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I have a Nikon D5100 and need to know how to use it properly to take pictures in low light (dance recital). I can't use a flash. I've tried but don't seem to get clear pictures. They come out very blurry.
I usually use the camera on automatic setting and haven't really played around with it much because I'm scared I'll mess up the settings and not be able to get it back (silly, I know). Thanks in advance!
You are trying to shoot in one of the toughest condition imaginable. Low-light and action are the most demanding, so keep in mind that you need to set expectations and shoot tons of images to get some to work out.
What you need first is a fast shutter-speed. In order to get that in low-light, you need to select a high sensitivity. I therefore suggest you select the highest ISO which is acceptable to you, say 3200 or even 6400. Yes, it gets noisy but you do not have much to work with.
Then select a fast shutter-speed by entering Shutter-Priority mode (S on the mode-dial) and dialing the control-dial. You will need at least 1/500s if not more. If you dial in something, say 1/2000s, and you see the aperture flashing in the viewfinder, you have reached the limit of your lens.
If this is important to you, I highly recommend you get a bright lens for it. They are expensive to buy but can be rented for $50 or so per day or weekend. Something like a Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm F/2.8 should be available everywhere and let in 4 times more light than a kit-lens at the end of the zoom.
To improve your odds, set the camera to continuous drive so that when you press the shutter, it captures a burst of images. It will do so at 4 FPS which is kind of slow for fast movement but better than nothing. Use the fastest memory card you have, otherwise the camera will lockup for a long time between bursts.
If that is still not enough, it is time to get a better camera. Should this be a rare event, go ahead and rent one too but rent it a day or two before. Using a lens on a camera you know is easy but using an unfamiliar one requires way more practice, so shoot as much as you fast action in low-light the day before and remember to recharge the battery over-night before the recital.
The lens you are using presently doesn't allow much light to pass through it. In the absence of flash light, your camera is forced to keep the shutter open for a longer duration to collect enough light to get a properly exposed picture. This does make the pictures blurry, as you are not capturing a split second of action.
Best thing you can do is buy a cheap but effective lens by nikon, the 50mm f/1.8 lens. Due to the larger aperture, it allows maximum light to pass through when the aperture chosen is wider. After you have got the said lens, you can put your camera on "aperture priority" and select an aperture like f/1.8 or f/2 and set the ISO to 3200 and grab the picture.
If the shutter speed chosen is still less to arrest the dance movements, you need to plan when to press the shutter. Press the shutter just before the peak of action is reached. If a dancer is jumping, at the top of their jump their speed is going to be zero.
Finally, take your own sweet time to photograph. You may not get very many pictures which work, but you will be conscious of every action you take and you can be deliberate. Best of luck.
