Low light: what to do first? ISO, aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation???

[g&m]

Hi all, i'm a newbie and i have a question about shooting in low light.

I red on this forum some topics about the aperture triangle, tips on avoiding blurs, and were all very useful.

But i still have a doubt: i understood that when there is low light you should

- high the ISO
- set a greater aperture
- set a longer shutter speed
- set exposure compensation


but... here is my question... what do i have to do FIRST?
Should i set a higher iso and, if is not enough, set a greater aperture, or should i first set a long shutter speed and, if is not enough, set a higher iso?

Please help me understanding this thing.
Thank you

[Nicole]

Figure out what is most important to you in taking the photo and that will help you figure out what to set first.

For example, if you want to freeze motion then the last thing you will want to change (much) will be the shutter speed. So you'd probably adjust ISO and aperture first. But if it doesn't matter if you freeze the subject, you might choose to adjust the shutter speed first.

From my experience there is no set order, it just depends on the subject.

So, for me...
If it's an action shot, I usually adjust ISO then aperture, then shutter speed because I know that I'll want a reasonable shutter speed to freeze the action (if that's my goal). Though sometimes I'll adjust aperture before ISO, it just depends on the situation and where I'm already at.
If it's a landscape shot (and I have a tripod), it's shutter speed then aperture, then ISO because if it's at night for example, long exposures usually look pretty good. And since I have a tripod it doesn't matter if I use a long shutter speed because I'm not hand holding and the landscape isn't moving.
If it's a landscape shot (and I don't have a tripod), I adjust ISO then aperture, then shutter speed. Because in this case I'll set the shutter speed to something I can hand hold, and I need to make sure that I do everything to keep it at that point.

[RichardTaylor]

See this response to a similar question, shooting in (hand held) in low light.

freezing motion - D3000

[Jojie]

Originally Posted by Nicole

Figure out what is most important to you in taking the photo and that will help you figure out what to set first.


From my experience there is no set order, it just depends on the subject.

yup.. likewise the same... perhaps provide a scenario?

[jdepould]

You can also introduce flash into the equation, if you aren't confused enough already.

That aside, many times I'll adjust shutter speed until I hit the floor on hand-holdability, anywhere from 1/50 to 1/80, depending on the lens. More often than not I'll already be wide open, so ISO is all that's left.

After a while, you get a pretty good sense of what the exposure is when you walk into a room. I can usually tell what my exposure needs to be within a stop or so.