People often think of shooting with low light situations in photography as something that inhibits their ability to take good photographs. This is far from the truth though.

There are two ways to look at low light shooting situations. You can either see them as a positive, creative opportunity or you can see them as a negative obstacle that you need to overcome. The fact is though that there are lots of things you can do to get some great photographs in low light.

If you have a DSLR camera which allows you full control over ISO, aperture and/or shutter speed, then you have some really good options and opportunities. It is also good to use a tripod or monopod for stability when using slower shutter speeds. A cable or remote shutter release can also be handy to trigger the camera on a tripod to avoid accidentally moving the camera, but it is not essential.

Technically speaking, a low light situation means you are going to encounter slower shutter speeds. So you need to be mentally prepared for this. If your shutter speed is too slow to hand hold though then you will end up with blurred images. The rule of thumb is that low light which causes shutter speeds to fall below 1/60th of a second is considered too slow to handhold, unless your lens is equipped with an image stabilizer mechanism. With image stabilization you might be able to go down to as slow as 1/15th of a second and still handhold the shot without it becoming blurry, but it also depends on the steadiness of your hands.

But blurry isn’t always a bad thing. It can sometimes have an interesting and creative effect on some photos. But if you want a sharp image then you need to find a way to steady the camera at a slow shutter speed by using a tripod or placing the camera on top of a flat, stable, stationary object. Or, you need to figure out ways to increase the shutter speed by raising ISO or widening the aperture setting so that you might still be able to handhold the camera for the shot.

If you do want a blurred image though then you may need to slow down the shutter speed even further at times in order to create the blurred effect you really want. Deliberately blurring an image to give the shot a creative effect requires good technique. You can experiment with creative blur in low light situations by using shutter speeds of at least one second or more on a tripod. Consider also using a shallow depth of field setting on your lens. You can also try defocusing the subject while moving the camera in your hand at a slow shutter speed. Similar to panning.

Low light conditions also provide opportunities for you to accentuate movement in your images. What I mean is perhaps there is an interesting location where there are people moving and there are also stationary objects in the background. The contrast between sharp stationary objects and blurred moving objects can give the image an appealing appearance of movement. Like shooting in an airport, train, or bus station for example. Locations like these shot with a long exposure time on a tripod can produce some beautiful results.

If you need to handhold your shots though in low light, and you are trying to achieve a sharp image, then good technique is also critical. If possible, try to find a position where you can brace yourself against something solid in order to reduce movement of your body and vibration of your hands. Holding the camera too tight or too far away from your body may also create camera shake.

I would also suggest, with slower shutter speeds shooting handheld, to switch your camera onto the continuous shooting mode rather than the single shot mode (assuming your camera supports this function). This allows you to keep the shutter button pressed and take a few images in quick succession. I have found when you do this that you will usually get at least one of the shots to come out pin sharp even with a very slow shutter speed sometimes.

Low light situations can offer some of the most beautiful and creative light, with colorful glows, high contrast and dark moody effects, but you also need to have good technique and know to take advantage of interesting low light situations when the opportunities present themselves.