Best Camera Settings for Indoor Photography No Flash

Throughout this article, there will be references to shutter speed, iso, and aperture.

I don't dive too deep into those aspects, but I have dedicated articles just for them. So after you're done reading here - you can head over to the topic you need help with and fill in some of the finer details.

• Aperture
• Shutter Speed
• ISO

Let's get at it!

All modern DSLR or mirrorless cameras have an exposure meter built-in. This is a tool to help you get the best picture possible by giving you an idea of what shutter speed, aperture, and ISO will give the correct brightness level in your photo.

The good thing about these meters, though, is they can be calibrated: meaning once you have found out which settings work best for one situation (bright room), make sure those settings stay consistent throughout all future pictures taken in similar low lit conditions (so same shutter speed, iso, and aperture).

We photographers often mention the exposure triangle, but it's a good idea to know how it works.

It's simply the three different settings that you can change on your camera to get the perfect picture:

• ISO
• Shutter speed
• Aperture

All of these affect one another (known as reciprocity), which means if you increase one setting, then all other related settings will need to be increased too, so everything balances out again.

For example, if I set my ISO higher for indoor photography without flash, my shutter speed and aperture may also need adjusting.

Keep this in mind as we go further in this discussion.

When talking about settings and the exposure triangle (which you balance when taking any photo), I wouldn't say that there's one that trumps the other. It really comes down to the type of photography you're taking and what the subject is.

For example, if I'm shooting a dance performance or event, my shutter speed will need to be faster than when photographing family indoors in low light without flash. The same can be said for aperture.

Your aperture would need to be higher if you want less background blur - you'd then lower your shutter and increase ISO.

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Aperture is the size of the hole in your lens. It can be adjusted to control how much light is allowed into the camera, and therefore what the exposure will look like on any given photo.

Aperture blades control the size of the hole and can be adjusted manually on some types of lenses. If not, they're controlled by a mechanical mechanism inside the lens itself that opens and closes to adjust how much light is allowed in.

If you're a beginner and usually shoot in automatic mode, stop.

Automatic mode is great for certain situations (although very few) - you will want to learn how to shoot in manual mode (we will have an article soon that covers this). Why am I saying this? It's simple, flexibility and knowing that your settings will get your desired effect.

This will also help you adjust your settings based on the current situation and not rely solely on automatic mode.

Again, every situation/type of photography is different, so this could change, which puts even more emphasis on learning/using manual mode.

Generally speaking, indoor lighting is not ideal and usually low (compared to outdoors, of course). This means your aperture needs to be adjusted accordingly - and as stated before, aperture controls the amount of light coming in.

You'll want to open the aperture as wide as it can go - depending on your lens. Some open as far as f/1.2, others open to f/2.8 or f/4 (the lower the number, the more 'open' the lens is). When we refer to a 'fast lens,' that's referencing a lens that opens up (stops down) very wide - generally speaking, f/1.8, f/1.4, f/1.2. Anything at or below f/2.0.

You'll have to check the lens you're using (we will go over a few recommendations here shortly) - but generally speaking, you want to keep the aperture open as wide as possible in indoor low light situations.

Remember, we aren't using a flash here - so you'll want to absorb as much natural or artificial light within the environment as possible. All light (regardless of quality) is better than increasing ISO to amplify what's already there.

To do this, you'll want to slow your shutter speed.

Set your camera to manual or aperture priority mode to get the slowest shutter possible without a tripod. This will allow you to change both ISO and shutter speed at once - essentially telling the camera what is more important at that moment (light sensitivity vs. motion blur).

You'll need to gauge what you're shooting versus your shutter speed. Fast action (dancing, boxing, performances) generally requires a faster shutter. The higher the shutter speed, the faster the camera can 'freeze' the motion.

Generally speaking, I shoot between 1/125th and 1/500th. However, I'm only at or close to 1/500th during dance performances, and there is a lot of fast motion and good lighting (spinning in dresses, jumping, rolling, etc.)

I will then adjust my ISO accordingly.

3200 is when image quality starts dropping significantly on modern cameras. You'll want to maintain a good balance between aperture and shutter speed to reduce this number as much as you can to avoid noise.

Different manufacturers cameras handle high ISO and noise much better than others. Sony (and their A7iii) are known for their great low light performance (and high ISO) - while Nikon on the other hand, doesn't perform as well.

Simply put, ISO affects how much light the camera sensor can pick up at a given time. The lower the ISO, the less sensitive to light it is and vice versa:

If you're shooting in low-light conditions or your shutter isn't fast enough for scenery shots (forest with moving leaves), then using a higher ISO may help.

However, if you use too high an ISO - this will introduce more noise into your photos which looks like speckles of color on top of what should be cleanly white snow or grey buildings.

There are two ways to approach white balance. You can either set it manually (which I suggest) or leave it on auto. If you choose to use the camera's auto-white balance, then make sure you take several shots and pick the best one - otherwise, your images will be inconsistent.

There is nothing wrong with leaving this setting at automatic for most occasions as long as there aren't drastic color shifts when shooting in light of different temperatures, such as going from fluorescent to window light.

Also, white-balanced can be changed post-processing if you're shooting in RAW (which I also highly recommend). But, it's always better to get it somewhat correct in camera first, so you aren't adding a bunch of work for yourself during the post-processing phase.

This is the biggest benefit of shooting manual - and it's also the biggest roadblock for most people. When shooting in auto, you're hoping that your camera gets the white balance correctly.

But what happens when it doesn't? You end up with different colors per photo or, worse yet, a color cast over all of them, depending on how extreme the problem is. This could be due to many factors, such as window light coming into contact with fluorescent lighting, but if you shoot manually, then there are no surprises!

It might take some time to get used to set these settings right, but once mastered, you'll be sure every photo has consistency regardless of where they were taken or exposure variations.

Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO all work together to create the perfect balance for a photo.

• Aperture allows in more or less light depending on how wide it is open
• Shutter speed controls how long the camera will be exposed to that light
• ISO determines how sensitive your digital sensor is to available light.

If you're shooting indoors without a flash, then there's really no way of overcoming low natural lighting, so all three settings will need to work together with one another as well as any other additional ways you might have of bringing up those shadows (window lighting, etc.).

We'll cover some examples below but first, let's go over the most important thing: what type of photography do we want our photos portraying? This question leads us into understanding where we should set these various items

In photography (and life in general) - light is everything. It's how we see; it shapes everything around us - above anything in photography, light is most important.

So what are some ways to get better indoor photos? Using existing light to your advantage.

For example, let's say you're photographing someone in their home - the easiest and most likely place for that would be a window! If it's an event or happening outside of your home, finding a spot where windows are facing towards what you're shooting will also work well (you'll want to have people turn so they're not looking directly at the window).

This will allow one side of them to face into the room, giving some depth to their features and making colors pop more than if all images were taken against a dark background.

This is very typical for indoor events - the lighting is hardly ever good for photos. So we as photographers have to improvise. Here are settings you can start with, then adjust accordingly.

• Open your lens all the way. The aperture should be at its lowest setting to allow in the most light.
• Seeing as this is a casual event - keep the shutter low (around 1/125th) to allow the sensor to absorb as much light as it can. The slow shutter is ok in this situation; it's casual and has not much movement.
• Now, adjust your ISO accordingly. Increase it until your exposure meter balances, and then look at the ISO value. Suppose it's at or below 3200, great. If not, lower it to 3200 and take a shot. You can bring those details back in post-processing and avoid the high ISO noise. If it's far below 1 stop (at 3200 ISO), increase it to where you need it, and take the photo. But be warned, you'll probably not use it - meaning the photo wasn't worth taking in the first place.

This is very common during indoor photography. This is many of our indoor shoots, and it's a lot easier than you'd expect.

• Open your lens all the way. This will allow you to increase your shutter speed to capture the action. The faster the lens, the better, the lower the f-number).
• Seeing as there is stage lighting, you shouldn't have an issue increasing the shutter speed to at least 1/250th (to be safe, try 1/500th - if it's too dark, back off a bit).
• It would help if you didn't have to mess with ISO because there is stage lighting again. Stage lighting is normally balanced and bright. 

The only time you would ever have to adjust ISO and have slower shutter speeds in this situation is when you don't have a high-speed lens.

Remember, the faster the lens

• The more light that's allowed in
• The faster your shutter speed can be
• The lower your ISO can be

These are the toughest of them all. You're taking pictures of people, in the evening or at night, indoors. The lighting is bad, and you know the pictures aren't going to come out great. What do you do?

You find any and every way to light the scene. Forget about the quality of light at this point. Any light is better than none.

This could be ceiling light, lamplight, etc. If it's dark enough, turn them all on! I have even asked a homeowner if I could borrow their flashlight. They handed me a mag-light style flashlight. Bright for sure.

Do you know what I did? I turned it on and bounced it off the white ceiling above them. I would take a few shots like that - and then move the light around the room. Angling it off the ceiling too. Never shine it on them. This is using reflective light to light the scene.

Trust me - it's much better than not doing anything at all.

You'll want the widest aperture, slowest shutter speed, and lowest ISO values to capture something like this. You may need a tripod if you need to go below 1/60th of a second. Keeping the ISO low is critical in keeping the image crisp and free of noise.

There are two types of lenses. Primes and Zooms.

• Prime lenses do not zoom. They are a fixed focal length and have a greater depth of field. They're also faster than zooms. These are the lenses that can stop down to f/1.8, f/1.4, and f/1.2. Obviously, these lenses allow in more light and are better in low-light situations.
• Zoom lenses do just that - zoom. They're slower than primes and only stop down to f/2.8 (except for zooms stopping lower). This can equate to half to 3x less light than a prime. The advantage is more focal lengths in a single lens. It's also cheaper than buy 3-5 prime lenses that fall within the same focal range of zoom.

The choice is ultimately up to you regarding what works best in your environment/setting and results. Determining which one works best before the shoot will make everything easier going forward.

And you now know that there isn't an end-all-be-all setting for property indoor photography.

A few things to take away from this article

1. Use manual mode (and manual white balance) to maintain consistent images.
2. Use as much of the natural/ambient light within the scene as possible. This will make for better-quality photos.
3. Keep the exposure triangle in mind at all times. Make sure your settings reflect what you're shooting (fast action=faster shutter, etc.)
4. We really hope we have helped you figure out the best setting for indoor photography without a flash!  Leave questions and anything else you might have in the comments below!

   Until next time folks, be safe and keep creating!