The rainy season in full swing in many parts of the world demands photographers to retreat indoors and shoot in often low-lit settings. Instead of producing bad pictures – or worse – not even shooting at all, practice this technique used by professional event and wedding photographers everywhere. And the best part? You can use this with any all-manual camera – whether point and shoot, dig cam, or SLR.
Dragging the Shutter
Have you ever wondered how the big time wedding and event photographers seem to have perfectly lit photographs even in dark reception venues? Wonder no longer. With a deep breath and a single flash, you too can have perfectly exposed images inside even the most dimly lit venue. This technique is actually quite simple. Just remember these 3 steps.
1. Shoot TV priority with a Slow Shutter Speed
This is your friend. Don’t worry about blown out pictures, or a completely blackened background. When you have a slow shutter speed, you let in the ambient light from the background. (Add flash, and there is a more even exposure.)
2. Add Flash
Simply turn on your flash. Whether point and shoot or SLR, your camera will evaluate how much flash it needs to add based on your camera’s settings (and remember, you have a slow shutter speed so you don’t have to worry about blown out images!)
3. Get Creative!
This technique will work for basic snapshots, but you can also do some really fun creative things!
- Set your subject in front of activity. The flash will freeze your subject, but the slow shutter speed will capture the movement behind them.
- Set your subject in motion. Once again, the flash will freeze your subject, but the slow shutter speed will catch the movement around them, like this newly wed bride and groom on the dance floor.
