Working when there is not enough.
WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE
Add light Open the aperture Slow the shutter Raise sensitivity
WHAT ORDER TO TRY THEM IN
That order.
WHY ADDING LIGHT FIRST
Every other option costs something.
WHAT OPENING THE APERTURE COSTS
Depth of field, so focus becomes critical.
WHAT SLOWING THE SHUTTER COSTS
Motion blur, and for video it breaks the natural look.
WHAT RAISING SENSITIVITY COSTS
Noise.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR OWN EQUIPMENT
The sensitivity above which noise becomes unacceptable.
HOW TO FIND IT
Test, in advance, and decide your own limit.
WHAT SMALL AMOUNTS OF LIGHT ACHIEVE
More than expected. A single practical lamp transforms a dark interior.
WHAT TO USE WHEN NOTHING IS AVAILABLE
Whatever exists: screens, doorways, street lighting, a phone torch diffused through paper.
WHAT TO AVOID
Direct on-camera light, which flattens everything Mixed colour sources, which cannot be corrected cleanly
WHAT NOISE REDUCTION CAN AND CANNOT DO
It can reduce grain; it cannot recover lost detail.
WHAT TO ACCEPT
Some noise, rather than heavy reduction producing a smeared result.
WHAT TO EXPOSE FOR
The subject, letting the background go dark.
WHY
Dark backgrounds read as deliberate; noisy ones do not.
