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TOP TIPS FOR SHOOTING IN LOW LIGHT

Shooting in low light situations can often be tricky and result in dark and blurry photos but if you follow these top tips you’ll be able to capture great indoor and low light shots with your Olympus PEN camera and much brighter and sharper than any smart phone.

STEADY YOUR CAMERA

Low light situations often require a slower shutter speed, and this is what causes the blur in photos if the camera is being used handheld. But you don’t need an expensive tripod, even a stack of books or a table is enough to steady your camera and reduce camera shake meaning you can achieve crisper photos. And if you still want to shoot your photos with a portrait orientation just select the 3:4 ratio option in the Super Control Menu.

SETTINGS

To keep your indoor and low-level light photos bright you will want to start playing around with your settings. Slowing the shutter speed, increasing the aperture and raising the ISO will all allow more light into the camera and create brighter photos,

but if you are still shooting in AUTO and struggling to get brighter photos then try switching to shooting in P / Program Mode. In this mode the camera will choose your shutter and aperture settings, but you can adjust the exposure by simply rotating the click wheel on the top of the camera. You will see the image brighten and darken with a click to the left or the right and it’s a great way to start learning how to adjust your Olympus PEN settings to create brighter photos. If you are not quite there yet, just keep adjusting the brightness to brighter or darker in Auto mode - easily via the touchscreen.

Also, if you are finding your indoor photos a tad too warm or yellow then ensure you have KEEP WARM COLOR turned OFF which you will find in Settings menu F. Again, if you don't feel confident enough yet to use the menu, just adjust the warmth via touchscreen.

USE THE OI SHARE APP

If you are trying to shoot photos of yourself indoors then the Olympus OI Share App is a must have. Once you have connected your camera to your smartphone with the built in wi-fi you will be able to have a live view of yourself on your smartphone and take photos, change settings and create custom self-timers all within the app. To shoot photos inside create a custom self-timer with at least 2 seconds between each shot, this will allow you to change pose and hold it still enough for the camera to capture it with no blur.

LENSES

Your kit lens is capable of capturing photos in low light if you do follow the tips above but its lowest aperture of F3.5 means it won't perform in low light as well as a lens with a wider aperture. The M.Zuiko Digital 25mm F1.8 lens for example aperture can be opened to F1.8 and so is much better in low light conditions. With this lens you will be able to capture images inside and in the evening, which are brighter and crisper but also with that lovely background blur.

I hope that has given you some ideas of how to shoot indoors and in low level light conditions with the Olympus PEN. Enjoy trying it out yourself!

Author & Photographer: Debs Stubbington

Photography by Interest

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