• Home
  • Reviews Index
  • Best Gear
  • Inspiration
  • Learn
  • Disclaimer
  • Staff/Contact Info
  • Media Kit
  • Membership
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Education Field Instructional

How to Get Better High ISO Images from Your Camera and Smartphone

Chris Gampat
No Comments
01/25/2021
3 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Leica SL2 NY sample images 2.81-60s6400

If you’re having trouble shooting photos in low light and getting bad high ISO images, then consider the following.

Since the inception of digital photography, manufacturers have turned high ISO capabilities into a war. It’s typically those weird specks, grain, or discolored images that you see. Getting rid of it arguably started many years ago when Canon introduced the Canon 40D and the Canon 5D. Nikon took it further with the Nikon D300, D3, and the D700. Then everyone else jumped into the game. And as megapixel counts have gone up, the problem with high ISO noise has continued. We’ve compiled our expertise from shooting for over a decade into this one blog post to tell you folks really clearly how you can get better high ISO images.

Overexpose the Scene

© 2020 Pauleth Ip / PI Creative
© 2020 Pauleth Ip / PI Creative

On your phone or your camera, simply just set the exposure slider to the “+” side of things, and you’ll get a better photo most of the time in the dark. You, of course, also lose stability when doing this. But you’ll get a much better and often cleaner image. The science behind overexposing your photo is that digital sensors, just like film, need more light to take better photographs. So if you feed it more light, it’s going to give you a better photo. Additionally, when you overexpose a scene, it makes the ISO noise less apparent. The best way to do the overexposure method is to either grab a tripod or make yourself really, really still.

Here are a few more tips on how to make yourself super still:

  • Hold the camera close to you.
  • Control your breathing. Ideally, shoot at the top of your breath when you’re full.
  • Tuck your elbows into your body
  • Use the delay shooting mode

If you follow these tips, you’ll be able to successfully overexpose without using a tripod or any other stabilizing system. It works. But it’s also a bit riskier. Believe it or not, sometimes you just have to accept that you’re not going to get the shot. So spend that time soaking in the moment.

Noise Reduction: But is it Worth it?

Most cameras and phones have a noise reduction option. What this will do is get rid of that grain, the color specks, etc. But you’re trading that cleaner image for less detail. If you’re using a proper camera with interchangeable lenses, check if your sensor has a Low Pass filter. If it doesn’t, then you can turn on noise reduction and still expect a whole lot of details from the image. We did this with the Leica SL2, and the digital files were jaw-droppingly sharp. In fact, we printed an image at ISO 6400 to 17×22 inches and were floored by the details visible.

Phones apply their own type of artificial sharpening using the software. You can see this with Night mode on many of the more modern phones. And overall, the images are pretty good. But they’re not going to beat a dedicated camera.

Pro Tip: Sometimes, it’s very worth it to embrace the image noise and use a filter.

Black and White

You don’t always have to fight high ISO image noise. Instead, you can embrace it in the look! The best way to do that is to use a black and white filter preset. Our favorite app is RNI Films. But your phone’s dedicated Black and White settings can work too. Even better, a dedicated camera lets you shoot in black and white and then tweak parameters like contrast, sharpness, etc. With newer cameras, you can even add clarity. You don’t have to do it in post-production. Instead, just shoot RAW and JPEG, and you’ll most likely be delighted with what the JPEGs look like. There’s no point in then booting up Lightroom or Capture One and editing the photo for you to get the same look. That’s just silly.

Give it a shot! Instead of trying to fight a problem, use the features of the problem as a solution!

black and white camera editing filter high iso images low pass filter night mode phone smartphone
Shares
Written by

Chris Gampat

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
Previous Post

Photographer Stefan Panaitescu Has Never Used Photoshop In His Life

Next Post

Stay Inside With A Great Photography Book and Learn This Winter

The Phoblographer © 2023 ——Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
  • Home
  • Our Staff
  • Editorial Policies
  • Media Kit
  • Membership
  • App Debug