take two shots, one for low frequency, one for high, and then combine?

Question

I do have to take pictures in a low light environment, where part of the assignment is to capture the naturally present light. (its a chill-lounge sauna) I *could* get higher ISO, and wider aperture, but I need to get as high quality as possible images with as much depth of field as needed. My squestion is: Is it possible to take 2 shots, one with a long shutter speed to get the lighting and the color and whatsoever, and then an identical shot with low shutter speed and a flash, and combine those afterwards? sorf of like a frequency separation, but taking the color from one shot, and the structure from the other? Would the resulting image be any good?

Answer 1

It certainly is possible, and is used quite a bit in low-light situations. Just make sure you are using a tripod and don't move the camera any between shots. The only issue I see is that you stated the assignment was to capture naturally present light, so you may want to double check before you introduce any flash.

You may be able to capture enough information with just a single picture by shooting in RAW, but a second picture at a different shutter speed is still a good method/safety net. When you go to edit, just layer the images and use masking to bring out the bottom layer to get the lighting you want.