Help in Shooting in Low light condition


Status
Not open for further replies.

ayp83

New Member
Sep 11, 2009
24
0
0
Hi ,

I am new here , would like to seek some help from you guys out there. Actually i would like to know some tips for shooting in a low light area.

Subject: An event held at some kind of open space with low lighting

1 - If i do not want to use high ISO. (what ISO is recommanded)
2 - Using of Flash will make the people turn white
3 - Wanted to capture the background with the subject ( Do not want the backgrouund to be black if i use flash )
4 - Hw to use the flash to capture the most natural skin tone. (Rather then white colour)

I really hope anyone can give me some tips on all these ? Thanks in advance :)

Equipment : Canon 40D , built-in flash & external flash & 18-55mmkit lens & 50mm F1.8 & 70-300mm
 

Mulitple flashes using radio trigger?
 

2 light setup...

diffused/indirect flash for the main subject and low power flash for the background. 50mm on a crop camera makes it a portrait lens, just let you know.

but if really cannot then its time to try out film noir or the black and white look.
 

Without flash, ISO needs to be bumped. If flash is needed, and you want the background properly exposed, meter off the background and adjust flash to compensate.
 

For me, i would use a tripod if available or get into a steady position and use a longer shutter speed like 1/8 and below in low lighting area. For this i used a low ISO of 200-400. shots turn out great. or u can invest in a F2.8 n below lens. :D
 

1 - If i do not want to use high ISO. (what ISO is recommanded)
2 - Using of Flash will make the people turn white
3 - Wanted to capture the background with the subject ( Do not want the backgrouund to be black if i use flash )
Sounds as if you only use P mode where the shutter speed is set to 1/60 and the flash is somehow firing at the foreground. What you need is a balance between background exposure and foreground illumination with flash. Since we don't know how dim the light really is we can only guess a bit.
First, read about the Canon flash system: Flash Photography with Canon EOS Cameras
Read about the different metering strategies. Since you want to expose the background properly you'll need Av or M mode, let's start with Av. Aperture f/5.6 should work well, wider aperture brings shallow DOF. Set your Exposure Compensation to -2EV, meter the ambient light and increase the ISO to get a handhold shutter speed of 1/60s. ISO 400 should still give god results on your camera. This way the background will be slightly underexposed but still bright enough. Now add flash and adjust Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) to your liking. Maybe 0 or -1/3. This way you can walk around, the camera will adjust the shutter speed for background, flash will be adjusted to foreground via ETTL.
Using M you can adjust all parameters freely but you will need to watch your exposure meter closely and adjust when necessary when walking around.

4 - Hw to use the flash to capture the most natural skin tone. (Rather then white colour)
Proper exposure and proper White Balance settings will help. But it's a tough job because you are mixing ambient light with flash light. So you might need to add colour gels to your flash.
Equipment : Canon 40D , built-in flash & external flash & 18-55mmkit lens & 50mm F1.8 & 70-300mm
Forget the internal flash and the 70-300. Get a zoom lens for the standard range of 18-55, fixed aperture would be even better.
 

Can you post a sample picture? It'll save a lot of questions :)
 

Rear sync flash with a tripod or monopod to stabilise the camera as you'd need a slightly longer shutter speed to expose for the background.

Increase ISO to about 400-800 to help reduce this shutter speed if needed.
 

Hi ,

I am new here , would like to seek some help from you guys out there. Actually i would like to know some tips for shooting in a low light area.

Subject: An event held at some kind of open space with low lighting

1 - If i do not want to use high ISO. (what ISO is recommanded)
2 - Using of Flash will make the people turn white
3 - Wanted to capture the background with the subject ( Do not want the backgrouund to be black if i use flash )
4 - Hw to use the flash to capture the most natural skin tone. (Rather then white colour)

I really hope anyone can give me some tips on all these ? Thanks in advance :)

Equipment : Canon 40D , built-in flash & external flash & 18-55mmkit lens & 50mm F1.8 & 70-300mm

Besides reading the EOS flash bible (link above), Google 'fill flash', 'dragging the shutter' and 'balancing flash and ambient light'.

Difficult to tell you what settings to use because only you know shooting location/structure, conditions, lighting conditions etc

We have absolutely no accurate idea what a "kind of open space" and "low lighting" are.

If your flash is really turning people "white", there's something wrong with the definition/expectations, or your system.
 

Hi ,

I am new here , would like to seek some help from you guys out there. Actually i would like to know some tips for shooting in a low light area.

Subject: An event held at some kind of open space with low lighting

1 - If i do not want to use high ISO. (what ISO is recommanded)
2 - Using of Flash will make the people turn white
3 - Wanted to capture the background with the subject ( Do not want the backgrouund to be black if i use flash )
4 - Hw to use the flash to capture the most natural skin tone. (Rather then white colour)

I really hope anyone can give me some tips on all these ? Thanks in advance :)

Equipment : Canon 40D , built-in flash & external flash & 18-55mmkit lens & 50mm F1.8 & 70-300mm

Hi Ayp83...welcome. Hope I'm not sounding a bit harsh. Despite what advice you get in this forum, nothing beats experimenting with your camera and setup.

Just before the event day, you might want to survey the area in the evening, presumably it is held in the evning.
Try the different combination like Shutter/Aperture Priority, P Mode, Flash/No Flash etc. Use ISO (ISO can go as high as possible until the noise - little grainy dots) makes the pictures unusable. I use 3200 in low light and the image is still usable but ultimately, it depends whether you are comfortable with the result. What looks OK to you may look crap to others.

I've seen many nice photos taken by the Pros in low light and they seldom go beyond ISO 400. I may be wrong but I have never come across one yet. Then again, why follow? Develop your own style and who knows people may one day copy yours.
 

Thanks for all the helpful tips & comments. Will play around with the tips and comment given and use the best that suits me... :)

HappY New yeaR & GooD Health...
 

Status
Not open for further replies.