TIP #19: When taking pictures inside, open the shades or turn on the lights, let the light in.

Last night my boys were wrestling with their daddy. It was about 7:30pm. It was dark (with no more daylight savings and all) and we were inside the house. So I turned on the lamp that was next to the chair I was sitting in to add to the light in the living room. Then I moved my ISO up higher and I started shooting away. Here are the results and the manual settings:

ISO 2500, aperture F 1.8, shutter 1/125, lens 50mm 1.2

During the day I would encourage you to open the curtains or the blinds. Allow that light to come in. I usually photography newborn babies in front of a beautiful window with the blinds pulled up. Natural light is a lovely and wonderful friend in the world of photography. This image below was captured with natural light from a window. I pulled the blinds up, pushed my ISO a little higher and started shooting.

My manual settings were:
ISO 800, aperture F 2.8, shutter 1/160, lens 50mm 1.2

DAY #1!

TIP #1: When setting up your manual camera settings, set your ISO first.

ISO used to be the speed of film (in film days) and now it’s essentially the same thing on our digital cameras. It’s the ISO equivalent, or how sensitive your camera’s sensor is to the available light.

The same is still true now but it is much easier with our digital cameras. We can now select the ISO on our digital camera and change it as our lighting changes rather than waiting until we use up an entire roll of film. Most cameras have an ISO range of 100 to 1600 or 3200. Some professional cameras go even higher.

The higher the number of your ISO the more your camera will absorb the light. So you will want to raise the ISO to a higher number in low light situations. But whenever possible you want to shoot with the lowest ISO number that you can. The reason is because as the number of your ISO goes higher, your images will have more “noise” (or grainy texture) to them. So a lower ISO creates a clearer, cleaner image.

When I set my ISO I look around at the available light and set it. I usually don’t change my ISO again unless the lighting changes (sun sets, move to a different location, move from shade to sun, etc). So when you set your ISO first, you get to check that off your list and then move on to just dealing with aperture and shutter speed.

Here are some general settings or starting points for your ISO:

• outdoor in the bright sun – ISO 100
• outdoor in the shade – ISO 200 or 400
• indoor near a window – ISO 800
• indoor when it’s not real bright – ISO 1600 or higher

The ISO on this shot below was 1600. That way my camera can take a picture in a lower light situation and it will still look like the image is bright enough.
(ISO 1600, F 2.5, shutter 1/125, 50mm lens)

Here are some general settings or starting points for your ISO:

• outdoor in the bright sun – ISO 100
• outdoor in the shade – ISO 200 or 400
• indoor near a window – ISO 800
• indoor when it’s not real bright – ISO 1600 or higher

Back when I had a 35mm film camera I had to decide which speed of film I wanted to purchase and shoot with. My common choices were film with an ISO of 100, 200, 400, and 800. ISO used to be ths speed of film (in film days) and now it’s essentially the same thing on our digital cameras. It’s the ISO equivalent, or how sensitive your camera’s sensor is to the available light.

Here are some examples of some of the ISO settings I would choose given different general situations. I would choose an ISO setting of 100 on a bright sunny day because it’s already bright and I don’t need any more light in my camera. I might choose an ISO setting of 200 or 400 when I’m in quite a bit of shade or on a cloudy day because I need a little more light. During the day, inside the house but near a window I might choose ISO 600 or 800 because it’s a bit darker but there’s still some available light. But last night in the evening, I put my ISO up really high because it was dark outside and I was inside my living room. I set it to 4000. In summary, refer to the little cheat sheet bullets below (they’re just starting places, ISO varies camera to camera):

• bright sunny day = ISO 100
• full shade or cloudy day = ISO 200 or 400
• inside the house but near a window = ISO 600 or 800
• inside the house in the evening no outside light = ISO 1200 and up

This picture below was shot in my living room under regular tungsten (lightbulb) light in the late evening, right before my boys’ bedtime. I did not use a flash. But my ISO was up high at 4000 in order to allow my camera to absorb more light. Higher ISO settings do allow the camera to absorb more light, but they can also create quite a bit of noise or grain in your image (the speckled dotted texture you see sometimes in a picture). But fortunately the professional grade cameras are pretty fabulous with high ISO settings, that’s part of what you pay for with a higher quality camera body. This picture was shot with my Canon 5D Mark II. It does a great job with high ISO. To me, it’s still pretty clear and great. One of the many reasons I love my camera body. :)

There is much more about ISO including camera diagrams and example pictures with settings in my Learn Your Camera workbook (now available to purchase).

My manual settings:
ISO – 4000
shutter – 1/100 second
aperture – F 2.8

I had the boys step into the shade. Definitely do your best to use shade when you’re learning. Don’t complicate everything. Learn one thing at a time if possible. Okay, so we’re in the shade. And my ISO is set at 250 because it’s a sunny day and I don’t need it to be any higher. Remember ISO? If not, check it out here and here. My aperture was at 3.5 (remember, that’s the opening in your camera). My shutter speed was 1/200 of a second.

Get out there and try shooting on manual. If you don’t know where to start, go in some shade on a sunny day and start with the settings that I used on this shot of my boys. Then adjust from there…

ISO – 250
aperture – 3.5
shutter speed – 200

Ready for a few more ISO tips?

The higher you raise your ISO, the grainier the picture will be. That’s not always bad…it’s just something to know and be aware of. So, on your SLR camera, there will be a difference between and ISO of 200 and an ISO of 1600. Nothing awful but just more grain in your picture and not quite as perfect and clear.

Here are a couple of examples. This picture below was taken at an ISO of 640. At 640, there is very little grain in the picture. It’s pretty clear and sharp.

This picture below was taken inside at an ISO of 6400. Pay attention to that number, it’s not the same one as the picture above. There’s an extra zero there. 6400. Now look at the grain in the picture. Grain is not a bad thing. Sometimes it adds a fantastic effect.

Do you see the texture, or grain, or little tiny dots in the picture? That’s due to a high ISO. Now I’m shooting with Canon’s 5D Mark II and truthfully, it does a fantastic job with grain. I’m not sure how grainy your images will look on your camera that you’re using. But play around with it. I like some grain in certain situations. And I sure like being able to shoot in low light without a flash. That’s fabulous!

So, ISO affects two things really… (in my brain and in my camera, not anything from webster’s dictionary)…

One, it can allow your pictures to be brighter or darker. The higher the ISO, the brighter your picture will be.
Two, it can add grain to your picture. The higher the ISO, the more grain (texture) your picture will have.

The reason I feel this is a good thing to be aware of, is because you don’t necessarily always want to shoot your ISO up high. It does help and is a good thing to learn to adjust your ISO. But I don’t always shoot at 6400 ISO. My pictures would always have grain in them. Sometimes that’s not the look I’m going for.

I’m curious, how high does the ISO on your camera go up to? And what camera are you shooting with? Leave it in the comment section.

The picture on the left:
[P] mode (program mode, pretty much automatic)
I set the ISO to 1600 (because I was inside my house in the evening)
The rest was done automatically by the camera (aperture and shutter speed)
no flash

The picture on the right:
[M] mode (manual)
I set the ISO to 1600
I set the aperture to 3.2
I set the shutter speed to 125
no flash

You will have SO SO SO much more flexibility and be able to shoot in so many more settings when you are (later) on manual. We’ll get you there. These pictures are just a little motivation. One step at a time, we’ll get there. For now, when it’s too dark like this, you’ll have to use your flash. :)

If you’re frustrated, (pics dark? pics blurry?) hang in there and feel free to use the green rectangle (auto) setting when you really do want your pictures to turn out. But don’t give up on me. It’s a lot to learn all at once. Let’s take it a step at a time. Keep practicing and feel free to use the comments section of this blog to post questions, comments, or things that I can help you with along the way.

Though I am completely in love with my big fancy canon camera and all of its fabulous lenses I often use my point and shoot camera. Why? Because it’s small. Because it fits in my purse or my pocket. Because it’s not as expensive so if I’m at the lake or Disneyland where it might get wet, damaged, or stolen, I will almost always take my point and shoot. Plus little cameras are real life, fast, cheap, and fabulous. What’s wrong with that?

So, let’s try something… For one week, turn off your flash (for the most part, except when you really need it…like in the dark) and let’s try to take some great pictures using natural light.

Here’s a little video (raw and unedited…get used to it…this is the only way i’m going to do video) on how to turn off your flash. Check it out.

This picture below is shot with my canon point and shoot (powershot elph on auto)…with the flash turned OFF

The pic below is with my point and shoot, flash turned on (in my opinion, less natural, too washed out)

Ok…so…. first turn off your flash and then……when necessary, increase your ISO.

Remember back when we used 35 mm film? Like 100 speed film, 200 speed film, 400, 800, etc? The faster the film the higher the number? Well, we still need to pay attention to the ISO on our cameras even though they’re digital and we don’t actually put in film. ISO is important.  If we have bright light, we want a low ISO, like 100. If the room is a bit dark, we want a higher ISO, like 800 or 1600 (or even higher depending on your camera). If you increase the ISO on your camera, you may not need more artificial light like a flash. ISO 200 speed film responds to light twice as fast as ISO 100 speed film.

Well, depending on the little point and shoot camera you have, you may be able to change the ISO on your little bitty point and shoot. Some have this capability. Some don’t. So, let’s try it.

The camera I am using is the Canon Powershot SD1200IS Digital Elph. But hey, let’s try it on yours. Here are the steps.

Step one: Turn on your camera and put it in the mode with the picture of the camera (not the auto button).
Step two: Press the func/set button (on my camera it’s in the middle of the circle)
Step three: Press down in order to highlight the ISO on the left of the LCD screen
Step four: Select the appropriate ISO for your lighting situation (I’ll post some recommendations to try)
Step five: Just shoot a picture, try it!

ISO recommendations (Just some rough recommendations from Cori)
ISO 100 – outside, sunny day
ISO 400 – outside, cloudy day
ISO 800 – inside or outside but starting to get dark
ISO 1600 - inside, not bright light

Try it. See if your pictures are better. And…let me know if it works to change your ISO and if so, what camera are you using? Leave a comment! I’d love your feedback.

Well, this week, we’re talking about artificial flash versus natural light. Flash is not bad. No it’s not. Sometimes it’s actually fantastic, fabulous, and necessary. But not all the time. I prefer to use natural light as much as possible when shooting pictures of my little ones. It just looks better, more natural and not as bright and white and washed out. The problem is that many of these cameras that I’m sure lots of you are using have the flash in use all the time (especially when they’re set on auto). Let’s fix that.

I love love my SLR camera. Step by step if you get to know your camera it can do so much for you…so much of what you want to do and what you desire to create. But it can also be quite overwhelming. So we’re going to take it one step at a time. Today, this week, we’re going to focus on flash and ISO. So, try something with me… For one week, turn off your flash (for the most part, except when you really need it…like in the dark) and let’s try to take some great pictures using natural light.

Here’s a little video (raw and unedited…get used to it…this is the only way i’m going to do video) on how to not use your flash and to change your ISO. Check it out.

video notes:

step one: set camera dial (circle dial on top of camera) to [P] mode

step two: press ISO button (usually on top of camera)

step three: press up and down (usually on backside of camera) to select the appropriate ISO

step four: take a picture

ISO speeds (just Cori’s rough recommendation)

ISO 100 – outside, sunny day

ISO 400 – outside, cloudy day

ISO 800 – inside or outside but starting to get dark

ISO 1600 - inside, not bright light

This picture below is shot with a Canon Rebel on auto with the little pop up flash.

This pic below is shot with a Canon Rebel on [P] with no flash and an ISO of 1600.  (sorry I know the subject (my son) isn’t real excited about life, but it’s just an example of a more balanced picture…you can actually see the background rather than it being a bright boy and dark background. It shows how it actually looked outside at the time.)

Please let me know if you have questions or if something doesn’t make sense to you. Any other topics you’d like me to cover? If there’s a flash free picture that you took and you’d like to show me, email it to me. I’d love to see it.