What is ISO and How Does it Work? - Lesson 23 Phone to Camera
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ISO stands for International Standards Organization, so it's practically useless in giving any clue as to what its role is in photography. ISO is consistent, though, across all digital cameras, phone cameras and film types.
Understanding ISO is important because it is one of the key aspects of making a good exposure.
Have you ever wondered why you can take photos in very dark places with your phone and have them turn out well? Did you also notice that when you look closely at them the quality is very low? This happens when your phone camera automatically adjusts the ISO because there’s not much light. The phone camera chooses a high ISO setting, and maybe a very slow shutter speed, so you can take a photo.
Just as it is harder for us to see with our eyes in low light, our cameras don’t do so well when there’s not enough light. This is when managing the ISO well is most important.
The ISO setting controls how responsive the camera's sensor is to light. At the lowest setting, the sensor is least responsive. On many cameras this is ISO 100. This setting is best when you’re taking photos in bright light, like on a sunny day.
At higher ISO settings the sensor is more responsive to light. You set a high ISO when there’s not much light, like when you’re taking photos indoors or at night. The highest setting varies from camera to camera. Newer models have higher ISO options than older cameras.
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Making the switch from taking photos with your phone to using a camera requires some changes. Phone cameras make it easy to take snapshot images. To use a camera well, you need to control it and understand how to take great photos. Using a camera is so much more fun and the quality of your photos will improve dramatically ... once you know what you're doing.
This course contains 30 lessons and practical exercises designed to get you started using your camera. I focus on the differences you can expect between using your phone and your camera to take photos. No matter what camera you use, taking photos happens the same way. Light enters the camera (or phone camera) through a lens. The right amount of light must enter to record a well-exposed photograph with the camera's sensor. With your phone, this process is fully automated and generally produces bland, uncreative results.
Using your camera you can control the light, timing, focus, composition, and more. With this course, I'll teach you all about how to enjoy doing this. I've been taking photos since I was a teenager, most of my working career I've been a professional photographer. I also have many years of experience teaching new and experienced photographers about their cameras and the craft of photography. You'll see how I work when I'm demonstrating the practical exercises that accompany every lesson.
Each exercise has a .pdf document to help guide you through what to do to complete it. I designed this course so you can complete it easily in one month and change your photography experience in just a short amount of time. Each lesson is short and concentrates on a single topic. There's a clearly explained practical exercise with each lesson. Take as long or as little time as you like to complete the exercise and you're sure to experience growth and development in your photography. You'll see the results in the photos you're taking. You'll easily retain what you learn and put it into practice every time you use your camera.