OK sisters, here it is. The first week's lesson. I will give you through all next week and try to remember to post the next one on Sunday the 23rd. Even if you don't have an SLR you should be able to do this lesson and some of the others. Happy Shooting!
Photography lesson #1 – ISO Angelyn Bryce
The Exposure Triangle= ISO, Aperture or f-stop and Shutter Speed
ISO is the first thing you set before taking pictures. ISO used to be the speed of the film you bought. Now it is just another dial on your digital camera. It means sensitivity to the light. ISO numbers range from 100 to 1600 and above. The higher numbers are more sensitive to the light than the lower numbers. The problem with ISO is that the higher the ISO number, the more grain or noise you get in your picture (if you zoom in close you can actually see little dots in a grainy picture), so it helps to use as low an ISO number as you can. If you are in a low light situation you would want a higher ISO number such as 1200 and above. If you are out in the sun, you would use maybe 100 or 200. In the shade you might use 400.
Assignment:
1-Get a little notebook that you can carry around easily with your camera.
2-Find a low light area in your home and put your camera on P mode or Auto but without flash. Set your ISO to 100 and take a picture of a subject. Write down the settings of Shutter Speed and Aperture that the camera chooses if you can. Then change the ISO to 200 and take another picture and write down those settings. Do this again until you have shot a picture of every ISO number. Notice that as you choose a higher ISO number, the camera will choose a higher Shutter Speed number and maybe even aperture because the camera has more light to work with. Your pictures should also be less blurry from camera shake at the higher numbers, but also may have more grain or noise.
3-Now find a well lit area (by a window) in your home and do the same exercise over again. You will notice that shutter speeds and apertures change but that most of your pictures are still pleasing because of all the light coming in from your window.
If you only have a point and shoot, then read your manual and figure out how to change ISO on your camera. I promise this will make a huge difference for inside pictures.
Post your favorite one on the blog.
If you only have a point and shoot, then read your manual and figure out how to change ISO on your camera. I promise this will make a huge difference for inside pictures.
Post your favorite one on the blog.
ISO 400, f/4, 1/20
ISO 6400, f/4, 1/400
These are examples of ISO. Notice there is more camera shake or blur in the first but more noise in the second. Still the higher ISO is preferable and this shot actually had less lighting than the first. Also notice that the higher ISO is what aloud me to use a higher shutter speed which is what stops the blurring. But that is in another lesson.
This will be really helpful in trying to get closeups of my food I'm trying to take to put on a food blog. I don't use the flash, and try to put as much natural and other light on the subject, but they still come out lousy. I might have to have a one on one course so I can figure the durn thing out.
ReplyDeleteSondra, you should also look at the photo tutorial on the food blog ourbestbites.com it was interesting how they set the food up.
ReplyDeleteAngelyn thanks for doing this, been doing my homework and took the photos but want to try it with a live subject so when I share it's cuter than a piece of decorative iron.
I need to sit down with you and figure out how to work my camera. I don't even know which setting to put it on, so I never know what I'll get with my pictures.
ReplyDeleteI totally did this, I just don't have a usb right now to upload the pics... thanks angelyn, I had no idea my digital camera had this option!
ReplyDeleteshelley, if its a point and shoot...change it from auto to something else, on mine it says pasm, then while in there, hit menu and all the ISO options should come up...did that help at all?
ReplyDelete