The Enthusiast's Guide to Night and Low-Light Photography, 1st Edition

9. HOW TO FOCUS IN LOW LIGHT

ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT things to master when photographing in low light is achieving proper focus. For autofocus to work properly, there needs to be enough light for the camera to “see” the subject, and there needs to be contrast in the scene so the focusing system has something to work with. The good news is that there are ways to help the autofocus system, and you can always use Manual focus for situations that are too difficult for the autofocus system.

The first and easiest solution is to use a separate light to help the focus work. Many cameras have a focus assist lamp that illuminates the subject when you ...