This article will help you in understanding the features you have on your phone for Low Light Photography. We all love clicking pictures of our rides. If I talk about my city, this has now become a craze to click amazing pictures and share in your respective cycling groups. Clicking Pictures In Low Light has now become an integrated skill.
I see a lot of my rider friends clicking amazing pictures during their night ride. However, night photography often comes with blurry images, complete loss of detail & background washed out with excessive flash. Frustrating to the core! So let us put an end to all the frustration as in this article I would take you through low light photography tips, tricks, and settings.
Now, the point is, that changing mobile phones won’t help you out. All those companies selling high end expensive mobile phones are here to rip you off. Unfortunately, it’s true. You just need to pay attention to a few details on your mobile phone camera and your pictures will be great.
Tips, Tricks & Settings
Mobile Tripod
I have advised the same in my earlier post related to mobile photography It is very important to keep your mobile stable. Even a slight wobble in your nerves is enough to distort your image.
This is because unlike in a day when the light is optimum camera sensor uses the short exposure to click the picture. At night exactly the opposite happens.
The camera sensor knows that the light is not enough so the mobile camera automatically uses the long exposure to click to gather more light. So if your hands are shaky the image will be blurry.
You can buy one from Amazon by clicking the link here You will get a lot of cheap tripods stands on Amazon which is easy to carry.
Also, It can be quite a pain to carry the tripod for a few people, so I always advise people to make a natural tripod. E.g. try keeping mobile against a wall or a table and set it on auto timer. It works!
Use Flash Or Not?
A question which baffles most people while doing low light photography. Well, to be honest, flash is good and should be used. After all, that’s the utility of that inbuilt feature.
However very cautiously. Too close and the flash is going to make the image so bright that your subject looks overexposed.
Too far from the subject and you will get a dark underexposed image. I recommend to find out the correct apt distance, this can only be done with practice.
Moreover, when you are not sure about using flash then try to modify the angle and try to find more light.
HRD Mode – A Mode That Very Few Know About
Before I make you understand the HDR mode, please look at the image below.
Now, this mode is to be used when you have damn steady hands or if You are using a Tripod.
What this mode does is that HRD takes a bunch of pictures like any burst shot and then combines them.
The combination is done to get a better dynamic range of the photo. The above image was shot in the HDR mode from Samsung Galaxy A6.
“Bottom Line: Use a tripod if You are using HDR mode or else look for a night mode”
Do Not Zoom when doing Low Light Photography
Do not ever zoom when using your mobile phone to take pictures in low light. People do not use the zoom on the mobile ever! You will end up getting a blurry image.
You can click on the no zoom mode and then crop later, the results will be the same. However, if you zoom into your subject you will end up getting a blurry image.
Use The Pro/Manual Mode for Low Light Photography
I recommend using the Pro/Manual Mode on your mobile camera.
This way you have better control over the key deciding factors in the image like exposure, ISO, and shutter speed.
This way you can look at the picture and then tweak the setting to get the desired results.
Mobile Applications & Editing
There are tons of editing/digitally developing image software. All of them are good, If I were to use a few, they would be Snapseed, Pic Art photo Studio, Image Editor and the list goes on.
These applications are both available for iOS and Android users for free. There are certain professional features which are locked, however, you can get those even by paying to the creator.
Furthermore, you always have the king of the image-editing market “Photoshop” to make any changes in the images.
Low light photography settings and tips
For settings I would suggest to keep you aperture wide open to get maximum light to your camera sensor. ISO should vary between 800 to 1600, anymore then that you would get a grainy image if not using tripod.
With shutter speed you can do wonders. Slow shutter speed shots are ridiculously famous and the images are worth looking at. Slow shutter speed also lets you capture more light as it keep the shutter open for long.
Low Light Photography tips, tricks, and settings – Summing Up
Low light photography is fun, only if you understand the basics of it.
The clicking part is easy, you just have to spend a little time tweaking settings and finding camera angles with the proper amount of light.
“Everyone can do it! It only takes a little time to learn”
I have summed up these basic pointers to keep in mind when you are riding in the night and want to click amazing pictures.
If you have any questions about lowlight photography tips, tricks, and settings please leave them in the comments section. I will try to get back to you.
[…] I go on cycle rides with my friends very often. It is difficult to carry over 2 KG of your equipment, the weight just cuts down your performance. So I do not like carrying my bulky DSLR camera, however, I do carry my GoPro and my mobile phone. Check out how good is your mobile phone and can it adjust to light automatically? […]