How often do you change ISO at a wedding?

[john_meyer14]

Do you change ISO very often at a wedding or do you tend to keep it, say, at 400 most of the time?

 

Regards

 

John

[jmichaelc]

During the course of a wedding day, i am all over the ISO spectrium. Last wedding day, i had:

 

ISO:

 

50 - 10

 

100 - 26

 

160 - 41

 

200 - 8

 

250 - 13

 

320 - 38

 

400 - 60

 

500 - 181

 

640 - 70

 

800 - 96

 

1000 - 88

 

1250 - 320

 

1600 - 165

 

3200 - 240

 

 

Typically 500 - 1250 is my sweet spot and 1600-3200 is used a lot at receptions.

 

I'm always changing the ISO to suit or maximize my intentions based on ever changing light and lens combonations.

[wentzu_chang]

For me, I change often if I need more light, because I use F/2.8 most time. Usually 200, 400, 500 at preparation, and ceremony, and 800

or highter at reception with flash.

[rvalois]

Hi Michael ...

 

WOW ... and WOW again. I don't keep track of when I change ISO or how often but most of the weddings I do will go from 400, some 800 or 1600 in the evening and most of those outdoors will be 200 if the sun is out otherwise it's 400. In film days, I would shoot most weddings with Porta NC 400 and if the sun was out, I would use some Portran NC 160. Numerous weddings were shot with 400 exclusively.

 

Just as an example, why would you change ISO from 160 to 200 or 320 to 400 ???

 

I'm not critizing, I just don't understand and I just might be missing something here.

 

Ray

[KenPapai]

I don't understand using ISO 500 or a weird one like 250 at all.

Seems beyond silly. Use the DLSR's natural ISO settings from 100, 200, 400, ... But, whatever.

[jmichaelc]

Raymond...

 

That data is simply pulled from Adobe bridge's metadata. Why would i go from 160 to 200? Well, there is really no

definate reason other than to say that when i'm shooting, i have all those options available to me and that was

the "best" selection at the time. When i look at my meter when i'm in a given enviroment, i know what lens i have on

and i know where i "need to be" in terms of shutter to acheive what i'm wanting to acheive. Looking through the view

finder, i've gooten good at automattically reaching up with my left hand and double pressing the ISO buttons

togeather (1DMIIN's) and simply spinning my top wheel with my right index finger. When i've reached the desired

shutter to meet my goal, i simply stop. Where it stops is where it stops and most of the time i don't even know....but

i do know it's where i need it to be and where i want it to be. I do this throughout the course of the day which is why

you see such a variance :)

[mgk1966]

I don't see why ISO always has to be in even full stop increments. Just like shutter speed and aperture, sometimes you need to be in between. The numbers are all arbitrary.

 

I change ISO at a minimum every time I change environments.

[daverhaas]

I'm ready for the abuse I'll take for this, but I change it two times. Once at the beginning of the formals to lowest non-trick ISO (Currently 200 for my D300's) and to AUTO at the end of the formal shots. From there on, I let the camera worry about ISO while I worry about composition, DOF, Shutter Speed, etc...

 

Dave

[picturesque]

I do change ISO 'very often'. I use it as another variable for picking the EV I want for the scene, just like aperture and shutter speed.

[david_schilling___chicago_]

Outside I'm typically at 200, at the backdrop it will be 100 or 200, and 400 for most indoor shots with flash. Available light indoor ceremony shots are typically set for 800.

[cjogo]

Almost always 100 outdoors ---and 400 indoors --that's it....

[pulpmojo]

I try not to change ISO to often for several reasons, but the big one is that I use three cameras while on the job and I am way too much of a scatter-brain to remember which one was set to what and all though I usually double check when I'm unsure I do forget to do that once in a while. Especially when I'm in a hurry. And I'm always in a hurry. So I try to keep it at 100 if I can. If I can't, I'll start pushing it up to 400, 800, 1600, or 3200, whatever is necessary to keep a reasonable shutter speed. But once it is set, I usually keep it where it is unless the lighting changes dramatically.

[William Michael]

When I first cut over to Digital my plan was to mimic my film use only two: ISO100 or 200 and ISO800. As I practiced and learnt the new medium, I found the ISO ``spinning wheel`` . . . the rest is history,

 

The first Digital Wedding I did, at the time was very progressive for me: I think I might have changed the ISO eight or ten times. Now, like Michael and Nadine, I simply use the ISO as an exposure parameter which is as easily varied, as the aperture or shutter speed.

 

IMO, this ability to quickly and easily vary the ISO and the use of intermediate ISO settings are key (magnificent) benefits of the digital medium, especially for the Professional Wedding Photographer.

 

I still use film: for those Formal Shoots of the coverage I very rarely change the ISO, only perhaps to push it a third or a half, sometimes.

 

WW

[cjogo]

Maybe its just my camera (20d) Just does not look that quality :: past 400 > just so picky from film days. I just raise my flash output ~ bouncing to a white card ==creating my own ambient look.

[er1]

I change ISO every time I change environments. About the only time I do not change the ISO is in a controlled studio setting (depending on a particular depth of field needed).

[conraderb]

John - I probably change the 30 to 40 times at a wedding. everything from 50 to 1600, with very some very occasional use of 3200. this is on 5D and 40D bodies. whenever I'm shooting in more or less light, I quickly switch it. takes me about a second and then I forget about it.

[fotografz]

With a Nikon and M8, as often as the camera needs it ... auto ISO with my perimeters set to the quality threshold capability of the digital sensor in use, both low and high.

[john_meyer14]

Hi guys

 

Thanks for all your input.

 

Isn't it surprising - perhaps it isn't - how so many people use their cameras so differently?

 

For me it's been very interesting and enlightening to hear everyones comments.

 

Once again, many thanks

 

Regards

 

John

[salem13]

hi guys

i work with a 5D usually outside if it's shiny day 50 iso if it's cloudy 200 0r 400 and inside the church and rstauratn 400 800 never go upper too much noise for large copies

and that's it

[markonestudios]

Having shot film for a while, I find that I rarely change ISOs, although I do agree, it is a welcome flexibility afforded us by the digital medium. Typically I have my camera on ISO 400 or 800 indoors (getting ready), then 100 as soon as I step outside (I live in Equatorial Africa, after all!), and then back to 800 for the church. ISO 1600 for the afterparty shots...