How to Take Photos in Low Light

The evening is a really challenging time to take photos because daylight is fading, and while our eyes naturally adjust to the night, a camera lens does not. I’ve put together a tutorial that I think will really help you capture those great evening barbecue moments, sunsets, and more. To start, its important to know what the heck all these settings on our cameras are. Here are the basics:

The Photographer’s Dictionary

ISO - how sensitive your “film” is to light
Aperture (f-stop) – controls how much light can enter the camera. small numbers = more light. This also affects depth of field, where small numbers = less depth.
Shutter Speed - how long the camera shutter stays open

*Aperture and Shutter speed have a reciprocal relationship. This means that your photo’s brightness is determined by aperture x shutter speed. So, if your photos are coming out blurry and you need to shorten your shutter speed from say, 2 seconds to 1 second, you have to double your aperture to keep your photos at the same level of brightness. Remember this as you make adjustments during your low-light shoot.

Camera Settings
Assuming you want your photos to be as crisp and bright as possible, I’m going to provide you with camera settings and tips to give you a good place to start. Before you even try to take a low-light shot, make sure you don’t forget to BRING A TRIPOD! It is the easiest way to ensure that your photos will be crisp and clear. Then set your camera to MANUAL mode, so you can control exactly what your camera is doing.

As far as settings go, For ISO we want some real light sensitivity but not so much that you get noise (visual static) in your pictures. A wide aperture is going to allow light to enter the camera more efficiently, and shutter speeds wont be too slow to hopefully avoid blur.

High ISO – Remember, the higher the ISO, the more noise there will be. Most cameras can handle ISO 400 pretty well, so start there. If after playing with shutter speed and aperture your photos are still too dim, bring it up to 800.
Wide Aperture – Set your f-stop to the second or third-smallest number available.
Slow(ish) Shutter Speed – After you’ve set your ISO and aperture, take 3 photos with varying shutter speeds, and look at your results. I recommend trying 1/2 second, 1 second, and then 2 seconds.

From there, look at your 3 test photos. Still too dark? Try a slower shutter speed. Or try setting your aperture to a higher f-stop and slow the shutter speed to 3-5 seconds. Too blurry? Widen your aperture and use a quicker shutter speed.

Other Tips and Tricks to Remember
-In the evening, light is constantly changing because the day is gradually becoming night. Don’t be surprised if your settings keep changing as the evening gets darker.

-Beware of auto focus! Because your camera can’t “see” very well in the dark, auto focus is hazardous. The camera cannot tell where to focus, and as a result, images can be blurry. Tip! Shine a flashlight on the area of the shot you want to focus on, and adjust your focus accordingly.

-Set your camera on a self-timer. This will minimize even the shaking that comes from pushing down the shutter button!

-This tutorial works for outdoor shots, but the same concepts apply to indoor photography, too! Inside, light is often spotty from lamps and thing, and over all is not very good. Use these tips to remove blurriness from your inside shots, and avoid using that harsh flash!

Unfortunately there is no single way to take a great low-light shot. The best recommendation I can make is to take lots and LOTS of pictures, and keep on playing with the settings until you find one that works for your camera!