Shooting at Night with very Low light. Auto focus problem

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Zemrick Calgas

New member
Helo Nikonites! I need some help with my 2 day old nikkon d3100. This is my very 1st slr camera.

here is the situation:
I was shooting people on dark with very lowlight. But my camera wont allow me to click to capture a photo. I need to set the lens to manual mode to capture which is very difficult since i could't see the people as my subject clearly if they are in focus. Any tips or help please? even though i tried to put flash it still doesn't allow me to capture photo. I could not click to capture. Please help me this.
 
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ZekeMenuar

New member
bnkrupt said:
You are going to want to include your lens. I assume it is the kit lens but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

We need to know how your camera was set up. Auto, Shutter priority, ISO settings etc.

Did you switch to manual focus?

If I'm having trouble with a particular shot, I set the camera to auto or auto/no flash. Then I make a note of what the camera liked and go from there.
 
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Zemrick Calgas

New member
helo guys! thank you for responding to my post. yes i was using a kit lens 18-55mm. I tried - night mode, auto, guide. I almost tried every set-up but couldn't get a shot. When i start half clicking the shutter the lens starts to rotate non-stop. I think the camera couldn't fine its focus thats why it doesn't allow me to take a shot.


Maybe answering this question would be the best help to my problem- using the 18-55mm kit lens, what Shutter Speed should i use, apperture size, ISO(i dont have a tripod yet) when using the manual set up?
or what set up should i use if not in manual? and what to change?

i attached a picture for you guys to imagine how dark the area is.


Any idea would really be a great help and appreciated! :D


THANK YOU guys for responding to my post! im starting to love this community. I've learn a lot reading the forums. :)

DSC_0283.JPG
 
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Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
You shot this at iso 400, Bump it up to 800 or even higher. Shoot on Auto and when you get a shot that you really like look at the FxIF data and see what it picked. Also any time you shoot with the flash it will expose the subject closest correctly and the background will be darker. The higher the ISO you shoot the less difference there will be.
This is digital. Shoot lots at difference ISOs and see what it does. Make notes on each shoot for future reference.
 
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Obir

Senior Member
Zemrick Calgas said:
helo guys! thank you for responding to my post. yes i was using a kit lens 18-55mm. I tried - night mode, auto, guide. I almost tried every set-up but couldn't get a shot. When i start half clicking the shutter the lens starts to rotate non-stop. I think the camera couldn't fine its focus thats why it doesn't allow me to take a shot.
Click to expand...

The camera needs something of contrast to be able to lock focus on. Sometimes there's just not enough light and you have no choice but to focus manually. In this case, I'd suggest using "live view". Like tracksoft mentioned, make sure the AF-Assist light is on and working (it only works on AF-S and AF-A modes I believe). It works very well as long as you're fairly close to your subject



Zemrick Calgas said:
THANK YOU guys for responding to my post! im starting to love this community. I've learn a lot reading the forums. :)
Click to expand...

It is a great community.
I've learned so much myself:)
 
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patrick in memphis

Senior Member
i shoot pics of stars at night in almost no light. i use manual mode and manual in barrel adjust focus manually set my aperature at roughly 4. for a duration of 2 secs and are crystal clear...try it out hope it helps
 
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KWJams

Senior Member
I have my flash set to "Slow Rear" which helps fill in the back ground subjects in low light. Also unless you are using auto ISO try cranking it up to at least 640 to 1000 ISO.

Shutter speed and aperture will be the next hurdle to overcome if you are in manual to limit any movement blur with a slow speed.

Try the flash setting and take some practice shots to see if you are getting better results.
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Photography is just light capture. When there is no light, it's very difficult to have a picture unless a flash is used. Unfortunately, the flash duration is too short for the camera to focus and the focus has to be acquired before the shutter will open. If you want to take pictures of people that are in the dark, the only way to do it is to manually set your focus to around 8-12 feet (camera in manual focus) and then use the flash with a high enough iso to have enough depth of field to cover your subjects. I used to take pictures in discos with film many moons ago and this was my technique: Pre-focus and then forget about it, point and shoot with flash. You win some and then loose some…

Welcome to the Forum and enjoy your Nikon!
 
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