Shooting in very low light

[thomaskemper]

I am experimenting with night-shooting, and there is a tree in my yard that I would very much like to photograph. There is a porch light on it, and I can see it very well.  I have learned about 'bulb' shooting in manual mode, and have used it in other low-light situations, but for some reason I can't get the camera to fire.  It focuses and then the square in the view-finder turns red, rather than green.  I think it's really important to note that I can see this tree just fine.  So why can't my camera?

[MikeSowsun]

It sounds like your scene is just too dark for the AF to work.

Switch to Manual Focus and you should be able to take the photo. 

[TCampbell]

When using live view mode, the box gets a green frame to confirm focus and a red frame indicates it has given up and is unable to focus.

In low light, a VERY low focal ratio lens can help.... Or add more light. Otherwise you will need to manually focus.

[thomaskemper]

Right, I am getting that green frame.  I guess I will just have to read up on manual focus.  Thanks for your help.

[hernhombeecaryb · Accepted solution]

Often a flashlight provides enough reflected light for autofocus to work. Once the lens is focused switch to manual focus.

Use judgment on the size of your flashlight. A single LED won't do much, but a 3 D cell Maglite works in many situations. Remember to adjust your aperture so your depth of field stays in focus, so the furthest and nearest foliage will be clear (or whatever effect you like). Also have had some good luck using laser pointers as a focusing beam..

[thomaskemper]

Thank you, very much. I love this kind of practical information. Do you know anything about bracketing images for noise-reduction, or any other noise-deduction tips?

Thomas

[TCampbell]

Use low ISO values to reduce noise.  You can perform noise reduction with some computer software (my favorite is Noiseware Pro by Imagenomic.)  But keep in mind that noise reduction in software also has the side-effect of softening the image (and if you go too far it looks like people have "plastic" skin.)

[hernhombeecaryb]

Check your camera manual for noise reduction settings accessible through the menu. My T4i has pretty good noise reduction for shooting in jpeg, especially higher ISO's. I have used Noise Ninja and Topaz DeNoise with good results. There are several good products for NR that can be used as standalone or plug-in.