Photo Tip #114: Low Light Photography and Indoor Photography

Greetings Fellow Photographers!
I recently asked you all to submit your photography questions for me to answer. Whenever I ask for Q&A submissions, I always get questions about shooting low light indoor events. Specifically, shooting indoor sports and concerts are two common questions I get, so I will address these two topics today.

Indoor Sports
Sports photography is a ton of fun, whether it is your kid's basketball game or a professional sporting event. But, sometimes the shots do not turn out as you had hoped. Dealing with low light and freezing the action are typically the two challenges most of us face. Professional photographers have equipment you do not have, as well as sideline access. But, you can still get some great shots, even though you do not have the pro perks. The advantage of shooting indoor sporting events is that usually, the lighting is consistent during the game, so you do not have to adjust much once your camera is dialed in. In a pro arena, you may be able to set your camera at ISO 800, a shutter speed of 1/500 to freeze the action, and an aperture opening of 2.8 (read more about manual settings).

Now, let's go over to the local school gym. Most likely, you will need to get your ISO up to 1600 (or 3200 if your camera will allow), your shutter speed at 1/250 to freeze most action with some occasional blur, and an aperture opening of f2.8 or f4. Even then it may be too dark. However, you don't want to drop your speed any slower, as you will get blur, and the lens is already wide open, so you can't change that either. What now? This is where post-production comes into play. Find your favorite shots and take them into any photo management tool. Use the tool to lighten the photo and correct the color. Gymnasium lights tend to pulse and give a strange yellow, green, or even magenta hue in a photo. There is not much you can do about it, other than correct it later. Remember: a photo can be corrected for color, but nor for blur, so focus on getting good, crisp images, and resolve any color issues later. Another tip is to take some test shots before the game of the teams warming up to see how those shots look. If they are blurry, go with a faster shutter speed. Also, get as close as you can to the action, and get on the ground level if possible. A flash is usually ineffective or can even make the photo look worse, unless the subjects are just a few feet away.

Concerts
Shooting at concerts is like shooting at a sporting event, except that the lighting at concerts changes much more, especially if there is a light show on stage. Also, stages are usually kept dark except for the lighting on the performers. Your camera is trained to look at the whole photo and find a balance, which will often turn the black to gray, and bright spots will be way too bright. Forget the background and concentrate on getting the lighting correct in the hot spot; you can always go back and make overall tonal corrections later using your photo editing software. Anything slower than a shutter speed of 1/250 with moving subjects will most likely blur. Open your lens as wide as it will go, like f4 or f 2.8. Raise the ISO up to 800, 1600, or even 3200. Test until you like the look. The first few minutes of the show should be about popping off lots of tests to get it right. Of course, the lighting may change, but at least you are in the ballpark. You should probably avoid the flash altogether, since it may wipe out the stage lights and might not be permitted in the venue. Also, a fish eye or wide angle lens will create some cool shots, especially if you are close to the stage.

Digi's Site Tip
People often ask me why they have to crop their photos to print them. The short answer is that most cameras do not take photos that fit perfectly onto a 4x6 or any other popular print size. They have to be adjusted to fit perfectly. The good news is, the adjustments are usually very minor, so you rarely have to crop out much of your photo to order a print. Our edit tools in your online photo account allow you to crop photos to specific print sizes, like 4x6, 5x7, and so on. To access the edit tools, log into your account, click "My Web Photos" on the right side of the screen, right click on a photo, and click "Edit Photo." Or, select a photo, click the "Edit Photo" button, and choose "Edit/Crop Photo." This opens the edit tools. Select the "Cropping" option, and choose the print size and orientation (portrait/vertical or landscape/horizontal). Once you make the crop, click "Apply," and click "Save." I recommend you save a copy as opposed to save over the original so you keep the original version intact.