Low light photography can be incredibly frustrating if you don’t have the right equipment to take photos in a dim or no light environment. While having a flash may be the most practical solution, it may not always produce the best looking photos.

Here are some tips that you can use for taking low light photography.

Taking photos in low light can be frustrating.
[Photo by Petr Kratochvil]

1. Use a tripod

Having a tripod will give you the opportunity to achieve image stability and at the same time, eliminates camera shakes that may ruin your photo. This is because low light photography requires longer exposures. Using the built-in timer mode on the tripod can also further reduce camera shakes, thus resulting in sharper photos.

2. Increase the ISO

Besides a tripod, increasing the ISO of your camera can also help it to collect the limited light, faster.

However, the drawback of doing this, is that it may make the photo look grainy, as most cameras have not been built to handle high ISOs. Sony’s a7S and a7SII are exceptions to the norm, though.

3. Use a faster lens

The larger the maximum aperture of the lens, the faster is the lens. This will allow you to take fast exposure photos in low light situations. So you can shoot handheld in low light while getting a good quality of sharpness and clarity. A lens that is built for this purpose, is the Sony FE 55 F1.8 lens.

A faster camera lens may help.
[Photo by Benjamin Miller]

4. Use apps

The app market today is getting very advanced, and as such, there are many apps that can be used for low light shooting. The include the StarTrail app that allows you to shoot a series of starry sky still images at intervals and then combine these into a single movie – without the usage of a computer or other editing software.

There is also the Light Trail app which allows you to capture light trails from fireworks or headlights of moving cars into a single photo.

Conclusion

Being more aware of these tips, will help you to produce maximum quality photos in low light situations such as when you are stargazing or catching the sunset. So you do not need to be hesitant about taking pictures in the dark anymore.

These tips are brought to you by SONY.

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