Do you usually shoot in Aperature/Shutter Priority? Do you typically leave your camera on Automatic? I like to review the Exif data to learn how a photographer set up their shot; it gives me a good idea where to start given a similar scene/situation. Looking at some of the metadata accompanying many photos, I'm curious if the settings are in-camera or photographers choice.
Aperture priority does what I want the most, so I usually stick with it. I venture into manual when aperture doesn't do the trick. And I use also use manual if I want a longer exposure. I tend to stay away from shutter priority.
I use manual settings the most but when I struggle I put it to shutter priority. I don;t know if I just need to read my instruction manual more but I can't seem to adjust the exposure on manual where i can on shutter priority so if I need a brighter image I use the latter. I also tend to use auto focus mostly but sometimes it just won't focus on what I want so do it manually but I don't think my eyes are as good as the once were as a lot of my images come out blurry.
I tend towards aperature priority except when I'm shooting moving scenes and then of course I choose time priority. Best way to learn, though, is take it OFF auto and experiment!
manual if it's a slow shoot where i can take my time, but AV if I'm shooting on the go and i don't want to think about my settings too much (such as street photography).
I use to shoot in apeture priority or program auto all the time. However I have had my camera on manual for about a 1 1/2 months now, as I feel it is forcing me to become a better photographer. I almost always shoot with manual focus (especially if I want a shallow DOF), but if I am trying to take a lot of shots quickly I will switch to auto.
I bounce between manual and aperture priority most of the time. If I'm using a tripod and setting up a specific shot obviously there's plenty of time to set up the settings manually. But if I'm running around the house trying to capture the kids running around I'll usually use Av since I can set the DOF I basically want to achieve and then set the ISO based on the lighting and I can fire away while the camera adjusts the shutter speed.
@jcrowley40 Good questions, glad I read this thread, I am so sick of auto shooting and trying to learn to take better photo's with my camera in manual. I have learned some good advice from this post. :)
@thouts I shoot mainly Manual myself. I posted this to see what others were thinking, but primarily to expose the question to some of the newer photogs out there.
manual mainly ,But always on shutter speed when im doing long exposures near water ( i like to control the water lol ) .
Auto when im drunk at a party and i dont want to think lol .
I'm just starting out with photography and I shoot in Manual. Theres still a lot I need to learn and figure out but I find that in manual I learn more about aperture, white balance, ISO and what not. Its a good time to experiment.
Aperture for me, I love the DOF it gives me. Sometimes I need a faster shutter when I am shooting at sporting events or fast moving children or dogs, so I go with shutter priority in those rare occasions. My problem with using manual (for me) is that a lot of the things i decide to shoot could easily move (kids, dogs, bugs, lizards in my yard etc) so I just go with whatever is quickest. But I have never used Auto since I got my T1i. Waste of money to use auto on a $700 camera.
Another Manual shooter here. I just like the extra degree of control I get from going fully manual. I will shoot in Aperture Priority if I don't have a lot of time to set up the shot or if I'm constantly moving around (like at a sporting event) though.
For the most part it's aperture priority, then I set my minimum acceptable shutter speed (which changes depending on my lens and my subject), and I turn on auto ISO.
This really rocks in low light situations since I will always get the lowest possible ISO while keeping an acceptably fast shutter speed and keeping the image exposed properly. Unless I'm shooting with lights, I don't find manual mode gives me any extra control. (with a few minor exceptions)
I learnt to shoot in full manual (including focus) and did so for many years. I think it really helped me to understand and get a feel for what I was doing. A couple of years ago I found myself using Aperture Priority (Av) a lot, because I was only interested in controlling depth of field (for the most part). But the last couple of years I've gone back to doing almost everything on manual - everything except focus, which I use about 50/50 AF/MF, and white balance which works great on auto in most situations anyway (and since I shoot RAW, doesn't matter one bit, as it is nothing but a meta tag).
Now shooting a fair bit in Aperture, falling back to Manual when I have the time and want to play and bulb for the long exposures .... Range between RAW and jpeg depending on the scene and the exif data is not manipulated by me at all. I see them as a fantastic learning opportunity - as long as the pic's not over edited.
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@vikdaddy That's a good idea
Auto when im drunk at a party and i dont want to think lol .
This really rocks in low light situations since I will always get the lowest possible ISO while keeping an acceptably fast shutter speed and keeping the image exposed properly. Unless I'm shooting with lights, I don't find manual mode gives me any extra control. (with a few minor exceptions)
In short: manual.