How can I lower ISO in a dark portrait without losing the contrast of Christmas lights?
Asked 12/10/2014
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2 answers
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I’m shooting a deliberately dark indoor portrait lit mainly by Christmas lights. I want to reduce noise by lowering ISO, but I still need a fairly fast shutter speed to freeze movement and enough depth of field to keep most of her face in focus.
Current settings: 1/125s, f/4.5, ISO 4000, 50mm.
Is there a good way to add light—such as flash or continuous light—so I can lower ISO while preserving the moody contrast between the Christmas lights and her face/dress?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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Whenever you add light you change the way your image will look. I could think of two things:
You could try backlight. Some kind of halo effect, possibly placing a light behind her, this may allow you to lower your iso and maintain "some" contrast, but I cannot really say how far you can go
You could try (possibly with a softbox or an umbrella if you have one) to add some continuous lighting (not much) uniformly overall. This should allow you to retain some contrast but should allow you to lower your iso.
Personally I would love to try with some backlight, but that would change your original photo.
Originally by user32917. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user32917
11y ago
0
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Yes—but lowering ISO means you must add light somehow if shutter speed and aperture need to stay about the same.
The most effective approach is to add light that matches the existing scene rather than flooding the room. A flash can work well if you shape and warm it so it looks like the Christmas lights: use a gel such as CTO, soften it with a small softbox or umbrella, and place it on the same side as the tree lights so the lighting still looks natural and dramatic. A grid can help keep the light focused.
You could also try subtle continuous lighting or even a backlight for a halo effect, but any added light will change the look to some extent.
If possible, increasing the ambient light level or the brightness of the Christmas lights would also let you lower ISO, though that may not be practical.
So the key tradeoff is simple: to reduce ISO while keeping 1/125s and f/4.5, you need more light. The best way to preserve the mood is controlled, warm, directional light rather than broad fill.
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