Shutter speed/f-no./ISO: Where's the elegant balance?

[NightShooter]

I'm in the trail&error process of perfecting the three pillars of decent photography... ISO shutter speed and focal width, but pointers at this stage can save me much energy !

Here's what I need to understand:

- to me it seems that a longer shutter speed, higher ISO or a lower f no. All do the same job of bringing more light and brightness to the picture, and it seems -to me- that these options are interchangeable. I know they aren't and I'm trying to figure out why and how to tweek each of these three variables, ex. When and why would you want to have a high ISO and low f number or longer shutter time with High f number and low ISO... Etc.?

Any pointers here would be very appreciated ! Thank you all.

NS.

 

[Danelady]

I'm just learning about photography myself, so I won't try to answer your questions! I will make a suggestion, though. My husband gave me a book for Christmas that has been very helpful. I am getting a grasp on ISO, f-stops, and exposure. Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. I saw this book suggested in another thread on this forum, too.

 

[KenC]

There are trade-offs in everything. Here are the ones associated with the three methods of getting more light:

high ISO - introduces noise, especially at the highest ISO setting on your camera, and sometimes the one below that.

slower shutter speed - doesn't freeze subject motion or camera shake as well

lower f number - less depth of field and possibly if you are near wide open, less image quality

So, you pick your poison for the particular situation and go from there!

 

[wasmeister]

Try avoiding high ISO. As the film sensitivity grows, more grain will appear on the pic. I'd rather suggest a lower f, or more light that is. On a bright day max ISO you should deal with is 250-400. When making photos in dark without a stand, 800 should be the utter maximum. Human hand can endure up to 1/2 sec of exposure without affection, so try prolonging it as much as you can on the account of lower ISO.

 

[Vinny]

The exposure triangle is there to give you a starting point - there is no "correct" way of dealing with low light. As said, slow shutter speed will introduce motion, high ISO will introduce noise and if your aperture is not wide enough you won't let enough light in.

Assuming you can't use a flash you have to decide if the shot is important to you to introduce something into the photo. IMO, the least of the negatives is noise. Motion blur can be OK if you want to convey motion. Camera shake isn't good at all.

I have taken photos at an ISO of 6400 on a Nikon D90 and they came out OK. It gave me the flexibility to use a somewhat faster shutter speed to eliminate camera shake and motion blur. I was able to get rid of the noise in PP.

 

[pgriz]

I'm in the trail&error process of perfecting the three pillars of decent photography... ISO shutter speed and focal width, but pointers at this stage can save me much energy !

Here's what I need to understand:

- to me it seems that a longer shutter speed, higher ISO or a lower f no. All do the same job of bringing more light and brightness to the picture, and it seems -to me- that these options are interchangeable. I know they aren't and I'm trying to figure out why and how to tweek each of these three variables, ex. When and why would you want to have a high ISO and low f number or longer shutter time with High f number and low ISO... Etc.?

Any pointers here would be very appreciated ! Thank you all.

NS.

Action or Still?

If action, do you want to freeze the action, or get motion blur? This determines whether you use 1/500sec or faster (for the former), or 1/30 sec or slower (for the latter). Aperture is not important, so set the camera on Tv (shutter priority).

If still, you want to isolate the subject or do you need a large depth-of-field? Large apertures (f/2.8 and wider) will give you a narrow depth-of-field and selective focus to isolate the subject. Small apertures (f/16 and higher) give you much larger depth-of-field, but at the cost of a slow shutter speed. If this shutter speed falls below your hand-holding ability, then you either have to put the camera on a tripod, or bump up the ISO. Either way, if aperture is what you're trying to control, then go to Av (aperture priority).

Going to higher ISO usually means having more noise (variation between pixels). However, it can mean the difference between getting the picture or not. So if you often shoot handheld in dim places where flash is not allowed or is inappropriate, then a fast lens (f/1.8 or better) and a sensor that tolerates high ISO without too much noise would be the technical solution.

 

[table1349]

Amazon.com: Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera (9780817439392): Bryan Peterson: Books

 

[Andrew Boyd]

Here an article that explains the triangle:
Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO at The Discerning Photographer

 

[djacobox372]

There's an old news-photographer saying about how to achieve the best photos: "F8 and be there."

There's some truth in this, as F8 is a very good "starting point" for most photos.

When starting to learn photography, it really helps to have a good average starting point that you modify, instead of approaching each situation with a blank slate.

Here's my suggested starting point for beginners:

Aperture = F8
Shutter Speed = at least 1 stop over focal length (1/100th for 50mm, 1/160th for 85mm, etc)
ISO = 200

Of course every exposure will require modifications of these settings, but it helps to know the "ideal" so you don't wander to far.

 

[3bayjunkie]

I'm in the trail&error process of perfecting the three pillars of decent photography... ISO shutter speed and focal width, but pointers at this stage can save me much energy !

Here's what I need to understand:

- to me it seems that a longer shutter speed, higher ISO or a lower f no. All do the same job of bringing more light and brightness to the picture, and it seems -to me- that these options are interchangeable. I know they aren't and I'm trying to figure out why and how to tweek each of these three variables, ex. When and why would you want to have a high ISO and low f number or longer shutter time with High f number and low ISO... Etc.?

Any pointers here would be very appreciated ! Thank you all.

NS.

Wow! did you ever open up Pandora's box here... Typically you wouldn't want to change your ISO unless you are in low light and have no other way of getting light. Here is how I do things and these are just my suggestions.

keep your ISO on the lowest setting 50,100,200, etc... This will give your images the most crisp clear image.

next, if you are shooting low light you definitely are going to use a tripod. If it is unpractical or not allowed for you to use a tripod in the current area you are in, try using a flash diffuser like this one: Sunpak DFU-01 Diffusion Kit DFU-01 B&H Photo Video for somewhere with high ceilings or no ceilings, or this Nikon SW-10H Wide Angle Flash Adapter (Diffusion Dome) 4320 B&H for ceilings that are about 8 - 12 feet high (make note the ceilings are going to have to be white for this one to work, otherwise you will get some unappreciated color tones).

Now if you happen to be shooting indoor with low lighting and you can't use a tripod/mono pod and don't want to use a flash, then what you can try to do is raise the ISO to about 800. You are going to need a very fast lens for this and you could try setting your ISO even higher like 1600 but you may end up with noise. you don't want to take a photo with shutter speed any lower than 1/500 if you are hand holding the camera because it will be blurry.

as far as apature setting goes, the higher your f/stop the longer the shutter has to stay open. The f/stop will control your depth of field. sometimes you are going to want a larger f/stop, for example shooting scenery or a portrait you would probably want something around an f8-f11. now for fast action sports you may want an f1.4-f4.0 to freeze the motion of an athlete.

The quicker your shutter speed the more still your image will be. If you want to add motion to your picture try shooting with a slower shutter speed and higher f/stop. a good way to do this is set your camera to shutter priority and set your shutter speed to 1/30 or 1/60, the camera will do the rest for you so you can follow a moving object to get that motion filled background or keep the camera still on a tripod to show and object with motion in your shot.

I hope this has helped you decide when and where to change which setting. Good luck =)

 

[dylanstraub]

I usually judge the amount of light on the subject before I make any adjustments. If my subject has a lot of light I usually set my ISO to 100-200 and adjust my aperture accordingly. If I'm shooting an action shot with fast shutter speed I know I need more light so I will adjust my ISO and my flash output accordingly. I'm not going to get the shot 100% of the time but remembering these rules usually gives me a good starting point.

 

[skyy38]

Here's what I do.

ISO is set to "auto" until such time as I need to change it, which hasn't happened yet.

My cameras f stop range sucks (?) so I never shoot in aperture priority.

Instead, I mostly shoot in either "P" mode, "Scene", "Scene 'love'"-most anything else BUT AP.

9 times out of 10, I use shutter priority because it automatically sets my aperture so I never have to shoot in AP. You could say that I use my shutter speeds as a sort of substitute for AP.

Learning to use shutter is not that difficult. On a nice sunny day, if nothing is moving, 1/ 250 is a good setting.

If you see an eagle fly by though and you want to capture it dead in its tracks 1/800 to 1/1250 ( or maybe beyond) will come in handy, especially if you're panning along with it.

The relationship between ISO, Aperture and Shutter is not rocket science, it's just a matter of study and practice.

 

[radiorickm]

Well, here is maybe another way of looking at this question.
Each of the three variables ISO/Fstop/ShutterSpeed represent a variable (or option) if you will in the exposure process.

Rather than taking a snap shot, if you PLAN the Shoot and Shoot the plan, you usually have an idea of what you are trying to emphasize in the shot.

Say for instance, you are taking a sports shot. You are trying to freeze the motion. You know from the plan, that you are now going to need a very fast shutter speed. You have two tools to accomplish this, by using a larger aperature (f-stop) and by adjusting the ISO up.

If you were doing a scenic shot, by plan you know that you will need a great depth of field with lots of detail. So, you need a small f-stop and low ISO. You adjust the shutter speed to fit the situation.

It all depends on the emphasis of the photo you are taking, and what the important aspect of it is. Quality relates to the ISO (sort of...more than the other two anway), movement capturing/avoid camera shake relates to the shutter speed and the aperature adjust your depth of view or acceptable zones of sharpness.

Each of them is a tool that can be adjusted against the others to balance off the effect that you are trying to create. There is no one magic answer.

 

[table1349]

Here's what I do.

ISO is set to "auto" until such time as I need to change it, which hasn't happened yet.

That is because in Auto ISO the camera makes the changes whenever it decides to whether it is the best choice or not.

My cameras f stop range sucks (?) so I never shoot in aperture priority.

Camera's don't have f stop ranges. The range of f stops available is a product of the lens even if it is a point and shoot. With a point and shoot you don't have the option of changing that range by changing lenses.

Instead, I mostly shoot in either "P" mode, "Scene", "Scene 'love'"-most anything else BUT AP.

9 times out of 10, I use shutter priority because it automatically sets my aperture so I never have to shoot in AP. You could say that I use my shutter speeds as a sort of substitute for AP.

Learning to use shutter is not that difficult. On a nice sunny day, if nothing is moving, 1/ 250 is a good setting.

If you see an eagle fly by though and you want to capture it dead in its tracks 1/800 to 1/1250 ( or maybe beyond) will come in handy, especially if you're panning along with it.

The relationship between ISO, Aperture and Shutter is not rocket science, it's just a matter of study and practice.

If you shoot in Aperture preferred value then it automatically sets your shutter speed. You could use your aperture value to sort of substitute for your shutter speed.

Learning to use aperture value is also not difficult. On a nice sunny day if something is moving or even if it isn't you can set your aperture to get that shutter speed you want to freeze the action if necessary or get create that out of focus area (bokeh) that makes your subject pop in the photo and if you want to capture eagle that is flying buy you can set you aperture as wide as it will go and adjust your ISO to get the shutter speed necessary to freeze the eagle in flight.

This is just one area where understanding how Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO work together so the photographer can make the best use of the tools available to them to capture the photograph as they would like to.

 

[D-B-J]

There are trade-offs in everything. Here are the ones associated with the three methods of getting more light:

high ISO - introduces noise, especially at the highest ISO setting on your camera, and sometimes the one below that.

slower shutter speed - doesn't freeze subject motion or camera shake as well

lower f number - less depth of field and possibly if you are near wide open, less image quality

So, you pick your poison for the particular situation and go from there!

:thumbup:


Its as simple as that.