LOW LIGHT SITUATIONS.. HELP

[chloewindle1]

So, I'm an equine photographer and have a 'sponsored' event rider to be photographing BUT she has recently built an indoor school with poor lighting and now left me struggling to figure out best settings. Here is a picture i took which weren't SO bad https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...897394.-2207520000.1394662451.&type=3&theater... Exposure time 1/800, ISO 2000. #

If i went any lower shutter speed it would go blurred, and higher it would basically black out. My aperture is set to wide open.

 

[runnah]

What aperture did you use? What camera and lens are you using?

 

[Light Guru]

So, I'm an equine photographer and have a 'sponsored' event rider to be photographing BUT she has recently built an indoor school with poor lighting and now left me struggling to figure out best settings. Here is a picture i took which weren't SO bad https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...897394.-2207520000.1394662451.&type=3&theater... Exposure time 1/800, ISO 2000. #

If i went any lower shutter speed it would go blurred, and higher it would basically black out. My aperture is set to wide open.

By the amount of light on the side of the horse in the image you linked to it was not takin inside. It looks more like its a half inside half outside facility. You will get better results if you don't shoot near the indoor/outdoor divide. Ether be inside and point the camera to the inside or be outside and keep the camera pointed outside.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Looks like the light source is to the right, maybe try a different vantage point. If you were more to the right instead of in front that could give you a better view of the rider so the face isn't obscured and might use the existing light so it's hitting the subject. I'd watch the framing and perspective so the picture looks straight.

If you can use a high enough ISO to maintain a fast enough shutter speed to prevent blur I'd think about not shooting too wide open to keep the entire horse in focus. I think especially in lower or mixed lighting it's often a trade-off as to how you adjust the settings, how much depth of field or ISO you can give up to keep the shutter speed high enough. I'd try to go early and do some test shots where the rider will be jumping etc. before the event starts.

 

[Derrel]

So, I'm an equine photographer and have a 'sponsored' event rider to be photographing BUT she has recently built an indoor school with poor lighting and now left me struggling to figure out best settings. Here is a picture i took which weren't SO bad https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...897394.-2207520000.1394662451.&type=3&theater... Exposure time 1/800, ISO 2000. #

If i went any lower shutter speed it would go blurred, and higher it would basically black out. My aperture is set to wide open.

By the amount of light on the side of the horse in the image you linked to it was not takin inside. It looks more like its a half inside half outside facility. You will get better results if you don't shoot near the indoor/outdoor divide. Ether be inside and point the camera to the inside or be outside and keep the camera pointed outside.

Your light meter has lead you astray. The dark "indoor" background has caused the shutter to be slowed way down, grossly over-exposing the rider's face. You need to set the exposure for the "outdoor" part of the subject, in other words, the highlights, and thus render the indoor part MUCH darker, by about 3.5 to 5 stops. Meter on something outdoors, and do not allow a dark backdrop to influence the meter readings. Use spot metering, or read something ELSE entirely, something in FULL sun, and set the camera to that exposure in Manual mode.

Most likely, you would want to be outside, in the light, shooting back so that the subject is in front of the darker, indoor background.

If you stay "inside", and shoot out, toward the light, with matrix or averaging light metering in use, the camera will tend to underexpose, and the darker, indoor side of the horse and rider will appear too dark. If you expose for the indoor side, the dark side, and shoot toward the light, the background will tend to go very light, and maybe even "blow out"--which MIGHT look pretty good. I emphasize, it MIGHT look good.

 

[JerryLove]

You have uneven light.

Ideally: you want to back-fill the shadows with a powerful flash and/or reflectors (yes, I've seen flashes not just backfill, but out-priority daylight). Given the moving target: that might be a problem.

 

[chloewindle1]

I use a Nikon D5100 and a nikkor 70-300 which yes, i know is slow.

The school is half and half so has an open side. I find if i stand inside the school then i either get a dark image due to shutter speed or a blurred image. If i face the camera so its facing the outside wall i still get a very blazay image.

 

[Braineack]

I find if i stand inside the school then i either get a dark image due to shutter speed or a blurred image. If i face the camera so its facing the outside wall i still get a very blazay image.

Hundreds of hours of education and training required to operate all of the above effectively.

 

[robbins.photo]

I use a Nikon D5100 and a nikkor 70-300 which yes, i know is slow.

The school is half and half so has an open side. I find if i stand inside the school then i either get a dark image due to shutter speed or a blurred image. If i face the camera so its facing the outside wall i still get a very blazay image.

Can you increase your ISO at all? If not it sounds like maybe a faster lens might be a good investment.

Sent from my LG-LG730 using Tapatalk

 

[chloewindle1]

What faster lens' do you recommend? i'm trying to save for 70-200 2.8 but getting harder when i have a horse myself lol

 

[hirejn]

Chloe it helps to understand light. Since the image shows that you have at least one area with plenty of light, equipment is not an issue here and it rarely is. It's about making good decisions. Once you know the proper exposure for the light, you can use the same exposure for anything in that same light. For example, if you're outside shooting in, you need only know the correct exposure for the natural light. If you're inside, you could use that same exposure and shoot into the sun to get a silhouette with a nice rim light. Or you could get the exposure for the inside ambient light and get a good exposure for indoors, and any part of the outdoors in the frame would be blown out.

You can tell by the way the girl's skin is blown out that it's overexposed. Skin tones should be average brightness. You also need to understand dynamic range and directional light. The example image is side lit, which produces a split between light and shadow, generally not pleasing. You usually want full lit, back lit or 2/3 lit. I would visualize what shots I want, meter the light hand-held and then position myself to get the shots I want. Also, with this type of action, it's difficult to get accurate metering with the camera's built-in meter because it's always changing, even though the light itself doesn't change. It might change if you switch between indoors and out, but if you pick one light source it should be constant and thus when you have one correct exposure for that light source you can use the same settings for every other exposure in the same light.

 

[robbins.photo]

What faster lens' do you recommend? i'm trying to save for 70-200 2.8 but getting harder when i have a horse myself lol

I'd probably look at the 85 mm 1.8 G

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G Lens 2201 B&H Photo Video

As far as bang for your buck is concerned it's pretty hard to beat, it's a great low light performer and probably one of the sharpest lenses I've ever seen. I use it a ton for indoor shots at the zoo, even though I have a 70-200 mm F/2.8 as well.

 

[WeddingPhotoTX]

So, I'm an equine photographer and have a 'sponsored' event rider to be photographing BUT she has recently built an indoor school with poor lighting and now left me struggling to figure out best settings. Here is a picture i took which weren't SO bad https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...897394.-2207520000.1394662451.&type=3&theater... Exposure time 1/800, ISO 2000. #

If i went any lower shutter speed it would go blurred, and higher it would basically black out. My aperture is set to wide open.

Well this is definitely not a low light situation. Keep using what you currently have.
Spot metering as previously suggested or manual mode (would be my choice). You have rider's face out of focus, and in order to avoid it in the future, work at 5.6 or 6.3 to increase depth of field.