Photo Tip #3: What Is Iso Together With Why Create One Care?

“You desire me to unwrap my triangle??”  

“NO silly.  I said I’m going to write virtually the EXPOSURE TRIANGLE!”

Sheesh.

But that’s plenty virtually that!

Hey it’s Traveling Husband amongst to a greater extent than photograph tips.  

By the way the Moon shot to a higher house is from our dorsum deck a pair of weeks ago.   Not that that has anything to create amongst anything…..I only similar the way it turned out. 

This post is inwards answer to a comment from Sue at The View From Great Island after Photo Tip #2, virtually depth of field.  She asked for to a greater extent than information on ISO. 

So Sue, here’s an explanation on ISO.  And too thus some. 

ISO is some other side of what is ofttimes referred to as “The Exposure Triangle.”   Last fourth dimension nosotros talked virtually Side 1, aperture…and I’ll larn ahead too pose Side 3—shutter speed, on the schedule for side past times side fourth dimension nosotros assemble hither inwards the SRFD kitchen to beak photograph tips. 

I’ll hold back until too thus to larn into particular virtually what the Exposure Triangle is, how the three sides ship upon each other—and why you lot should care.

First, a quick history lesson.  Depending on your age, possibly you lot used to shoot photos amongst a cinema camera.  Maybe you lot all the same do.  Film is all the same around….it only has a smaller too smaller per centum of the marketplace percentage every year. 

Not all films are as sensitive to light.  Back inwards the day, you lot knew how lite sensitive whatever given curlicue was, was past times its ASA rating. ASA stood for American Standards Association—but it’s ok if you lot don’t think that past times the cease of this sentence. I’m only sayin. 

A film’s lite sensitivity was known as it’s “speed.”   “Fast” film–rated at ASA 1600–was to a greater extent than lite sensitive than “slow” ASA 64 or fifty-fifty superslow ASA 25 film. 

These days ASA is gone, too nosotros purpose “ISO” when discussing lite sensitivity too epitome capturing, whether we’re talking virtually cinema or digital photography.   ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization.  Yeah, I know…the letters are out of order. Don’t enquire me why. 

For digital photographers, which most people are these days, ISO relates to the sensitivity of your camera’s sensor.  H5N1 major drawback of cinema is that a curlicue of cinema was a unmarried ISO. 
It was what it was.  To alter cinema speed you lot had to alter film.  And that could larn expensive inwards a hurry.  

But amongst a digital camera…..YOU decide how lite sensitive your photographic idiot box camera is.  You dial inwards whatever ISO you lot want. 


Simply put, a lower ISO is less lite sensitive…a higher ISO is to a greater extent than sensitive.    

You tin ready ISO on your DSLR, your call for too shoot, too fifty-fifty your outcry camera. 

Which agency when there’s less light, you lot may desire to shoot amongst a higher ISO.  

Or, if there’s tons of brilliant light–say, at the kids afternoon soccer game–a lower ISO is best. 

And again, we’ll larn into to a greater extent than particular virtually why too how it would move best, side past times side time. 

Lower ISO’s to a greater extent than ofttimes than non render images amongst less “noise” or, to purpose the cinema term “grain.” 

Here are a few random photos I’ve shot recently.  

This i is of a crosswalk inwards DC.   I shot it at ISO 160 because it was a brilliant day

and because I wanted it to bring real lilliputian noise. 

Zooming in, you lot tin encounter how lilliputian dissonance is visible. 

I snapped this i of the pinkish dogwood inwards our front end yard as I left the line of piece of job solid for operate i morning.  It was shot at ISO 4000. 

Zoom inwards too you lot tin encounter some noise, particularly inwards dark, empty areas of the photo.

This is a streetscape I shot inwards Cartagena Columbia a few weeks ago. It was shot at ISO 50,000 because I wanted it to bring a “film noire” type feel….and also because at that spot was real lilliputian lite there. 

The tradeoff is—the higher the ISO, the noisier the file.   The dissonance is real obvious here. 

OK, that’s it for now.  I don’t desire to larn likewise far into the human relationship of aperture, ISO too shutter speed, until side past times side week. 


It volition all brand a lot to a greater extent than sense too thus when nosotros await at the big picture.  HA!  Yes.  Pun intended. 

In the meantime, play some amongst your camera’s ISO setting too encounter what happens.  Take a few shots amongst the lowest ISO possible, too some amongst the highest, too thus compare the results. 

Don’t move afraid to create exploring of the dials too bells too whistles on your camera.  This is ofttimes referred to as “menu diving” too you lot mightiness only notice your photographic idiot box camera is to a greater extent than capable than you lot thought! 

Let me know how it plant out for you!   Feel complimentary to electronic mail some images if you’d like.  I;d dear to encounter them.   


Thanks thus much for stopping by!

Traveling Husband

Source: savingdessert.com