Ive read up on ISO and shutter speeds some. I think I understand the lower the ISO the better quality the photo and a slow shutter speeds makes running water kind of flow so to speak and a fast shutter speed captures fast moving targets like sporting events. Correct me if Im wrong. Ive noticed light gathering is a HUGE deal when changing ISO and shutter speeds. I assume the longer the shutters open the more light gets in. Sorry if this sounds stupid but I have no real idea what Im doing! Im gonna try and photo everything with different settings until i getva grip on it. Does anyone have any recommended reading material that will help me grasp it?
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Get "Understanding Exposure" by Brian Petersen. Will help you tremendously. -
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Sounds like something I need to read as well.Comment
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Low ISO = less noise (graininess), but less sensitive to light. It's like putting on sunglasses. It reduces the amount of light you can capture, so you have to go to a bigger aperture and/or a slower shutter speed to get a good exposure.
High ISO = more noise and more light sensitivity - like taking off your sunglasses. You capture light more easily, so you have to go to a smaller aperture and/or a faster shutter speed to get a good exposure.
Aperture (f/stop) = the size of the opening in the lens. Think of your eye's iris. When it's dark, your eye's iris gets big to let in more light. When it's bright, the iris gets small to let in less light. f/stop numbers seem backwards. Lower f/stop numbers = larger aperture openings, so more light. Higher f/stop numbers = smaller aperture openings, so less light. Aperture also affects depth of field, which is the term for how much of your view is in focus. Larger aperture (low f/stop number) = shallow depth of field, so you get a thin area that is in focus and then everything in front of your focus point and everything behind your focus point will be blurry. They call the blurred out stuff "bokeh". Smaller aperture (high f/stop number) = broader depth of field, so you get a wider range of in-focus stuff in your view rather than just a thin sliver.
The shutter is similar to your eyelid. The shutter speed is similar to the amount of time you keep your eyes open. The longer your eyes or your camera's shutter are open, the more light you gather. If you are in dim light, you will need a slower shutter speed in order to gather enough light for a good exposure. If you are in bright sunlight, you will need a fast shutter speed in order to keep from gather too much light and ending up with an over-exposed, washed-out picture. Fast shutter speeds will freeze action. Slow shutter speeds will give you blurred action.
To decide which settings to use, you first need to decide what effects are important to you for this particular shot. Is the most important thing a fast shutter, like in sports where you want to freeze the action? If so, then if you don't have bright sunlight to work with then you may need to set the lowest f/stop number your lens has and then start bumping up the ISO to higher numbers until you get enough light for your fast shutter speed.
Is a shallow depth of field the most important thing, like when you want your subject in focus and then all the background blurred out? If so, then you need a large aperture (low f/stop), and then you'll need to set your ISO and shutter speed wherever they need to be in order to get a good exposure with whatever amount of light you have to work with.
Always use the lowest ISO setting you can with whatever f/stop or shutter speed you need to use in order to get the effect you're looking for. That will give you less noisy grain.
Get the book Bill recommended, and then put your camera in Manual mode and start taking pictures while you change settings manually. Just change one thing at a time to see what happens when you change it. Maybe start by changing the ISO and take a few shots of the same thing with different ISO settings and see how your photo results change. Then take a good exposure of something and then change f/stop and take some more. Do the same thing with shutter speed. Do it in Manual mode. Doing that, you'll easily figure out what happens when you change one of the settings. Before long, you'll be able to think about what you want to accomplish in a shot and you'll have an idea of how to set the camera to accomplish what you're looking for.Comment
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Thank you Shane, that makes a lot of sense! I'll get the book and read it. I've started shooting in manual mode already, I see HUGE differences in lighting with shutter speeds and f/stops. I cant wait for football practice this evening! My 55-300 is only 4.5-5.6 so I'm sure I wont be able to get the best photos but I'm gonna try to grab the best it can do!Comment
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