First of all, photography just a hobby; I'm not very good with technical terms but I do try to understand. I have a second-hand Nikon D40 and it works great in most cases. The problem I have is when I shoot indoors where natural light is not present or minimal and I have to make do with what is there... lamp, chandelier, etc.
Sometimes my camera just stop working simply because it says "subject is too dark." It can get silly at times really. I hold a lamp on my left hand as close to the subject while I try to shoot with my right. I wish I have those fancy lights professional photographers have but they cost an arm and a leg. Is there a next-best-thing substitute for them? Will a portable fluorescent lamp and extension chord do. Are there any cheap alternatives?
I really like to know. It gets frustrating at times.
First of all, shoot in manual mode. That gives you better control, and worst case scenario you'll just get a dark photo rather than an error message.
The "fancy lights professional photographers have" aren't as expensive as you think. I paid about $100 each for four Nikon SB-80DX strobes and they are marvelous!
As for tips...if you are shooting a stationary object, use a tripod and a long exposure. Try cranking up the ISO to around 800. Use the largest aperture (smallest number) possible.
@tjramutkowski My mode is "P" and I don't know what it stands for. (I told you I'm an idiot.)
@jasonbarnette My ISO is already at 1600. I'll give the manual mode a try. And yes, I'll invest in a tripod. I did notice that the exposure is longer in "low light" scenarios.
At this point it will be trial and error on your part......play around with the modes....Try "A" mode, open your aperture up (low numbers like f 2.8, mean you will be letting in more light, higher numbers like f 8 means less light, so the lower the better for low light) And yes, as Jason also stated, raise your ISO setting as well. Play around with it for a bit and you'll see a difference......a tripod or solid surface is a must....also, use the self timer, or remote to take the shot....
any light will do... there are no rules per say... even if the frame is very dark but there is one smaller light source that lights your subject that could work for you... or I have put very strong LEDs & CFL inside coffee tins on coat hangers taped to the wall... envision the light you want... then perhaps we can tell you how we handle those conditions...
for this I spot metered the only light in the room really which was an overhead working light for my son's doctors... everything else fell into shadows...
for this one badly light room... pumped the ISO up and said to hell with the grain... worked it in by a B&W treatment:
crap light and slow film are tough... for this I turned on the bathroom light which spilled into the hall and bounced off the mirror lighting the guys front and side...
again slow film... so I used a slow shutter... the is a bit of camera shake... but the image is usable up to 5x7... used a CFL bulb in a coffee tin...
this kinda what you meant... or do you want something like an on/off camera flash for images like this:
darker cramped room used as a studio... with portable 800watt flash and umbrella
@icywarm
Thank you Jordan. I got the "alternative light" I am looking for... CFL in coffee tins. That's not hard to make. Thank you. I learn something today.
And you're right. Pictures gets grainy with lack of light so I had no choice but to turn it into black and white or sepia to "save" the picture. The original "colored version" is just plain crappy. Also, I use all available light. Bathroom lights, kitchen lights, flashlight even. I use anything and everything I can see.
Hehe, these are just regular 100W light bulbs, don't know about incandescent or not. I'm also not a pro, so I don't know the difference, but these have served me well enough for my needs (and very cheaply so!)
You can use any light. I have used my car headlights before, as the only lighting availble. Torches, your phone light, light from another room, street lights.. anything.
Just pick something that makes light and wave it about a bit until it is lighting up as much/as little of your subject as you like. Might not feel as pro as using "those facey lights professional photographers have" but if you pick the right angle, nobody will know.
Also, changing exposure/ISO should help. And you can always just ramp up the brightness a bit in editing afterwards. :P
i used a lamp shade on this shot. bounced it on my blue background... M mode. the highest aperture mode fast shutter speed (for me to achieve the droplet detail.. not really good but im happy as a starter)... and....WOHLA! hihihihihi i increased the iso a little.. used 500 on this...
here are some low light condition shots of mine
LAMP SHADES AGAIN:
if some pics turned out to be real dark.. u can adjust a little on photoshop or any other editing programs... but i don't use the brightness/contrast layer, i use the exposure and the levels layers for that.. =) try it lemme know if it works for u
@katiegc24 what is a facey light and where can I buy one, they sound like they might be awesome. A light in the shape of a face?! :P :P :P :P :P
@nathantology Also, in terms of ISO, I don't know for your specific camera but on my two Canons I've had to keep it at or below 400/800 or the noise got too much, so always try and aim for those as a max unless you really can't avoid.
uhmnn but i guess you're into more self portraits??? so you better practice your yoga or pilates to hold still for a couple of seconds.. so to make the pics not blurry,... =)
@maceugenio M Mode = hi aperture and fast shutter speed. I'll remember that. And yes, I've been using exposure and levels layers in Photoshop already BUT I got to have a "nice" picture to begin with in order to use them. Otherwise, I go black and white or sepia. Ooops! I think I'm giving away my dark secrets. =P
@eyebrows Ohhh... High ISO leads to more noise. You don't get these info in text books and instruction manuals.
@eyebrows@katiegc24 I love you fruitcakes. (That's a term of endearment guys. Please don't get offended.)
In all seriousness guys, thank you so much. I am learning a lot. =>
@nathantology yup, way more noise. Depending what you're ultimately doing with the shots, and what post-processing you can do to clean it up, it may not matter so much, but it's definitely vital to know.
In terms of "I just took a photo in certain conditions but it's too dark" there's four things to try.
1. Add more light - most obvious, most likely to work, but if you don't have any light sources you can't do it.
2. Up the ISO - also very likely to improve results but beyond a certain point the noise may be too great for your intended eventual purpose of the shot (the bigger its eventual use, the more sensitive it'll be to noise, obviously)
3. Increase the aperture (make the f-stop number lower) - this lets more light in to the lens, but does so at the expense of losing some depth of field, so less of what you're looking at will be in focus
4. Increase the shutter time - obviously also lets more light in, because the shutter stays open longer, but if your subject is moving, or you're holding the camera yourself, beyond a certain point you'll get shake/blur in your image
Think that about covers the pros and cons of your options.
No worries. Also on point 4, bear in mind that due to the tiny 2-3" size of the display on the back of the camera, a photo might look pretty crisp and blur-free but when you eventually check it on a big screen you'll find it blurred - so always check by zooming in to the photo on the camera's display, first, so you can check the detail.
When you've done this a few times you'll get a feel for how low you can go with shutter timings before blur becomes an issue, but do bear in mind that the timing will change with the focal length. So if, say, you find you can get away with 1/50 seconds at 50mm extension, at 100mm you might only be able to make 1/100 seconds before blur happens (the 50mm value is from my own experience, the 100mm is a guess, as I don't have any lenses that long).
@nathantology
Jonathan, I understand your dilema. I dont have a flash right now, So I have to be creative with light. I use different methods including a bright lamp with or without the shade, candles, light from the window, torches or brightening up something by placing lighter colours around it.
For any indoor shots, I have been using the A setting. The one dilema is always when light is not enough, the shutter speed has to be slower to compensate. if the object is moving, then basically is a no go for me.
The one good thing about having no flash, is that it forces me to become more creative with light.. In some respects everyone should try to work without one for a little while, because the different effects you can capture can be wonderful. I love lighting things with candle light now, I just love the tones it gives.
Sorry I cannot offer and professional advice, I am just a novice here, so these guys blow me away with knowledge.
Good luck
Ive been using a ~30$ shop lamp from home depot - They are exceptionally bright but they do get rather hot when on for too long.
They also sell clamp lights that hold standard lightbulbs up to 300W that work very well ~25$ each.
I also use a very high powered LED flashlight. I love it cause its small and i can carry it around and bright enough to give me better exposures till i can grab some strobes.
If all else fails, theres almost always great lighting on a sunny day during the "golden hour" AND you can also utilize light coming from windows which can work out great.
I pretty much always shoot in Manual (M) mode, as most ppl have already suggested this is the best option for controlling your exposure. There are lots of articles online to help you understand the exposure triangle (Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO)
@michelleyoung I appreciate your contributions. I used a lamp in my shoot a few weeks back and the image turned to be predominantly red. I don't know how it happened but I liked the effect. I haven't tried candles yet but it is interesting to try.
@nathantology ^.^ glad to help! You will want to look into Custom White Balance too unless you can find "Daylight" bulbs for the lamps. The standard ones they come w/ give a rather yellow tint to things but its simple to correct if its the only light youre using. If anything setting your AWB to Tungsten can help.
I get shots on auto where the colours look natural enough, but if I manually set the aperture and/or shutter speed, I tend to get a yellowish light, even though the camera says everything is exposed correctly. "Over" exposing seems to help, but it shouldn't be necessary, should it?
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The "fancy lights professional photographers have" aren't as expensive as you think. I paid about $100 each for four Nikon SB-80DX strobes and they are marvelous!
As for tips...if you are shooting a stationary object, use a tripod and a long exposure. Try cranking up the ISO to around 800. Use the largest aperture (smallest number) possible.
@jasonbarnette My ISO is already at 1600. I'll give the manual mode a try. And yes, I'll invest in a tripod. I did notice that the exposure is longer in "low light" scenarios.
Thanks guys. Keep 'em coming. =>
for this I spot metered the only light in the room really which was an overhead working light for my son's doctors... everything else fell into shadows...
for this one badly light room... pumped the ISO up and said to hell with the grain... worked it in by a B&W treatment:
crap light and slow film are tough... for this I turned on the bathroom light which spilled into the hall and bounced off the mirror lighting the guys front and side...
again slow film... so I used a slow shutter... the is a bit of camera shake... but the image is usable up to 5x7... used a CFL bulb in a coffee tin...
this kinda what you meant... or do you want something like an on/off camera flash for images like this:
darker cramped room used as a studio... with portable 800watt flash and umbrella
Thank you Jordan. I got the "alternative light" I am looking for... CFL in coffee tins. That's not hard to make. Thank you. I learn something today.
And you're right. Pictures gets grainy with lack of light so I had no choice but to turn it into black and white or sepia to "save" the picture. The original "colored version" is just plain crappy. Also, I use all available light. Bathroom lights, kitchen lights, flashlight even. I use anything and everything I can see.
They've proved very useful! And only burned one hole in my carpet and one on my sofa so far. Wahay!
Just pick something that makes light and wave it about a bit until it is lighting up as much/as little of your subject as you like. Might not feel as pro as using "those facey lights professional photographers have" but if you pick the right angle, nobody will know.
Also, changing exposure/ISO should help. And you can always just ramp up the brightness a bit in editing afterwards. :P
@katiegc24 Alright Kate. I'll be shooting four guys on their flat tomorrow. I'll use any and every light I can find. Stay tuned for the results. =>
i used a lamp shade on this shot. bounced it on my blue background... M mode. the highest aperture mode fast shutter speed (for me to achieve the droplet detail.. not really good but im happy as a starter)... and....WOHLA! hihihihihi i increased the iso a little.. used 500 on this...
here are some low light condition shots of mine
LAMP SHADES AGAIN:
if some pics turned out to be real dark.. u can adjust a little on photoshop or any other editing programs... but i don't use the brightness/contrast layer, i use the exposure and the levels layers for that.. =) try it lemme know if it works for u
@katiegc24 what is a facey light and where can I buy one, they sound like they might be awesome. A light in the shape of a face?! :P :P :P :P :P
@nathantology Also, in terms of ISO, I don't know for your specific camera but on my two Canons I've had to keep it at or below 400/800 or the noise got too much, so always try and aim for those as a max unless you really can't avoid.
Yes, it is a light that looks like a face. But not your face. Just sayin'.
@eyebrows Ohhh... High ISO leads to more noise. You don't get these info in text books and instruction manuals.
@eyebrows @katiegc24 I love you fruitcakes. (That's a term of endearment guys. Please don't get offended.)
In all seriousness guys, thank you so much. I am learning a lot. =>
In terms of "I just took a photo in certain conditions but it's too dark" there's four things to try.
1. Add more light - most obvious, most likely to work, but if you don't have any light sources you can't do it.
2. Up the ISO - also very likely to improve results but beyond a certain point the noise may be too great for your intended eventual purpose of the shot (the bigger its eventual use, the more sensitive it'll be to noise, obviously)
3. Increase the aperture (make the f-stop number lower) - this lets more light in to the lens, but does so at the expense of losing some depth of field, so less of what you're looking at will be in focus
4. Increase the shutter time - obviously also lets more light in, because the shutter stays open longer, but if your subject is moving, or you're holding the camera yourself, beyond a certain point you'll get shake/blur in your image
Think that about covers the pros and cons of your options.
When you've done this a few times you'll get a feel for how low you can go with shutter timings before blur becomes an issue, but do bear in mind that the timing will change with the focal length. So if, say, you find you can get away with 1/50 seconds at 50mm extension, at 100mm you might only be able to make 1/100 seconds before blur happens (the 50mm value is from my own experience, the 100mm is a guess, as I don't have any lenses that long).
Jonathan, I understand your dilema. I dont have a flash right now, So I have to be creative with light. I use different methods including a bright lamp with or without the shade, candles, light from the window, torches or brightening up something by placing lighter colours around it.
For any indoor shots, I have been using the A setting. The one dilema is always when light is not enough, the shutter speed has to be slower to compensate. if the object is moving, then basically is a no go for me.
The one good thing about having no flash, is that it forces me to become more creative with light.. In some respects everyone should try to work without one for a little while, because the different effects you can capture can be wonderful. I love lighting things with candle light now, I just love the tones it gives.
Sorry I cannot offer and professional advice, I am just a novice here, so these guys blow me away with knowledge.
Good luck
@eyebrows That stuff is both awesome and confusing.
They also sell clamp lights that hold standard lightbulbs up to 300W that work very well ~25$ each.
I also use a very high powered LED flashlight. I love it cause its small and i can carry it around and bright enough to give me better exposures till i can grab some strobes.
If all else fails, theres almost always great lighting on a sunny day during the "golden hour" AND you can also utilize light coming from windows which can work out great.
I pretty much always shoot in Manual (M) mode, as most ppl have already suggested this is the best option for controlling your exposure. There are lots of articles online to help you understand the exposure triangle (Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO)
Flashlight only:
Shop lamp + Blue CFL:
Shop lamp only:
@katiegc24 LOL
@michellegaynor Can't wait either. =>
@3nder You inspire me. I'll try the flashlight and shop lamp. =>
I get shots on auto where the colours look natural enough, but if I manually set the aperture and/or shutter speed, I tend to get a yellowish light, even though the camera says everything is exposed correctly. "Over" exposing seems to help, but it shouldn't be necessary, should it?