photographing in low light

MckenzieMontague · Dec 11, 2006

I own a Nikon D200 and I have been photographing in dim light a lot lately. I have been currently using my built in flash, Iso 200, shutter speed at about 200, and my white balance is on Auto. Personally I think the pictures really stink. I am looking to improve the quality of them.

What kind of equipment would I need to purchase to make my photographs turn out better. What kind of flash would I need to be using. Do I need to change my settings around?

Thank you for your help.

DeepSpring · Dec 11, 2006

Bump your iso much higher to start I'm not sure how the Nikons handle but at 1600 mine looks fine but many people don't like to go that high. Use the widest aperature possible a 50mm f/1.8 would be a good purchase. An external flash as well the on camera flashs are not very good. I'm not sure about Nikon tho.

LaFoto · Dec 11, 2006

Whenever possible I try to take photos without using the in-built flash, the photos ... well: you say so yourself ... "stink". They look snapshotty and highly amateurish and all in all unsatisfactory.

Use the highest possible ISO and if you get a lot of noise you can later suppess that with the help of NeatImage or any other noise reduction software.

Use the largest aperture your lens allows you to use and go from there.
If need be, bring about more light in the form of normal lamps/lights, in case you don't have any external flashes (which I, for one, don't have) or photo lights. Make sure you then put your white balance to "tungsten" or however else it might be called (on my camera the icon is a little light bulb).

Use a tripod or some firm rest for your camera. If the light is REALLY low and you need LONG shutter speeds, rest the camera, set it on timer and have it take the photo without your hand/finger touching it.

You will have to make everyone stay very still though.
Spur-of-the-moment photos will become difficult.

MckenzieMontague · Dec 11, 2006

I have been photographing a lot of people in low light situations where there's a lot of movement. What do wedding photographers do when they have to shoot in the evenings where theres low light and a lot of people? I have seen some really nice stuff with a special kind of flash.

Unfortunately, When I bring my Iso really high and bring my apurture down as low as it goes, I get extremely noisy images. Even if I fix them with neat image, they still are terrible.

ladyphotog · Dec 11, 2006

MckenzieMontague said:
I have been photographing a lot of people in low light situations where there's a lot of movement. What do wedding photographers do when they have to shoot in the evenings where theres low light and a lot of people? I have seen some really nice stuff with a special kind of flash.

Unfortunately, When I bring my Iso really high and bring my apurture down as low as it goes, I get extremely noisy images. Even if I fix them with neat image, they still are terrible.

They usually use an external flash on a bracket or stroboframe.