Low Light Photography Tips
Taking Pictures in Dim Light

These low light photography tips will help you take the best pictures. If you like this digital photography tutorial check out my other photography tips.

A lot of times when people think of low light photography they think of taking pictures at night. While night photography falls into this catagory, it isn't the only think in the category. Pictures taken indoors, in shadowy areas, at sunset or sunrise, and even on cloudy days. These are all situations that can fall into that category. Find out more about digital night photography.

Light is the most important element in photography. I enjoy taking pictures in low light. It gives a good chance to play with light and shadow. Low light photography gives you a chance as a photographer to slow down and think about your camera settings.

For this type of photography you need to set your camera at a higher ISO. When the ISO is set to high you get more noise to your pictures. Some digital cameras cut out noise better than others. Sometimes I like noise in my pictures. It can give a nice mood to the photograph.

It also requires a slow shutter speed. When the shutter is open for a long time it allows more light to get onto the camera's sensor. When your shutter is open you a long time you need to make sure you use a tripod and a cable release so that your camera is as still as possible when you take the picture. If the camera moves around it will make your picture blurry.

Many times we talk about the depth of field in a shot when we talk about aperature, but aperature settings also control the amount of light that passes through the lens. If you don't need the entire area that your photographing to be in focus, you should open your aperature wide to let the most amount of light into you lens. If your aperature is wide open you need to pay close attention to you focus. Making sure you've focused on your image as well as you can before you take the picture.

A 50mm f/1.8 lens is an ideal lens to use for low light photography. It is also good to use in other situations.

You can use a flash in low light situations to help you get a good shot. Using a flashgun and bouncing the flash will give you the best results. You can read more about flash photography here.

When you take pictures in low light it's best to use a tripod. If you don't have a tripod at the time you can use other methods to keep your camera steady. If you tuck your elbows into your body that will usually help you keep the camera still. Leaning against a wall can also help you keep your camera still. I like to find an object about the height that I want my camera to be to rest my camera on as I take the picture.

If you're low light photography doesn't look the way you want it too once you get the picture on your computer, you can change the picture to black and white. As a black and white image it will often look cleaner, but may ruin the original mood that you were trying to capture in the photo.

If you like these low light photography tips check out more digital photography tutorials here.