You’ve probably been told at some point that you should always shoot at the lowest ISO possible, often ISO 100 on many cameras (not including extended ISO ranges). While that advice has merit in certain situations, it can also be misleading and sometimes even the worst advice. Here’s why.
What is ISO, Really?
ISO is like a volume knob for your camera’s sensor. It allows you to brighten or darken your image by increasing or decreasing the signal-to-noise ratio. If your image is too bright, lowering the ISO will help; if it’s too dark, increasing the ISO can bring more light into the shot.
But where does noise come from, and how does it appear?
Contrary to popular belief, noise doesn’t just result from cranking up the ISO. It becomes more noticeable when there’s a lack of light in the scene. The idea of exposing for highlights (ensuring the brightest parts of your image don’t blow out) is generally good, but if you underexpose your photo too much, noise will creep in.
When Low ISO Works Best
Shooting at a low ISO, like ISO 100, is great when there’s plenty of light or when your camera is static. This is why landscape, architecture, or product photographers often use ISO 100. The camera sits on a tripod, and there’s no movement, so no need for a fast shutter speed. In these scenarios, keeping the ISO low ensures a clean, noise-free image. Usually the dynamic range has a higher value at a lower ISO.
For example, when shooting waterfalls or long exposures at night, you can use a slow shutter speed to capture movement, and the camera remains steady on a tripod. Similarly, for flash photography, you can often stick to ISO 100 because the flash provides all the light you need.
Why You Should Embrace Higher ISO
However, using a low ISO isn’t practical for every situation. When you’re shooting handheld or capturing subjects in motion, a higher ISO can be mandatory. This is particularly true in scenarios with less light, like concerts or events held indoors or in the evening.
Let’s take concerts as an example. You often need a fast shutter speed to freeze motion, but the lighting is far from ideal: think stage lights, lasers, and dark backgrounds. Shooting at ISO 800, 1600, or even higher is common, and modern cameras are much better at handling higher ISOs than they used to be. You may have heard that anything above ISO 800 is unusable due to noise, but that’s not the case with today’s technology. Full-frame cameras, in particular, can handle higher ISOs while keeping noise at a manageable level. Even crop-sensor cameras perform well up to ISO 1600 or higher.
Handheld Shooting and ISO
When shooting handheld without stabilization, you need a higher shutter speed to avoid blurry photos caused by camera shake. Typically, you’ll want to shoot at 1/60 of a second or faster, depending on your lens’s focal length. To achieve that without underexposing your image, you’ll need to increase your ISO.
It’s much easier to reduce noise in post-production than it is to fix a blurry, unfocused shot. Once you start experimenting with higher ISOs and expose your photos properly, you’ll see that shooting above ISO 100 isn’t as scary as you might have thought.
Tips for Managing Noise at Higher ISOs
Avoid Over-Cropping: When you crop into an image taken at a high ISO, the noise will become more noticeable. The best approach is to compose your shot properly while shooting, so you don’t have to crop in too much later.
Use Noise Reduction Software: Tools like Lightroom’s Denoise feature can clean up grainy images without losing much detail, particularly in the background while preserving the sharpness of your subject.
Don’t Always Expose for Highlights: When you expose for the highlights and underexpose your image too much, you’ll end up raising the exposure in post-processing, which will make the noise more prominent. Some cameras, like the Sony A7III, have ISO-invariant sensors, which means they handle noise better when the exposure is adjusted in post. However, this isn’t true for all cameras, so it’s essential to find the right balance when exposing your shot.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ISO in photography?
ISO controls how sensitive your camera’s sensor is to light. A low ISO (like 100) means less sensitivity, producing clean images with minimal noise, but you need more light. A high ISO (like 3200 or above) amplifies the signal from the sensor, brightening your image in low-light conditions at the cost of introducing grain or noise.
Is high ISO bad for photos?
Not necessarily. High ISO introduces noise, but modern cameras handle it much better than older models. A sharp, well-exposed photo at ISO 3200 is always better than a blurry one at ISO 100 because you couldn’t use a fast enough shutter speed. Noise can be reduced in editing; motion blur and missed focus cannot.
What ISO should I use outdoors?
In bright daylight, ISO 100–200 is ideal. On overcast days, ISO 400–800 works well. During golden hour or in shade, you might need ISO 800–1600. The goal is to keep ISO as low as your shutter speed and aperture allow, but never at the expense of a sharp, properly exposed image.
What is considered high ISO?
This depends on your camera. For most modern APS-C cameras, ISO above 3200 is where noise becomes more noticeable. Full-frame cameras typically handle noise well up to ISO 6400 or beyond. Older or smaller-sensor cameras may show visible noise above ISO 1600. “High” is relative to what your specific camera can deliver cleanly.
Does higher ISO mean more light?
Higher ISO makes your image brighter, but it doesn’t actually let in more physical light; that’s controlled by aperture and shutter speed. What ISO does is amplify the electrical signal from the sensor, which brightens the image but also amplifies noise. Think of it as turning up the volume on a quiet recording: the sound gets louder, but so does the static.
What does increasing ISO do to an image?
Increasing ISO makes your image brighter. At the same time, it increases noise (grain), particularly in shadow areas, and slightly reduces dynamic range. So the three things that change: brightness goes up, noise goes up, and the range of tones your camera can cleanly capture narrows.
What image properties change with a higher ISO camera setting?
Three properties change when you raise ISO: brightness increases (the image gets lighter), noise increases (more visible grain, especially in shadows and flat areas like skies), and dynamic range decreases (the camera captures a narrower tonal range). At extreme values, color accuracy also suffers, with shadows taking on a muddy or discolored appearance.
What happens when ISO is too high?
When ISO is too high, noise becomes visually distracting: shadows fill with grain, fine details get obscured, and colors can look muddy. At extreme values (often above ISO 12800 on most cameras), images may become unusable for anything beyond small prints or social media. The threshold varies by camera; modern full-frame sensors handle high ISO far better than older or smaller-sensor cameras.