Low lighting conditions- evaluation


I was given the opportunity by a class peer to help out with a wedding. I had taking the photos during the ceremony, but my images were coming out to dark. I increased the ISO800 to ISO3200, which I really wasn't happy with, only because I knew the images would come out way to grainy. Also I didn't want the speed light to be a nuisance during this time of the vow's.

I wanted to research this for my own reassurance for next time I take another wedding ceremony inside a dark church.






Taken in church where it had very limited lighting

settings:
f6.3, 1/250, ISO 3200










How to get better photos in really low light conditions without using the flash?


Tips

1. Crank ISO as high as it will go
2. Shoot RAW if possible
3. Use aperature-priority with the lowest f-stop on the fastest lens, have it (f1.8 or lower if you can).
4. If that still cases the shutter speeds to be too low to hand-hold, then  set exposure compensation down a stop, which will increase the speed a little, and then  push the exposure in post (preferablly in RAW).
5. Lastly, use various forms of noise reduction to help on the grain/noise front.

How to adjust the exposure compensation? For canon and nikon users.

Once you have mastered this for low light conditions, hopefully the images should look a little like this. Except I adjusted the exposure on photoshop. (yes I was cheating) but you get the picture on what I was trying to explain.

Photoshop by increasing the exposure