Extreme HIGH ISO photography tricks. Whatever you do, don’t do THIS!

What’s your favorite crazy-low-light technique? Let us know!

Awesome tutorial Senor Simone.

I've given up fighting noise and high ISO. I don't pixel peep, and just use the needed ISO setting to get a non blurry shot! If it's noisy, so be it.

You’re a great teacher. I learn something new with every video.

Remarkable tips. Well done Simon. Your videos always contain information that is accurate and useful.

Flying to Kenya to get the best photo possible, instead of sitting home doing nothing behind the keyboard is the best tip 👏

Apart from the tips, the biggest thing I took from this video is seeing the pro having the same struggles as I do 😊 Thanks for the confidence boost Simon!! As always, great video!

Brilliant!!! Thanks Simon! Time to get out and learn to master these techniques!

sounds like an amazing photo safari! 🌟💚

Love your very practical videos, and your comments make me laugh. Thanks for sharing these magnificent animal shots! I've found that, in addition to the highlight and shadow, low light photos benefit from a balance of increasing both shadow and whites values together. I would say it's 2 : 1 (max) shadows to whites. The whites give you a little boost in brightness (including shadows), and then the shadows even out the exposure. And I don't have to use as much or either as might have to do if I were only increasing one of the sliders.

Thanks Sir 🙏🏻 This is a very helpful video 👍👍💐

Great tips! Thank you!

I'm going to link this video back to one of your older videos. I hate to do it, but to quote Crosby, Stills, Nash… "I feel like I owe it to someone". I only mentioned this because you said that you have a big, expensive full frame camera.

Look at some of the lower-light shots in this video. Say the lions, for example. Now…imagine taking those same shots with an APS-C camera. Same focal length and nominal aperture. In fact, just to make it fair, take an RF lens and put it on an R5, and then put the exact same lens on an R7. And to make it more fair, shoot wide open on both.

Now ask yourself the question you asked in a past video title: "Do larger sensors indeed have lower noise?" The only MEANINGFUL answer is "Yes". I remember a comment from that video, "…the ONLY difference is that the larger sensor captures a larger portion of the image circle". Once again, not true. That's not the ONLY difference.

Shoot both photos at, say, F/4. The APS-C camera will be exposed like F/6.4. Dial down the shutter speed, or dial up the ISO, compared to the full frame camera. And since the slower shutter speed is probably going to create blur, you're left with ISO. And, yes, higher ISO does create more noise – otherwise, why didn't you shoot that lion at ISO 100,000 like you mentioned in this video?

You give some great tips. People need to understand that APS-C really does have an "equivalent aperture" that requires higher ISO or larger aperture. Saying anything else is disingenuous. Great pictures can be captured with an APS-C camera. But this game is all about capturing light, and full frame is superior in that department. More to the point, most humans love early mornings and late evenings, and full frame simply expands the window of time you can capture those images at a professional level. You mention that in Kenya the sun comes straight up and the light gets harsh very quickly. Your time window simply gets smaller when you're shooting APS-C.

That was a great video simone , really informative!

Thanks for these videos, Simon. I just got my first real camera and they are tremendously helpful guides while I'm still figuring out basics.

Fantastic images of the backlit birds. I agree with all your suggestions. I also like that last one of the artistic flamingoes.
I first heard about ETTR from Michael Reichmann on Luminous Landscape almost 20 years ago. I have used it ever since. The other important consideration here is that more data is contained in the highlights than the shadows of a digital sensor meaning that more manipulation is possible after the fact.

Excellent discussion. Maybe I'm compromising, but with a crop sensor Canon R7, I routinely allow the AutoISO to range up to 3200, and I'm happy to go to 6400 if required. And with de-noising software, even ISO 12800 can yield acceptable images.

Not sure if you’ve done this type of video yet, but it would be awesome if you did a longer start to finish editing video. Where you start, what you focus on, how your wrap it up etc. love your content!

Could you please explain whites and blacks? I've seen a few explanations, but still don't quite get when to adjust them and how to combine them with adjustments in the highlights/shadows.

I absolutely love the image at 0:45!

0:44 I guess its just open to interpretation, but that does not feel over-exposed at all? I like the before 🤷‍♂️

Amazing Photography Simon

Go wide instead of tight. A 500 f/4 with an animal small in the frame will allow a little more light to work with than a tight portrait.

Hey fellow Nova Scotian! I am a beginner photographer going to NSCC in September! your videos are the most helpful to me and I just wanted to thank you for making them. hopefully the weather gets better and I can get out and take some pictures, where (other than peggy's Cove) do you recommend I go to get some good nature shots?

Great video. I have a naive question: for the most part, do you shoot with ISO in Auto?

I just learned that I taught myself ETTR after playing with my new camera last winter and spring

My highest native ISO is 3200😊

My favourite photography channel! My low light photography trick is-set radial filter on object and decrease exposure slightly outside filter. That can make object "more lighter" and in more contrast to the backoround. Decrease clarity outside filter (object) at the same time also reduces noisy background.

Man the shots of the birds with the wings open are beautiful

People need to embrace the noise, it's an aspect that can give character to an image.

I do landscape photography and sometimes it’s too dark for the camera to focus and also to dark to see when the object you’re focusing on is in focus because there’s no sun creating texture.

So I carry a letter A around. About the size of those magnet letters for kids. I can shine my light at the object and then figure out the focus when the letter becomes sharp.

This prevents me from having to guess or take dozens of shots after slightly adjusting focus. Then when I am in focus I walk over and grab the letter and then take the shot.

The letter is on a black piece of poster board and made out of very thin lines of reflective tape.

Awesome, as always! Hope to photograph flamingos this summer in Spain

Kind of unrelated, but what are the cons of using the electronic shutter? They're quieter, they make less vibrations, they don't wear any mechanic parts.