Sharp in the dark

All things being equal, the less light there is in a scene, the longer an exposure you’ll need for it to be correct. So, when you’re working in low light, such as for twilight shoots outdoors, or in dimly lit interiors, you’ll often be using slower shutter speeds. And slower speeds can mean you get camera shake in your images.

Shake happens when the camera is moved during an exposure, and this affects sharpness. Even tiny vibrations can show up, and the slower the shutter speed you use, the more noticeable it’ll be, though this very much depends on how good you are at holding the camera still.

Camera shake also becomes more pronounced at longer focal lengths, so with the same handholding technique you’ll notice more shake at 55mm than you would at 18mm.

Of course, this isn’t a new problem. Camera shake during exposures has been a factor in photography for as long as there has been photography. Shooting in low light or not, historically, you’ve