Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Portrait Photography: Increasing ISO for Sharp Results

this is an article by Ibarionex R. Perello

he is a writer and photographer who has over 15 years worth of experience in the photographic industry. For 6 years, he was the associate editor for Outdoor photographer, PC Photo, and Digital Photo Pro magazines. He was a technical engineer for Nikon Inc. for 8 years where he provided technical support and training on both film and digital technologies.

well, this is what he said:

"I always make it a point of noting my shutter speed as I begin to shoot. It’s as fundamental to me as focusing. I have had too many great images ruined because of camera motion resulting in a soft image. Though I make every effort to hold my camera as steady as possible, there is always a little vibration occurring. It’s not a problem with fast shutter speeds. But when the shutter speed drops below 1/60 second, especially in combination with the use of focal lengths of 80mm and higher, there is an increased risk of softness due to camera movement. Noting my shutter speed before exposing the first frame helps me take the steps needed to make sure my photographs turn out tack sharp.

Though increasing the ISO to 800 or even higher introduces more noise into the image, I prefer having a noisy image that is sharp, rather than a noiseless image that is soft. There is always something that I can do with the former, but not the latter.

Yet, even at this high ISO my camera delivered a very beautiful image. Though the light wasn’t abundant, there was a good quality to it, which helped make the image strong visually and technically.

Years before, I would have missed out on this shot, because I would have decided there wasn’t enough light. Now the ability to change ISO on the fly, has provided the means to make quality images virtually anywhere."


well, i learn something from what he said about ISO, because it is so me, and i will make useful of it. Bravo Perello...!!!

No comments: