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Shooting in low light

Get great results with your digital SLR.

Low light shooting is one of the toughest challenges in digital photography. This tutorial shows how to capture brilliantly detailed, atmospheric low-light shots with your digital SLR camera by Sony.

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Camera features explained: D-Range Optimiser and Auto-HDR

D-Range Optimiser (DRO)

Capture every detail, even in scenes with a wide range of light and dark areas.

Any camera’s metering system can be confused by tricky subjects that include very light and dark areas.

The D-Range Optimiser in your DSLR camera by Sony analyses each part of a scene before shooting. Exposure values are automatically adjusted for beautifully balanced images, with rich shadows and clear, natural highlight details.

D-Range Optimiser images still look natural, as the dynamic range of shadows and highlights is optimised within a natural range of tones.

Auto-HDR

Capture a huge range of highlights and shadows in a single scene.

The DSLR-A550 and A500 feature a new Auto-HDR (High Dynamic Range) mode. This automatically shoots two frames of the same scene, adjusting exposure to capture bright highlights and deep shadow detail.

The camera merges both images, producing a single HDR image that’s packed with fascinating detail. You don’t even need a tripod or specialist photo software to create dramatic HDR images of interiors, landscapes and architectural scenes.

Auto-HDR widens dynamic range, giving you an exciting new palette of creative possibilities.

Further settings you should be aware of

Aperture

As daylight fades, make sure your lens can capture as much light as possible. You’ll get best results by switching to a fast, bright lens with a wide maximum aperture.

The aperture of any photographic lens is measured by its F-number. This setting determines how much light is allowed to enter the lens and pass through to the sensor. A small F-number means a wider, brighter lens that gathers more light at its maximum aperture.

Shutter speed

The shutter speed determines the exposure time, the effective length of time the cameras' shutter is open.

You can increase or decrease the amount of light entering through the shutter by adjusting the shutter speed. Slow shutter speeds are often used in low light conditions, extending the time until the shutter closes, and increasing the amount of light gathered.

Make sure SteadyShot INSIDE is switched on: this will cut the effects of camera shake when using longer exposure times.

ISO sensitivity

Alongside aperture and shutter speed, adjusting your camera’s ISO sensitivity can make a big difference when you’re shooting in low light.

As with any other scene, use the lowest practical ISO setting you can to achieve the best quality. Colours are more subtle and finely gradated at low ISO settings, while shadows look more natural. Sharpness is usually better, too, since there’s less noise to interfere with fine detail.

Learn more about ISO settings

Accessories for shooting in low light

Lenses with a low F-Number

You’ll enjoy superior clarity and exceptional resolution with any subject.

Pick the perfect lens for brilliant twilight images

Tripod

Keep things steady with tripod ...

Try a tripod for the most stable pictures

External flash

Get more light on your subject with an external flash ...

Capture images in poorly lit areas with an external flash

Eager to learn more?

Exposure

Auto-exposure systems are extremely accurate at calculating the right amount of exposure for images. However, cameras cannot read your creative mind. To suit your taste or for special effects, you may want to override the camera’s settings.

Learn more

ISO

The ISO setting is not just a basic setting, but you can use it as a creative tool too. In this tutorial we show you how to use ISO settings dynamically to match your photographic aims.

Learn more

HDR

Learn here the simple-to-follow shooting technique to obtain truly fantastic images. HDR is all the rage as photographers have discovered the unique visual effects it can provide.

Learn more