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Master low-light wildlife photography at dawn, dusk, and night. Practical camera settings, ISO management, stabilization, autofocus tips, and safari ethics.

Exposure Strategy & Core Camera Settings

Low-light wildlife encounters—such as predators moving at dawn, forest birds foraging under dense canopies, and nocturnal species emerging at dusk—present the most demanding exposure challenges in wildlife photography. When ambient light is scarce, standard camera metering often produces blurry, underexposed, or noisy frames.

Achieving sharp, well-exposed wildlife images in low light requires a precise understanding of the exposure triangle, customized to the movement speed of the animal and the capabilities of modern camera sensors.

Quick-Reference Baseline Settings Matrix

Before breaking down individual parameters, use this reference table as a starting point in the field:

Best Camera Settings for Low-Light Wildlife Photography

                    ┌────────────────────────────────────────┐

                    │       LOW-LIGHT EXPOSURE TRIANGLE       │

                    └────────────────────────────────────────┘

                                        ▲

                                       / \

                                      /   \

       PRIORITY 1: SHUTTER SPEED    /     \    PRIORITY 2: APERTURE

       ─────────────────────────    /       \   ────────────────────

       Freeze subject movement     /         \  Shoot wide open (f/2.8 – f/5.6)

       (1/500s to 1/4000s)        /───────────\ Gather maximum physical light

                                        ▲

                                        │

                               PRIORITY 3: ISO

                               ────────────────

                               Set as “Flexibility Dial”

                               (ISO 1600 – 6400+) via Auto ISO

ISO: The Flexibility Dial

In low-light photography, ISO should not be treated as a quality limiter, but rather as an exposure enabler. A common mistake is capping ISO at 800 or 1600 out of fear of digital noise, resulting in shutter speeds that drop too low and ruin images with motion blur.

• Dawn and Dusk Baseline: In early morning conditions (06:00–09:00), start between ISO 1600 and ISO 3200. During late afternoon drives (16:00–18:00), starting at ISO 400 is often sufficient, progressively raising it as the sun dips below the horizon.

• Deep Low Light & Night Safaris: For thick forest floors, overcast dawn runs, or night game drives, set a baseline of ISO 2000 to 6400+. Do not hesitate to let your sensor climb above ISO 2000.

• The Sharpness Rule: A sharp, well-focused image with luminance noise can be cleaned effectively using modern RAW processing algorithms, whereas motion blur from an inadequate shutter speed cannot be recovered.

• The Upper Limit Guideline: As a rule of thumb across full-frame and modern APS-C/Micro Four Thirds bodies, keep your maximum Auto ISO ceiling capped at 1 to 2 stops below the camera’s native maximum ISO limit to avoid severe dynamic range compression and non-recoverable chroma noise.

Field Note: Expose correctly in-camera. Under-exposing a shot at ISO 1600 and lifting the shadows by two stops in post-processing generates significantly more destructive image noise and color banding than shooting the scene natively at ISO 6400.

Shutter Speed: Managing Animal Speed vs. Available Light

Shutter speed selection in low light depends strictly on the physical velocity of your subject:

• Walking Large Mammals (1/500 sec minimum): Deer, elephants, or big cats moving at a calm walking pace require at least 1/500 sec to freeze leg and head movement in low light.

• Active or Running Mammals (1/1600 to 1/2500 sec): Fast-moving predators, running ungulates, or playful primates require a jump to 1/1600–1/2500 sec. Accept the resulting ISO increase to maintain structural sharpness across the body.

• Dawn Birds in Flight (1/3200 to 1/4000 sec): Wing articulation requires extreme shutter speeds. Even in dim morning light, 1/3200 to 1/4000 sec (and occasionally 1/5000 sec for small passerines) is mandatory to prevent wing-tip smearing.

• Stationary Animals in Low Light (1/250 sec or lower): If an animal is completely still and your camera/lens combination provides stable support, shutter speeds can drop down to 1/250 sec or lower, allowing you to bring your ISO down to cleaner levels.

• Nocturnal Wildlife (1/100 to 1/125 sec): When tracking animals illuminated by a spotlight or low-powered artificial light, 1/100 to 1/125 sec is the absolute lower boundary for freezing subtle animal breathing and muscle twitches without introducing camera shake.

Aperture: Maximizing Physical Light Intake

To gather as much physical light as possible, your lens should generally be set to its widest available aperture ($f/2.8$, $f/4$, or $f/5.6$ on variable zooms).

• Fast Glass Advantage: Lenses with maximum apertures of $f/2.8$ or $f/4$ provide a major optical advantage in low light by doubling or quadrupling the light transmitted to the sensor compared to variable lenses operating at $f/6.3$ or $f/7.1$.

• Variable Aperture Zooms: If your longest telephoto reach limits your widest aperture to $f/5.6$, $f/6.3$, or $f/7.1$, shoot wide open at that limit. Avoid stopping down to $f/8$ or $f/11$ in low light, as doing so forces the camera to raise ISO to destructive levels or drop shutter speed below safe thresholds.

• Subject Isolation: Shooting wide open in dim light also isolates the subject from busy branches or background foliage, softening distractions and emphasizing eye detail.

Camera Modes: Aperture Priority vs. Manual with Auto ISO

Automatic mode is unsuitable for wildlife because the camera cannot interpret subject speed or intent. Two modes provide the necessary control:

MODE CHOICE COMPARISON

1. MANUAL MODE + AUTO ISO (Recommended for Variable Action)

   [ Shutter: Fixed by Photographer ] -> Locks movement freeze

   [ Aperture: Fixed Wide Open      ] -> Maximizes light intake

   [ ISO: Floats Automatically       ] -> Balances exposure instantly

2. APERTURE PRIORITY (Recommended for Stable, Slow-Paced Scenes)

   [ Aperture: Fixed Wide Open      ] -> Keeps light gathering high

   [ ISO: Manually Selected         ] -> Controlled noise floor

   [ Shutter: Selected by Camera    ] -> Risk of dropping too low if light falls

1. Manual Mode with Auto ISO (Primary Recommendation): This is the most versatile setup for modern wildlife photography. You lock your desired shutter speed to freeze motion (e.g., 1/2000 sec) and set your aperture wide open (e.g., $f/4$). The camera then continuously adjusts ISO to balance exposure as your subject moves between open clearings and deep shade.

2. Aperture Priority (Secondary Option): Suitable during early dawn when light is scarce but the subject is resting or moving slowly. By selecting your lowest $f$-number (e.g., $f/4$) and setting an ISO baseline (such as ISO 1600 or 3200), the camera calculates the fastest available shutter speed. However, you must monitor your viewfinder to ensure shutter speed does not drop below safe handholding or subject-freezing thresholds.

Exposure Compensation and Histogram Evaluation

Do not rely solely on the brightness of your camera’s rear LCD screen when evaluating low-light exposures, as your eyes adjust to the dark surroundings and make images appear brighter than they actually are.

HISTOGRAM MONITORING IN LOW LIGHT

   Under-exposed (Clipped Shadows)         Properly Exposed Low-Light

   ┌─────────────────────────────┐         ┌─────────────────────────────┐

   │█                            │         │         █                   │

   │█                            │         │       ████                  │

   │█▄                           │         │   ▄▄███████▄▄               │

   │████▄▄▄                      │         │ ▄█████████████▄▄          ▄ │

   └─────────────────────────────┘         └─────────────────────────────┘

   Risk: Crushed shadow details            Benefit: Clean midtones, recoverable

   and severe noise on recovery.           shadows, no clipped highlights.

• Monitor the Live Histogram: Ensure the distribution of tones stays away from a hard left wall crash (clipped blacks). Aim for a balanced bell curve in the center-left without pushing high-contrast whites off the right edge.

• General Low-Light & Shade Adjustment: Set your Exposure Compensation (EV) dial to $0$ or $+1$ in deep forest shade. Forest canopies fool camera light meters into underexposing the subject; applying positive compensation keeps animal faces properly exposed.

• Night Wildlife Adjustment: When working with nocturnal wildlife under spotlights, dial Exposure Compensation down to $-1$ or $-2$. Strong light sources hitting an animal against a pitch-black background trick the camera into over-brightening the frame, which blows out fur highlights and washes out natural contrast.

• High-Speed Burst Strategy: Switch your drive mode to High-Speed Continuous burst. In low light, taking 3- to 5-frame bursts increases the likelihood of capturing a critically sharp frame between the animal’s micro-movements and hand-induced vibrations.

Low-Light Autofocus Systems & Subject Tracking

Autofocus systems require contrast to function. As light fades during dawn or dusk, contrast drops significantly, causing camera lenses to hunt, pulse, or become sluggish. To maintain sharp focus in these conditions, photographers must actively help the camera’s autofocus system identify the subject.

Animal Eye-Detection AF: The 99% Rule

Modern mirrorless bodies—such as the Canon R5 and R3, Nikon Z9, Sony A1, and OM SYSTEM OM-1 Mark II—feature highly advanced animal eye-detection algorithms.

In contemporary wildlife photography, this feature is essentially 99% accurate. Turn animal eye-detection ON for all low-light wildlife encounters. The technology is now so capable that when it misses focus, it is almost always due to photographer error rather than camera failure.

Single-Point vs. Wide-Area AF Selection

Autofocus success in dim light requires matching your focus area to the animal’s behavior:

• Stationary or Slow-Moving Subjects: Use a central, single focus point placed directly over the eye. Central AF points are generally the most sensitive to light.

• Deep Shade Scenarios: When photographing stationary subjects in extreme low light, such as roosting barred owls at sunrise, switch to the smallest available single focus point. Keep it pinned exactly on the eye and shoot in short bursts.

• Fast-Moving Mammals: A single focus point will struggle to keep up with erratic motion. Switch to a wide-area autofocus mode with tracking enabled. This allows the camera to seamlessly hand off focus across different sensor points as the animal changes position in the frame.

Finding the High-Contrast Edge

When deep shade or night conditions cause your autofocus to hunt, do not aim your focus point at flat, solid-colored areas of a mammal’s coat or a bird’s chest.

Instead, manually move your single focus point to a high-contrast edge. Look for the distinct line where light fur meets dark fur, or where feathers change tone abruptly. This sharp line of contrast gives the autofocus sensor the definition it needs to lock on quickly and reliably.

The Teleconverter Trap and Manual Pre-Focusing

Adding a teleconverter increases your focal reach, but it restricts the maximum aperture and reduces overall autofocus sensitivity. This performance penalty is severely amplified when the sun goes down.

Expert Tip: If your lens begins hunting helplessly while using a teleconverter in low light, do not keep mashing the back-button focus. Instead, use the manual focus ring to physically pre-focus on the animal. Once the subject is roughly sharp in your viewfinder, engage your autofocus. This technique bypasses the extreme out-of-focus hunting phase and drastically improves lock-on reliability.

Lens Selection and Physical Stabilization Protocols

When ambient light fades, the physical limitations of your equipment become immediately apparent. No camera setting can completely compensate for a lens that cannot gather enough light or a setup that lacks physical stability. Successfully photographing wildlife in these conditions requires balancing lens capabilities with rigorous stabilization techniques.

Lens Selection for Low Light: Fast Primes vs. Variable Zooms

The maximum aperture of your lens dictates how much physical light reaches the camera sensor.

Lenses with a large maximum aperture, such as $f/2.8$ or $f/4$, offer the biggest advantage in low-light conditions. While expensive and heavy, a professional prime lens like a 600mm $f/4$, or a fast zoom like a 70-200mm $f/2.8$, allows you to maintain faster shutter speeds and lower ISOs compared to standard telephoto lenses.

However, variable-aperture telephoto zooms—such as the popular 100-400mm, 150-600mm, or 200-600mm ranges—are the reality for most wildlife photographers. These lenses typically have a maximum aperture of $f/5.6$ to $f/6.3$ at full extension. They serve as an acceptable compromise for low light, provided you shoot wide open at their lowest $f$-stop. If your longest lens only opens to $f/7.1$, begin there, but you must aggressively lean on your ISO and stabilization to get the shot.

Table: Telephoto Lens Selection for Low Light

Physical Stabilization Protocols

Stabilization is the only way to achieve sharp photos when low light forces your shutter speed down to 1/500 sec or 1/250 sec. Handholding a heavy telephoto lens in these conditions guarantees motion blur from micro-vibrations.

Tripods and Fluid Heads

A sturdy tripod paired with a fluid head provides the best stabilization for professional low-light wildlife photography. The fluid head is particularly effective because it dampens vertical shake while allowing for smooth, level panning as the animal moves.

Safari Vehicle Solutions: Monopods and Bean Bags

Tripods are often impossible to use inside a crowded safari vehicle. In these scenarios, a monopod or a heavy bean bag are essential mobile alternatives. Resting a bean bag over the edge of the vehicle window or door frame provides a solid, vibration-absorbing base that can save a shot in failing light.

In-Camera and Lens Stabilization (IS)

Always utilize your equipment’s internal stabilization systems. Activate both the Image Stabilization (IS) within the lens and the In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) within the camera. These systems work synchronously to counteract hand tremors, allowing you to use significantly lower shutter speeds than would otherwise be possible.

Body Bracing and the Leg Technique

When no support gear is available, you must use creative environmental bracing. Press your lens against a gate, a solid fence post, or rest it on a dirty surface.

If shooting from the ground, utilize the “leg technique.” Sit down, draw your knees up, and rest your elbows firmly on your legs to stabilize the camera. This not only creates a steady human tripod but also forces you down to eye level with your subject—a critical perspective for intimate wildlife photography.

Photography Tip: When shooting from a bean bag or a braced position, gently roll your finger over the shutter button rather than pressing it hard. A heavy press introduces downward torque that will blur a slow-shutter exposure.

Lighting Transitions, Directional Light, and Background Dynamics

Understanding how light behaves at the edges of the day dictates how you manage your camera settings. Managing exposure is not just about letting light into the camera; it is about working intelligently with the specific type of light available.

The Golden Hour Dynamics: Dawn vs. Dusk

Take advantage of the golden hour—the period just after sunrise and before sunset. This window provides soft, warm light and aligns perfectly with the times when wildlife is most active. However, morning and evening game drives require opposite exposure strategies.

• Dawn (06:00–09:00): Early in the morning, ambient light is still very low. Keep your camera in Aperture Priority or Manual with Auto ISO, use the lowest f-stop your lens allows, and set a relatively high starting ISO, usually 1600 or 3200.

• Dusk (16:00–18:00): When you head out in the late afternoon, conditions are initially much brighter than at dawn. You can use the exact same aperture and shutter settings, but drop your ISO to about 400. As the evening gets progressively darker, increase your ISO as necessary to maintain your shutter speed.

Table: Dawn vs. Dusk Lighting Parameters

Utilizing Remaining Directional Light

When the sun dips below the tree line, do not fight the darkness. Work with the light that remains.

Good low-light images come from paying close attention to the direction of this remaining ambient light. Position your vehicle or yourself so the fading light falls directly on the subject. This not only illuminates the animal naturally but also provides the necessary edge contrast for your camera’s autofocus system to function reliably.

The Importance of Dark, Distant Backgrounds

Background choice matters just as much as your ISO, shutter speed, or aperture settings.

When shooting in dim conditions, frame your subject against a distant, darker background. A dark background keeps visual clutter low. This separation helps the subject stand out clearly, preventing the animal from blending into shadowy foliage and giving the image a clean, three-dimensional feel despite the lack of strong light.

Field Note: Throughout your drive, continuously adjust your exposure compensation and aperture value to match the shifting environment. Do not set your camera at the lodge and forget to change your settings as you move from open plains into deep forest shade.

Ethical Night Safari Protocols and Modern Noise Management

Photographing wildlife after dark fundamentally changes your relationship with the environment. When natural light disappears, photographers must rely on artificial illumination. This shift requires strict ethical discipline to ensure the welfare of the subject remains the priority. Furthermore, processing the resulting high-ISO files requires a modern approach to noise management.

Night Wildlife Photography Ethics and Artificial Lighting

Care must always be taken when working with artificial light and wildlife. The goal is to capture the animal’s natural behavior without causing stress or temporarily blinding them.

Off-Camera Flash vs. Continuous LED

If you must use a flash, an off-camera flash equipped with a diffuser is considered an ethical approach. The diffuser softens the light, allowing you to softly illuminate the subject without startling it. In low daylight conditions, an off-camera flash should only be used to emphasize the ambient light and keep the subject illuminated, rather than overpowering and replacing the natural light entirely. At night, this flash technique allows you to freeze subject motion even during long 30-second exposures.

However, LED lighting has emerged as a superior ethical alternative. LED panels provide continuous illumination with minimal disturbance to the animal. Because the light is constant rather than a sudden burst, wildlife is far less likely to react negatively.

The “No Full Power” Rule

Never fire a flash at full power when photographing animals. Instead of blasting the subject with intense light, reduce the flash output. To compensate for this weaker light, you must increase your camera’s sensitivity by using a wider aperture and raising your ISO.

Responsible Tourism Tip: Do not disturb natural behavior. If an animal stops hunting, feeding, or resting because of your lighting, you are too close or your light is too bright. Always prioritize the animal’s welfare over the photograph.

Correcting White Balance for Artificial Light

When the sun sets and artificial lights turn on, your camera’s Auto White Balance will struggle to interpret the colors correctly. Change your white balance setting to Tungsten for night photography. This specific setting corrects the harsh color temperatures created by artificial safari spotlights and flash units, restoring natural tones to the animal’s fur and the surrounding environment.

Noise Management and Post-Processing Realities

Many photographers ruin low-light encounters because they refuse to raise their ISO, fearing digital noise. Modern camera sensors and artificial intelligence have completely changed this dynamic.

The Sharpness First Priority

You must accept higher ISO settings to maintain an adequate shutter speed. The strict priority in low-light wildlife photography is capturing a sharp subject. A sharply focused image with visible digital noise is always superior to a clean but blurry image. Motion blur cannot be fixed, but noise can be removed.

Setting Hard ISO Limits

While you should not fear high ISOs, contemporary cameras handle ISO 6400 and above exceptionally well. However, every sensor has a breaking point where color banding and extreme detail loss occur. To prevent this, limit your Auto ISO to one or two stops below your camera’s native maximum limit, regardless of what camera body you shoot with.

AI Denoise Workflows

Focus on properly exposing the image in-camera first to capture as much light as possible, which minimizes noise from the start. Once the image is captured, rely on modern post-processing software for cleanup. Dedicated programs like Topaz Labs Denoise AI effectively clean heavy noise, sharpen edges, and upscale the file without losing crucial feather or fur detail.

Photography Tip: Shoot entirely in RAW format. RAW files retain the maximum amount of light data, providing post-processing software like Topaz Labs the information it needs to cleanly separate the animal from the background noise.

Field Mistakes, Comprehensive FAQs, and Final Checklist

Even with a strong grasp of exposure theory and modern camera capabilities, the pressure of a fleeting wildlife encounter often leads to poor field decisions. Avoiding standard errors and keeping a mental checklist of technical requirements will drastically improve your low-light success rate.

Common Low-Light Wildlife Mistakes

Beginners consistently make the same errors when light levels drop, resulting in missed opportunities and unusable files.

• Fearing High ISO: Refusing to raise the ISO past 1600 or 3200 guarantees motion blur. Modern cameras handle ISO 6400+ exceptionally well; a sharp photo with noise is always better than a clean, blurry photo.

• Shooting Stopped Down: Leaving the aperture at f/8 instead of opening it to its maximum width (e.g., f/4 or f/5.6) starves the sensor of essential light.

• Ignoring Stabilization: Handholding heavy telephoto lenses at slow shutter speeds like 1/250 sec without a tripod, monopod, or bean bag introduces severe micro-vibrations.

• Leaving Flash on Full Power: Blasting a subject with full-power flash is unethical, disturbs natural behavior, and ruins the ambient mood of the image.

• Using Incorrect White Balance: Leaving the camera on Auto White Balance during night drives with artificial spotlights results in harsh, incorrect color temperatures instead of the required Tungsten setting.

• Forgetting to Pre-Focus: Relying entirely on autofocus when using a teleconverter in dim light causes the lens to hunt helplessly.

20 Most Asked Questions About Low-Light Wildlife Photography

1. What are the best baseline camera settings for low-light wildlife? Use Aperture Priority or Manual Mode with Auto ISO. Shoot wide open (f/2.8 to f/5.6), maintain a minimum shutter speed of 1/500 sec for walking animals, and let your ISO float between 1600 and 6400+.

2. What ISO should I use for wildlife in low light? Start between 1600 and 3200 for dawn and dusk. For night safaris, establish a starting point of ISO 2000+ and do not fear pushing into 6400+ for deep low light.

3. What shutter speed freezes wildlife in low light? Use 1/500 sec for walking mammals, 1/1600 to 1/2500 sec for fast action, 1/3200 to 1/4000 sec for birds in flight, and a minimum of 1/100 sec to freeze subtle movements at night.

4. What aperture is best for dim conditions? Use the widest aperture your lens allows. Fast lenses at f/2.8 or f/4 are ideal, but if you use a variable zoom, shoot wide open at f/5.6 or f/6.3.

5. How do I stabilize my camera in low light? A tripod with a fluid head is best. If restricted to a vehicle, use a monopod or a heavy bean bag. Always activate both in-camera (IBIS) and lens image stabilization.

6. Should I use a single autofocus point or wide-area tracking? Use a central single point for stationary or slow subjects, as it is the most light-sensitive. Switch to wide-area tracking only for fast, erratic action.

7. Is animal eye-detection reliable in low light? Yes. On modern mirrorless bodies, animal eye-detection is 99% accurate. Keep it turned ON; if it misses, it is generally due to photographer error.

8. Why is my lens hunting for focus? Autofocus slows down in low light because contrast drops. To help the camera, place your single focus point on a high-contrast edge, such as the line where light fur meets dark fur.

9. How do I focus when using a teleconverter in the dark? Teleconverters reduce autofocus sensitivity. Prevent hunting by manually pre-focusing on the subject using the focus ring before engaging autofocus.

10. What focus technique works for roosting birds at sunrise? For stationary subjects like barred owls at dawn, switch to a small single focus point, lock it precisely on the eye, and shoot in short bursts.

11. Is off-camera flash ethical for night safaris? Yes, if used correctly. You must use a diffuser to soften the light, never fire at full power, and prioritize emphasizing ambient light rather than replacing it.

12. What is a better alternative to flash at night? LED lighting is an excellent ethical alternative, providing continuous illumination with minimal disturbance to the animal’s natural behavior.

13. What white balance should I use after dark? Change your white balance from Auto to Tungsten for night photography to correct the color temperature of artificial spotlights.

14. How should I set my exposure compensation (EV) in deep shade? For general low-light and deep shade, set your EV dial to 0 or +1 to keep the subject properly brightened.

15. How should I set my exposure compensation at night? Dial it down to -1 or -2. This prevents the camera from overexposing the animal against a pitch-black background and blowing out highlights.

16. How do I know if my exposure is correct without trusting the LCD? Watch your live histogram. A healthy histogram should show a balanced distribution without flat shadows on the left or clipped peaks on the right.

17. What is the rule for setting maximum ISO? Limit your camera’s ISO to 1 to 2 stops below its native maximum limit to prevent extreme noise and structural detail loss.

18. How do I manage heavy noise in my RAW files? Process your RAW files using dedicated post-processing software with AI noise reduction, such as Topaz Labs Denoise AI, which cleans noise while preserving fur and feather details.

19. Does background choice matter in dim lighting? Yes. Framing your subject against a dark, distant background minimizes visual clutter and helps the animal stand out cleanly.

20. When is the optimal time for low-light photography? The golden hours: dawn between 06:00 and 09:00, and dusk between 16:00 and 18:00. These periods offer soft, warm light when wildlife is highly active.

Practical Field Checklist

Before heading out on an early morning or night drive, run through this mental checklist to ensure your gear and settings are optimized for low-light execution:

• Exposure Baseline Set: Manual Mode + Auto ISO active. Shutter speed matched to expected subject speed.

• Aperture Maxed: Lens set wide open (f/2.8, f/4, or f/5.6).

• Stabilization Checked: Tripod fluid head locked, bean bag packed, and lens/in-body IS toggled ON.

• Autofocus Primed: Animal eye-detection ON, default set to single-point center.

• Drive Mode: High-speed continuous burst selected to maximize sharp-shot probability.

• Night Ethics (If Applicable): Flash diffusers attached, flash power reduced, LED alternatives charged, and White Balance shifted to Tungsten.

• Post-Processing Strategy: Shooting strictly in RAW to allow for AI denoising later.

Conclusion

Mastering low-light wildlife photography requires abandoning outdated fears about high ISOs and embracing a highly disciplined approach to stabilization and exposure. By understanding the physical limitations of your lenses, adjusting your shutter speed to match animal behavior, and strictly adhering to ethical lighting practices, you can consistently capture sharp, compelling images in the most difficult lighting conditions. Focus on capturing the light that remains, secure your gear, and trust modern post-processing to handle the rest.