ISO Setting

What is ISO?

This is an important yet often cast aside feature of a digital camera. The ability to change the ISO speed gives the photographer flexibility in low light conditions as they are able to bump up the shutter speed at the expense of clarity. The more expensive your digital SLR generally the better its low light photos will turn out. As a general rule you will desire an ISO setting as low as possible i.e. 200 is a good setting for most situations. Lets say you wish to take photos of a band in low light, yet the people are constantly moving around. The only way to get anything close to a clear shot is to bump up the ISO speed. This will trigger the shutter over a fraction of the time, however introduce graininess into your photo. If you don't want graininess, yet cannot take a sharp enough image, you have no option but to go for more expensive cameras and lenses with lower aperture numbers. This is often where professional photographers really have the edge on amateurs, and it is purely because of their expensive gear in addition to knowing when and how to use the various settings.

Just because you are shooting in low light however doesn't mean you need to turn up the ISO speed. It is only required when you have a moving subject. Take these shots of the city of Perth in Australia. The first is taken using a high ISO speed and you can clearly see the graininess in the picture.

This next picture has a very low ISO speed, and as a result the shutter will stay open longer to compensate for the large amount of light required to give a bright enough image on the resulting picture. Notice how the water now has a nice sheen quality to it.

The final image has the contrast turned up a bit, a fraction of a vignette and slightly enhanced saturation to bring out some of the colours.

Digital SLR Tutorial

Ever wanted to get a simple introduction to using a digital SLR? Follow these lessons for improved pictures.

• AUTO Function
• Using a Flash
• Exposure
• ISO Speed
• Aperture Function
• Shutter Mode
• Manual Mode
• Using a Tripod
• Examples to share

Photo Editing

Digital photos rarely turn out perfectly. Here are some photo editing tips to make your shots look like they are from a magazine!

• Crop and Rotate
• Removing Dust
• Levels and Shadows
• Brightness, Contrast
• Colour Balance
• Vignette Effect
• Saving Pictures
• Some Examples

Sponsored Links