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When I first started taking photographs Kodak and Ilford film were found in everyone's cameras. I used Kodak colour 200 ISO and Ilford black and white 125 ISO in the two cameras I used then.
ISO stands for International Standard Organisation and allowed everyone to agree a scale to measure the sensitivity of a film. Sensors on modern cameras can also be made more or less sensitive in the same way different films were used.
In the days of film I would use 400 or 800 ISO films when light was poor. Today I would use this level of ISO when photographing a wedding from behind the pews. This sometimes happens because vicars and priests refuse to let photographers near the bride and groom for fear they would spoil the solemnity of the service. I try very hard to be discreet and not to overwork the shutter, and to go with the mood and atmosphere as this always means better pictures and much happier clients.
Making the sensor more sensitive by raising the ISO also increases the grain of the image, what is called 'noise'. In the days of film this textured the images and gave them an arty feel and this can be true today too, some photographers even add 'noise' for this very reason.
When light is good, especially in my studio where I can control it completely, I use the lowest ISO I can, which on my camera is 100. This gives very little noise and is great for smooth transitions across colours and tones, showing fine detail very clearly.
So I would suggest you take control of the ISO setting on your camera instead of leaving it on automatic. Automatic is OK , but if you want a bit extra out of your images and fine control you need to be brave and experiment with it.
ISO stands for International Standard Organisation and allowed everyone to agree a scale to measure the sensitivity of a film. Sensors on modern cameras can also be made more or less sensitive in the same way different films were used.
From the back of the church ISO 3200
Making the sensor more sensitive by raising the ISO also increases the grain of the image, what is called 'noise'. In the days of film this textured the images and gave them an arty feel and this can be true today too, some photographers even add 'noise' for this very reason.
When light is good, especially in my studio where I can control it completely, I use the lowest ISO I can, which on my camera is 100. This gives very little noise and is great for smooth transitions across colours and tones, showing fine detail very clearly.
Studio portrait ISO 100
So I would suggest you take control of the ISO setting on your camera instead of leaving it on automatic. Automatic is OK , but if you want a bit extra out of your images and fine control you need to be brave and experiment with it.
Studio portrait ISO 100
I quite agree, awareness and adjustment of the ISO is almost as important as aperture... think ISO priority!
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