Problem with photos I took at a house party last night - Beginner problems

workaccount

Hi,
I took a few photos at a birthday party last night. I only got my 50mm 1.8 yesterday so I was using that.

I had the ISO turned up to 1600 the whole night and was trying to focus in the dark which was very tough and most of the images taken are out of focus even though the focus did lock. I know this lens has problems focusing in lower light but are the focusing issues normally the same as the one I have just described. Sometimes it would not focus at all and just kept searching even though I was trying to focus on something fairly bright like someones skin on their face. This was a real problem and I lost loads of shots to it.

I'm a beginner....I only just have the camera a few weeks and this was the first time I was shooting in low light. I didn't even think to use the flash until later on in the night. Once I started using the flash my images were in focus. Unfortunately alot of these were ruined by the harshness of the light from the flash. It's a real white harsh light. I'm not sure if the problem is the way I used the flash or could it be the quality of the inbuilt flash on the camera.


Any hints or tips appreciated. Is there a better lens for such things that maybe I should consider for the future?

MagicMarker

If there's one thing you need to take a photo it's light. If the lens wasn't focusing it's because it was too dark.

Even if it did focus on something there would probably be camera shake due to the slow shutter speeds.

I assume you were shooting at the largest aperture (1.8)?

workaccount

MagicMarker wrote: »

If there's one thing you need to take a photo it's light. If the lens wasn't focusing it's because it was too dark.

Even if it did focus on something there would probably be camera shake due to the slow shutter speeds.

I assume you were shooting at the largest aperture (1.8)?

Yeah I was using 1.8. I wasn't really keeping an eye on the shutter speed though so that must have been it. Just need more practice I suppose to remember all these things while taking photos.

sheesh

make sure that servo lens is in use at the end of the day just bite the bullet and use a flash if you want some pics that are in focus my Canon 400D will strobe the built in flash to measure distance in low light.

the next thing which i do in low light is switch to manual and set the shutter time and aperature with what i think i can get away with. take a few test shots

if you really want a proper shot in low light you could use a flash to bounce the flash off the ceiling

Mr. Grieves

I sometimes use the flash while the camera is focussing, then turn it off and switch to manual focus to lock the focus before taking the shot. It works but it's slow. Sheesh's tip about using manual mode is good too.

melekalikimaka

A piece of paper over the flash will diffuse it, taking away harshness

charybdis

I suspect what you are describing as improper focus is most likely softness due to movement at low shutter speeds. It would be helpful to look at the EXIF data from the photographs in question and examine the shutter speeds in some of the images you consider improperly focused as they very probably have shutter speeds slower than 1/30; which in my experience is about the minimum shutter speed required to average an acceptable level of usable images with a 50mm focal length on a 1.6x crop sensor.

I assume, of course, that you are using proper focus technique and selecting a single focus point, not letting the camera decide which one it thinks is best, and avoiding the ol' "focus & recompose" manoeuvre where possible.

Even the best lens/camera combinations can hunt for focus. It helps to try and aim your focus point at an area of sufficiently lit strong contrast, such as an eye. The brightest part of a scene is unlikely to be an area of strong contrast.

I don't know what "servo lens is in use" means but I'd advise against using AI Servo focus mode as it will never report focus lock and isn't useful for anything but its intended purpose: tracking fast-moving objects with focus.

What will probably be of most benefit to you is learning good holding technique. When making an exposure, try to hold your camera as steady as possible and follow through, don't move the camera from your eye immediately after hearing the mirror slap. Put the camera in continuous shooting mode and fire off several shots in rapid sequence while holding the camera as still as possible, this helps eliminate any movement that potentially could be caused by jabbing the shutter release button and increases the likelihood of at least one of the images being acceptably sharp. If you can, brace the camera or yourself against a static object, such as a door frame. If seated, you can rest your elbows on your knees or a table.

I would encourage you not to use flash, especially on-camera. The great thing about fast primes (like your 50) is that they facilitate available light shooting in low light environments, such as intimate social gatherings. If you want to exploit this ability to produce natural, un-posed images that allow you to use ambient light to your advantage you probably don't want to announce to the room that you've taken a photograph every time you hit the shutter release. Cameras are intimidating, flash is even more intimidating. People are unlikely to consciously and unconsciously relax around you and your camera if you are blasting them in the face with a bright light every few minutes.

rockbeer

You don't say what camera you're using. However, the fact is that such environments are dark and moody while your camera's auto modes will be pre-programmed to take light-filled shots full of detail. The best you can hope for hand-held in a dark party environment is to override the camera's demand for large amounts of light. Set the shutter to the slowest time that doesn't blur horribly, have the aperture as wide as possible, and focus manually. But 'focus' is hardly the appropriate word in that kind of situation, since you aren't going to capture enough true detail for it to matter. It's hardly even worth using the viewfinder as you probably won't see enough through it to know what you're shooting. Just set the camera up, point it at things, press the shutter, and find out what you got when you get home.

What you're likely to get this way is points of light scattered among shadowy shapes, with perhaps some hints of color on clothes etc and lighter patches of skin on faces and hands. The shots may well turn out to be very atmospheric and quite satisfactory, but for more detail you just need more light.

5uspect

A bounced external flash would definitely help in such situations, but this may not be an expense you want at the moment (250ish for a 580ex online). A homemade diffuser will help on the built-in flash as will the focus assist beam.

However as already pointed out, with practice, a fast prime can be very good in low light and can give quite nice results. You may need to underexpose by a few stops to prevent blur but this darkness can be quite nice for candid shots if you use the environmental lighting (shoot in manual, wide open and find an exposure range that works). Bounced flash is probably a requirement for posed group shots however.

sheesh

if you are stuck for money I got a second hand speedlite 430ez for under €100 on ffordes.com seems to work ok.