Like a techno-nerd, I’m fascinated with metadata lately. I’ve discovered that even when the camera is set on “auto,” I can go back and see what the camera chose for shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Seeing what I should have chosen in previous situations takes away some of the intimidation factor of beginning to shoot in manual modes.

In the coming weeks I plan to explore the “exposure triangle” (ISO, shutter speed, and aperture) – WITHOUT having to take new pictures with completely manual settings! *sigh of relief*

This week I’ll start with the most complicated one: ISO.

ISO is a carry over from the days of film cameras, apparently. I vaguely remember something from my high school film photography class about which film speed to choose for various situations: 

100-200 lets in light slowly. It’s good for well-lighted situations, and it will produce a crisp shot (like details of flower petals on a sunny day).

400 is a good all-around film speed for most situations.

800 “absorbs” light very quickly, allowing well-lit (better exposed) shots even with fast shutter speeds. This is good for indoor sporting events. Unfortunately, the shots may be grainy instead of crisp.

This week, I decided to go through my previous pictures and see if I could find examples of various ISOs.

Shot #1 – low ISO of 100.

One bright, sunny day last year, I set my camera to “macro” mode (turning the big dial to the picture of the flower), and this is one of the shots I took:

best of summer (ISO 100)

A nice, crisp photo. The camera chose a low ISO of 100, meaning the light was “absorbed” by the film very quickly. The shutter speed was somewhat fast, at 1/500ths of a second, contributing to the crispness (no blurring). Speaking of crispness, that picture makes me think of bacon… and a leaf of lettuce…  Just add two slices of homemade bread!

Shot #2 – ISO 400. This is my daughter in the shade on a normal, sunny day. A normal lighting situation, normal ISO, normal shutter speed of 1/125th second.

just an ordinary day (ISO 400)

Shot #3 – ISO 800

I couldn’t find a picture for this, so I had to take a new one. As it turned out, getting an ISO of 800 was a shot in the dark. (Haha! – I did end up with one shot that was completely black.)

Because this film speed was supposed to be for indoor sports, I tried putting the camera on the “sports” setting (on the big dial, the guy running) and then having my kids run around inside. Not only did the camera not choose an ISO of 800, but it did what it always does for me in the sports setting – gave me a very blurry photo. I ended up just setting the ISO manually. (How to’s to come in later posts.)

Incidentally, I love the resulting shot, graininess and all. But I’m still crossing ISO 800 off the list of potential good camera settings (at least for now).

sweetest grump ever (ISO 800)

Notice the progression in the photos from very sharp to very “soft?”

In all, I consider this week a success, with one more photography concept somewhat demystified.

ISO – Is Simple! Obviously.