Three Tips To Capture Photos in Low Light | Kansas Documentary Photography

Winters are synonymous with gray, cloudy skies, sunsets before dinner and cold days spent snuggled up indoors. Snapping photos in bright, full sun is a rarity, unless you happen across a mid-afternoon, super sunny winter day.

Over the years, I’ve sort of perfected shooting in any type of light. My *least* favorite type is indoors with florescent lighting or lamps (blech). I just don’t care for the colors of artificial light. So during the winters, I take my camera settings to the extreme. Of course not taking pictures during the winter isn’t an option for me.

That would be like asking my dog to stop licking herself (which is a statistical improbability, right?).

When I’m photographing my favorite things, it really doesn’t matter the type of light I have or use. It’s all about the subject, right? I mean, that’s the point. So looking at the light as a tool and reframing my mindset can often open up a whole new realm of possibilities.

These tips were written with the assumption that you already know and understand the exposure triangle, and also that you’re not afraid to push that ISO number high. If you’re not sure what the exposure triangle is OR the concept of high ISO makes you nervous, email me at hello@reneemcdanielphotography.com and we can chat!

Before I get into the tips, I want to mention that I’m participating in a blog circle with some incredible photographers from around the world. But more on that later.

Now, onto the tips!!

Tip One: Wait for the light to shine on your subject.

Being an observer of light in your home will dramatically up your indoor photo game. For example, I know that during the hours of 10am-2pm during the winter, strong sunlight will flood our back windows and my dogs will lay in this light for hours, baking in the warm winter sun. If I want to take a picture of them doing this, I just have to lay out a blanket and wait for that time of day. I know that beautiful light comes streaming through my daughter’s window in the late afternoon hours. And if I put her toys out in her room, in that area, she will find them and sit and play with them.

Sometimes in photography, you have to wait for the right moment to present itself. When it happens and the light is perfect, magic can happen.

Tip Two: Turn off the autofocus and use the lens’s manual focus ring.

It sucks when you get the perfect image ready...and then there’s not enough contrast where you’re focusing for the Autofocus (AF) in the camera to set focus. Since those AF sensors need a good contrast between light and dark to find a place to land, using the focal ring on your lens can be a game-changer. It takes some practice, but once you get it down, manually focusing while a toddler is running ends up not being as difficult as it sounds. And you get the shot instead of listening to the AF motor in your lens whir back and forth, searching for a spot to land.

Tip Three: Noise lives in shadows, so get the exposure right in camera.

This one was a lightbulb moment for me. Digital noise is inevitable with any digital camera, it’s just that some sensors were better built to handle it than others. You can help yourself out, though, by knowing your exposure triangle and setting your exposure for the highlights. If you get the image right in camera, you won’t have to worry about the noise showing because you won’t have to “fix” the image in post processing. When I realized that getting the exposure on point right away would elevate my images, my options became limitless.

Bonus Editing Tip: Converting the image to black and white can make the noise even less noticeable!

Sometimes with low light images, I find converting them to black and white can make the grain or noise much less noticeable. When I do this, I like strong contrast in mine, so I’ll often push the contrast high (35-50) and clarity to 50. After that, I just adjust the luminosity of each color to create the image I want.

My biggest tip of all, though would be to practice.

Really, this seems simple, but no one is just born knowing how to do this. Try over and over and over again, till you get what you want. Most importantly, compare *only* to yourself. Everyone has their own journey, some faster, some slower. So keep your eyes on your own road and take pride in your progress.

It truly is an art and takes time to learn. But putting these little tips into practice can help you create your own beautiful moments.

As I have in the past, I’m taking part in a blog circle with incredibly talented photographers from all over the world. Robyn Schere, who is a Premiere San Diego Senior Portrait Photographer, wrote about photographing double graduation ceremonies. Make sure to click the link and head over to read about her session.

So tell me, which tip was your favorite? I’d really love to know and, if you have any questions, feel free to comment below!

Till next time…