Low Light Photography During the Holiday Season

Ah Christmas time…. Lights, presents, trees, decorations, and most of all food! I love this time of year! It’s cold but it makes you feel warm inside. It brings comfort to your soul. It’s a special time. It’s also a great time to practice your photography. There are so many wonderful scenes to choose from it’s almost too much to think about. One of the greatest traditions with the holiday season is the beautiful and colorful lights. They are some of the best reasons to celebrate the holidays but for a photographer they can definitely challenge your skills with low light which is why it’s a great time to practice.

Pick a place, any place and you will find Christmas lights out and about. From your own house to your neighborhood to the San Antonio Riverwalk you will find these festive decorations. They are beautiful and colorful and you want to shoot them but how? Well you’re going to need a couple of things first. Get a tripod.. While I normally don’t shoot with a tripod, in low light conditions it makes your life so much easier. The less you have to hold the camera the better. It doesn’t have to be an expensive tripod as your digital point and shoot probably doesn’t weigh that much. Just make sure the head fits your camera.

Next find the location. I love to go to downtown San Antonio and take in the scenery during the Christmas season. Pick a spot and set up. Make sure that you aren’t in the way of passersby and make sure that they won’t be in your shot if that is what you are going for.

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Next, make the adjustments on your camera. If you can adjust your ISO go ahead and change it to a higher number. Remember as I said in previous posts, while a higher ISO is great you will find some graininess the higher you go so be aware of that. Take some test shots and see how you like them. Experiment at different levels. You’ll never learn until you try.

A little thought about trick that I like to use is the self timer on my camera. Camera shake is a hazard that low light photographers have to deal with. The shutter is open longer and thus allows for more movement to show through to the image. Any little bit you shake will show up in your photo. A tripod and using the self-timer option can greatly reduce camera shake. Some point and shoots like mine offer the ability to control how long to set the time. I would set it to its fastest setting. You don’t need it sitting there for long. Avoid using your flash. If possible adjust your shutter speed and ISO to compensate for the low light. Using flash can add an unnatural and washed out effect to your light subjects thus the use of a tripod is necessary.

And that’s it. Set up your shot, make sure your settings are good and fire away. Using these tools should lead to some beautiful photos. Let me know how you are doing.

Until next time, Happy Shooting!

-Robert Hillis