May 062013
 

Practicing Low Light Photography with Slow Shutter Speed Using Tripod

Though I am just a hobby photographer, I enjoy  experimenting with my camera and lens. Some time back I wrote a post about Hussain Sagar Tank Bund in Hyderabad, when we went there with Hyderabad Weekend Shoots to take pictures of the 18 Meter tall Buddha statue and other things there.  While I am no pro photographer and normally just takes pictures mainly for Desi Traveler blog, I just love to try new things with the camera.

Same evening we also tried our hands with low light night photography. The idea was we learn the use of slow shutter speed to catch streaks of lights from moving vehicles.  I also tried my hand at using my tripod which I have barely used ever since I bought it. I tried different shutter speed, aperture ( F stops) and ISO settings and tried for first time complete manual focus and settings to get a better picture as in low light the camera auto focus was not very responsive.

Hussain Sagar Tank Bund In Evening low light photography slow shutter speed

I tried for about 10 shots before getting this one

It was a great evening with trying the low shutter speed using tripod as it gives you ability to reduce the shutter speed to any point you like as the camera is stable on the tripod.

One still  needs to be close to the camera and tripod as you are taking pictures in as Hussain Sagar is a busy evening hangout for people of Hyderabad and you don’t want somebody to trip or become and obstacle for people walking.

light streaks motorcycle slow shutter speed ice cream seller low light photography

Ice Cream Seller At Hussain Sagar Tank Bund

In true sense I have tried low light photography only twice earlier once going on an evening photo walk in Charminar area during the holy month of Ramzan, and another time in evening at Taramati Baradari complex.

balloon seller with ice cream seller in evening  picture taken in low light photography

He Just Froze When I Said I Want To Click a Picture

My personal favorite  is this balloon seller, who just froze on my request to click him, giving me this picture with a long exposure when it was around 7:45 pm and very dark except for light coming from passing vehicles and the ice cream push cart.

Only once you try different settings on your camera you actually understand the meaning of various buttons on the body and what they actually thing. It is one thing to read it in a manual or website and totally different to actually implement in field.  Even simple things like at height you need to adjust tripod so that it gives you the framing you want and you are able to see in viewfinder of the camera requires practice and that is the only way to learn.  How do you find these pictures taken in very low light with slow shutter speed using tripod. I think more practice is needed to get sharper light streaks and natural looking pictures.. What do  you think,  do mention in comments your thoughts and suggestions.

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  4 Responses to “My Experiments in Low Light Photography With Slow Shutter Speed”

Comments (4)
  1. I love your night shots. I remember several images from earlier posts. I think they’re fabulous. Honest.

    You inspire me. You’re so right it’s a whole different thing to play about with those settings and learn from the doing. I do a little bit but I think I should take it up more seriously.

  2. Excellent pictures, though photography is just a hobby for you but you have clicked great shots. Experiments with shutter lag are really difficult but here you have produced better results.

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