Level: Beginner
LESSON 13Capturing Beautiful Party Photos
Insufficient light makes it difficult to capture beautiful photos of indoor parties and celebrations in dim environments. Here, we introduce some techniques for capturing what you see.
Capturing What You See
When shooting indoors in low light, generally the camera’s built-in flash fires to prevent blurring. However, when the light from the flash directly illuminates the subject, the light can reflect in such a way that the surrounding area can appear relatively underexposed, giving the image an unnatural look, as shown below.
Illuminated with a flash
Not illuminated with a flash
First, let's try shooting without using the built-in flash. Start by selecting Anti Motion Blur* in Scene Selection. In Anti Motion Blur mode, six photos are continuously captured each time the shutter is released, and these are superimposed, one on top of another, to reduce noise. You can capture areas with less noise (compared to shooting with Intelligent Auto) and high sensitivity, and a fast shutter speed is set. In addition, moving subjects and the background are identified and superimposed, one on top of another, so you can shoot while controlling camera shake and subject blur.
- * This may be located elsewhere other than in Scene Selection, depending on which camera is used.
Capturing one photo (subject blur)
Anti Motion Blur mode
However, because Anti Motion Blur mode is an auto capture mode, the color tone and brightness that are explained in the next section cannot be set. To change those characteristics using the white balance and exposure compensation functions, shoot in A-mode. When shooting in A-mode, open the aperture as much as possible. If blurring still occurs, try shooting while manually increasing the sensitivity.
The section above explains how to shoot without using the flash. If blurring still occurs when using this technique, use the flash. Change to P-mode when you do this, so you can change the color tone and brightness, which are explained in the next section.
For details on each term, please refer to the following pages:
Adjusting the Color Tone
Color tone is crucial for capturing what you see and can be adjusted with the white balance function. First, let's try shooting with the AWB white balance setting. With AWB, the camera automatically adjusts color tone according to the scene, but sometimes the color tone determined by AWB doesn’t match what the naked eye sees. If this happens, fine-tune the white balance. When shooting under warm-colored lighting, try adjusting the white balance toward amber (A) to capture the warmth that you see.
For details on each term, please refer to the following pages:
Image appears bluer than what the naked eye sees
White balance adjusted toward amber
When the Subject Is Not in Focus
The camera comes with an autofocus (AF) function to automatically focus on the subject, but AF can be less than ideal for dim, insufficiently lit scenes. In this case, you can try either of the following solutions.
AF Lock
AF makes it easy to focus on bright or strongly contrasted objects. So when the focus is not on the subject that you want to capture, look for a brighter object, such as food or an object under a spotlight. The key is to look for an object that is the same distance away from the camera as the subject that you want to capture.
When you find a bright location, point the camera at that location, adjust the AF, point the camera again at the subject that you want to capture while maintaining AF, compose the shot, and press the shutter button to take the shot.
In the default setting, a half-press of the shutter button activates AF, so point the camera at a bright location, half-press the shutter button, and once focus is achieved, compose the shot while continuing to half-press the shutter button.
Manual Focus (MF)
Another technique is to use manual focus (MF) to focus on the subject that you want to capture. When MF is selected, you can adjust the focus manually by turning the focus ring on the lens.
However, camera settings and focus adjustment with MF take time to get used to. If you are interested in shooting with MF, try MF in advance.
Also, the way to switch from AF to MF varies according to camera model. See the User Manual or Handbook for details.
For details on autofocus (AF) and Manual focus, please refer to the following page:
What is the difference between Autofocus (AF) Mode and Manual focus (MF) Mode?
Using an External Flash
We have introduced several shooting techniques that do not use a flash, but you can capture more beautiful photos with the original feel of the scene intact with bounce flash photography using an optional external flash.
Bounce flash photography involves illuminating the subject with indirect light that is bounced off of a wall or ceiling. The light is gently diffused, creating a more natural image by reducing unnatural shadows and shine on faces that often occurs when using the built-in flash to directly illuminate the subject.
Directly illuminating the face with a flash
Bounce flash photography with external flash
Lenses recommended for capturing party photos
We recommend a bright fixed focal length lens for shooting indoors. This allows you to greatly defocus the background for delicious-looking photos of foods and sweets, and to capture beautiful group photos. A zoom lens, if you have one, is also useful for capturing a variety of scenes. Choose the lens according to your needs.
Both APS-C and full frame cameras and lenses are offered, but as long as the same E-mount is used, compatibility is ensured. See the following page for notes on use.
Are APS-C and full frame cameras and lenses interchangeable? (α E-mount)
Note: There are models that are not sold in certain countries and regions.
Focal length: 50 mm / F-number: 3.5 / Shutter speed: 1/400 sec.
SEL50F14Z
This large aperture prime lens with a large F1.4 maximum aperture offers the stunning contrast and high resolution of a ZEISS lens. The large F1.4 maximum aperture and extremely bright lens allow you to enjoy creating higher-quality works in a variety of scenes, not only for snapshots and landscape photography, but also for dim indoor situations, night views, and even portraits that leverage the beautiful and rich bokeh created by the shallow depth of field and the 11-blade circular aperture.
Focal length: 74 mm / F-number: 4.0 / Shutter speed: 1/400 sec
SEL24105G
This standard zoom lens covers the frequently used range from 24 mm wide angle to 105 mm medium telephoto, allowing you to capture a variety of scenes from snapshots to people, landscapes, and even weddings with a single lens. This lens lets you enjoy the beautiful bokeh of a G lens, while pursuing sharp rendering up to the edges of the frame across the entire zoom range.
Focal length: 70 mm / F-number: 4.0 / Shutter speed: 1/100 sec
SEL1670Z
This E-mount dedicated standard zoom lens covers a wide shooting range from 24 mm wide angle to 105 mm telephoto (35 mm format equivalent), and achieves compactness while maintaining high rendering performance. Weighing about 308 g, it is lightweight and easy to carry, and performs well in a wide range of scenes, including landscapes, snapshots, and portraits. The widest F4 aperture setting is available over the entire zoom range, allowing you to shoot with fast shutter speeds without needlessly increasing the ISO sensitivity even in dim indoor conditions. From close-ups of foods to group photos, you can capture various scenes with a single lens.
Focal length: 18 mm / F-number: 5.6 / Shutter speed: 1/250 sec
SEL18135
This high-magnification zoom lens is compatible with the APS-C format that performs well in various scenes such as landscapes, portraits, and nature views. The built-in optical image stabilization function also supports handheld photography. We recommend this lens for everyday snapshots, as well as travel and other situations where you want to keep your luggage to a minimum.