![This fire-eater was taken with my old 80-200 f2.8 zoom set at 145mm. Exposure was ISO 6400 f2.8 @1/1500sec to freeze the flames on the torch as well as on his tongue.](https://new.peterphun.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/fire-eater1.jpg)
![Also shot at ISO 6400, this very pretty Polynesian dancer was shot with 1/180 sec @f2.8 with my old style 80-200 zoom which has no image stabilization.](https://new.peterphun.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/tupua-prod2.jpg)
Advancements in digital photography used to be measured by the megapixels that its sensor can capture for each image.
Thank goodness that race has ended at least in the DSLR market.
Now, it’s about how good the image looks at high ISO.
It’s not that I have an aversion to digital noise in an image.
I lived with digital noise for years when I worked in news because there are lots of instances when flash photography is not allowed yet I had to had to produce an image to illustrate what took place.
Two such instances that come to mind is in the courtroom and some athletic events like badminton tournaments.
These days the ISO setting on my Canon 5DMarkII is never set higher than 400.
Even though I know the camera handles low light very well, I prefer to ‘light’ my subjects if it’s a portrait for better control.
I find if I’m doing a portrait, I want to be in control of the lighting anyway except in the case of this Saturday at the close of the 2013 Lunar Festival in Riverside.. Continue reading Photographing fire dancers in low light