8. Mood Lighting
ISO 250 • 30 sec. • f/16 • 40mm lens
Shooting When the Lights Get Low
There is no reason to put your camera away when the sun goes down. Your D750 has some great features that let you work with available light as well as the built-in flash. In this chapter, we will explore ways to push your camera’s technology to the limit in order to capture great photos in difficult lighting situations. We will also explore the use of flash and how best to utilize your built-in flash features to improve your photography. But first, let’s look at working with low-level available light.
Dusk is when Las Vegas is at its most dazzling, and this goes double if you can get a good view of the strip from a high vantage point. My buddy Jeff got permission for a few of us to park our tripods on the balcony of a restaurant near Mandalay Bay. As day transitions to night, you get the best of both worlds as the city lights come up, head and tail lights streak on the roads, and the beam shooting from the pinnacle of the Luxor shines into the heavens.
Raising the ISO: The Simple Solution
Let’s begin with the obvious way to keep shooting when the lights get low: raising the ISO (Figure 8.1). By now you know how to change the ISO by using the ISO button and the Main Command dial. In typical shooting situations, you should keep the ISO in the 100–2000 range. This will keep your pictures nice and clean by keeping the digital noise to a minimum. But as the available light gets low, you might find yourself working in the higher ranges of the ISO scale, which could lead to more noise in your image.
Figure 8.1 Capturing trick-or-treaters as the sun goes down requires increasingly high ISO levels to maintain a fast shutter speed.
Determining how much noise is too much is really rather subjective. Some people have a higher tolerance for high noise than others, and other times the output destination or subject matter might determine the acceptable level of noise. For example, if I’m shooting a night sporting event, I become much more tolerant of higher noise levels if that is what allows me to stop action and get the shot. However, if I’m doing a long exposure of moving water, I prefer that to be as clean as possible, so I keep the ISO low. You’ll have your own reasons and tolerance levels, so experiment with different ISO settings and get a feel for what works for your needs and unique output destinations.
You could use the flash, but that has a limited range (15 to 20 feet) that might not work for you. Also, you could be in a situation where flash is prohibited, or at least frowned upon, like at a wedding or in a museum. Or you may just want to capture the quality and color of the existing light.
And what about a tripod in combination with a long shutter speed? That is also an option, and we’ll cover it a little further into the chapter. The problem with using a tripod and a slow shutter speed in low-light photography, though, is that it performs best when subjects aren’t moving.
So if the only choice to get the shot is to raise the ISO higher, you’ll want to consider the High ISO Noise Reduction feature (Figure 8.2). This Shooting menu function is set to Normal by default, but as you start using higher ISO values you might consider changing it to the High setting. (Chapter 7 explains how to set the long-exposure noise-reduction features, which is applied equally to JPEG and raw photos.)
Figure 8.2 Although it looks like there was ample light, it is just a single bulb in a dark room. A very high ISO setting was used to keep the shutter speed high enough for a handheld shot.
It is important to keep in mind that high ISO noise reduction is only applied to in-camera JPEGs, so raising the noise reduction to the High setting slightly increases the processing time for your images, and if you are shooting in continuous mode, you might see a little reduction in the speed of your frames per second. If you are shooting in raw mode, then this setting is recorded in the metadata of the photo and used by Nikon’s post-processing software, but it is invisible to third-party post-processing software. So if you are shooting in raw, you will be doing most of your noise reduction in your post-processing software.
To see the effect of noise reduction, you need to zoom in and take a closer look (Figures 8.3 and 8.4).
Figure 8.4 Here is the same subject photographed with High ISO Noise Reduction set to High. Although it doesn’t get rid of all the noise, it certainly reduces the effect and improves the look of your image.
Using Very High ISOs
Is ISO 12800 just not enough for you? Well, in that case, you will need to set your camera to one of the expanded ISO settings. These settings open up another two stops of ISO, raising the new limit to 51200. The new settings will not appear in your ISO scale as numbers, but as Hi 0.3 for 16000, Hi 0.7 for 20000, Hi 1.0 ISO for 25600, and Hi 2.0 ISO for 51200.
How to use the higher ISO settings
1. Press and hold the ISO button (A). Then rotate the Main Command dial while observing the viewfinder, the control panel, or the information screen. Rotate the dial until you reach the Hi settings, then release the ISO button.
2. Select Hi 0.3, Hi 0.7, Hi 1.0, or Hi 2.0 (B).
A word of warning about the expanded ISO settings: Although it is great to have these high ISO settings available during low-light shooting, they should always be your last resort. Even with High ISO Noise Reduction turned on, the amount of visible noise will be extremely high. Try to avoid using high ISO whenever you can, but don’t skip an opportunity for a terrific shot because you’re afraid to use a higher ISO. The D750 does remarkably well at 2000 and below, so experiment a little. Remember, a picture never taken is far worse than one with a little noise (Figure 8.5)!
Figure 8.5 The only way to get a fast-enough shutter speed during this night football game was to raise the ISO to 25600.
Don’t forget about the D750’s Night Vision effect (refer to Chapter 3) when there’s almost no light at all and you can live with the grainy black and white image (Figure 8.6).
Figure 8.6 I used the Night Vision effect to capture my dog out on a nighttime patrol.
Stabilizing the Situation
If you purchased your camera with the Vibration Reduction (VR) lens or if you have the kit lens, you already own a great tool to squeeze two stops of exposure out of your camera when shooting without a tripod. Typically, the average person can handhold his camera down to about 1/60 of a second before blurriness results due to hand shake. As the length of the lens is increased (or zoomed), the ability to handhold at slow shutter speeds (1/60 and slower) and still get sharp images is further reduced (Figure 8.7).
The Nikon VR lenses contain small gyro sensors and servo-actuated optical elements, which correct for camera shake and stabilize the image. The VR function is so good that it is possible to improve your handheld photography by two or three stops, meaning that if you are pretty solid at a shutter speed of 1/60 of a second, the VR feature lets you shoot at 1/15, and possibly even 1/8, of a second (Figures 8.8 and 8.9). When shooting in low-light situations, make sure you set the VR switch on the side of your lens to the On position.
Figure 8.9 Here is the same subject shot with the same camera settings, but this time I turned the VR on.
Whether you are shooting with a tripod or even resting your camera on a wall, you can increase the sharpness of your pictures by taking your hands out of the equation. Whenever you use your finger to depress the shutter release button, you are increasing the chances that there will be a little bit of shake in your image. To eliminate this possibility, try setting your camera up to use the self-timer or the Exposure Delay mode (or even both together). Self-timer mode is the most commonly used, so let’s look at that first.
1. To turn on the self-timer, simply press the release mode dial lock and rotate the release mode dial to Self-timer.
2. Press the Menu button to find the Custom Setting menu. Highlight and select c Timers/AE lock, then press OK (A).
3. Select c3 Self-timer, and click OK (B).
4. Choose the length of self-timer delay: 2, 5, 10, or 20 seconds (C). 5 seconds is ample time to quiet the tripod vibration caused by your actions.
5. Choose the number of shots, from 1 to 9, you want to camera to take after pressing the shutter once (D). This can be handy when used in conjunction with the Auto Bracket feature, which we’ll cover in Chapter 9, or when you take a group photo and want to take multiple photos to ensure you get a frame with everyone’s eyes open.
6. Choose the time interval between shots: 0.5, 1, 2, or 3 seconds.
Now all you have to do is press the shutter and the camera will take the shot based on your settings. The self-timer is great, but it doesn’t do anything to help with the vibration caused by the camera’s mirror slapping up when a photo is taken. This is where Exposure Delay mode can help. Exposure Delay mode works with any of the other release modes, and when turned on it delays the shutter from 1 to 3 seconds after the mirror is moved up out of the way. Here’s how to set it up:
1. Choose your desired release mode.
2. Press the Menu button to find the Custom Setting menu. Highlight and select d Shooting/display, then press OK (A).
3. Select d4 Exposure delay mode, and press OK (B).
4. Choose the length of delay, from 1 to 3 seconds (C), and press OK.
On a recent outing I forgot to bring my remote release, so I opted for a 5-second self-timer coupled with a 3-second exposure delay to provide time for all vibrations to quiet down while taking some pre-dawn shots. It worked really well and I was glad to have it. I still prefer a remote release, but it is nice to have options. Make sure you switch out of self-timer mode and turn off the exposure delay when your shooting session is done.
Focusing in Low Light
The D750 has a great focusing system, but occasionally the light levels might be too low for the camera to achieve an accurate focus. There are a few things that you can do to overcome this obstacle.
First, you should know that the camera utilizes contrast in the viewfinder to establish a point of focus. This is why your camera will not be able to focus when you point it at a white wall or a cloudless sky. It simply can’t find any contrast in the scene to work with. Knowing this, you might be able to use a single focus point in AF-S mode to find an area of contrast that is at the same distance as your subject. You can then hold that focus by holding down the shutter button halfway (or by pressing the AF-E/AF-L button) and recomposing your image.
Then there are those times when there just isn’t anything there for you to focus on or it is too dark to lock focus. A perfect example of this would be a fireworks display. If you point your lens to the night sky in any automatic focus (AF) mode, it will just keep searching for—and not finding—a focus point. On these occasions, you can simply turn off the autofocus feature and manually focus the lens (Figure 8.10). Look for the A/M switch on the side of the lens and slide it to the M position. Don’t forget to put it back in A mode at the end of your shoot.
Figure 8.10 A long exposure under moonlight can turn the night into day, but it is not enough light for autofocus. Focusing in low light is best done in manual focus mode.
AF-assist Illuminator
Another way to ensure good focus is to use the D750’s AF-assist Illuminator. AF-assist uses a small, bright beam of light from the front of the camera to shine some light on the scene (only useful if the subject is within 9 feet of the camera), which assists the autofocus system in locating more detail. This feature is automatically activated when using the flash (except in Landscape, Sports, and Flash Off modes, for the following reasons: In Landscape mode, the subject is usually too far away; in Sports mode, the subject is probably moving; and in Flash Off mode, you’ve disabled the flash entirely). Also, the Illuminator will be disabled when shooting in the AF-C or Manual focus mode, as well as when the Illuminator is turned off in the camera menu. AF-assist should be enabled by default, but you can check the menu just to make sure. If it still doesn’t come on when you think it should, check to make sure you are using the center focus point with AF-S autofocus mode.
Turning on the AF-assist feature
1. Press the Menu button and access the Custom Setting menu.
2. Navigate to the item called a Autofocus, and press the OK button (A).
3. Highlight the menu item called a9 Built-in AF-assist illuminator, and press the OK button.
4. Set the option to On (B) and press the OK button to complete the setup.
Shooting Long Exposures
We have covered some of the techniques for shooting in low light, so let’s go through the process of capturing a night or low-light scene for maximum image quality (Figure 8.11). The first thing to consider is that in order to shoot in low light with a low ISO, you will need to use shutter speeds that are longer than you could possibly handhold (longer than 1/15 of a second). This will require the use of a tripod or stable surface for you to place your camera on. For maximum quality, the ISO should be low—somewhere below 400. The Long Exposure Noise Reduction feature should be turned on to minimize the effects of exposing for longer durations. (To set this up, see Chapter 7.)
Figure 8.11 A very long exposure and a tripod were necessary for capturing this nighttime scene.
Once you have the noise reduction turned on, set your camera to Aperture Priority (A) mode. That way, you can concentrate on the aperture that you believe is most appropriate and let the camera determine the best shutter speed (I’ll discuss the Bulb setting in Manual mode in Chapter 9).
If it is too dark for the autofocus to function properly, try manually focusing. Finally, consider using a remote cable (see Chapter 11, on accessories) to activate the shutter. If you don’t have a remote of some sort, use the self-timer or exposure delay mode discussed earlier. Once you shoot the image, you may notice some lag time before it is displayed on the rear LCD. This is due to the noise reduction process, which can take anywhere from a fraction of a second up to 30 seconds, depending on the length of the exposure. Typically, the noise reduction process will take the same amount of time as the exposure itself.
Using the Built-in Flash
There are going to be times when you have to turn to your camera’s built-in flash to get the shot. The pop-up flash on the D750 is not extremely powerful, but with the camera’s advanced metering system it does a pretty good job of lighting up the night—or just filling in the shadows.
If you are working with one of the automatic scene modes, the flash should automatically activate when needed. If, however, you are working in one of the professional modes, you will have to turn the flash on for yourself. To do this, just press the pop-up flash button, which is on the front of the camera (Figure 8.12). Once the flash is up, it is ready to go (Figure 8.13). It’s that simple.
Figure 8.12 A quick press of the pop-up flash button will release the built-in flash up to its ready position.
Shutter speeds
The standard flash synchronization speed for your camera is between 1/60 and 1/200 of a second. When you are working with the built-in flash in Program mode, the camera will typically adjust the shutter speed between these settings depending on the amount of ambient light.
The real key to using the flash to get great pictures is to control the shutter speed. The goal is to balance the light from the flash with the existing light so that everything in the picture has an even illumination. Let’s take a look at the shutter speeds for the other modes.
Program (P): The shutter speed stays at 1/60 of a second. The only adjustment you can make in this mode is overexposure or underexposure using the Exposure Compensation setting or Flash Compensation settings.
Shutter Priority (S): You can adjust the shutter speed to as fast as 1/200 of a second all the way down to 30 seconds. The lens aperture will adjust accordingly, but at long exposures the lens will typically be set to its smallest aperture.
Aperture Priority (A): This mode will allow you to adjust the aperture but will adjust the shutter speed between 1/200 and 1/60 of a second in the standard flash mode.
Manual (M): You can adjust the shutter speed to as fast as 1/200 of a second all the way down to 30 seconds. The lens aperture is adjusted independently, so you will need to do a little experimentation to see what works best.
Metering modes
The built-in flash uses a technology called TTL (Through The Lens) metering to determine the appropriate amount of flash power to output for a good exposure. When you depress the shutter button, the camera quickly adjusts focus while gathering information from the entire scene to measure the amount of ambient light. As you press the shutter button down completely, the flash uses that exposure information and fires a predetermined amount of light at your subject during the exposure.
The default setting for the flash meter mode is TTL. The meter can also be set to Manual mode. In Manual flash mode, you can determine how much power you want coming out of the flash, ranging from full power all the way down to 1/128 power. Each setting from full power on down will cut the power by half. This is the equivalent of reducing flash exposure by one stop with each power reduction. The benefit of using manual mode is that the flash output is consistent every time and not dependent on the exposure reading.
Setting the flash to the Manual power setting
1. Press the Menu button, navigate to the Custom Setting menu, highlight the setting called e Bracketing/flash, and press OK (A).
2. Highlight the item labeled e3 Flash cntrl for built-in flash, and press OK (B).
3. Highlight the Manual option and press OK (C).
4. Select the amount of flash power you want to use and press OK (D).
Don’t forget to set the flash back to TTL when you are done, because the camera will hold this setting until you change it.
Compensating for the Flash Exposure
The TTL system will usually do an excellent job of balancing the flash and ambient light for your exposure, but it does have the limitation of not knowing what effect you want in your image. You may want more or less flash in a particular shot. You can achieve this by using the Flash Exposure Compensation feature.
Just as with exposure compensation, flash compensation allows you to dial in a change in the flash output in increments of 1/3 of a stop. You will probably use this most often to tone down the effects of your flash, especially when you are using the flash as a subtle fill light (Figures 8.14 and 8.15). The range of compensation goes from +1 stop down to –3 stops.
Figure 8.14 This shot was taken with the pop-up flash set to normal power. As you can see in the bright highlights on the cheeks and forehead, it was trying a little too hard to illuminate the subject.
Figure 8.15 This image was made with the same camera settings. The difference is that the flash compensation was set to –1.0 stops and it did a nice job of taking the edge off the flash to help it blend into the overall exposure.
Using the Flash Exposure Compensation feature to change the flash output
1. With the flash in the upright and ready position, press and hold the flash compensation button.
2. While holding down the button, rotate the Sub-command dial to set the amount of compensation you desire. Turning to the right increases the flash power 1/3 of a stop with each click of the dial. Turning left decreases the flash power.
3. Press the shutter button halfway to return to shooting mode, and then take the picture.
4. Review your image to see if more or less flash compensation is required, and repeat these steps as necessary.
You can view the amount of flash compensation in the control panel or in the viewfinder. You can also see the amount of compensation by activating the info screen prior to changing the compensation (Figure 8.16).
The Flash Exposure Compensation feature does not reset itself when the camera is turned off, so whatever compensation you have set will remain in effect until you change it. Your only clue to knowing that the flash output is changed will be the presence of the Flash Exposure Compensation symbol in the viewfinder. It will disappear when a zero compensation is set.
Reducing Red-Eye
We’ve all seen the result of using on-camera flashes when photographing people: the dreaded red-eye! This demonic effect is the result of the light from the flash entering the pupil and then reflecting back as an eerie red glow. The closer the flash is to the lens, the greater the chance that you will get red-eye. This is especially true when it is dark and the subject’s pupils are fully dilated. There are two ways to combat this problem. The first is to get the flash away from the lens. That’s not really an option, though, if you are using the pop-up flash. Therefore, you will need to turn to the Red-Eye Reduction feature.
This is a simple feature that shines a light from the camera at the subject, causing their pupils to shrink, thus eliminating or reducing the effects of red-eye (Figure 8.17).
Figure 8.17 The picture on the left did not utilize Red-Eye Reduction, thus the glowing red eyes. Notice that the pupils on the image on the right, without red-eye, are smaller as a result of using the Red-Eye Reduction lamp.
The feature is set to Off by default and needs to be turned on by using the information screen or by using the flash compensation button.
Turning on the Red-Eye Reduction feature
1. Press and hold the flash compensation button on the front of the camera.
2. Rotate the Main Command dial until you see the red-eye reduction symbol in the control panel or information screen (A).
3. With red-eye reduction activated, compose your photo and then press the shutter release button to take the picture.
When red-eye reduction is activated, the camera will not fire the instant that you press the shutter release button. Instead, the red-eye reduction lamp will illuminate for a second or two and then fire the flash for the exposure. This is important to remember, as people have a tendency to move around, so you will need to instruct them to hold still for a moment while the lamp works its magic.
Truth be told, I rarely shoot with red-eye reduction turned on because of the time it takes before being able to take a picture. If I am after candid shots and have to use the flash, I will take my chances on red-eye and try to fix the problem in my image-processing software or even in the camera’s retouching menu.
Rear Curtain Sync
There are five flash synchronization modes in the D750. There’s Front Curtain Sync (referred to as Fill Flash), Red-Eye Reduction, Red-Eye Reduction with Slow Sync, Slow Sync, and Rear Curtain Sync. You may be asking, “What in the world does synchronization do, and what’s with these ‘curtains’?” Good question.
When your camera fires, there are two curtains that open and close to make up the shutter. The first, or front, curtain moves out of the way, exposing the camera sensor to the light. At the end of the exposure, the second, or rear, curtain moves in front of the sensor, ending that picture cycle. In flash photography, timing is extremely important because the flash fires in milliseconds and the shutter is usually opening in tenths or hundredths of a second. To make sure these two functions happen in order, the camera usually fires the flash just as the first curtain moves out of the way (see the “Flash Sync” sidebar, earlier in this chapter).
In Slow Sync mode, the camera knows to balance the flash with a longer shutter speed. In Rear Curtain Sync mode, the flash will not fire until just before the second shutter curtain ends the exposure. So why have this mode at all? Well, there might be times when you want to have a longer exposure to balance out the light from the background to go with the subject needing the flash. Rear Curtain Sync adds some creativity by capturing the movement of light with a longer exposure while freezing the subject with the flash. Imagine taking a photograph of a friend standing in Times Square at night with all the traffic moving about and the bright lights of the streets overhead. If the flash fires at the beginning of the exposure, and then the objects around the subject move, those objects will often blur or even obscure the subject a bit. If the camera is set to Rear Curtain Sync mode, though, all of the movement is recorded using the existing light first, and then the subject is “frozen” by the flash at the end by the exposure.
There is no right or wrong to it. It’s just a decision on what type of effect it is that you would like to create. Many times, Rear Curtain Sync is used for artistic purposes or to record movement in the scene without it overlapping the flash-exposed subject (Figure 8.18). To make sure that the main subject is always getting the final pop of the flash, I leave my camera set to Rear Curtain Sync most of the time.
Figure 8.18 Using Rear Curtain Sync is most evident during long flash exposures, such as in this photo of a barbarian charging into battle on a carousel.
You can have a lot of fun with Rear Curtain Sync. Figure 8.19 shows an example of a long exposure to record the light trail from a cool iPad app called Holographium (you type a word into the app and move the iPad across the frame during a long exposure to extrude the word across your photo), with a burst of flash at the end that gives a ghostly appearance to yours truly. As you can see, my friends and I were playing around with various light-emitting devices in the background.
Figure 8.19 This effect is possible because the flash fired at the end of the exposure using Rear Curtain Sync.
Note that if you do intend to use a long exposure with front curtain synchronization, you need to have your subject remain fairly still so that any movement that occurs after the flash goes off will be minimized in the image.
Changing the flash sync mode
1. Press and hold the flash compensation button.
2. Rotate the Main Command dial to change the mode.
3. You can view the flash sync mode changes by looking at the control panel or information screen (A).
Flash and Glass
If you find yourself in a situation where you want to use your flash to shoot through a window or display case, try placing your lens right against the glass so that the reflection of the flash won’t be visible in your image (Figures 8.20 and 8.21). This is extremely useful in museums and aquariums.
Figure 8.20 The bright spot on the left of the frame is a result of the flash reflecting off the display glass.
Figure 8.21 To eliminate the reflection, place the lens against the glass or as close to it as possible. This might also require zooming the lens out a little.
Disabling the flash
Remember that if you are shooting in a professional mode, the only way to get the flash to fire is to turn it on yourself. If you are shooting in an automatic scene mode, depending on the mode, it will come on automatically. For example, in Candlelight and Landscape modes it does not come on, whereas in Pet mode or Night Portrait it is automatically on. If the small flash icon appears on the control panel when you are shooting in a particular mode, it means the setting calls for it and the flash will fire automatically. If you don’t wish to operate the flash in that mode, you will have to turn it off by pressing the Flash mode button and rotating the Main Command dial to the Flash Off setting (a circle containing a flash with a slash through it).
A Few Words About External Flash
We have discussed several ways to get control over the built-in pop-up flash on the D750. The reality is that, as flashes go, it will render only fairly average results. For people photography, it is probably one of the most unflattering light sources that you could ever use. This isn’t because the flash isn’t good—it’s actually very sophisticated for its size. The problem is that light should come from any direction besides the camera to best flatter a human subject. When the light emanates from directly above the lens, it gives the effect of becoming a photocopier. Imagine putting your face down on a scanner: the result would be a flatly lit, featureless photo.
To really make your flash photography come alive with possibilities, you should consider buying an external flash such as the Nikon SB700 or SB910 AF Speedlight. The SB700 and SB910 both have a swiveling flash head and more power, and they can communicate with the camera and the TTL system to deliver balanced flash exposures. I’ll delve into accessory flash units a little more in Chapter 11, but I want to highlight the fact that the built-in pop-up flash can also be used to control the firing of external flashes wirelessly as part of what Nikon calls the Creative Lighting System (CLS). This gives you an incredible amount of flexibility in moving your external flash off of the camera.
Using the CLS you can set up an external flash unit off-camera, which acts as your main fill light, and then use the built-in flash as the commander, whose only job is to wirelessly trigger the external flash for a much more creative effect (Figure 8.22) than the pop-up flash alone or even with the external flash seated in the accessory shoe. The CLS uses pulses of light to communicate between the units, so it is not always effective in bright sunlight, but since it is built into your camera you can get started with using off-camera flash without having to purchase any other kind of wireless trigger.
Figure 8.22 Using an external flash off-camera creates more depth in a portrait than a straight on-camera flash does.
Setting the built-in flash as the commander
1. Press the Menu button, navigate to the Custom Setting menu, highlight the setting called e Bracketing/flash, and press OK.
2. Highlight the item labeled e3 Flash cntrl for built-in flash, and press OK.
3. Highlight the Commander mode option and press OK (A).
4. Configure the built-in flash to not fire (--), configure Group A and Group B as desired, and then press OK (B).
You’ll need to configure your external flash unit(s) to be part of Group A or B based on your creative needs, and then you can control flash power and firing right from the back of your camera. There’s a whole lot more to learn about using the Creative Lighting System effectively, and a great way to get started is with a very inexpensive guide called An Introduction to the Nikon Creative Lighting System, written by Alan Hess and available through Peachpit Press.
Chapter 8 Assignments
Now that we have looked at the possibilities of shooting after dark, it’s time to put it all to the test. These assignments cover the full range of shooting possibilities, both with flash and without. Let’s get started.
How steady are your hands?
It’s important to know just what your limits are in terms of handholding your camera and still getting sharp pictures. This will change depending on the focal length of the lens you are working with. Wider-angle lenses are more forgiving than telephoto lenses, so check this out for your longest and shortest lenses. Using a zoom lens, set your lens to its longest focal length and then, with the camera set to ISO 100 and the mode set to Shutter Priority, turn off the VR and start taking pictures with lower and lower shutter speeds. Review each image on the LCD at a zoomed-in magnification to take note of when you start seeing visible camera shake in your images. It will probably be about 1 over the focal length (1/125 of a second for a 125mm lens length).
Now do the same for the wide-angle setting on the lens. My limit is about 1/30 of a second. These shutter speeds are with the Vibration Reduction feature turned off. If you have a VR lens, try it with and without the VR feature enabled to see just how slow you can set your shutter while getting sharp results.
Pushing your ISO to the extreme
Find a place to shoot where the ambient light level is low. This could be at night or indoors in a darkened room. Using the mode of your choice, start increasing the ISO from 100 until you get to 51200 (Hi 2). Make sure you evaluate the level of noise in your image, especially in the shadow areas. Only you can decide how much noise is acceptable in your pictures for a given subject matter and output destination.
Getting rid of the noise
Turn on the High ISO Noise Reduction feature and repeat the previous assignment. Find your acceptable limits with the noise reduction turned on. Also pay attention to how much detail is lost in your shadows with this function enabled.
If you don’t have a tripod, find a stable place to set your camera outside and try some long exposures. Set your camera to Aperture Priority mode and then use the self-timer to activate the camera (this will keep you from shaking the camera while pressing the shutter button).
Shoot in an area that has some level of ambient light, be it a streetlight, traffic lights, or even a full moon. The idea is to get some late-night, low-light exposures.
Testing the limits of the pop-up flash
Wait for the lights to get low, and then press that pop-up flash button to start using the built-in flash. Try using the different shooting modes to see how they affect your exposures. Use the Flash Exposure Compensation feature to take a series of pictures while adjusting from –3 stops all the way to +1 stops so that you become familiar with how much latitude you will get from this feature.
Getting the red out
Find a friend with some patience and a tolerance for bright lights. Have them sit in a darkened room or outside at night and then take their picture with the flash. Now turn on the Red-Eye Reduction feature to see if you get better results. Don’t forget to have them sit still while the red-eye lamp does its thing.
Getting creative with Rear Curtain Sync
Now it’s time for a little creative fun. Set your camera up for Rear Curtain Sync and start shooting. Moving targets are best. Experiment with Shutter and Aperture Priority modes to lower the shutter speeds and exaggerate the effect. Try using a low ISO so the camera is forced to use longer shutter speeds. Be creative and have some fun!
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