Digital cameras like old film camera work by capturing light on a special device. Old film camera captured light on light sensitive film while digital cameras capture light on light sensitive silicon chip also known as a CCD. Because digital cameras work by capturing light they have one big flaw they can not take pictures in the dark. But the problem is even worse. Digital cameras need plenty of light in order to take good sharp photos. Taking photos during the day when there is plenty of sunshine is easy. But what about taking photos in the evening or at night or indoors when light conditions are not good?



One way for digital cameras or film cameras to take photos in dark conditions is by opening the shutter for a long time. During the time the shutter is open light energy is accumulated on the film or the digital camera CCD. If the shutter is open for the right time enough light energy will be accumulated to capture a high quality photo. The problem with long shutter time is that it can only be used when taking pictures of still objects. If the objects move the result photo would be blurry. The other problem is to keep the camera steady while taking the photo. It is impossible to hold the camera steady in your hands so some kind of a mechanism like a tripod must be used.

If long shutter is not possible the other alternative is to light up the scene. This can be done by using a flash strobe. Most digital cameras include built in flash devices or can be connected to a stronger external flash. There are many problems with using flash light. First it can only be used to take photos of objects that are close to the camera since the light energy emitted is very limited. Even with objects that are close the photo would only include the close objects lit up while a more distant background would be simply black.

Flash light is thus more suitable for taking indoor photos in small close areas for example taking a photo in a room. But even in such a scene there is a problem with flash light. The light emitted by the flash is very bright and white and does not look natural. It is also known as cold light. The flash light can also be to strong making for example people faces look too white or it can be too weak making faces look too dark. Another bad effect of using flash strobe light is red eye phenomenon. When taking photos of people or animals in dark scenes flash light can be reflected from the eyes retina which results in a redness around the eyes as light is reflected from the blood in the eye retina. There is no perfect way to take photos in the dark if possible it is best to take photos in well lit conditions day time or morning time using natural sun light is always the best.