ISO without fear is one of the fastest ways to improve your photography.
Most photographers keep ISO too low because they’ve been told noise is bad.
So they protect ISO… and sacrifice the photograph.
That’s backwards.
What ISO Actually Does
ISO simply controls brightness. In modern camera systems the ISO settings actually increase the power or “gain” being applied to your sensor. This increases the sensitivity of the sensor’s ability to absorb light.
That’s it.
Raise ISO… your image gets brighter.
Lower ISO… your image gets darker.
Yes, higher ISO can introduce noise, or “grain”…
But noise is not the real problem.
A blurry image because your shutter speed was too slow…
that’s the real problem.
I’d take a sharp photograph with a little grain all day long
over a clean file that missed the moment.
The Real Problem With ISO
The real problem isn’t noise.
It’s hesitation.
I see it all the time… photographers afraid to raise ISO,
so they let shutter speed drop too low.
They’re trying to protect image quality…
and they end up losing the shot entirely.
That’s not protecting anything.
That’s guessing.
How To Use ISO Properly
Use ISO to support your shutter speed.
If your shutter is too slow… raise ISO.
Simple as that.
Don’t wait until the shot is already gone.
Make the decision before you press the shutter.
That’s where control lives.
A Better Way To Think About ISO
Noise doesn’t ruin photographs.
Missing the moment does.
You can manage noise later.
You can’t recreate a moment you never captured.
In Closing
Enhance your calm…Make the decision…Take the shot.
There are other aspects to raising the ISO besides noise.
If you would like to go deeper into this topic and see how to mitigate even very high levels of noise,
head on over to my hangout, ByWinslowCampfire, where we teach this very topic and more with the latest up to date techniques! This is taught in a super calm environment with out all the “noise” you will obtain on YouTube! Yes the pun was intended! ^_^
