James Abbott
James is an editorial and advertising photographer producing eye-catching landscape and portrait images for editorial, commercial and private clients. He’s also a freelance journalist and editor specialising in photography techniques, tutorials and reviews. See more of his work at www.jamesaphoto.co.uk
1 What is ISO?
Originally, ISO related to film speed; it refers to the sensitivity of the emulsion to light. Digital sensors work in a similar but different way. With digital sensors, when shooting at lower ISO settings the sensor appears to be less sensitive to light and image quality is better, while at higher settings noise becomes more apparent as the sensor becomes more sensitive to light. The reality, however, is that digital cameras have a single base ISO setting, which is often ISO 100, and when increased or decreased, a software algorithm
