Street photography tip: Limit your ISO value and therefore your noise
Friday 7 July 2023, 15:51 by Michiel Heijmans | 3,279 views | 6 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
It can be quite exciting to let your ISO value go in all directions in shutter priority or aperture priority mode. Although noise in new cameras seems to be getting less and less, it would be a shame to let noise ruin your photo.
To stop your ISO from shooting up, set your AUTO ISO: You specify a range within which the ISO can vary, for example 100-3200 for daytime. Usually, you can add a minimum shutter speed to this, which is set to 1/125 on my camera.
Incidentally, in black-and-white photography, you can sometimes get away with a bit more noise. It gives that old camera feel. But that is a personal preference!
As I said, modern cameras can handle a higher ISO value just fine.
Extra tip: Find out what you consider acceptable. Take an object and photograph it at different ISO values. When does the photo become unusable for you?
About the author
Michiel is professioneel straatfotograaf en geeft workshops en lezingen over straatfotografie. Hij schrijft columns voor Focus Magazine en is erg actief op Instagram. Daar vind je dagelijks inspiratie en tips voor je eigen straatfotografie!
You might also like
-
Street Photography Tip: The Ease of Aperture Priorityby Michiel Heijmans
-
Removing noise? Use it in moderationby Nando Harmsen
-
Street photography tip: Taking photos while walkingby Michiel Heijmans
-
10 Tips for Beginner Photographersby Elja Trum
-
Which is better? Stacking or noise reduction?by Nando Harmsen
-
Street photography tip: Use continuous focus for moving subjectsby Michiel Heijmans
6 comments
-
guest wrote on Tuesday 11 July 2023 at 11:49 | replyThanks for the tip. I've set the ISO of my Z6 to automatic with a max value of 6400. I do the rest manually.
Translated from Dutch. -
Michiel Heijmans wrote on Tuesday 11 July 2023 at 12:40 | replyThanks for your response!
Translated from Dutch. -
Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 11 July 2023 at 16:34 | replyMichiel, you write the following as an extra tip: 'Extra tip: See what you find acceptable. Take an object and photograph it at different ISO values. When does the photo become unusable for you?'
Translated from Dutch.
That doesn't work, because in one photo, for example at ISO6400, you have no noise, while in the other photo you do have noise at the same ISO. That depends, among other things, on the lighting conditions and on the amount of dark and light areas in the photo. Visible or disturbing noise can therefore occur or not occur at the same ISO value. -
Michiel Heijmans wrote on Tuesday 11 July 2023 at 16:42 | reply
Hey Donald,
Translated from Dutch.
That doesn't change the fact that if you don't test it for yourself, you'll just keep shooting randomly. It's not just about light either, because you want your ISO as low as possible, but also your camera and lens. If you don't test it for yourself, then you don't have a starting point at all. -
Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 11 July 2023 at 20:54 | reply
Michiel, that does not change the fact that, for example, at ISO 6400, noise can be visible one time and not the other. I use a Canon Eos R7. With various lenses. Even when using the same lens at the aforementioned ISO value, it happens that you see noise one time and the other time. It completely depends on what you are photographing and under what circumstances. Your tip does not lead to a good photo, but to a series of test photos.
Translated from Dutch.
I can assure you that I speak from my own experience -
Michiel Heijmans wrote on Tuesday 11 July 2023 at 21:44 | reply
I think we mean the same thing.
Translated from Dutch.
Have your say
Please note: Articles older than a week can only be commented on by signed-in visitors.Would you still like to comment? sign in or create a free account.
Become a better photographer every week
A practical photography tip in your inbox every week.
39,199 photography enthusiasts already receive the tips! More about the weekly mail. Or keep up to date via 
Facebook.
Elja Trum
Photofacts; everything to do with photography!
Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about PhotofactsPhotofacts is made possible in part by
