You have this fancy DSLR camera but you might be a little unsure of how all the settings affect your photos. ISO can be one of those camera settings that can be very confusing to beginner photographers. But don’t fret, once you figure out what ISO is and how simple it is to choose a setting, you will be on your way to better photographs.
What is ISO?
ISO stands for the International Standards Organization and it is the standardized industry scale for measuring sensitivity to light. So you say “WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???” In plain English, ISO is the amount of noise, or graininess, that you will allow in your photo in a trade-off for proper exposure. The ISO setting is dependent on the light level that you have while shooting your photo in addition to your aperture and shutter speed settings. Below you will also find a quick video showing you how to change the ISO on your DSLR camera.
What ISO to Choose
Lower ISO should be used in brighter conditions and higher ISO should be used in low light conditions. Here is a scale to give you a good idea of what settings to use.
Each DSLR camera will have a different range of ISO, but this chart gives you a good reference for what to choose in different lighting conditions.
Examples of ISO
This first photo is an example of an ISO setting of 100. There was full sun out so I didn’t need the ISO to add anything to get a properly exposed photo.
The second photo has an ISO setting of 400. It was a bright sunny day but the puppy and I were indoors, which creates more shadows.
This final photo is a low light example and required a setting of 3200. The only lights on in this scene were the tree lights, and as a result, a higher ISO was needed to expose the picture.
How To Set ISO On A Canon DSLR Camera
How To Set ISO On A Nikon DSLR Camera
Now that you know what ISO settings to use, make sure to set it every time you pull your camera out. To learn how to set your white balance, check out How to set White Balance.
If you still need help learning your camera, be sure to check out my course: The Ultimate DSLR Beginner Photography Course. The course is designed to help you get your camera off Auto and into manual mode so you can take some great photos.
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- Understanding Canon Camera Modes
Thanks for the important info !!!
Thank you so much
In my opinion, the ISO should be set to the lowest possible value needed to obtain proper exposure AFTER setting both shutter speed and aperture according to the type of image you’re trying to create. Reason being is that image quality degrades as the ISO gets higher.So, you really don’t want to shoot at an ISO any higher than you have to.
I’ve shot tons of night scenes at ISO 50. And, I often shoot at ISO 400 in daylight when I’m using a slow telephoto lens and need 1/1000 shutter to capture fast action.
Very helpful input for me in photography. Thanks.
Thanks alot , it’s very very helpful, Now I no the meaning of ISO and the effect of ISO to The subjects.
Thank you for this information very helpful
Thank you for this enlightening tip👍🏽