They might call Diwali the Festival of Light (incidentally, that is the reason why this blog entry is coming after a bit of a gap), but the fact is that getting enough light to take pictures during the festival can be one heck of a pain. That said, when you DO get shots right, you end up with stunning results, thanks to the low, slightly golden light of the diyas that mark the occasion. See sample:
Of course, I was all ready with my new-found DSLR (the Canon EOS 600D, in case you have forgotten). Of course, I took lots of shots. Of course, I messed most of them up.
But, ah - silver lining: some of them did come out all right. After considerable analysis (well, more like "HOW did this happen" screaming), I decided that the festival of light had taught me a few lessons about low-light photography. I am sure there are more to be learned, but as of now, I think that if you are out at night with not too much light around, you should keep the following in mind:
Use Program Mode
I talked about not using Auto Mode when it starts getting dark in an earlier post. Well, in spite of being the nutty DSLR newcomer that I am, I was pretty much right in this. All the shots I took in Auto mode turned out way too bright. What is wrong with that? Well, for one - you want shots taken in the night to at least LOOK like they were taken when the sun was down, eh? And for another, because if you are going to be using Auto mode all the time, why bother with a DSLR in the first place? Of course, if you know more about photography, you will know exactly what mode to use for which shot, but if you are just getting to grips with it - rule of thumb: stick to Program mode.
Drive up the ISO
One of the advantages of using the Program mode in the DSLR is that although the camera still handles most things by itself, you can mess around with the ISO settings. Remember ISO? Yep, the same which you can tweak to higher levels to get better shots in the dark. Well, my recommendation would be to keep it at around 1600 if you want decent shots that make the most of the clay lamp lights of Diwali and even ramp it up to 3200 when it gets really dark - there is a helpful button right behind the shutter button marked "ISO" to let you do this. Take my word for it - the results will be pretty decent. Take a look: (a word of caution - do NOT overdo it, else you will end up with some really funny looking pics)
Kill the Flash
One of my photographer friends told me that one part of a DSLR most newcomers should never use is the flash. "It mucks up night shots totally," he snarled. "Yes, it will get you the picture. But not in the way you shot it." Seems a bit mystical? Well, the fact is that try taking a shot with the flash enabled in the dark and the chances are that you will get a nice bright picture. But, as we pointed out, nights are NOT nice and bright. They are dark and dim. So yes, a flash is a very good option if you want people to find out what it was that you were shooting but if you want to show them what YOU saw, keep the flash down please. The following two shots were taken in succession. One used a flash. One did not. Draw your conclusions, folks.
Steady, steady
You HAVE got to keep your hands steady while taking shots in low light conditions. The darker it gets and the farther away you subject is, the more likely it is that the camera will take a bit longer to take a shot - and that results more often than not in a blurry picture. If you are going to take plenty of shots from a bit of a distance (well, anything more than 6-7 feet really), I would advise you to get a tripod. Yes, I have a tripod. No, I did not use it. See what happened!
Get up and close, whenever possible
I am sure you have had better results than me in this regard, but I personally found that shots taken from close range tended to work a whole lot better when the lights dimmed. Yes, am sure there is a way around that, but I have not really worked it out yet, so will tell ye this in my best faith - for best results in low light, try and get close to the subject. I was literally about a foot away and on my stomach on the ground when I snapped this diya - ISO was all the way up to 3200. But the results, ah...
The reflect light effect on faces
One of the biggest things I learnt this Diwali was simply that if you got people close enough to light to get the light reflected off their faces, you would end up with some really decent shots, rather than if you tried shooting them with the light sources (lamps, firecrackers, etc.) in the picture themselves. Seems like common sense? Ah, I just figured out. The results were not too bad really:
Keep checking results!
One of the great advantages of using a digital camera is that you can keep checking the results of your clicks on the LCD on the device. I wish I had done so more often. Unfortunately, I got carried away in an orgy of clicking, and often went on to take shots that were useless. A simple check on the previous shot would have told me that the light was not good enough or that things were getting blurry. Again this is really common sense but when the lights are low - do try to check your shots after you snap them. It does not take too long and ensures that you do not keep shooting duds!!
So, those are the photography lessons I learnt this Diwali. No, not earth-shattering but I daresay they will help me take better shots the next time the festival of light comes calling. Of course, lots more to learn. Will keep writing. Bear with me.
Of course, I was all ready with my new-found DSLR (the Canon EOS 600D, in case you have forgotten). Of course, I took lots of shots. Of course, I messed most of them up.
But, ah - silver lining: some of them did come out all right. After considerable analysis (well, more like "HOW did this happen" screaming), I decided that the festival of light had taught me a few lessons about low-light photography. I am sure there are more to be learned, but as of now, I think that if you are out at night with not too much light around, you should keep the following in mind:
Use Program Mode
I talked about not using Auto Mode when it starts getting dark in an earlier post. Well, in spite of being the nutty DSLR newcomer that I am, I was pretty much right in this. All the shots I took in Auto mode turned out way too bright. What is wrong with that? Well, for one - you want shots taken in the night to at least LOOK like they were taken when the sun was down, eh? And for another, because if you are going to be using Auto mode all the time, why bother with a DSLR in the first place? Of course, if you know more about photography, you will know exactly what mode to use for which shot, but if you are just getting to grips with it - rule of thumb: stick to Program mode.
Drive up the ISO
One of the advantages of using the Program mode in the DSLR is that although the camera still handles most things by itself, you can mess around with the ISO settings. Remember ISO? Yep, the same which you can tweak to higher levels to get better shots in the dark. Well, my recommendation would be to keep it at around 1600 if you want decent shots that make the most of the clay lamp lights of Diwali and even ramp it up to 3200 when it gets really dark - there is a helpful button right behind the shutter button marked "ISO" to let you do this. Take my word for it - the results will be pretty decent. Take a look: (a word of caution - do NOT overdo it, else you will end up with some really funny looking pics)
Kill the Flash
One of my photographer friends told me that one part of a DSLR most newcomers should never use is the flash. "It mucks up night shots totally," he snarled. "Yes, it will get you the picture. But not in the way you shot it." Seems a bit mystical? Well, the fact is that try taking a shot with the flash enabled in the dark and the chances are that you will get a nice bright picture. But, as we pointed out, nights are NOT nice and bright. They are dark and dim. So yes, a flash is a very good option if you want people to find out what it was that you were shooting but if you want to show them what YOU saw, keep the flash down please. The following two shots were taken in succession. One used a flash. One did not. Draw your conclusions, folks.
Steady, steady
You HAVE got to keep your hands steady while taking shots in low light conditions. The darker it gets and the farther away you subject is, the more likely it is that the camera will take a bit longer to take a shot - and that results more often than not in a blurry picture. If you are going to take plenty of shots from a bit of a distance (well, anything more than 6-7 feet really), I would advise you to get a tripod. Yes, I have a tripod. No, I did not use it. See what happened!
Get up and close, whenever possible
I am sure you have had better results than me in this regard, but I personally found that shots taken from close range tended to work a whole lot better when the lights dimmed. Yes, am sure there is a way around that, but I have not really worked it out yet, so will tell ye this in my best faith - for best results in low light, try and get close to the subject. I was literally about a foot away and on my stomach on the ground when I snapped this diya - ISO was all the way up to 3200. But the results, ah...
The reflect light effect on faces
One of the biggest things I learnt this Diwali was simply that if you got people close enough to light to get the light reflected off their faces, you would end up with some really decent shots, rather than if you tried shooting them with the light sources (lamps, firecrackers, etc.) in the picture themselves. Seems like common sense? Ah, I just figured out. The results were not too bad really:
Keep checking results!
One of the great advantages of using a digital camera is that you can keep checking the results of your clicks on the LCD on the device. I wish I had done so more often. Unfortunately, I got carried away in an orgy of clicking, and often went on to take shots that were useless. A simple check on the previous shot would have told me that the light was not good enough or that things were getting blurry. Again this is really common sense but when the lights are low - do try to check your shots after you snap them. It does not take too long and ensures that you do not keep shooting duds!!
So, those are the photography lessons I learnt this Diwali. No, not earth-shattering but I daresay they will help me take better shots the next time the festival of light comes calling. Of course, lots more to learn. Will keep writing. Bear with me.
Good effort, though a fair few newbie mistakes.
ReplyDeleteRather than do this through trial and error (and possibly learn bad habits), may I suggest some more reading on the Internet? There are tons of useful articles around.
In fact, Reddit had a photography class sub-reddit devoted to teaching amateurs photography basics (by the end of which you will realise that ISO is the last thing you should adjust, not the first. :)
Check it out at: http://www.reddit.com/r/photoclass (reverse order; start at lesson 1.)