I'm learning, but I keep hearing conflicting advice. Some say I should primarily be using the manual mode, others say it's best to use either aperture or shutter priority for the majority of circumstances. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Many thanks :)
When I went off auto I went to M. I have almost never used AV or TV so I have no reference to the benefits of those modes. I like M because I have total control. I am sure there are some definite advantages to the other setting that someone will explain for you shortly! in the end I think it is a matter of preference.
If you are learning most definitely M, any other mode is going to choose settings for you... Once you know and understand settings then maybe AV if you are shooting something with changing light but I never even do that... Always M and RAW.
It depends on what you are taking pictures of and the circumstances under which you are taking them... If you search the discussions for the challenges / tutorials posted by the camera savvy group ( @camerasavvy ) you'll see that these topics have been covered... (I can't search easily from my phone or I would post them for you here)...
In a nutshell... I use av when I want to control depth of field and I'm on the go somewhere... Taking street shots, or pictures of the kids, architecture - as long as I'm not worried about how quickly the subject will be moving
If I'm wanting stop action (sports, animals at the zoo or in the wild), then I am more likely to go w shutter priority or manual...
Any time I am shooting at night or low light, or aiming for something creative - I will use the M setting...
@missalice I was in your shoes a year or so ago. I had been trying all the settings and was thoroughly confused. I made a decision to shoot every day, and leave it on manual and use the meter to make sure I had a good exposure. I decided to try it for a month.
In manual I had to think about what kind of DOF I wanted, how fast shutter speed for the art I was trying to create, and once I had the DOF I wanted and shutter speed, did I need to adjust the ISO to get the exposure?
It sounds complicated, but once your brain starts working this way it clicks right in! In about ten days I was comfortable and usually had it just where I wanted with only a few test shots. At the Parade last week I got nervous and tried to go back to use AV... that lasted about 15 minutes before I was back in Manual. It's second nature.
I was in M for ages. I figured everything else was shortcutting and I wasn't doing it right. In time, I learned my settings but setting them on the fly was frustrating and I had many missed shots!
Lately, I've been shooting in AV with auto iso. That allows me to concentrate on the creativity part instead of swearing whenever the settings aren't right :)
@missalice I am at the first stage @shutterbugger described. I am starting to see that using the Av and TV modes has lots of advantages too though, and it still allows you to have control on the shot. I am familiar with your work and I think you are doing really well, just keep practising and you'll find your way.
I'll echo @northy. I use manual when I'm shooting something stationary and I can experiment until I get the exposure I really like. I'll use aperture priority when I'm shooting flowers or the like and my kids don't want to wait for me to play with settings.
I use shutter speed priority when following my kids around and photographing them. I spent a cloudy day at the park in manual and quickly decided not to do that again.
I'm another that was all M for several years. The first couple years I still had a lot of learning to do and made a lot of mistakes ... but something like the Camera Settings Challenges above might have set me a bit straighter a bit earlier! Next few years I had a much better handle on what I was doing and enjoyed the control I had over everything in M. Tried a few times to experiment with P or AV but generally defaulted back to M after getting frustrated with something.
Have recently discovered some cool settings in AV that will help me as I delve into professional documentary-style photography, like @shutterbugger not having time sometimes to play with settings because I NEED to get the shot NOW! :) I'm at a point now where I know my camera much better than I used to, I understand photography in general much better, and with a little experience in my specific field I also understand exactly what settings work in these conditions and for the subject matter, so I know which settings I am comfortable leaving with the camera to decide automatically.
So ... I too would recommend the CS Challenges @taffy and @northy have mentioned, and then I would recommend a period of time in M, until you have a very good handle on a variety of situations, and then back to AV or TV if/when you feel comfortable handing some control back to the camera. Totally up to you but that's my 2 cents :)
Thank you so much everyone, this is great information. @taffy thank you particularly for taking the time to post so the links... Can't wait to start exploring them :)
Av, or A if you aren't a Canonite. With the Nikon ISO Sensitivity set as well to control ISO and the slowest shutter speed I will allow, which, on my D7100, can even adjust automatically for focal length, super handy with a wide range zoom. This way I can shoot quickly and accurately 95% percent of the time. For "motion stop" or "motion blur" control then Tv (S for the rest of the world). Auto White Balance too, I don't remember the last time the camera got that wrong either.
When I need to adjust from the camera meter decision, usually to avoid clipping at either end of the histogram for a specific shot (that's jargon for losing detail in the highlights or in the shadows) then there is the Exposure Compensation button, so I only need to think in relative EV/LV terms knowing how my particular camera reacts. When I am out shooting on a walk I shoot a lot of different subjects, quite a lot in rapid succession, often with widely varying light conditions frame to frame. I have more than enough to think about without having to compute an exposure from scratch in M every time I reach for the shutter button.
I do "shoot for the editor" in raw almost always, and am striving to capture all the detail the camera can and then adjust or apply effects in post as needed, Lightroom and Photoshop. Just for the record.
On a tripod, studio or outside, it might be different with the fixed light conditions and the single subject of interest. But all those hand-held model shoots you see portrayed on film and TV shows with the photographer energetically directing the model and moving around herself, all those are shot in A since the advent of the technology.
My amateur advice, and the advice of most teachers and pros, understand the camera technology, trust it and use it. After all, you paid for it. Make your life easy.
@melston This is really good advice and I too gave myself the challenge of a Manual Month. That said, I reverted after the month and I mainly use AV unless I want to control shutter speed. For night work and more creative stuff I still choose Manual.
Or try P, but look at the camera's exposure choices and roll through equivalent exposures for what you want. Use exposure compensation as Frank mentioned (also in "P"), and if you want something different than the camera thinks you want, THEN switch to Av or Tv depending on which factor you want more control over.
I only use M when I'm in a big fight with my camera's brain.
I would say Yes. AV, TV, M and P. Depends on the situation. I leave the camera on P. That way if I see something I can just grab the camera and shoot.
If I am somewhere that I am planning the shots I'll go to AV if I want to control my depth of field, TV if I am trying to control my motion and M if I'm going to be shooting for a while and want the full control.
I mix it up.... the best camera is the one you have on you when something happens. I learnt all settings and manual. It really often depends on my mood!
@taffy Thank you so much for listing the links for the Camera Savvy themes/challenges. I have found the challenges so interesting and helpful. I hope that you don't mind but I passed the list of links that you provided on to a fellow 365er.
@april16 I'm glad it was helpful! And please do pass these along. The group members worked pretty carefully to get these set up so we'd be thrilled to know they are useful. In fact, there's a questionnaire that was just posted if you get a chance to fill it out. It will shape future CSC focus areas.
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In a nutshell... I use av when I want to control depth of field and I'm on the go somewhere... Taking street shots, or pictures of the kids, architecture - as long as I'm not worried about how quickly the subject will be moving
If I'm wanting stop action (sports, animals at the zoo or in the wild), then I am more likely to go w shutter priority or manual...
Any time I am shooting at night or low light, or aiming for something creative - I will use the M setting...
In manual I had to think about what kind of DOF I wanted, how fast shutter speed for the art I was trying to create, and once I had the DOF I wanted and shutter speed, did I need to adjust the ISO to get the exposure?
It sounds complicated, but once your brain starts working this way it clicks right in! In about ten days I was comfortable and usually had it just where I wanted with only a few test shots. At the Parade last week I got nervous and tried to go back to use AV... that lasted about 15 minutes before I was back in Manual. It's second nature.
In the end, it's up to you though. Cheers!
Lately, I've been shooting in AV with auto iso. That allows me to concentrate on the creativity part instead of swearing whenever the settings aren't right :)
Here are the Camera Savvy themes/challenges so far, that @northy had mentioned.
Intro/Exposure Settings Overview: http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/24603/coming-soon-brand-new-2015-edition-of-the-camera-setting-challenges
Camera Settings Challenge #1: Shutter Speed / Handheld http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/24622/camera-setting-challenge-shutter-speed-handheld
Camera Settings Challenge #2: Fast Shutter Speed http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/24709/camera-setting-challenge-fast-shutter-speed
Camera Settings Challenge #3: Long exposures/Slow Shutter Speeds http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/24765/camera-settings-challenge-3-long-exposures-slow-shutter-speeds
Camera Settings Challenge #4: Aperture Priority/Wide Apertures http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/24828/camera-settings-challenge-4-aperture-priority-wide-apertures
Camera Settings Challenge #5: Aperture Priority/Small Apertures http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/24882/camera-settings-challenge-5-aperture-priority-small-apertures
Camera Settings Challenge #6: ISO and an Introduction to Low Light Shooting http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/24951/camera-settings-challenge-6-iso-and-an-introduction-to-low-light-shooting
Camera Settings Challenges #7: Full Manual Mode http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/25014/camerasavvy-manual
Camera Settings Challenges #8: Night Photography I http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/25092/camera-settings-challenge-night-photography-i
tx @taffy !!
I use shutter speed priority when following my kids around and photographing them. I spent a cloudy day at the park in manual and quickly decided not to do that again.
Have recently discovered some cool settings in AV that will help me as I delve into professional documentary-style photography, like @shutterbugger not having time sometimes to play with settings because I NEED to get the shot NOW! :) I'm at a point now where I know my camera much better than I used to, I understand photography in general much better, and with a little experience in my specific field I also understand exactly what settings work in these conditions and for the subject matter, so I know which settings I am comfortable leaving with the camera to decide automatically.
So ... I too would recommend the CS Challenges @taffy and @northy have mentioned, and then I would recommend a period of time in M, until you have a very good handle on a variety of situations, and then back to AV or TV if/when you feel comfortable handing some control back to the camera. Totally up to you but that's my 2 cents :)
When I need to adjust from the camera meter decision, usually to avoid clipping at either end of the histogram for a specific shot (that's jargon for losing detail in the highlights or in the shadows) then there is the Exposure Compensation button, so I only need to think in relative EV/LV terms knowing how my particular camera reacts. When I am out shooting on a walk I shoot a lot of different subjects, quite a lot in rapid succession, often with widely varying light conditions frame to frame. I have more than enough to think about without having to compute an exposure from scratch in M every time I reach for the shutter button.
I do "shoot for the editor" in raw almost always, and am striving to capture all the detail the camera can and then adjust or apply effects in post as needed, Lightroom and Photoshop. Just for the record.
On a tripod, studio or outside, it might be different with the fixed light conditions and the single subject of interest. But all those hand-held model shoots you see portrayed on film and TV shows with the photographer energetically directing the model and moving around herself, all those are shot in A since the advent of the technology.
My amateur advice, and the advice of most teachers and pros, understand the camera technology, trust it and use it. After all, you paid for it. Make your life easy.
I only use M when I'm in a big fight with my camera's brain.
If I am somewhere that I am planning the shots I'll go to AV if I want to control my depth of field, TV if I am trying to control my motion and M if I'm going to be shooting for a while and want the full control.