ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed For Beginners

The photographer can control how much natural light reaches the sensor by adjusting the camera's ISO shutter speed and aperture

ISO With digital cameras, the ISO indicates how quickly the sensor absorbs light As the ISO increases, so does grain or noise ISOConditions 100 or 200Outside, sunny conditions 400 to 800Night time low light 1600Dark scenes

ISO bright sunlight low light

Shutter Speed (Tv) You can control the length of time the shutter remains open by setting the SHUTTER SPEED. Longer shutter speeds = more light (1/4 second or less) shorter shutter speeds = less light (1/250 second or more )

Shutter Speed (Tv) Slow Shutter speed for blurring water – 10 seconds Fast Shutter speed freezes the action – 1/200 th second

Aperture (Av) Before light reaches the sensor, it must pass through an opening called an "Aperture Similar to your pupil which closes down in bright conditions and opens wider in darker conditions

Aperture Wide aperture = small number = more light Also less depth of field or area in sharp focus Small aperture = large number = less light More depth of field or area in sharp focus

Aperture Av = 16 Av = 1.4

How to take better images using these 3 features 1.Action Fast shutter speed to freeze the motion

2. Portrait This setting uses a wide aperture ( ) to make the background out of focus

3. Landscape This setting uses a small aperture (16) to have most objects in focus

4. Night Shots High ISO to increase the amount of light being absorbed by the sensor

5. Low Light High ISO and no flash Eg 1600 ISO.

Special Effects Long Exposures–8 seconds, ISO 100, F2.8, flash