Tips for Nikon low-light photography

What are the methods to keep the focus clear with Nikon SLR? How to take good-looking silhouette photos with Nikon SLR? How to shoot with low light? Below I have sorted out the focus and silhouette of Nikon SLR photography for everyone Photography and other techniques, everyone is welcome to read and refer to them!

Ways to keep the focus clear

1. Prevent vibration. Vibration will cause the image in the photo to shake and blur, which will affect the clarity of the image even if the focus is very accurate. There are generally two reasons for vibration: First, camera vibration, that is, when the shutter is pressed, the camera shakes due to unstable control. The second is that the subject moves, that is, at the moment when the lens shutter is opened, the subject itself is in motion, but the shutter time is not short enough and the movement is not frozen, so the image is blurred. To prevent vibration, you must take appropriate measures. Measures can be taken from three aspects:

(1) Mount the camera on a tripod. If you cannot support a tripod due to shooting conditions, you can also use a monopod instead.

(2) Shortening the shutter time (usually 1/250 second) can reduce image shake caused by camera vibration.

(3) Use the correct way to hold the machine. Without a tripod, the correct posture of holding the camera will directly affect the stability of the camera. There is only one way to overcome the subject's own motion blur, and that is to shorten the shutter time. As long as conditions permit, the shorter the shutter time, the better the effect.

2. Don’t pursue a small aperture one-sidedly. Beginners believe that a small aperture will increase the depth of field and will definitely make the image clearer. Therefore, they often close the aperture very small regardless of the occasion. Especially when they are not sure about focusing, they will believe that a small aperture can help them. But the end result of this is often unsatisfactory, because using a small aperture will cause the shutter time to be extended, and thus the camera shake will have a sufficient negative impact. Therefore, it is not a good idea to pursue a small aperture one-sidedly. The correct approach should be to use a short shutter speed and a tripod.

3. Correctly understand the characteristics of the lens. Many people believe that the smaller the aperture of the lens, the greater the clarity of the image. This view is not correct. In fact, the best state of the lens imaging is to reduce its maximum aperture by 2-3 stops. For example, a lens with a maximum aperture of F2.8 will produce the best image when its aperture is closed to F5.6-F8.

4. Pay attention to the relationship between the background and the subject. The color contrast between the subject and the background will affect people's vision. When the focus remains unchanged, the contrast between the subject and the background will be large, and the image will look high-definition; if the color contrast is small, the image will look sharp. The definition is low. Therefore, in order to make the subject appear particularly clear in the picture, it is very effective to consciously choose a high-contrast background.

How to get good silhouette photos

1. Fully display the physical characteristics of the silhouette theme and vividly combine the body and the background. It can be said that the body is the language and the background is Tone, and this kind of language is sometimes silent than loud, leaving it up to the creator to figure out and experience. This is the beauty of silhouette photos. Since in silhouette photos, the subject basically has no color or detail, the requirements for the subject’s physical characteristics are very high. This requires the author to carefully select the shooting angle and subject form based on the effect of later performance to fully display the subject’s appearance characteristics. Strive for beauty and vividness.

2. The acquisition of silhouette photos makes full use of the difference in lighting between the subject and the background. Generally speaking, we can use the backlight at sunrise and sunset, because the light at this time is the softest and does not look dazzling. It is a good time for shooting, which usually only lasts about ten minutes. In addition, we can use outdoor and indoor artificial light. caused by light differences or natural reflections from the sky and water.

3. Exposure should follow the principle of "better to underexpose than underexposed", and perform spot metering based on the bright part of the background. Only in this way can the subject be seriously underexposed and form a strong silhouette.

4. When the proportion of the subject in the picture is too small, or the blank space of the picture is relatively monotonous, you can creatively use silhouettes as the foreground. The black silhouette can suppress the audience's attention. The visual focus is on the subject, while the black silhouette does not distract the viewer. We can even use silhouettes as the main frame to form various shapes such as square, circle or variation, so that ordinary scenes have a unique sense of form and increase the depth of the picture.

How to shoot in low light

1. Match the reasonable aperture and ISO. The most basic rules of photography naturally also apply to low-light photography. The larger the aperture, the higher the shutter speed, the lower the ISO, the higher the photo quality, the longer the exposure time, and the greater the possibility of noise; it is recommended that you use an aperture of F22. Obtain the maximum depth of field; the lower the ISO, the better, to reduce unnecessary noise. ISO 100 is generally used.

2. Stable long-term exposure.

The biggest feature of low-light photography is the long shooting time. You often need several seconds or even tens of seconds to complete your shooting. Therefore, a stable tripod is essential; in addition, a shutter release cable can also be used Effectively reduce the jitter that may occur when pressing the shutter.

3. Environmental test shooting? 3. Fix the digital camera with a tripod, adjust the ISO to 100, aperture F22, take a photo at 5 seconds, 10 seconds and 20 seconds each, and get an accurate judgment on the lighting effect of the scene from the three photos taken? It is often necessary to use the B door to obtain such a long exposure. The final exposure time is determined based on the results of three test shots.

4. Always use RAW format. In extreme shooting situations such as long exposures, the image quality provided by the RAW format will be much higher than that of the JPEG format. Don't be stingy about memory card space. Only persistence in image quality will bring you the best photos.

5. Keep trying and keep it fresh.

The creative potential of low-light photography is huge. There is no need to follow fixed aperture, shutter, and ISO settings. Constantly try new possibilities and use different time and light to complete the work