Is aperture priority a good choice for candid low-light photos of people without flash?
Asked 1/17/2014
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2 answers
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In a dim indoor setting (for example, a living room at night), I want to photograph people candidly without flash or asking them to pose. There is some subject movement, but it may be slow enough that a sharp frame is sometimes possible.
My idea is to:
- use aperture priority (A/Av)
- choose the widest practical aperture
- raise ISO as needed
- check the shutter speed the camera selects, and only shoot if it seems usable
Does this approach make sense for low-light people photography? Are there better settings or a better mode to use, especially if the light level is fairly constant?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
14
Your strategy with aperture priority mode is a good way to go. If the light in the room is quite even and doesn't change, manual mode will give you more consistent results once you have found your settings.
Choosing the right settings for the exposure triangle (aperture, shutter speed, ISO) is always a trade-off in low-light situations. Keep in mind that for group shots, you don't want your aperture to be too wide open as you might not get all the faces sharp. Also, don't be afraid of high ISO, as you typically get even more noise if you have to correct an underexposed image in post than if you chose higher ISO to get a correctly exposed image in the first place.
Originally by user25447. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user25447
12y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—this is a sensible approach, and a common one.
In low light, you’re balancing aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Opening the aperture and raising ISO are the usual ways to keep shutter speed high enough for people shots. Don’t be afraid to use higher ISO if it gives you a correct exposure; brightening an underexposed image later often looks worse.
Aperture priority works well, especially if you want to react quickly. Just watch the shutter speed your camera chooses. For people, 1/10s is usually very risky unless they are extremely still; use the fastest shutter you can manage.
If the lighting is steady, manual mode can be even better. Set:
- the widest practical aperture
- the slowest shutter speed you can reliably handhold / that still freezes subject movement
- then raise ISO until the meter is about right
Manual mode gives more consistent results when the background brightness changes, because the camera meter can be fooled by dark or bright areas even when the light on your subjects stays the same.
One caution: for groups, don’t always shoot wide open if depth of field becomes too shallow and some faces go soft.
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