Have you ever been in an museum, art gallery or cathedral and wished you could
shoot some pictures of their interiors? I was once in the Vatican in Rome and I
was mesmerized by the sweeping ceilings, majestic interiors, stained glass and
ancient pillars.
Taking good photos of such environments requires some skill,
usually because of tricky lighting. In this article, we'll explore some ways of
taking good shots in a museum or cathedral setting.
A interior shot of the St. Vitus
Cathedral in Prague
Get
a Good External Flash
If you use a standard
point-and-shoot with a built-in flash, you'll soon realize that its not
sufficient for these type of photographs. Hence, the number one tip I can give
about taking good pictures inside museums or cathedrals? Get a good external
flash unit.
Good enthusiast digital
cameras (e.g. the Panasonic Lumix
DMC-FZ20) will have a hot shoe onto which you can fit an external flash. An
external flash unit allows you to throw light 75 feet away, and are much better
for illuminating scenes like this. The external flash unit I use with my
Panasonic FZ-20 is the Sunpak
383 Super Flash shown below.
One big problem with shooting
indoor tourist locations like cathedrals is that flash photography is often not
allowed. Why so, you might ask? Well, flash photography might disturb other
visitors, or ruin the serenity of the location. The powerful flashes might also
cause cause to ancient materials.
My advice is to learn how to turn off your flash before you step inside the
museum or cathedral. Most digital cameras allow you to completely disable the
flash by cycling though its various settings until you reach an icon that has a
slash through the flash symbol.
Bring Along Your Tripod
Now, assuming no flash can be used - how can you still take a good photo of such museums or cathedrals? Well,
here’s another tip - bring along a tripod. Even a small, lightweight tripod is
enough to stabilize your camera for the long exposure you'll need.
Remember that to shoot under
low-light conditions, you will need to set the camera shutter speed to be very
slow (e.g. from 1 to 8 seconds). You can't possible hold the camera steady by
hand for that long - hence the need for a tripod.
If full-size tripods aren't permitted, you can try propping yourself against a
wall or doorway to keep the camera steady. Set the camera to its highest ISO
level (making the camera sensor more sensitive to light) and keep shooting.
Another option is to buy a
tiny tabletop tripod - the type with finger-length, flexible legs. You can use
it to hold the camera firmly against a wall, doorway, or some other vertical
surface while you take a long exposure. The authorities should not mind since
you won't be obstructing corridors when you do that.
Conclusion
Well, I hope you've learnt something about taking photos in museums and
cathedrals from this short article. Try to apply the above tips in your next
vacation photo shoots – I’m sure you’ll start getting better results. Happy
shooting!
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