I'm often asked by photographers if I would use flash rather than raise my ISO in low light situations to avoid grain. In general, the answer is no. More often than not, I'd rather accomplish an image without flash if possible. In some situations flash is not appropriate and can be distracting. On-camera flash can have the effect of flattening an image and off-camera flash just isn't very mobile. So I'm not afraid to increase my ISO at times to avoid having to use flash.
So the next question is, how do you avoid grain while shooting at high ISOs? I have two tips to offer. First, invest in a high-end camera. One of the biggest differences between more expensive and less expensive digital SLRs is their performance at high ISOs. The high end cameras that are on the market these days perform with very little grain at high ISOs, so you can shoot with confidence in low light situations without flash. I use a Canon 5D Mark III and I'm have no problem shooting at 1600 ISO or even higher.
The second tip can be helpful even if you are unable to upgrade your camera body at this time. Most of the graininess in photos results from photographers under-exposing images in camera and then trying to compensate in their post-production by increasing the exposure after the fact. It's vital that you correctly expose at high ISOs. If you have to err on one side, over-expose. So instead of shooting an image at 800 ISO that really requires 1600 ISO because you are scared of grain, bump your ISO up to 1600, open your aperture and make sure you max out your camera settings to get the shot correctly exposed. If you do this, you will not have to increase your exposure in post-production and the grain in the image will be minimized.
I'm now going to share a few of my favorite images shot at high ISOs and talk about the situation while sharing my camera settings for each photo. The above image was shot after sunset. The sun had just set and there was still some light left in the sky, but I had to max out my camera settings in order to avoid using flash: ISO 3200, f1.2, 1/80 sec. There is some grain in the image but I feel it is an acceptable amount. I had to over-expose according to my in-camera meter in order to get the girls correctly exposed because of the candles and the sky. If I would have trusted my in-camera meter, I would have under-exposed this shot and the necessary post-production would have made the image exceedingly grainy.
My camera settings for this next image were ISO 1600, f1.6, 1/60 sec. Again, I had to over-expose according to my in-camera meter (probably by at least a full stop, if not more) because of the bonfire and twinkle lights. I wanted to make sure to get the bride and groom correctly exposed. Again, there is a little grain, but it is still a very usable image.
So the next question is, how do you avoid grain while shooting at high ISOs? I have two tips to offer. First, invest in a high-end camera. One of the biggest differences between more expensive and less expensive digital SLRs is their performance at high ISOs. The high end cameras that are on the market these days perform with very little grain at high ISOs, so you can shoot with confidence in low light situations without flash. I use a Canon 5D Mark III and I'm have no problem shooting at 1600 ISO or even higher.
The second tip can be helpful even if you are unable to upgrade your camera body at this time. Most of the graininess in photos results from photographers under-exposing images in camera and then trying to compensate in their post-production by increasing the exposure after the fact. It's vital that you correctly expose at high ISOs. If you have to err on one side, over-expose. So instead of shooting an image at 800 ISO that really requires 1600 ISO because you are scared of grain, bump your ISO up to 1600, open your aperture and make sure you max out your camera settings to get the shot correctly exposed. If you do this, you will not have to increase your exposure in post-production and the grain in the image will be minimized.
I'm now going to share a few of my favorite images shot at high ISOs and talk about the situation while sharing my camera settings for each photo. The above image was shot after sunset. The sun had just set and there was still some light left in the sky, but I had to max out my camera settings in order to avoid using flash: ISO 3200, f1.2, 1/80 sec. There is some grain in the image but I feel it is an acceptable amount. I had to over-expose according to my in-camera meter in order to get the girls correctly exposed because of the candles and the sky. If I would have trusted my in-camera meter, I would have under-exposed this shot and the necessary post-production would have made the image exceedingly grainy.
My camera settings for this next image were ISO 1600, f1.6, 1/60 sec. Again, I had to over-expose according to my in-camera meter (probably by at least a full stop, if not more) because of the bonfire and twinkle lights. I wanted to make sure to get the bride and groom correctly exposed. Again, there is a little grain, but it is still a very usable image.
I'm super-proud of this next image. I had just turned around in the aisle after the bride and groom had passed me and I had to adjust for the back-lighting coming through the door while capturing the moment. And I was able to nail the exposure in camera! I don't do this all the time but when I do it's a huge victory! My settings were ISO 1000, f1.8, 1/80 sec. Again, I had to over-expose according to my in-camera meter by at least a stop in order to correctly expose the subjects.
This next image was shot at ISO 1600, f1.2, 1/400 sec. Very little grain!
You might be scared to shoot detail shots at high ISOs because of the fear of grain. But sometimes the setting is super-dark and using flash would take away from the intended ambience of the lighting. Here's an example of a crystal clear detail image shot at a high ISO: ISO 1600, f2.2, 1/80 sec.
And what about portraits? Generally you want to shoot those at the lowest ISO possible. But in this situation, I needed a higher aperture to get the whole group in focus and because of the grove of trees, was forced to use a higher ISO. Again, I needed to make sure to over-expose according to my in-camera meter to get the subjects correctly exposed. My settings for this shot were: ISO 800, f5.0, 1/100 sec. Even at a higher ISO the image is definitely acceptably clear:
In this last image I did employ off-camera flash. I needed some extra light to light up my subjects since the white wall behind them was the only part of the space that was well-lit. I also used a higher ISO because I wanted to bring up the level of the light in the image over-all. My settings were ISO 1000, f1.6, 1/125 sec. The off-camera flash was held by my assistant off to my right, pointed straight up with a MagMod Bounce on it. I'm not sure what my flash power was set at, but I'm guessing it was 1/32 or 1/64.
If you found this post helpful, and are interested in learning more, click here to opt-in for my free video series -- 6 Hacks to Eliminate Boring Low-Light Photos and Get You Creating Reception Images you LOVE! In it I share my best 6 tips for shooting with flash. If you are intimidated by flash and wanting to conquer it once and for all, this is a great place to start!
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Equipment used for above images:
Canon 5D Mark III // Canon 50mm 1.2 lens // Canon 24mm 1.4 lens // 2 Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites // MagMod Bounce
Equipment used for above images:
Canon 5D Mark III // Canon 50mm 1.2 lens // Canon 24mm 1.4 lens // 2 Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites // MagMod Bounce
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