It’s been simply ages since I posted a photography lesson (Since I was 26 weeks pregnant with MckMuffin to be exact…and today is my due date, meaning I’d be 40 weeks today! You know, if he hadn’t already been born three weeks ago.). If you would like to read my other photography posts, you can click on the thus-named label in my left sidebar. I figured tonight was as good a night as any to offer up some more tips finally. I know, I know. You’re welcome. I’d let you thank me in the form of apple crisp, but now that I’m no longer pregnant, I can’t stand the stuff.
Ahem. We forge ahead.
With the hope that this encourages you, please know that I am most largely a self-taught photographer. I did major in Studio Art in college (I triple majored, actually, along with Bible and Education.) and attended my share of photography classes. But nearly all of what I know about digital photography, I learned on my own, starting after Big Mac was born. I’ve scoured the internet, talked with folks at camera stores, picked the brains of photographer friends and checked out books from the library.
If I can do it, so can you!
Regardless of where you are at along the road with your own photography, and regardless of what kind of a camera you shoot with, there is always something to learn and something to be inspired by. I know that’s true for me.
So, if you’d like to take better photographs, buckle up and hold on tight because here we go again!
Today, we’ll talk a bit about ISO and the issue of noise in photographs. And boy, oh boy, with a house full of kids…I know about noise!
At this point, I shoot with a Canon 40D, with a Canon Rebel xTi as my backup camera. It goes without saying that digital cameras are certainly par for the course nowadays. The cameras I shoot with are not point and shoots, like some of you perhaps use. Mine are called SLR’s they are the kind of cameras with big lenses on the front of them that one can take on and off. With the price of digital SLR’s plummeting, they have become affordable for more and more people and I highly recommend one if you are interested in photography. But know this, an expensive (or even semi-expensive) camera is not a prerequisite for taking great photographs; trust me, even pricey cameras can take bad pictures! Stuffing a few tips up your sleeve and getting to know the camera you do have, even if it is a point and shoot, can often take you further than just purchasing a fancy new camera could!
No matter what kind of a camera you have, the ISO is something you can control. Well, except on some cell phone cameras. Of course.
“Hold it right there, MckMama,” you’re thinking. “What the heck is ISO!?” Why, I’m so very glad you asked.
ISO is a number letting the photographer know how sensitive to light the camera is. You can adjust the ISO of your camera based on the factors involved in where you are photographing. The higher the ISO is set, the higher sensitivity to light the camera will have, therefore the less light will be needed to expose your photograph properly. Unfortunately, the higher the ISO number you have your camera set to, the more noise your photographs will have. (We’ll get to that in a minute.)
Back in the Dark Ages when people used film cameras, film came (still does) in a variety of speeds. ISO is the measure of film speed: sensitivity to light. Lower ISO numbers indicate slow films, which are less sensitive to light. Higher ISO numbers are more sensitive to light. It’s pretty typical to shoot with ISO 100 or 200 on a sunny day and use 400 film when shooting in lower light. Super nice cameras can handle super fast ISOs up to 1600 and way beyond!
“And why on earth should I care about all this!?” Because using an appropriate ISO for your shots can help make a world of difference in your photographs, especially if you are shooting digitally, which I am willing to bet most of you are.
Lucky for us, we can control the sensitivity of our digital camera’s light sensors by changing the ISO setting. Most digital cameras have a default ISO setting around 100. If you need a faster film speed because there isn’t great light where you are shooting, just set your camera to have a higher ISO. Look for an ISO button on your camera. When you press it, you’ll be able to the ISO to where you need it to be, like 100, 200, 400, etc. By increasing the ISO, something you can usually not do in your camera’s automatic mode but rather only in the other modes, you can sometimes avoid using your flash and still be able to capture crisp photos in low light that you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to capture well.
That sounds great, right? And I know what you’re thinking: “MckMama, if higher ISO film is more light sensitive, why not always use a high ISO number?” After all, then you could shoot in lower light with better results. But keeping your ISO on a higher setting is not always the best idea. Why not?
I’ll tell you why not.
While using a higher ISO will allow you to get less blurry photographs in low light, fast film speeds are notorious for producing grainy images. That goes for film and digital photography. Making a camera more sensitive to light increases noise into the picture. Like the film grain of days of yore, noise is a smattering of random pixels of color on your photograph.
Realize that noise in your photographs may not be easily seen from a distance. But it’s there, lurking, waiting for you to print the photograph through Shutterfly before the grainy noise rears its ugly head. Noise gets worse as the ISO goes up. But sometimes, I find I must use a high ISO to take photographs in low light.
You’ll simply have to decide if the payoff is worth if for you: A higher ISO will mean you can take clearer photos in lower light without a flash (Straight flashes from your camera can be downright evil and I highly recommend steering clear of using your camera’s flash if you can get away with it.), but it will also mean your photos will have more noise.
Play around with it and see where your happy medium is!
A rule of thumb to sum things up? Shoot at the lowest possible ISO you can get away with. On a regular day with decent light, just use your camera’s default ISO setting, garnering the least amount of noise for your pictures. However, if you are shooting in low light and your photos aren’t as crisp as you’d like, skip using a flash and try a higher ISO first.
I just learned more in like, 2 minutes, reading this than I did on several sites over several hours prior to this.
I also use a Canon 40D.
You explain things the way that my brain needs to hear them to process them.
Yay!!
oh, and PS seeing tiny small fry and baby Stellan really takes me back! haha!