As we mentioned in part one of this blog, a key part to working in videography or photography is knowing your camera. Obviously there is a lot that goes into visual art and it’s important to pay attention to framing and subject matter, but before you start focusing on what to shoot with your camera, you want to know how to shoot with your camera.
The second step we want to cover is ISO (click here to read Part 1: Aperture)
Definition:
The ISO setting for your camera, is a measure of how sensitive your camera sensor is to light. Originally, back before digital cameras, the iso was a measure of how sensitive the type of film you were buying was to light. Now though with digital photography and videography, you can adjust your camera’s iso as you work.
Effects:
You can keep your ISO low for bright outdoor shots
The ISO setting on a camera has two main effects. Since the ISO is a measure of how sensitive your camera sensor is to light, the higher the ISO number, the brighter your image will get. Additionally, by increasing this sensitivity, you also add more grain or “noise” to your image. Alternatively, the lower your ISO is, the darker your image will be, and the finer the grain is, meaning there is less “noise” in your image.
One additional factor to ISO, is that as cameras are improving camera companies have been able to improve camera sensor qualities, meaning that higher ISO numbers will still be able to produce clean looking images with less grain/digital “noise”.
Camera Settings:
On your camera, the ISO setting should be straight forward, listed directly as ISO. You can set your ISO generally anywhere between 100 on the low end, and 6400 on the high end. Newer cameras today though have ISO ranges that can go above and below these standards. An ISO of 100 will give you a darker image with little to no grain, while an ISO of 6400 will give you a brighter image with some digital grain (exactly how much depends on the quality of your camera sensor).
Using ISO:
Unless you’re going for a specific “grainy” look to your image, we recommend using the lowest ISO possible for whatever situation you’re shooting. If you’re working outside on a sunny day, this means you could go as low as 100 for your ISO and still have plenty of light to produce a quality image. If you’re indoors, or shooting at night, you might need to boost your ISO to get a bright enough image.
It’s also important to know how your particular camera performs at different ISO levels. Since some camera sensors are better than others, and particular cameras have cropped sensors, some cameras will perform better at higher ISOs than others.
In a dark room like the photo above, you might have to boost your ISO to brighten your image.
Now that you know what your camera’s ISO is and how it works, go test it out. Get your camera, and figure out how to change your ISO. Then go experiment and take photos and videos. Try filming the same actions or subjects the same way but with different ISO settings to see how it affects your image, and to see when the grain in your image becomes too distracting.
If you want additional help working with your camera, you can check out the rest of our blogs here, or you can contact us about help with your own project!