How to take photographs indoors. How to Shoot Without Flash in Low Light
Shooting in dark rooms is very difficult, especially for a novice photographer. Here are some tips to help you get good photos when shooting in dark places. Of course, locations and types of shooting differ greatly from each other. A lot depends on what you're shooting. For different types of shooting and the required photo quality, you will need different equipment.
Dmitriy Bashaev >
If you're photographing weddings or christenings, your images need to be of a certain quality and free of noise. If you are filming a friendly party or concert in order to show the pictures online, you do not need to have a full-format camera and a fast lens. Compacts with fast focus are quite suitable for photographing friends, parties and other everyday events. You will need a DSLR camera to photograph christenings, weddings, corporate events, etc. For professional-level events (reporting, political meetings, etc.) you already need special professional equipment. Expensive professional equipment makes it easier to shoot in difficult conditions, such as shooting in dark places, but whether it is needed to solve your problems is up to you to decide.
Let's talk about the basic principles of shooting in dark rooms.
1. Camera stability.
You will have to shoot at slow shutter speeds and any movement of the camera can affect the quality of the image. If you're shooting more or less static scenes and don't need to constantly move, use a tripod or monopod (if allowed). In the theater, for example, you can try stabilizing the camera on the back of the seat. Do not hold the camera at arm's length when taking pictures.
Some lenses have a stabilizer, but it will not be able to compensate for strong movement. Try resting your elbow on your stomach, relax, hold your breath, and gently press the shutter button.
Arman Zhenikeyev
2. Equipment.
As we wrote above, it all depends on your goals and objectives. It is optimal to have a full-format DSLR with a fast lens (2.8 or higher). A professional reportage level camera has fast focus and shoots in full frame. The noise in such a camera is 2-3 stops lower (that is, the noise on it at ISO 6400 is the same as at ISO 800). What does it mean? This means you can shoot at faster shutter speeds.
A fast lens gives a clearer image and makes it possible to use an aperture number of 2.8 (on expensive zoom lenses). Whale zooms have a minimum aperture number of 3.5-5.6. Those. the short end loses 2/3 of a stop, the long end loses 2. What does this mean? You can shoot with a shallower depth of field and reduce the sensitivity by one or two stops, for example, use ISO 400 instead of ISO 1600.
Professional equipment allows you to solve problems that are quite difficult to solve with conventional equipment. But professional equipment is expensive and it’s worth considering whether you need it to solve your problems.
3. Flash
If you try to shoot on automatic in dark rooms, the flash will turn on. In most cases, you will simply destroy the existing lighting. If you are filming in a theater, the distance from your seat to the stage will not be captured by the flash and it will not be effective and will disturb other audience members. If you take a photo of a friend in a dark bar with flash, you will end up with a face in front of an almost black background that the flash can't reach. Everything else can be bleached. Expensive flashes will allow you to shoot “off-the-cuff”, even with slow synchronization they will help you freeze movement or simply highlight the subject from the background.
The flash should not be the main subject when shooting. It only helps fill the shadows, separate the object from the background, and highlight it a little. Never use flash head-on. Sometimes the flash can be directed into the stream, but first look at what color the ceiling and walls are. If they are not white, you will be exhausted to correct color reflections in the editor.
Use slow rear curtain sync” , like the flash operating mode (in Canon rear curtain, in Nikon slow-sync rear).
"the sanctuary" captured by Federico
4. Exposition
As a rule, you will have to shoot at fairly high ISO - from 800 to 1600; in new semi-professional cameras you can raise ISO to 3200 or more. Try to shoot at fast shutter speeds (depending on the subject), and wide open apertures (from 2.8 to 4.0). If you shoot mostly on automatic, top scores you'll get by shooting in "night mode" (or similar modes).
5. Exposure.
For different types shooting requires different shutter speeds. If you're shooting sporting events in a fairly well-lit environment and you want to freeze motion, you'll want shutter speeds of 1/120 or faster. In concert halls, the rooms are darker, but you will still need shutter speeds of at least 1/60 to 1/100 to freeze motion.
In a theater where there is movement, you may be able to shoot at a shutter speed of less than 1/60. In a museum, objects don't move, and you can use shutter speeds as low as 1/60, as long as you choose a lower ISO and close your aperture a little.
Change the settings, try it. Move the values up a notch, go down a notch. In some cameras you can set the ISO to automatic, but so that the ISO does not drop below the set value. Remember that long exposures require camera stabilization. You can shoot handheld at shutter speeds of no more than 1/60 (if your hands are strong - 1/30 / 1/40). This is usually the inverse of the focal length of the lens (or a little longer if you have strong hands). For example, if you are shooting with a 28mm wide-angle lens, the shutter speed should be no longer than 1/25s unless the subject is moving quickly. If the focal length is 80mm, and the shutter speed should be set to about 1/80s.
6. Underexposure.
Sometimes you may not have enough sensitivity and aperture to get the correct exposure. Instead of lengthening your shutter speed and guaranteeing a blurry image, keep the shutter speed you want and take an underexposed image. If possible, shoot in RAW. In your image editor, you can adjust the exposure a little.
7. Noise.
If you open the aperture and the shutter speed no longer decreases (Lo flashes in the viewfinder), you will have to increase the ISO. By doubling the sensitivity, you gain an entire exposure stop. As ISO increases, noise also increases. He might become artistic device your photos, but, as a rule, it interferes with the perception of the photos. Modern DSLRs can shoot up to ISO 1600 quite tolerably.
Remove noise in post-processing, for example in Lightroom, if there is a lot of noise, you can move the color noise slider beyond the 50 mark, and the light noise slider no further than 30. This must be done very carefully so that the picture does not become plastic. Photoshop has a filter that will help you remove noise. There are also many plugins for Photoshop in which you can get rid of some noise in pictures.
8. White balance.
The easiest way to shoot is to set the BB to automatic or shoot in RAW and correct the BB in post-processing.
"launching" captured by Federico
9. Focus.
Generally, your camera will be reluctant to focus in the dark. You can switch to manual focus mode and take a test shot of an object at the same distance as your main subject. Autofocus may miss in the dark.
10. Post-processing.
So in the editor you will have to adjust the white balance and ISO. This is easiest to do if you shot in RAW.
Everything we have said is just a starting point for experiments. We wish you great photos!!
How to take photographs with a DSLR. In previous articles we dealt a little with the theory, now let's move directly to practice. This article contains the main practical recommendations, which will help a novice photographer take high-quality photographs the very next day after purchasing the first digital SLR camera in his life.
The first and most important advice- if you have already purchased a SLR camera, try to immediately abandon the automatic mode. Mastering other modes with finer tuning will require only a small amount of theory and regular practice. But you will immediately feel the difference in the quality of the pictures.
Secondly, if you intend to engage in artistic photography, then forget about the existence of a built-in flash in your camera. The flash in a digital SLR camera is, of course, better quality than in point-and-shoot cameras (yes, the settings here are finer), however, it still remains a built-in low-power flash that makes your photos flat and inexpressive. Use flash only for technical shots without any hint of artistry.
Now let's look at the sequence of actions of the photographer before the actual shooting. First, assess the lighting conditions. It is worth noting here that if you are shooting outdoors during the daytime, then setting up the camera will be much easier than if you are shooting indoors.
Shooting outdoors during the daytime. Choose a photography mode (shutter priority or aperture priority) depending on the shooting task. Immediately set the required ISO value. Approximate guidelines: ISO100 (or less) - in sunny weather, ISO100-200 - in cloudy weather, ISO200-400 - in twilight. After this, adjust either the shutter speed or the aperture (depending on the selected mode) so that the exposure indicator is set at a value close to zero (that is, in the middle). If the exposure indicator deviates to the right, keep in mind that the photo may end up with overexposed areas; if it deviates to the left, on the contrary, the photo may turn out to be too dark. The minimum camera settings have been completed. Now all that remains is to focus on the subject and take a photo.
Shooting indoors. If you are shooting indoors in natural daylight (for example, light from a window), then you need to set up the camera in the same way as described above. The only thing is that the ISO value will most likely be needed a little higher than outdoors. In any case, try not to go beyond ISO400.
If you are shooting indoors in conditions artificial lighting, then preparing for shooting will be complicated by the need to adjust the white balance. It is recommended to adjust white balance manually (for a description of the settings, see). If you neglect to adjust the white balance, the pictures will most likely turn out with a characteristic yellow tint, which will immediately reveal your unprofessionalism. In principle, you can try to correct errors in setting the white balance when post-processing the photo in a graphics editor, but firstly, not everyone knows how to do this, and secondly, the quality of the photo will suffer significantly (if you shoot in jpeg).
Which photo mode to choose. If you shoot portraits, then choose aperture priority mode, while opening the aperture as wide as possible (f1.8-3.5) when shooting a large portrait. This way you can achieve a beautiful background blur. If you are shooting a full-length portrait, then close the aperture a little and set the value to F7.0 or more. This way you will be sure that all parts of the model’s body will be “in focus”. In general, if there are several objects in the picture that you want to focus on (that is, they should be in focus), then play it safe and set the aperture values as large as possible (under given lighting conditions) (for example, f8.0-16). The same principle should be followed when photographing landscapes or architecture.
Shutter priority mode is useful if you are shooting in low light conditions. If there is a catastrophic lack of light, then the pictures will turn out either too dark or too blurry.
To brighten a photograph, you need to use longer shutter speeds. That is, if at a shutter speed of 1/100 the photo turns out dark, then try changing the value to 1/50. However, remember that you cannot reduce the shutter speed (without using a tripod) indefinitely. When shooting handheld, do not use shutter speeds higher than 1/20-30. If the photo turns out dark even with long enough shutter speeds, then increase the ISO or use a tripod. Also, in low light conditions, do not forget to open the aperture as much as possible (in such conditions, do not use the zoom, it is better to get closer to the subject yourself).
If you get blurry photos, it means that you set the shutter speed too long, and natural camera shake when shooting handheld makes itself felt. If your photos turn out blurry even at a shutter speed of 1/30, then reduce it to 1/50 and so on until you get sufficient clarity.
If you couldn’t find a decent compromise in the ISO-shutter speed-aperture settings, then you can use a little trick and still use the built-in flash. To do this you will need a small mirror (or White list paper). The method of shooting with a mirror is described in more detail (ideal for shooting portraits in minimal lighting).
When shooting indoors, the problem of insufficient lighting often arises. To get a normal exposure, you need to use longer shutter speeds or additional light sources. But there are also ways to get a well-exposed shot without blur when shooting handheld.
Manual white balance adjustment
There are a lot now various types lamps that illuminate our homes. Sometimes they are combined in one room. In such cases, the camera may not be able to automatically adjust the white balance and the picture will turn out to be mixed with unpleasant shades. Cameras allow you to adjust white balance according to specific criteria or according to a map.
Sensor sensitivity
When it is no longer possible to increase the shutter speed, you have to increase the light sensitivity of the sensor. Each camera has its own threshold for the appearance of noticeable noise. Professional full-frame models have a very high light sensitivity level, and cameras with a crop sensor begin to make noise much earlier.
Typically, ISO 1600 is suitable for most cameras and significantly reduces the required shutter speed, allowing handheld shooting without blur. The image stabilizer is also important. It makes it possible to increase shutter speed by one or several stops (depending on the technology and class of the camera).
Shadow detail
If you are shooting on a sunny day near a window, then bright highlights and sharp shadows will create high contrast with the inevitable loss of detail in the shadows. Nikon's Active D-Lighting function or Canon's Auto Lighting Optimizer will highlight shadows and bring out detail. Of course, a flash working in fill mode or with a reflector, softbox, or simply reflected from a wall or ceiling is also suitable for highlighting shadows.
Shooting indoors is a rather difficult moment for a novice photographer, because, in fact, a lot depends on the technique. Any professional will say that in a room where sunlight reaches only on holidays and, as a rule, not at all when you need to shoot, there is nothing to do without a good camera, a light zoom and external flash. However, this does not detract from the importance of mastering the shooting technique itself, and if you count the costs themselves (camera from $3000, zoom glass from $1000, flash from $500), you get an amount that makes you think... at least that you will still need shooting technique still to master. Let's try to understand how to do it, who to deceive and what to replace in this expensive scheme, using what we have from the very beginning (i.e., from the purchase of a camera, highly preferably an SLR).
How not to shoot indoors
First of all, we should remember about the terrible shooting conditions: indoors there is an order of magnitude less light than outdoors, which inevitably leads us to using a flash, which a beginner strives to turn on in normal TTL mode, taught by the delusion that the ISO value should be set as low as possible . As a result, you get a “stunning” shot with a face against a background of black (or a color close to it) surroundings, which the flash simply did not achieve, and if there were objects closer, they will be completely overexposed. Actually, this is the position from which we will dance.
Remember the background
In fact, any indoor shoot (if not any shoot at all) is a balancing “on the brink” between blurred motion and strong digital noise. You probably know why such a dependence occurs, because... We've already heard about it. If you think that the most important thing in photography is the subject, you are mistaken. It’s just a chip on a field that consists of a background (foreground, background, middle - you’ve probably heard that too), and if the background is zero (it’s black, R0 G0 B0), the object also becomes zero. Therefore, we are trying to get the background, trying to distract ourselves from making it interesting for now.
Once in a dark room, we first increase shutter speed to the limit, at which we can shoot without blur - usually this is the inverse number of the used focal length of the lens, it can be a little longer if you are confident in your hands. For example, if you are shooting 28mm wide, the shutter speed should be no longer than 1/25s unless the subject is moving quickly, otherwise it will turn out. If the focal length increases to 80mm, and the shutter speed should be set to 1/80s. Naturally, when quickly changing plans, you can set 1/80 and calm down, but then you will lose a step elsewhere. Which one to choose is up to you, either shutter priority with the required setting, or aperture (to monitor the depth of field), you just need to constantly keep your finger on the pulse, controlling the shutter speed itself.
Accordingly, if the shutter speed does not decrease (Lo blinks in the viewfinder in place of the aperture), and there is nowhere to open the aperture, we begin to use the third exposure parameter, matrix sensitivity. Doubling the sensitivity gives us a gain of one step (the ability to halve the shutter speed) - play with matrices modern devices we can live for a long time, up to about ISO 1600 we can live very well. On an old camera like the Nikon D70, it’s difficult to go above ISO 800-1000, but these parameters are quite realistic.
Shut down the noise
Noise exists on forums, where it is discussed, discussed, created and considered. Photographers are accustomed to grain, as our eyes are accustomed to it when looking at printed photographs (otherwise why take photographs if not print them?). A modern “affordable” camera, regardless of the manufacturer, generates noise ranging from “good” to “quite tolerable” up to the ISO 1600 bar, and the resolution allows it to be further reduced to reasonable levels when printing even large formats. For posting on the Internet, you don’t have to worry about it at all (a bold statement that is only the result of omitting some caveats).
However, you shouldn’t take noise too liberally - this is an extreme that needs to be taken, nothing more. If you have the opportunity to reduce sensitivity, do not miss such chances (of course, not at the expense of what is stated above).
Pay attention to noise in post-processing- shoot indoors in , process in (for large noises, the color noise slider is moved beyond the 50 mark, the light noise slider is moved very carefully, no further than 30, which is already a lot, just to bring the noise picture to a pleasant look, and not to plastic). This will make it easier to get the most out of your photo.
Use your flash wisely
Flash indoors - not the main light, but an auxiliary one. It should fill the shadows, highlight it from the background, highlight it a little - nothing more, otherwise the photo will become indistinct. In principle, it is permissible to use it directly at the ceiling, but this is usually also an extreme, and you can’t get it right with ceilings and walls everywhere, and then you can suffer for a very long time with the color temperature due to green/red/blue/yellow walls in different rooms .
However, this option cannot be thrown away either, especially if you use reflectors like 80/20 Lumiquest, “buckets” named after. Gary Fong or just a white card - a white ceiling (no higher than 4 meters), if you point a flash at it, can become large light source. Naturally, if at the same time the shadows under the eyes “a la groundhog” are filled in successfully. It is clear that the ceiling should be white, and the walls should strive towards it.
Otherwise, the main mode of flash operation is slow rear curtain sync(in Nikon slow-sync rear, in Canon just rear curtain). There is no big difference in the curtains at a short shutter speed, but you still need to be on the safe side and “cover up” the blur with an impulse from the flash (let me explain: on the front curtain, first the impulse, then the exposure, on the rear curtain it’s the other way around, i.e. the light spot falls as if from above - t That is, if there is any shaking, the key object should be fixed by the flash impulse).
In view of what was written above, that a flash in a room is an auxiliary light, you can try to shoot without it, if you fit within the above exposure parameters, you just need to follow people against a light background, because they will be underexposed. That is, a flash, in principle, is optional (and many wedding vendors in registry offices generally take pictures without a flash).
On the other hand, you should pay attention to color temperature Sveta. This is already aerobatics, but you still need to know the basics. The fact is that of all light sources, only flash has the most neutral color, close to true daylight - white. All other lighting devices deviate from it - fluorescent lamps, also known as fluorescent lamps, can give a reddish or greenish tint, incandescent lamps - yellow. Daylight is also yellowish, and in the evening even reddish (these are windows, if you don’t understand - it penetrates into the room through them). All this can mix in a terrible way indoors, and then you’re with a flash: the face will be illuminated with white, and the background, for example, greenish (most often in rooms today they install energy-saving fluorescent lamps) - editing such lighting can take up to half an hour, if you have the skills. Accordingly, it is easier to prevent a disease than to treat it - to equalize the temperature, you need to take a test shot with the white balance set to “flash”, but without a flash, then look on the screen what shade the background is painted in and add such a filter to the flash (they are called gel, although they relate to the gel only through bad translation). Accordingly, it is a good idea to have a red, green and yellow filter for the flash with an effect of no more than a third of a stop, i.e. very light (they come with good flashes; for cheap flashes they are cut out by hand from anything). Please note that filters take some getting used to. If you don’t have them, if you don’t want to fool yourself with this, just forget about it.
Choose adequate means
“Shooting indoors” is a too broad and general concept. You can film press conferences of presidents - that's one thing, you can take pictures of weddings in registry offices - that's another, or you can just have friends drinking or taking children's photos - that's another thing entirely. The difference here is in the final quality of the photograph - it is unlikely that you will be able to provide the editor with a noisy photograph of Medvedev (although they are still printed when there are no options), and even in wedding photography the customer may not be happy with this. But you can easily post pictures online from yesterday's drinking session for friends - when you reduce the images, the noise magically disappears by almost 80%. Therefore, in most cases, you can get by with existing equipment: compacts are quite suitable for everyday photography (if they focus quickly), DSLRs are sufficient for shooting weddings, only professional reporting requires special equipment. Therefore, you need to choose tools according to the tasks. Although it’s not good to say that expensive equipment is not needed... let’s explain what’s what. After all, if the equipment was not required, they would not have bought it; they would have filmed presidents with inexpensive DSLRs with whale lenses.
Camera professional reportage level (the one from $3000) can not only shoot quickly, but also shoot full frame and, as a result, has noise 2-3 steps lower (read, noise at ISO 6400 is the same as at ISO 800) , which means you can either set the shutter speed two to three times shorter, or reduce the sensitivity.
Flash($500 dollars) even with slow synchronization can give a gain of about ½ or ⅓ stop, which, in principle, is not critical, but something else is much more important - it can help freeze a small blur or simply highlight an object from the background.
Professional level (from $1000) usually, in addition to clarity, also gains a stop or two in terms of aperture - the minimum aperture number on expensive zoom lenses is 2.8, while standard ones have 3.5-5.6 (the short end loses by 2/3 of a stop, long by 2). Accordingly, although the depth of field is smaller, you can reduce the sensitivity by one or two stops (ISO 400 versus 1600 is also not bad, right?).
As a result, it turns out that professional equipment allows you to be a whole head above (or ahead, as you like) those who shoot with a regular one - a professional is guaranteed a 4-5 step head start. Actually, they don’t cost a penny either, and therefore you have to think about what is better, to spend money or to soberly assess the situation.
Walk up the steps
One step up - one step down. Each step is an increase (or decrease) in the amount of light by a factor of two, no matter how you implement it. As an option, in many models of modern devices you can now configure ISO Auto, so that this parameter does not fall below the specified value (for example, 800 or 1600, salt and pepper to taste), set shutter speed priority and, when shooting general plans (28 mm, f/3.5), set the shutter speed to 1/25s → the camera will reduce sensitivity , for example, up to ISO 200; when shooting close-ups (80 mm, f/5.6) set it to 1/80s, the camera will set the ISO to about 1250, which is not a problem for modern people. In this case, on general plans, where there are more details in the shadow areas, we will save the detail in them (may be critical), but in large ones, where we are talking about faces, the shadows can be sacrificed a little (to kill the noise), but they will still be blurred. In Lightroom this is a matter of a couple of presets, nothing more, but the result will be different. It should, however, be remembered that such a step is only for those who have no problems with memory - they forgot to switch and got into a puddle. It might be easier to set the shutter speed to a fixed value, leaving ISO Auto - as the light improves, the device itself will reduce the sensitivity, and it will even save you when you go outside.
Don't be afraid to experiment
Actually, what is stated above is just a base, a stove from which you can already dance. Practice the technique, and once you get the hang of it, try to invent and use your own techniques (by the way, if you comment below, we won’t mind at all) - photography is akin to life itself, it is constantly moving forward, so this article, perhaps in a couple of years, will safely find its place in the trash can, and it will be replaced by a new one that meets the changed conditions.