P52 Week 1: Low Light (Jan 1 - Jan 7)

[mollyc]

Welcome to our P52! This project is designed to get you out with your camera once a week in a meaningful way. Each week I will post a prompt for you to consider. The prompts are merely suggestions, and you are free to shoot off topic if you wish. All images posted must be taken by you, be safe for work and be taken with this project in mind. Please do not post archive photos. For a further discussion of the guidelines, please refer to this thread.


Week 1: Low light

What better time of year to practice low light, then around the winter solstice? Although our days are slowly getting longer, night definitely still comes quite early (sunset is still before 5pm for me), and we have several more months of shorter days ahead of us.

There is no real specific definition of low light photography. At its core, it’s fairly self-evident that having a lack of good or bright light would put a scene into low light, but there are no defined thresholds to transition from bright light to low light. Most people equate night or darker toned images as low light, but there are many other images that fall into this category.

Some people define low light as using a single window, but as someone who often uses a one-window light setup, this to me doesn’t make a lot of sense, since I can use the same window on an overcast day or in full sun and have very different light quality. Others might say that shooting at night is the requirement, but there are plenty of overcast, winter days that are decidedly lacking bright light.

As a guideline, I typically consider any image requiring more light than ISO 800, 1/125, and the widest aperture on your lens. Certainly using a fast lens, f/1 - f/2, will allow you more opportunities, but not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford fast primes, and you might be using a kit lens that only opens to f/5.6. How you define low light is up to you, but I would work with these settings as guidance as you look for low light scenarios.

Also keep in mind, that low light doesn’t inherently have to *look* like low light, ie, it does not have to be dark. If you are using a high ISO but your image comes out bright and airy looking, it still qualifies as low light. This just means that you’ve worked the exposure triangle in such a way that you have taken advantage of the available light to meet your artistic vision. Conversely, you might find scenarios that are absolutely flooded with light to the eye, but when exposing for the highlights of your scene, you are able to have the shadows fall to pure darkness due to the inverse square law. I would not consider this low light, despite the darker overall look to the image. See below for examples.

Here are some tips for photographing low light scenes:

1. Do not be afraid to raise ISO; raise it higher than you think you should. Many people who are new to shooting low light have an innate fear of raising ISO for fear of grain. It is universally accepted that raising ISO and preserving shutter speed is vastly preferred to keeping ISO low and compensating with a lower shutter speed. Using too low of a shutter speed will likely introduce camera shake or motion blur, which cannot be corrected in post. Using an acceptable shutter speed but keeping ISO low in camera will often result in undesirable noise when raising exposure in post (there are exceptions to this for ISO-invariant cameras, but for this post, assume your camera is NOT ISO-invariant).
2. Unless you are very comfortable hand-holding your particular camera, do not let the shutter speed drop below 1/125. Newer cameras with good IBIS (in body image stabilization) can be hand held as low as 1/50 or so, but this takes much practice to know the limit. I can often shoot as low as 1/30 with my Z cameras, but I’m a fairly steady shooter, and I would not shoot a portrait with a speed that low.
3. Make sure your subject is in the highlight area of the image, and expose for the highlights. The highlights are the brightest area of the image and therefore collect the most light. If your subject is in shade, this is the darkest area, and you will have to really crank ISO and/or drop shutter speed. It’s also important to remember that noise lives in the shadows, so if your intended subject is in the shadows, it will inherently be noisier. It is hard to get a clean image of a very dark subject, no matter how capable your camera. I run into this sometimes with my black dog when she is sitting in the shade, and I either wait until she moves or coax her into a different location.

ISO 3200 | f/5.6 | 1/100 | Although this image seems too "bright" for a low light, due to the ISO and shutter speed, it qualifies as a low light image, as my lens was open to the max aperture. Low light does not need to be dark.

ISO 3200 | f/4.5 | 1/100 | A more traditional low light image, I exposed for the highlights in the bright patch of the pantry, and let the inverse square law turn the shadows very dark. I did not want bright light throughout this image, and wanted to highlight the light fall throughout the rooms.

ISO 8000 | f/5.6 | 1/60 | Do not be afraid to raise ISO; this camera body/lens combo has particularly good IBIS, so I did use a slightly slower shutter speed than I might with a different setup. This image is SOOC with no editing, and there is very little noise throughout because the exposure was spot on. What noise there is can easily be managed in post.

ISO 12800 | f/5.3 | 1/800 | This image required a high ISO because I needed a fast shutter speed to capture the sports in action. I did not need to expose for the shadows behind the field and chose my settings on keeping the exposure correct for the players.

ISO 8000 | f/5 | 1/160

ISO 125 | f/4.5 | 1/200 | Surprise! This image is NOT low light. Many people would consider this image low light, since much of the frame is in shadows. However, when you see the very low ISO, you realize the room was actually flooded with light, but settings chosen to maintain highlights and work with the inverse square law to throw the shadows very dark. The first image shown was much more low light, as evidenced by the settings, but yet it appears brighter overall. You cannot judge the quality of the light in any given image solely by shadows and highlights; you need to know the exif data to make a determination as to the amound of light available.

Here are two examples of the dangers of raising ISO in post. I had a hard time finding examples of this as my newer cameras are largely ISO invariant, and my D700 which I pulled out to take these samples, although very old, has extremely good high ISO performance. If you are using a newer camera, you might be able to ignore ISO to some extent, but I highly recommend just raising ISO in camera to set your exposure. You can see that the ISO 3200 images, on the right in both examples (these are the same images, just different parts of the frame) there is less noise overall in the shadowed areas, and the text is slightly sharper as well because there is less noise overall.

Lastly, here is an example of trying to keep ISO so low that you need to reduce your shutter speed to get your exposure. Notice how the image on the left is very blurry from camera shake. Noise levels in both images are the same, but by increasing my shutter speed to a comfortable hand holding level AND increasing exposure the same amount, the image on the right is much cleaner and a better overall image.

I am excited to see what you guys come up with this week, and if you run into any issues or have questions shooting low light, feel free to tag me and I'll help you out.

I will also shoot something new this week for this project and post in the comments with you; I'd love it if you share your camera/lens and settings along with your photo.

 

[oldBCguy]

.. my lady, captured doing her thing at her desktop 'workplace' .. 8 am PST this morning (iPad Mini 6 photo).

 

[fauxtog]

Canon R with Adapted EF 50 1.2 L
Manual mode with auto ISO
1/80 - 2.0 - 125

 

[kenoh]

28mm 1/8s ISO400, handheld.

 

[bunnspecial]

I'm not entirely happy with this-I still like the idea but am not sure of the execution. Still, though, here it is(unless a resubmit is permitted if I manage something better).

Before my desk gets cluttered for the semester, and maybe posed a bit for the photo.

34mm on a 24-70mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 5 seconds

 

[kenoh]

I'm not entirely happy with this-I still like the idea but am not sure of the execution. Still, though, here it is(unless a resubmit is permitted if I manage something better).

Before my desk gets cluttered for the semester, and maybe posed a bit for the photo.

34mm on a 24-70mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 5 seconds
View attachment 2136297

I think this is for your own personal development so resubmitting is allowed, dare I say encouraged?

 

[PhilBoogie]

I'm not entirely happy with this-I still like the idea but am not sure of the execution. Still, though, here it is(unless a resubmit is permitted if I manage something better).

Before my desk gets cluttered for the semester, and maybe posed a bit for the photo.

34mm on a 24-70mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 5 seconds
View attachment 2136297

Guideline #2 in this post states we can submit up to 5 images, but ask for CC on just a single one.

As an aside, it is my understanding that ISO 800 or higher is required/preferred. Though I see no-one has done that (yet)

 

[mollyc]

I'm not entirely happy with this-I still like the idea but am not sure of the execution. Still, though, here it is(unless a resubmit is permitted if I manage something better).

Before my desk gets cluttered for the semester, and maybe posed a bit for the photo.

34mm on a 24-70mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 5 seconds
View attachment 2136297

Yes, you can post up to five a week as you practice; don’t delete and edit your post if you take something new but make a new post within the thread. 🙂

Guideline #2 in this post states we can submit up to 5 images, but ask for CC on just a single one.

As an aside, it is my understanding that ISO 800 or higher is required/preferred. Though I see no-one has done that (yet)

@bunnspecial’s shutter speed is five seconds so that’s definitely considered low light even with the lower ISO. If he changed his settings to 1/125 his ISO would be really high. I don’t have a camera in front of me to figure it out right now but it definitely works. Same with @kenoh, he used a slower shutter speed.

 

[PhilBoogie]

@bunnspecial’s shutter speed is five seconds so that’s definitely considered low light even with the lower ISO. If he changed his settings to 1/125 his ISO would be really high. I don’t have a camera in front of me to figure it out right now but it definitely works. Same with @kenoh, he used a slower shutter speed.

Ah, okay, good to know.

I've put quite some time to create an image for this weeks' topic, but the only one that came out 'reasonably good' was ISO320, f/1.8, 1/320s. I can only assume this is not considered Low Light...?

 

[mollyc]

Ah, okay, good to know.

I've put quite some time to create an image for this weeks' topic, but the only one that came out 'reasonably good' was ISO320, f/1.8, 1/320s. I can only assume this is not considered Low Light...?

that’s pretty much regular light. 🙂

 

[PhilBoogie]

that’s pretty much regular light. 🙂

Thanks...for enlightening me. I'll have another try tonight.

 

[decafjava]

Very interesting @mollyc I am not sure how much I can control with my 13 PM though it is better at low light or nighttime than any other of my iPhones. If I dig out my old Sony Cybershot may try a bit with your advice - also we for our classroom photography (usually for social media but still).

 

[r.harris1]

Very different for me. "Abstract". ISO 64, 6s, 35mm, ~f16 (probably f11 in reality). The back story here is that on January 1, we went to the Denver Botanic Gardens "Blossoms of Light" show that they run all through the festive season. They decorate the plants, trees and shrubs along with other structures with a variety of lights. It was going to be dark when we got there and I thought "Hey, low light!". A lot of it was fast-paced as they had one-way paths set up and you sort of had to keep moving. We were going through a long arbor of lights here.

 

[r.harris1]

More "r.harris1 style".

 

[kenoh]

Yes, you can post up to five a week as you practice; don’t delete and edit your post if you take something new but make a new post within the thread. 🙂



@bunnspecial’s shutter speed is five seconds so that’s definitely considered low light even with the lower ISO. If he changed his settings to 1/125 his ISO would be really high. I don’t have a camera in front of me to figure it out right now but it definitely works. Same with @kenoh, he used a slower shutter speed.

Yep, I took the shutter speed down to maintain the 400 ISO - I could have gone higher ISO but got an acceptable image.

I could have gone up to ISO 3200, 1/64 happily, or ISO 6400, 1/125 at a push for the same exposure.

 

[mollyc]

@PhilBoogie I apologize if you already know this, but if you do, then maybe it will be helpful for someone else. When shooting in manual mode, you control all the settings, unlike in auto (or even semi-auto) where the camera decides the settings. Choosing a purposely long shutter speed is often a creative decision, like if you want to smooth out waterfalls or a stream, or if you are trying to capture stars in astrophotography. If you are using a long shutter speed, you have to reduce light elsewhere, because even at night you could ultimately overexpose an image if all the exposure triangle areas are wide open.

For Bunn's image, five seconds is a really long time for the shutter to be open, so he has to lower the ISO accordingly so as not to have too much light (he could also stop down his aperture, or use a combination of those things). However, you can figure out an equivalent exposure, which means the overall light value doesn't change for the image because you've changed something to compensate for letting in more or less light.

In Bunn's image, he chose settings of ISO 200, f/5.6, 5s. If you had been in that room, you might have decided that you wanted to handhold, so you choose a shutter speed of 1/125. You've decided to keep your aperture the same as Bunn, so that means in order to compensate for the lack of light at 1/125, you now need to increase your ISO. You would then need an ISO of 100,000. That is astronomically high, and I'm not sure any cameras right now even go that high, regardless of performance; the highest I know is 51k. And while I did say that it's better to raise ISO in camera to get your exposure than to keep it low and raise in post, even the best cameras start to fall apart around 16k or so and you get visible noise.

Here is an exposure calculator where you can play with different settings to find equivalent light values. This calculator didn't have a 5s option, so I chose 4s instead. 5s would actually increase the needed ISO levels even more.

These are the settings that Bunn used (fudging the shutter speed slightly).

Here are the equivalent settings if he'd wanted to handhold at 1/125 instead.

When you play with this, put in your initial settings, then lock one or two of the parameters (it gives you directions) and then make sure your Output/EV number stays the same for your adjusted settings. When I do this IRL, I just count clicks on my camera; if I drop the ISO by two stops, that's six clicks (because I have my camera set to 1/3 stop per click), then I would increase the shutter speed by six clicks also and end up with an equivalent exposure. Remember, if you decrease the first setting, you have to increase the other one or two to compensate. Alternatively, I could decrease ISO by two stops (six clicks) and then increase SS by three clicks and also open aperture by three clicks.

I hope that helps. 🙂

 

[mollyc]

Also, my threshold of ISO 800 is somewhat arbitrary. As I said in the original post, there are no official definitions of low light. I chose 800 because of growing up with film, and ISO 800 is for night work. And 15 years ago, some digital cameras didn't handle ISO 800 very well. Modern cameras easily shoot 1600+ with little noise, but there are a lot of factors involved, and I wanted to give some guidelines. You aren't required to stick with ISO 800, because as we've already learned this morning, using a slower shutter speed allows you to drop your ISO well below 800.

 

[bunnspecial]

I appreciate the discussion on exposure, and regardless of the exact outcome I'd hoped my photo would be in the spirit of the thread even if shot at relatively low ISO(in all honesty I kind of wished I'd dropped it more). I had the luxury of being able to use a tripod, which basically gave me the freedom to use whatever shutter speed I wanted. The D810 I used here tops out at 30 seconds, although I could use bulb(and a remote release obviously, which I almost grabbed before making do with the self timer) and I'm pretty sure make exposure as long as I want.

I tend to shoot aperture priority and manual ISO, and have a weird(maybe) hold-over habit from the way at least I understand cameras use to work that I only shoot in full stop ISO increments aside from using ISO 64, which is the base ISO on a couple of my cameras.

For perspective, too, it was night(so no window light) and the room was lit by a single 60W table lamp over my right shoulder. The wood paneling makes this room dark and difficult to photograph(and in fact when I use strobes in here, which is not infrequently, I'm often fighting to get away from weird color casts from reflected light). This is darker than I'd normally work in this room, where I also have a 100W ceiling light, but I like the ambiance given by the table lamp(whether or not it worked here is another discussion).

I actually sort of wished I'd used a smaller aperture too, which of course would have brought with it longer exposure time, but I feel like shallow DOF is harming this one at least a bit. This lens can go to f/2.8, which should get me to 25,600ish per Molly's calculator to handhold, and I COULD use the VR version of this lens I also have to maybe push that to 1/60 and get a more tolerable 12,800. I have an f/1.4 prime at this focal length(35mm), but DOF is brutal especially on high res digital and the table is too deep to do that.

 

[mollyc]

I appreciate the discussion on exposure, and regardless of the exact outcome I'd hoped my photo would be in the spirit of the thread even if shot at relatively low ISO(in all honesty I kind of wished I'd dropped it more). I had the luxury of being able to use a tripod, which basically gave me the freedom to use whatever shutter speed I wanted. The D810 I used here tops out at 30 seconds, although I could use bulb(and a remote release obviously, which I almost grabbed before making do with the self timer) and I'm pretty sure make exposure as long as I want.

I tend to shoot aperture priority and manual ISO, and have a weird(maybe) hold-over habit from the way at least I understand cameras use to work that I only shoot in full stop ISO increments aside from using ISO 64, which is the base ISO on a couple of my cameras.

For perspective, too, it was night(so no window light) and the room was lit by a single 60W table lamp over my right shoulder. The wood paneling makes this room dark and difficult to photograph(and in fact when I use strobes in here, which is not infrequently, I'm often fighting to get away from weird color casts from reflected light). This is darker than I'd normally work in this room, where I also have a 100W ceiling light, but I like the ambiance given by the table lamp(whether or not it worked here is another discussion).

I actually sort of wished I'd used a smaller aperture too, which of course would have brought with it longer exposure time, but I feel like shallow DOF is harming this one at least a bit. This lens can go to f/2.8, which should get me to 25,600ish per Molly's calculator to handhold, and I COULD use the VR version of this lens I also have to maybe push that to 1/60 and get a more tolerable 12,800. I have an f/1.4 prime at this focal length(35mm), but DOF is brutal especially on high res digital and the table is too deep to do that.

Yes, of course your image is "in the spirit" of the challenge. My suggested settings were merely guidelines for people who either don't normally shoot in manual mode or are uncomfortable shooting in low light (or some combination thereof). For people who are experienced, like you and Ken, then using creative settings to achieve the goal is completely fine.

Also, for those of you who are still working on this, you are definitely allowed* to use a tripod if it is easier. I knew as soon as I saw Bunn's image that he chose a smaller aperture in order to keep a larger depth of field for the desk. And you don't need to use a high ISO if you have a tripod available, and a lower ISO is always cleaner than high. My examples with increasing high ISO were more if you need to handhold--then it's almost always better to increase ISO vs lowering the shutter speed to a level where you introduce camera shake. But if you are working at really low light levels, then absolutely pull out a tripod or put your camera on a flat surface to get a slower shutter speed.

Many of you participating might be used to using a semi-auto mode, so I'm just trying to help you all work through learning the basics of manual mode a bit better. For those of you comfortable in full manual, then have at all the creative settings you want. 🙂

*There are very few things that aren't allowed for this entire project. This is a learning and growth project, so make it yours.

 

[Clix Pix]

Molly, maybe you should change the name of this project to "2023 MR Project 52 Photo Workshop" rather than "2023 MR Project 52 Photo Challenge," as it is looking more and more like a formal workshop or photography class. Those who are or will be participating in this are getting a real bargain, as often people pay a lot of money for workshops and courses.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

M43 brings some tricks and exceptions to the rules above, as usually one tries to avoid going too high on ISO. Though 800 isn’t a problem, folks debate the acceptable cutoff, some say 1600, others, 3200, some don’t mind pushing 6400, but the loss of detail will increase with each move up. Modern FF sensors don’t seem to mind going even higher than this. Fortunately, M43 has great IBIS, so longer shutter speeds are usually how you combat the ISO issue. Handholding 1/15 is a snap, and I’ve actually successfully handheld at 6s while leaning against something for stability. A really steady hand can do 8s. You have to practice your sharpshooting, where you fire on the exhale. Where it can fall apart is low light with moving subjects. Can’t lean into low shutter speeds there!

 

[PhilBoogie]

@PhilBoogie I apologize if you already know this, but if you do, then maybe it will be helpful for someone else. When shooting in manual mode, you control all the settings, unlike in auto (or even semi-auto) where the camera decides the settings. Choosing a purposely long shutter speed is often a creative decision, like if you want to smooth out waterfalls or a stream, or if you are trying to capture stars in astrophotography. If you are using a long shutter speed, you have to reduce light elsewhere, because even at night you could ultimately overexpose an image if all the exposure triangle areas are wide open.

For Bunn's image, five seconds is a really long time for the shutter to be open, so he has to lower the ISO accordingly so as not to have too much light (he could also stop down his aperture, or use a combination of those things). However, you can figure out an equivalent exposure, which means the overall light value doesn't change for the image because you've changed something to compensate for letting in more or less light.

In Bunn's image, he chose settings of ISO 200, f/5.6, 5s. If you had been in that room, you might have decided that you wanted to handhold, so you choose a shutter speed of 1/125. You've decided to keep your aperture the same as Bunn, so that means in order to compensate for the lack of light at 1/125, you now need to increase your ISO. You would then need an ISO of 100,000. That is astronomically high, and I'm not sure any cameras right now even go that high, regardless of performance; the highest I know is 51k. And while I did say that it's better to raise ISO in camera to get your exposure than to keep it low and raise in post, even the best cameras start to fall apart around 16k or so and you get visible noise.

Here is an exposure calculator where you can play with different settings to find equivalent light values. This calculator didn't have a 5s option, so I chose 4s instead. 5s would actually increase the needed ISO levels even more.

These are the settings that Bunn used (fudging the shutter speed slightly).

View attachment 2136422


Here are the equivalent settings if he'd wanted to handhold at 1/125 instead.

View attachment 2136421


When you play with this, put in your initial settings, then lock one or two of the parameters (it gives you directions) and then make sure your Output/EV number stays the same for your adjusted settings. When I do this IRL, I just count clicks on my camera; if I drop the ISO by two stops, that's six clicks (because I have my camera set to 1/3 stop per click), then I would increase the shutter speed by six clicks also and end up with an equivalent exposure. Remember, if you decrease the first setting, you have to increase the other one or two to compensate. Alternatively, I could decrease ISO by two stops (six clicks) and then increase SS by three clicks and also open aperture by three clicks.

I hope that helps. 🙂

Please, no apologies needed; I'm already getting good info, ánd seeing beautiful photos from you.

I do know this stuff, and am shooting manual for this weeks' theme. However, I mainly shoot in A, as that's simply easier for me. So even though I'm not new to photography, shooting friends kids for the past 10 years -weekly-, I prefer A, so I don't have to 'calculate' ISO etc.

It's evident you come from film, so ASA it is And film gives fantastic looking photos that you share here, thank you for that.

PS current cameras now go upto 204.800 but they're kinda 'cheating', per your link to ISO invariance.

 

[mollyc]

Please, no apologies needed; I'm already getting good info, ánd seeing beautiful photos from you.

I do know this stuff, and am shooting manual for this weeks' theme. However, I mainly shoot in A, as that's simply easier for me. So even though I'm not new to photography, shooting friends kids for the past 10 years -weekly-, I prefer A, so I don't have to 'calculate' ISO etc.

It's evident you come from film, so ASA it is And film gives fantastic looking photos that you share here, thank you for that.

PS current cameras now go upto 204.800 but they're kinda 'cheating', per your link to ISO invariance.

Well, I grew up in the 80s, so film was all I knew as a kid, but it was ISO for me in automatic point and shoots, and I didn't learn real photography till I was in my 30s with kids. 🙂

I went back to film in mid 2021 with an understanding of photography from the previous 15ish years of digital work, and now easily move between the two mediums.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Well, I grew up in the 80s, so film was all I knew as a kid, but it was ISO for me in automatic point and shoots, and I didn't learn real photography till I was in my 30s with kids. 🙂

I went back to film in mid 2021 with an understanding of photography from the previous 15ish years of digital work, and now easily move between the two mediums.

Film is fun because you’re stuck with the ISO of the roll in the body. I had a few film cameras growing up, but they were simple PnS. My dad had an ILC, but it was look, but don’t touch the shutter.

 

[Snowlover]

@PhilBoogie I apologize if you already know this, but if you do, then maybe it will be helpful for someone else. When shooting in manual mode, you control all the settings, unlike in auto (or even semi-auto) where the camera decides the settings. Choosing a purposely long shutter speed is often a creative decision, like if you want to smooth out waterfalls or a stream, or if you are trying to capture stars in astrophotography. If you are using a long shutter speed, you have to reduce light elsewhere, because even at night you could ultimately overexpose an image if all the exposure triangle areas are wide open.

For Bunn's image, five seconds is a really long time for the shutter to be open, so he has to lower the ISO accordingly so as not to have too much light (he could also stop down his aperture, or use a combination of those things). However, you can figure out an equivalent exposure, which means the overall light value doesn't change for the image because you've changed something to compensate for letting in more or less light.

In Bunn's image, he chose settings of ISO 200, f/5.6, 5s. If you had been in that room, you might have decided that you wanted to handhold, so you choose a shutter speed of 1/125. You've decided to keep your aperture the same as Bunn, so that means in order to compensate for the lack of light at 1/125, you now need to increase your ISO. You would then need an ISO of 100,000. That is astronomically high, and I'm not sure any cameras right now even go that high, regardless of performance; the highest I know is 51k. And while I did say that it's better to raise ISO in camera to get your exposure than to keep it low and raise in post, even the best cameras start to fall apart around 16k or so and you get visible noise.

Here is an exposure calculator where you can play with different settings to find equivalent light values. This calculator didn't have a 5s option, so I chose 4s instead. 5s would actually increase the needed ISO levels even more.

These are the settings that Bunn used (fudging the shutter speed slightly).

View attachment 2136422


Here are the equivalent settings if he'd wanted to handhold at 1/125 instead.

View attachment 2136421


When you play with this, put in your initial settings, then lock one or two of the parameters (it gives you directions) and then make sure your Output/EV number stays the same for your adjusted settings. When I do this IRL, I just count clicks on my camera; if I drop the ISO by two stops, that's six clicks (because I have my camera set to 1/3 stop per click), then I would increase the shutter speed by six clicks also and end up with an equivalent exposure. Remember, if you decrease the first setting, you have to increase the other one or two to compensate. Alternatively, I could decrease ISO by two stops (six clicks) and then increase SS by three clicks and also open aperture by three clicks.

I hope that helps. 🙂

Thank you for this! I have never tried fully manual shooting because I didn't quite understand how all the variables interact. Now I think I get it and will be playing with manual mode to see if I do. 🙂