Chapter 7 Challenges Now that we have looked at the possibilities of shooting after dark, it’s time to put it all to the test. These assignments cover the full range of shooting possibilities, both with flash and without. Let’s get started.
Steadying your shots with IS It’s important to understand just how powerful your IS lens can be in steadying your shots. Using your IS lens, find a subject and set your camera to Tv mode. With the IS button turned to On, take a few photos at 1/30, 1/15, and 1/8 of a second. Then turn the IS feature to Off and take the same shots with the same settings. Compare your images to see how much more camera shake you are creating in each shot.
Pushing your ISO to the extreme Turn on the Extended ISO feature. Now find a place to shoot where the ambient light level is low. This could be at night or indoors in a darkened room. Using the mode of your choice, start increasing the ISO from 100 until you get to 12800. Make sure you evaluate the level of noise in your image, especially in the shadow areas. Only you can decide how much noise is acceptable in your pictures.
Getting rid of the noise Turn on the High ISO Speed Noise Reduction feature and repeat the previous assignment. Find your acceptable limits with the noise reduction turned on. Also pay attention to how much detail is lost in your shadows with this function enabled.
Creating long exposures in the dark If you don’t have a tripod, find a stable place to set your camera outside and try some long exposures. Set your camera to Av mode and then use the self-timer to activate the camera (this will keep you from shaking the camera while pressing the Shutter button). Or, use a cable release if you have one. Shoot in an area that has some level of ambient light, be it a streetlight or traffic lights, or even a full moon. The idea is to get some late-night, low-light exposures. For best results, perform this assignment and the next assignment in the same shooting session using the same subject.
Reducing the noise in your long exposures Now repeat the last assignment with Long Exposure Noise Reduction set to On. Look at the difference in the images that were taken before and after the noise reduction was enabled.
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C A N O N E O S 6 0 D : F R O M S N A P S H O T S T O G R E AT S H O T S