Lesson One- ISO Assignment

After reading how important ISO is to our final image, I would like to offer this assignment to drive home the point and familiarize you with the strengths and limitation of the different ISO settings.

This assignment will need to be accomplished in three parts; daylight, night, and indoors with a flash. They do not need to be accomplished on the same day, but there does need to be some record keeping done to get the full benefit.

You will need a tripod, digital camera and a stationary lens (non-zooming). The tripod will assure you do not move the camera and that all variables remain as constant as possible. The only thing we want to change here is the ISO. Put your camera on Program (fully automatic) and let the camera choose the settings. Set your camera and tripod up so you have your subject in lighting that will not change for at least 30 minutes. This will ensure you have time to get all your shots in before any changes occur. If you have sun and clouds that are not giving consistent light, you will need to do this another day. All conditions must remain the same for you to be able to see the differences from changing your ISO. All I want you to do is change the ISO. Take three pictures of one object, each with a different ISO. Let's say: 200, 400, and 1200. You may choose different combinations, the only requirement is that you use the same series in all three situations.

To ensure that you do not get camera shake, using a timer or remote would be preferred. Now take the images in order from lowest to highest. After you have done your daylight images, complete your night and flash pictures the same way. The only thing that should be changed is the ISO. Do not change your focal length of your lens, do not change your shutter speed or aperture, just the ISO. Your subject can be different in the daylight, flash, and night shots, but must remain the same within each category.

What you will find when you return to your computer to unveil your images is that each ISO has it's strengths and weaknesses and is perfect for some situations...but not all. Look at the shutter speeds and apertures it required to get the same image with the different ISOs. Think about how each of these has it's perfect use but none of these are perfect for all uses. This experiment will also give you a starting point to decide which is perfect next time you are planning an image.

Knowing your equipment, the choices you have and the results you can expect in invaluable to your success as a photographer.

I hope this helps explain ISO and how to use it to your advantage.

Live, Laugh, Photograph!
Maryann McFarland
www.maryannmcfarlandphotography.com