion (i.e. people) in your shot you could use a tripod with any camera and set the camera for a long shutter mode and the picture would be good/interesting.
Also, get a free noise-reduction program. It will greatly improve the clarity of your pictures.

In April, Sony is coming out with a new camera, I think the H9, and it will have a nightshot mode. The camera also has 15x optical zoom with image stabilization if I recall correctly.

Also, I like the free image viewing program Irfanview. Does all kinds of cool stuff (thumbnail browsing, batch conversion, slide shows...)

You can lighten dark photos by going to
Image->Enhance Colors ->Gamma Correction

just increase the Gamma slightly.

Originally Posted by Hallowtheme

You can lighten dark photos by going to
Image->Enhance Colors ->Gamma Correction

just increase the Gamma slightly.

Didn't know that... I'm going to experiment tonight with some unedited H-ween night pics
Thanks for the tip!