top of page
Writer's pictureJeff Carpenter

Why you SHOULD Shoot With a High ISO in Studio

Now that I got my click bait title out of the way we can actually talk about this!

For the longest time, I was a firm believer that you should always shoot with a low ISO, especially in a studio setting, since the native ISO of your camera produces an image with the least amount of noise. I'm going to assume that everyone reading this already knows about digital noise when it comes to photos, so I'm not going to explain what that is. I do however want to talk about why you might want to consider shooting with a higher iso in a studio setting. This doesn't mean that you always should, but let's talk about a situation where it has come in handy for me.


Check out this video and see what I mean, and if you're more of the "read to find out information" type, just skip the video and keep reading!


I typically shoot at ISO 100 when shooting full frame cameras, or ISO 200 when shooting with micro 4/3. both are the native ISO for each camera and produce the cleanest image. However, I sometimes I'll find myself increasing my ISO when shooting in a studio, to decrease the recycle time on my strobes. You might not think that having a faster recycle time would matter, and in many cases it doesn't. Especially if you can shoot at a leisurely pace. Typically I like to shoot at a slower pace, if only to reduce the amount of photos I need to cull through later, but sometimes the vibe of the shoot requires me to shoot a bit faster. If you're maxed out on the power of your strobes, you're going to have a slower recycle time and your model might be switching poses 3 or 4 times before you even get one shot off.


Awhile back I came to the realization that I can still shoot at a pretty high ISO, which will speed up the shoot and reduce the recycle time of the strobes, and still produce a quality image. In fact, I even had a hard time telling the difference between an image with an ISO of 800 and an ISO of 100.


Can you tell which image was shot at ISO 100 and which was shot with ISO 800?

While shooting with your cameras native ISO will create the cleanest image, it doesn't always mean that you should always just set your settings and leave them there. Like everything in photography, it's a dance between what's "correct" and what you want to "create". Rules are there more as guidelines, it's up to you to see how far you can stretch them to achieve the image you want.


 

Take your photography to the NEXT LEVEL at my next workshop, and learn how incorporate continuous lighting into your workflow.


You'll have a chance to win a Nanlite FS-300C

A half day studio rental at Westlight Studios

and much more!







74 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page