John in London asks how to shoot in low-light settings without using the camera’s built-in flash, which can sometimes give shots a disposable camera feel.

 

John in London writes:

Hi there! I have recently bought the Canon 450D, read the manual back-to-back and taken the cam with me on various travels to Europe. However, I am disappointed with the following, and wondering if someone could help me:

- Indoor shots in low light: Putting it on automatic mode makes the flash come up which makes the person look stark white, so not an option really. Putting the flash off and on Av mode takes it blurry and dull. What settings exactly do I need to put it on?

I have the standard Canon 450d. No add ons. Surely I can make this work for me without any extra lenses, flashes for now?!

 

Hi John-

 

You can indeed take better shots in low light settings using the setup you have. The Canon Rebel XSi (450D) comes with an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 EF-S lens. Using this lens to maximum effect is what’s going to help you.

You’ve already figured out that if you’re shooting in automatic mode, the flash is going to pop up as soon as the camera decides it’s dark enough, so let’s scratch using automatic mode.

If you’re shooting in Av (aperture priority) mode, the camera is going to automatically increase the ISO (sensor sensitivity) and decrease the shutter speed in order to let enough light in using the aperture setting you have it at. If you have a narrow aperture and there’s not much light, the shutter is going to get mighty slow. Double check to make sure you have your aperture as wide as possible–meaning as low a number as possible, which is f/3.5 when zoomed out to 18mm and f/5.6 when zoomed in to 55mm. If that doesn’t solve your problem, then let’s scratch using Av mode.

 

Shooting in manual mode

At this point, you’re going to have to make the jump to manual mode. This is actually very good news: It’s an important step in learning how light affects your images and in gaining more control over your camera, and it’s not as hard as you might think to master.

You have three things to adjust: Aperture (how much light gets in), ISO (the sensor’s sensitivity to light) and the shutter speed (how long the light gets in).

In low-light, indoor settings, you’ll want to make sure your aperture is nice and wide–again, at the lower numbers. For your shutter speed, slow it down to as low as 1/80th or 1/60th of a second. Even that’s not going to allow for much motion, but slower than that and your photos are almost guaranteed to come out soft unless your camera is set down on a table or tripod and your subjects aren’t moving.

Then, adjust your ISO to one of the higher settings. On a Canon Rebel XSi, try starting out at 800.

Now comes the cool part: Experimentation. Look through the viewfinder, point the camera at your subjects, and check the light meter–the green line with a plus on one side and a minus on the other. For well-lit photos, you’ll want your light meter reading to be as close to the center as possible. If it’s way into the negative, your photo will come out underexposed, or dark and dull. If it’s way into the positive, that’s good news, because you’ve got more light to play with.

If your shots are underexposed, consider bumping up the ISO to 1600 (remember that higher ISO settings can mean grainy shots), or decreasing your shutter speed even more, though you’ll be heading into blurry territory there.

If your shots are overexposed (too much light), consider speeding up your shutter to 1/100th or 1/120th of a second, or higher. Also, whenever you get enough light to work with, it’s good to keep your ISO at 800 or lower if you can.

Of course one of the great advantages of being in a digital world is that you can check your work as you go to see how your shots are coming out. And keep in mind that while the Canon 450D does have live-view mode, you’ll want to rely on the viewfinder in low light.

 

Use light to your advantage

Aside from simply adjusting your camera settings, you should also use your available light as wisely as possible. Move your subjects closer to the light source in a room and check to make sure the light is hitting their faces.

Sometimes moving your subjects close to a good light source in an otherwise dark room can provide a great, dramatic effect: Darkness hangs around their face, which is then isolated and accentuated by the light. Remember that in those cases you’ll want to expose for the subject–that is, make sure you’re focused on your subject while they’re in the light when you check your built-in light meter.

Know that those of us who aren’t shooting with the newest, high-end professional DSLRs have to make some sacrifices in low-light situations. Also know that indoor fluorescent lighting can be just plain terrible to work with, so it’s difficult to get stellar shots if you’re relying on that alone.

Otherwise, enjoy experimenting, and do your best to get comfortable using manual mode as often as possible. Send us some of your shots!

 

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