The basics of Photography are the Shutter Speed, ISO, and Aperture.
Most of the DSLR camera has a base ISO 100. And it is the best ISO setting for outdoor shoots. However, you must be tricky enough to play with ISO depending on the lighting condition.
ISO refers to your camera sensor’s sensitivity to light. In most camera, ISO starts from 100 and can extend to 25000+. The lower the number of ISO, the less sensitive is the camera to the light. And, the reduced is the noise or the grain in the image.
If you increase the ISO number the camera sensor becomes more sensitive to light. This results in brighter images. But the downside is that the high ISO gives birth to grains or noise in the image.
Sometimes you have to increase ISO when there is no sufficient light to capture the best shots. If you are clicking outdoor sports or birds or any fast moving objects then increasing shutter speed results in camera shakes. In such a situation, you can increase the ISO to the point up to where the noise is less detected.
ISO has a direct impact on the photo exposure and photo quality. So, you need to learn properly about the best ISO settings for different shooting conditions. Here’s a detail of ISO setting for outdoors in different light conditions to help you shoot noise-free images.
During Sunlight
When you are clicking under the direct sun you do not have to worry much about the dark images. Because of the sufficient light, you do not have to play in detail with the ISO or Shutter Speed or aperture. So, you can set the ISO number from 100- 200 depending on the light situation.
In the sunny day, you do not have to go low on the shutter speed which may sometimes result in camera shakes. Even with the low ISO, you can click brighter images due to the natural light.
Shooting in Shades
To shoot in the place with sufficient light you do not need to worry about underexposed images. In such lights, you do not have to set the shutter speed to the lowest meaning you can even click in the base ISO value.
However, clicking in shades is quite tricky because to get the details with proper exposure you need to play with aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. And as the low shutter speed and increased aperture may lead to camera shakes. To avoid that, you can increase the ISO from 200-400 depending on the daylight.
But remember, you need to change the ISO setting depending on the intensity of the light.
During the Cloudy Day
During cloudy days, the intensity of light is quite soft. In such a situation, the ISO set to base ISO ie 100 may result in dark images. If you set the ISO to lowest value then you have to increase the Shutter speed which may result in the image blur.
So, if you are clicking on a cloudy day you need to increase the ISO from 200 – 400. This is the level where your photo will have less noise but good exposure.
During the Night
Night shoot is quite challenging because you have to adjust the exposure, take special care on the depth of field. Also, in night photography, the noise/grains in the photograph is quite frequent.
So, as you start clicking in the night/ dark it is good to set the ISO from 1600-6400 depending on your shutter speed and aperture. The shaded part may contain grains so, it is better to adjust shutter speed and aperture before you set the minimum ISO possible.
To Click Fast Moving Objects
To click a static object demands your creativity. But to frame the moving object is a real challenge. You need to be very attentive to focus on the object while setting the exposure, and maintaining the depth of field.
In fast shooting, you need to be very attentive not to let the object turn blurry or distorted. So, while clicking the fast moving objects you need to set the ISO to the maximum level up to which the noise is not directly detected in the image.
Playing with an ISO setting in the camera is quite tricky because it has a direct connection with the image quality. Also, as you work on setting the ISO for a specific shot or the situation, you need to equally focus on the aperture and shutter speed. Sometimes, in the low light, you need to increase the ISO when you cannot compromise on the blur images by using the long shutter speed or high aperture.
