Unless you’re going for a creative effect, you should always strive for sharpness in your pictures. If a picture is worth taking, it’s also worth ensuring sharpness, even if it means introducing a little bit of noise. Here are a few thoughts on ensuring that your photos are just as sharp as you want them to be when you are working in low light situations.

Hold Your Breath

When you are forced to shoot in a low-light situation without a tripod, hold your breath and push the shutter button down very gently. Do not get so excited that you push down the shutter button too ‘roughly’ or too ’quickly’ as you might end up with a little bit of camera shake and thus a blurred image.

Find Something To Lean Against

Lean against a wall, tree or fence or brace yourself against a rock – anything you can find for added stability. This will definitely help you get sharper images in low light.

Set Your ISO To Get a Fast Enough Shutter Speed

Avoid using an ISO settting that is too low for low light situations. It is true that ISO 100 or 200 helps to minimize digital noise but there is no point in going this low if your pictures will not be sharp. If you are not using a tripod and you are in low light, you have to adjust your ISO until your shutter speed is fast enough to hand hold the camera. The rule of thumb is that if you use a XX mm lens, then your shutter speed should be no less than 1/XX second – in other words if you are shooting at 200mm, then your shutter speed should be 1/200 second or faster if you are shooting hand held. Making noise-free pictures is irrelevant if they end up blurred anyway. Many of the new DSLR cameras on the market today produce pictures that are virtually noise-free even at high ISOs like 400 or 800.

The above image of the Kookaburra was shot at ISO 1600 with a Canon 20D and a 300mm lens at 1/80 second while leaning against a tree. The image does display a little bit of digital noise, but with newer cameras like the Canon 5D MKII your images will look even better with even less noise.

Have a look at some of the latest DSLR models from Canon or Nikon at B&H Photo if you are considering getting a new DSLR which produces virtually noise-free images at high ISO settings.

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• How to Prevent Camera Shake When on a Tripod
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