In photography, making sense of some of the jargon can be a daunting task. Understanding certain terms and how they apply to your camera is key to taking excellent photos. One of the most confusing settings is ISO, which is one of the three factors of exposure, along with shutter speed and aperture. Fortunately for you, we’ve put together this simple explanation to help you better understand what happens when you change your camera’s ISO and how it will affect your images.
First, let’s break down the initialism. ISO simply stands for the International Organization of Standardization, which is the main governing body that standardizes sensitivity ratings for camera sensors (among many other things). The term was carried over from film when the ISO rating was known as the “film speed” and “ASA.” Having a standard of sensitivity is important, as it allows you to shoot the same ISO on different cameras and trust that the exposure value will be equal.