What is the ISO setting on my camera?

Have you ever asked, “What is this button for?” Many people use a camera without understanding the function of some of the buttons and dials. Is that you?

The topic today is ISO setting. What is ISO? The initials stand for International Organizational Standard, but that doesn’t answer the question of how to use the ISO setting on your camera. The reason camera manufacturers include this feature is to allow the photographer to adjust the camera’s sensitivity to light.

Back in the days before digital photography, a rating system was established so film could be labeled with a number. The precursor to the ISO was the

American Standards Association (ASA). For a bright sunny day a photographer would load 100 ASA film into the camera. If the setting was cloudy or shady then 400 ASA film was used. A disadvantage was that the entire roll (36 exposures) was at that ASA (ISO) setting. What if you shoot half a roll of 400 ASA and then it stops raining and the sun comes out? An advantage of digital photography is ability to change the ISO setting for every shot if you like.

Thirty years ago film was available at ASA 64, 100, 160, 200, 400 and 800. Later the chemists at Kodak and Fuji developed films rated at 1600 and 3200. But a high quality digital camera nowadays can be set with ISO numbers up to 12,800. Now you have choices.

Why would a person want to adjust the light sensitivity on a camera? Are there disadvantages? Why not just crank the dial to the highest setting like 3200 for instance? There is a trade off. With a low setting like 100 ISO the images are smooth and pleasing. At the high end of the spectrum, such as 1600 and 3200 an issue with digital noise becomes apparent. This is the fuzzy or buzzy texture seen especially in the shadow parts of an image.

In film the problem with a high ISO was grain the equivalent of noise.

A rule of thumb, (and photographers like to break rules at times) is to use the lowest ISO possible. But, sometimes the choice is no photo or a slightly noisy photo. So turn the ISO dial up a notch or two and shoot. Some of the Pulitzer-prize winning photographs were a bit lacking in technical quality, but captured a moment in history for the whole world to see. It is fun to experiment with all different settings and compare the results. We learn by doing.

With less expensive point and shoot digital cameras the ISO is set automatically. So there is nothing to worry about. Even with more sophisticated cameras, when shooting in auto mode the ISO is set automatically going lower when there is plenty of light and raising to higher settings as the light decreases.

If you have lot of money to spend you can buy a pro camera with a better chip which will provide very low noise even at the higher ends of the scale. Also you can get software such as noise ninja to remedy the effects of noise. But if possible, get it right as you shoot it and eliminate the need for a software solution.

As you learn more about your camera and more about light you will understand how to override the camera and get some photos that you may have missed in the past.

What is so special about black and white photography?

For me the appeal of a well done black and white image is the simplicity. The eye is allowed to concentrate on form and texture without the distraction of color and hue. Some people are amazed by the wide range of shades of gray that can be found lurking between darkest black and brightest white. It can be stunning.

A couple years ago I was asked to photograph a house that had been the dwelling place of a Connecticut family for many generations. The framed black and white photo was to be a gift and when I delivered it the customer was very pleased. “I never knew there were so many kinds of gray!” she told me.

At the dawn of the history of photography there was no color process but people were impressed enough with the magical images produced on tin or glass plates even though they were monotone. In the sepia process instead of shades of gray, various shades of brown created the images.

As science progressed and color film gained in popularity some people began to perceive black and white photography as inferior or outdated. However, among the true art lovers, that perception did not take hold.

Even in the year 2010 when there all sorts of advanced photo techniques, some photographers still concentrate on black and white photography. Great photographers have always known that a photo does not have to dazzle the viewer with bright colors if the techniques of composition of lighting are properly applied. The landscape photos of Ansel Adams and the still life pepper plants of Edward Weston are proof enough.

The three images that I posted with this entry are some of the images that I created for my own enjoyment. Starting with just a simple item like a chain, a gear or a cluster of ferns, I was able to shoot a few frames with my camera and afterward refine the image into the stark and simple hues of gray which convey the essence of scene.

Photography is All About Light

The word photography comes from photos for light and graph meaning to draw or write. So if you want be a successful photographer, you need to learn about light. There are many types of light and this blog post concerns HARD LIGHT and SOFT LIGHT

An example of hard light is bright sunshine which is direct and creates harsh shadows. Another example is an on-camera flash unit. Hard light can create an image with washed out details.

Soft light is indirect or diffused and an example of this is a cloudy bright day. The cloud layer evens out the sunlight and acts as a huge diffuser. This is the pleasing quality of light create great portraits. Studio photographers spend lots of money buying all sorts of equipment in an effort to put soft light on their models.

When it comes to light sometime you have to take what you get. But you can learn to manipulate light. There are several ways to soften light.

Bouncing light off a white ceiling causes the light to reflect and soften. There is a reason the ceilings in most homes and offices are white is that this helps brightens the room.

The Dutch Master painters of the1600s such as Rembrandt and Vermeer appreciated the quality of soft light. What was their preferred light source? These painters loved a window that faced the North, because the light that enters a Northern exposure is indirect and diffused. Take a look at the portraits painted by Rembrandt and you will see fine examples soft lighting.

An easy way to bounce light is to use the ceiling or a wall. Just make sure the surface is a light color. I have also done a lot using a white piece of poster board which cost about a dollar. Photo equipment manufacturers such as Photoflex and Lastolite sell folding reflector disks that can he used to alter light. I have one with white, silver and gold surfaces. The gold adds a bit of a warm tone.

Another way to obtain soft light is to place a sheer cloth between the light source and the subject. Draperies, curtains and tents can provide a useful diffusion of hard light. Photoflex and other companies sell translucent disks for softening harsh light.

Another great item especially when it comes to product photography is a light tent. Light tents help you get soft even light on the subject while also reducing reflections. There are all shapes and sizes and most are collapsible. Cloud Dome offers a kit that includes fluorescent lights and a background. The whole thing folds flat so it can be taken on location.

As a photographer in search of soft light you can wait for a cloudy day or use Northern exposure of employ some equipment to modify the light to your demands.

Even Great Photographers Had to Start Somewhere

Edward Steichen, one of the great pioneer photographers, had a less than amazing experience when he first started taking photos.

This great photographic artist was one of the talented people of the early 1900s who helped change the attitudes toward photography which was viewed as a novelty or a fad whereas painting was considered high art.

Photography eventually found a home in the world of art and Steichen won many awards but back in 1895 when he obtained his first camera he was not an instant success.

In the book, A life in Photography, Steichen recounts how he got started in photography as a teenager living in Milwaukee. As I began reading, I expected to learn how even from day one he produced great art as his natural talent flowed out. Wrong. Steichen said the first camera he purchased was a Kodak that took a roll of 50 exposures. The result of his first roll was 49 misses and one hit. Yikes.

But he kept trying and later he upgraded to a camera that used 4x5 glass plates. In the book he told how he took a photo of a skyscraper in Milwaukee and then in his home darkroom started to develop the plate. As the young photographer submerged the glass plate in the tray of chemicals and rocked the solution back and forth the image appeared causing him to feel great satisfaction. He celebrated with a loud whoop of joy which frightened his mother because she was worried about all those poisonous chemicals he was using. But he assured her that what she heard was a shout joy not distress.

But as the developing process continued Steichen’s joy faded because the photo kept turning darker and darker. Being a novice Steichen had figured the exposure wrong and set the camera to allow too much light onto the plate. Eventually, the image on his plate was so dark that nothing was recognizable. Finally, as he completed the process and took his image upstairs to rinse it in the sink. He was determined to get a print and after an all day exposure was able to get enough light to pass through his overexposed plate to make a decent print of the Milwaukee skyscraper.

As the months and years passed Steichen began exhibiting his work and building a reputation as a professional photographer. He forged bonds with the Museum of Modern Art where his photos and those of other photographers were displayed for the public. In my opinion the pinnacle of his artistic expressions was the “Family of Man” exhibition of 1955.

This amazing exhibit of photos from 68 nations taken by great and unknown photographers showed people living, eating, dancing, playing, fighting, laughing, giving birth and dying. A book by the same name became an international best seller.

So even if his first roll of film was only two percent successful, Steichen went to become a great pioneering photographer praised by artists, writers and the general public.

Japanese 35 mm cameras of the 1970s

When I was in high school I got interested in photography. I wanted to own a nice camera so I started to save my money to buy one. While looking at camera magazines I read the articles about the great cameras and lenses. The front of the magazines featured full page adds by manufacturers such as Canon, Nikon, Konica, Mamiya, Minolta, Miranda, Olympus, Pentax, Topcon and Yashika. Most of the cameras were made in Japan.
Flipping to the back of the magazine, a reader could find pages and pages of advertisements from camera stores. The type in the ads was very tiny and hard to read. Each ad listed dozens and dozens of cameras and accessories. Most of the camera stores were located in New York and did a lot of mail order business to customers far and wide.
I did not want to take a chance on a log distance transaction so I just looked at the ads and dreamed. There were two camera stores about 30 miles from my home and sometimes I would go inside and look at the cameras and pick up some of the glossy brochures about photo equipment.
When I started getting almost enough money to buy a camera I went to one of the stores and asked the clerk if I could see some cameras. The only camera I could afford was an East German Praktika but it did not impress me, so I decided to wait. About a month later I had enough money to buy a Canon TX, an entry level camera with no fancy features. It was a sold camera made of metal and glass. Since I had withdrawn nearly all the money from my savings account I could not afford extras like lenses, filters or strobe lights. But I had a 35 mm camera and film so I was on my way.

Camera Shopping? Compare the Features

Coke vs Pepsi

Ford vs Chevy

Nikon vs Canon

What is your preference? I have no advice for comparing soft drinks or cars but when itcomes to cameras I can help.

There is now a website http://snapsort.com that is set up to pit one camera against another

and provide a detailed report with one camera declared THE WINNER! A few years ago,

a person shopping for a camera would usually walk into a camera shop and tell a clerk youwant to see some cameras. Or another alternate was to flip through magazines and booksreading reviews and descriptions of various camera models. Now you can save the tripto the camera store, bookstore or library.

I spent some time on the site entering models and noting the results which are broken down to important differences and important similarities. The winner and loser also have the pros and cons of the camera listed. I think that is good because perhaps you really need a feature

such as built-in flash or very rapid continuous shooting and the snapsort team has chosen a camera as a winner but the loser camera has a unique feature you need. Then you can make your own conclusion. Another nice feature of this website is the Popular Comparisons section below each camera which helps you see other cameras which are similar to the cameras in your search.

So with this information a person in the market for a new camera can spend a bit of time at this very useful website and learn plenty about all sorts of cameras before making a big

decision about a camera purchase. By the way, I prefer Pepsi and Chevy.

Keep Your Eyes on the Horizon

The horizon appears in many photos and where you place the horizon in your shot can make a difference. If you want to emphasize the sky, use a low horizon. Or put the horizon high if you want to show the foregound. The most important thing is to be creative and shoot the scene all different ways. A great thing about digital photography is that a person can shoot like crazy and later delete the bad ones.

Usually, it is not recommended to place the horizon right in the middle. But like all rules of composition, there are times when breaking the rules works.

Another thing about horizons is that in general, you are better off keeping level. Especially in images with water ther is something a bit disturbing at a subconscience level about a lake that is tilted because the human brain knows that that the water in lakes and oceans don’t slope upwards. Many photographers make this mistake, but with Photoshop it is very easy to use the cropping tool to level the horizon. However, sometimes you may want to experiment with tilting your camera at different kinds of angles to produce a creative shot.