I need help. I like taking pictures but right now I am just using a point and shoot canon digital camera. What is the best way to take pictures of a church's interior which is sometimes dark?

You'll find that many historical buildings will not allow use of flash indoors. I set my Canon G6 so the flash is turned off. I brace the camera so I can hold it steady and then take the picture. I've been very lucky and have taken some excellent photos this way. (You'll find that the camera will automatically set its shutter speed to respond to the lighting conditions.)

sistine,


I'm not an expert, but most Canons have what I think is called a creative zone. It allows you to set the camera for inside shooting/night shooting. I have used the night setting most - depending on how dark it is. I find that flash makes it worse, as the flash only goes a little way and leaves it overexposed in parts and underexposed for the rest. Sometimes you can adjust the ISO which helps, but you will have more noise.

The most important thing I've found is to brace the camera if you can. I either put it on a bench or stand leaning against a wall and take the picture through the viewfinder (not the screen), holding your arms steady next to your body. (I read that you have more motion in your arms when you use the screen, which makes it blurrier.)

Jill

ZeldaSue,

Oops, sorry to repeat. It just took me too long to write my answer.

Jill

Thanks Zelda and Jill! Europe has plenty of museums and churches and my pictures are not always that good. I noticed that flash doesnt help and holding the camera steady is helpful. I need to practice using my digital camera.
I appreciate your comments.

Sistine,

The following will help you in taking good pictures in low-light scenarios.

1) Use a monopod. Many places will not allow you to use/setup a tripod, but a monopod will be okay.

2) Boost your ISO. However this must be done judiciously, high enough that it increases the shutter speed to "holdable" tolerances but low enough that the noise levels are within accepted range.

3) Increase the exposure compensation.

4) Shoot in RAW (if your camera is equiped for it).

5) Shoot with low-zoom, this will give you a wide aperture in a fully auto mode. If your camera has an "Aperture Priority" mode, use that and set your aperture to its wides (lowest F-number). Wider aperture, more light it will gather and hence that will increase your shutter speed.

Edit:
6) Get yourself a camera with image stabilization. Many of the newer Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic and Fuji's have it as a feature. Some are not expensive and can be invested in as a second camera.

Thanks Xponent. I will read your comments thoroughly and experiment with my camera before leaving for my next trip. I appreciate your insights, it sounds complicaated to me

You are welcome sistine. Sorry for having thrown in some technical jargon. Feel free to ignore it.

One thing that can help you understand what I've said, is to read your camera manual thoroughly. But nothing will make you understand your camera better than your own experimentation with it.

It would have helped immensely had you listed your camera model.

You may also experiment with different ways to grip the camera so that it reduces the effects of a shaky hand. This, however, is easier with larger cameras.

Modern digital cameras are a great deal lighter than older film cameras, but the pressure required to open the shutter is much the same. I believe this increases the chance of blurred shots. Those that have stabilization may not get the blur, but may find that their photographs are not as vertical as they would like.

The only way to take photographs under these circumstances is to increase you ISO (sensitivity). You can set this manually or in the Auto mode your camera will increase it to maximum. This is where DSLR's have a major advantage over point-and-shoot cameras in that you can set the ISO in a DSLR up to 3200, with a point-and-shoot mostly only going up to 800. The smaller sensors on the latter cameras create more noise. A neat trick is to put the camera on something and use the self timer of the camera.