Thanks to this year's neverending, bitterly cold winter, I have spent more time indoors than I would have liked. Which means that I have become very well acquainted with the challenges of indoor photography (off colours with artificial lights, blurred images because of slow shutter speeds, harsh and unforgiving light from the on-camera flash, the list goes on). There are some oft-repeated ways to address these problems: adjust your white balance to correct colour, choose a large aperture, increase the ISO and limit the use of the on-camera flash (click here for an article on the topic). And while these tips help, the truth is I often find myself forced to make unappealing trade-offs in low light situations.
I can crank up my ISO to 800 and higher but I'll end up with a grainy picture (at least with my camera, noise is less of a problem with higher-end DSLRs). I can choose a very low Fstop (such as 1.8 or 2.4) but this will result in a shallow depth of field (which might not be the look I want). I can try a slower shutter speed but this almost always seems to result in motion blur. All this to say I haven't quite figured out indoor photography or which trade-offs to make.
Thankfully one of the best indoor photography tips has nothing to do with exposure choices (phew!). Find the natural light. Natural window light can cast a softer, more flattering light than what you'll see in an artificial lighting situation. This does require a bit of thinking though: you might need to move your child's play space to the window or coerce your husband to move to the brightest room for the photo shoot or figure out which windows in your house have the best light and at what time of day (north or south facing windows usually offer the best indirect light). But it will be worth it. I find it easiest to place myself in between my subject and the window (front lighting) or to shoot from the side while my subject faces the window (side lighting).
Nonetheless, given my struggles it was a welcome relief to find myself visiting my husband's aunt and uncle a little while back. Phyl and Morley live in a beautifully restored, old farm house (that goes back generations on Morley's side) outside Shelbourne, Ontario. It was such a treat to take photos in a house that was bathed in beautiful, natural light (even more so as it reflected off the snow outside). Here are some pictures from our weekend away.
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And since a winter walk is much more appealing in the woods than in the grey, dreary city, I took a couple pics outside too.
I can crank up my ISO to 800 and higher but I'll end up with a grainy picture (at least with my camera, noise is less of a problem with higher-end DSLRs). I can choose a very low Fstop (such as 1.8 or 2.4) but this will result in a shallow depth of field (which might not be the look I want). I can try a slower shutter speed but this almost always seems to result in motion blur. All this to say I haven't quite figured out indoor photography or which trade-offs to make.
Thankfully one of the best indoor photography tips has nothing to do with exposure choices (phew!). Find the natural light. Natural window light can cast a softer, more flattering light than what you'll see in an artificial lighting situation. This does require a bit of thinking though: you might need to move your child's play space to the window or coerce your husband to move to the brightest room for the photo shoot or figure out which windows in your house have the best light and at what time of day (north or south facing windows usually offer the best indirect light). But it will be worth it. I find it easiest to place myself in between my subject and the window (front lighting) or to shoot from the side while my subject faces the window (side lighting).
Nonetheless, given my struggles it was a welcome relief to find myself visiting my husband's aunt and uncle a little while back. Phyl and Morley live in a beautifully restored, old farm house (that goes back generations on Morley's side) outside Shelbourne, Ontario. It was such a treat to take photos in a house that was bathed in beautiful, natural light (even more so as it reflected off the snow outside). Here are some pictures from our weekend away.
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