Last month we talked about using natural outdoor

light to your advantage in your photos – this month

we’re going to bring the discussion inside and talk

about some lighting techniques for taking photos

indoors. Indoor photography can be tricky. Your

camera and your eye do not always see the same

thing; you could say that they do not always see

eye to eye! Okay, bad joke. But we will make up for

it by giving you a few indoor lighting techniques,

some simple, and some a bit more advanced.

camera. The beauty of digital photography is that you can

immediately view your photo after you shoot it. Take a test

frame and examine it to see what your camera is capturing.

Then, you can make a few adjustments, and retake the

photo. Do this as many times as necessary until you get

the shot you are looking for. Just be sure not to delete the

good shot when you erase your test frames!

In a room with little or no light, control your flash.

If you take a photo in a room without a lot of light,

your camera will likely engage your flash

automatically. The flash will light up your subject,

but will probably leave the background black.

Dark hair or dark clothing may disappear, giving

you the “floating head effect.” This may be the

effect you’re after, but if not, try moving your

subject closer to a wall. Your flash will then light

up the whole scene rather than just the subject,

and your photo will look less like a horror movie

poster. Also, if you are shooting during the day,

bring your subject closer to a window, or put the

window behind your subject. This will add depth

and some nice natural light to your photo.

Use the Party/Indoor mode on your camera.

Most cameras have a shooting mode called “Party/

Indoor,” displayed on your camera as an icon of a

person with a star above them. This mode will still

trigger your flash, but will allow for more available

light to be used in the photo. Your subject and their

surroundings will generally be more exposed in

this mode. To see the difference for yourself, take

a shot in the Party/Indoor mode, and shoot the

same photo in the Program or Automatic mode.

Decide which one you like better and go from

there.

ASA settings on your camera. Most cameras

have adjustable ISO or ASA settings. You may

not know what that means, but that’s okay. The

important thing to keep in mind is that the higher

the setting, the more sensitive the camera will be

to pick up lower light. The best way to determine

the most desirable setting is to place the subject a

few feet in front of you and take a shot at 100

ASA. Then, take the same shot at 800 ASA. The

100 ASA photo will probably have a darker

background, while the 800 ASA will allow more

light from the room in to make a brighter photo.

However, photos with a higher ASA setting will

show more grain or pixelization than photos with a

lower ASA setting. It’s a balancing act –

experiment until you find the setting you like.

Take advantage of your removable flash. If your camera

has a removable flash, try pointing the flash at the ceiling

when you shoot your indoor photo. The light from the flash

will bounce off the ceiling, which will light the scene from

above rather than from the front or side. This is a wonderful

way to light up a space in a realistic way.

When used in combination with a flash, an

incandescent light bulb turns yellow or orange.

Fluorescent lights tend to turn yellow or green.

Vapor lights pulse between green and

magenta. Open shade has a blue tone, while

sunlight is normally a true white light. If you are

not using a flash, your camera will probably

correct itself automatically, but these color

shifts will appear in the background of your

shot if your flash is enabled. They are not

always a nuisance; sometimes these tones can

add to a photo. Use them to your advantage, or

try disabling your flash and see what turns out

better.

As always, when taking photos, the most important thing is

to have fun. If your indoor photos have frustrated you in the

past, try some of these techniques. Whether you choose to

use automatic settings or make manual adjustments on

your camera, a little planning and effort goes a long way

with indoor photography.