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» Auto Modes - Manual Modes - Part 1
| February 7th, 2007 08:35 AM | |  LVE
Joined: Aug 1, 2006
Posts: 827 | Auto Modes - Manual Modes - Part 1
I have been working with several people who own cameras that are capable of using settings other than Auto, like Aperture & Shutter Priority, I hear all kinds of reasons why they don't, and to me it just doesn't make sense. You have to try, you have to experiment.
When you are shooting in Auto Mode, the camera is programmed to do certain things consistent with that mode. In effect, it is deciding what you want to see and although there are certain adjustments you can make on certain cameras in Auto modes, they are limited.
It is important to understand that when you are looking through the Viewfinder to take a shot, you are seeing with most cameras, a two dimensional view of what you are seeing with your eye, which is seeing the shot in three dimensions. You select an Auto Mode and the camera makes its adjustment when you push the Shutter Button. It averages based on what you are focusing on and the type of focus setup you selected on your camera if your camera has one. If you were to look at the shot immediately, you could decide if it was what you wanted, and if it wasn't, what would you do. Try a different Auto Mode and let the camera decide for you again? If you want to get better, this won't work! Remember - What you see in the Viewfinder except for the focus, and a general two dimensional view of what your eye sees in three dimension. You see focus and everall lightness & darkness. IS NOT WHAT IS GOING TO COME OUT ON YOUR MEMORY DEVICE AND WHAT YOU SEE WHEN YOU PROCESS IT! The relationship of Aperture and Shutter speed, and some other setup elements are what allows you to get your desired output.
May I ask all of you "PROS" out there, to try and keep the responses simple and related to Part 1. I will do a couple of more sections to this. Also, please keep it generic, and not related to what your specific camera can do. In the future, I would welcome you to be a contributer and discuss items of interest to you, and to our members. I would estimate that close to 60% of our members shoot auto 90% of the time. If they want to advance, I would like to help them do so! | | | [1] 2 >> | | | February 7th, 2007 08:54 AM | | andreyG
Joined: Sep 19, 2006
Posts: 391 | Re: Auto Modes - Manual Modes - Part 1
To understand authomatic-manual differences - you can do several shots of the same object by your camera, take an interesting object with dinamic (contrast) light and do the shots manually, on a tripod, with bracketing, apperture priority with max and min apperture and with shatter control with different shatter speed, it looks as a big hussel, but it worth it, because when you see that from the same camera you get the pictures of different clarity, different colors and different look - you will understand it by yourself. Whan you understand - you begin to ask questions. It worth the hussel. | | February 7th, 2007 10:05 AM | | LVE
Joined: Aug 1, 2006
Posts: 827 | 100% Spot On Andrey
Every time one pushes the Shutter Release the settings change the photo results. You can't see DOF in most viewfinders, but it is important to understand that the combination of Aperture and Shutter speed affects the photo like this;
Aperture sets the opening which lets the light into the camera and Shutter Speed determines how long it lets the light in. The electronic sensors in the camera process this imformation. While there are "rules of thumb" what Andrey describes about experimenting is the right way to approach this. I have a pot on my back patio, where I go play with my camera settings the way he describes.It is good to do this at first in a familiar place, where you will recognize the changes more readily and know what you are getting! TRY IT! | | February 7th, 2007 11:21 AM | | andreyG
Joined: Sep 19, 2006
Posts: 391 | Re: Auto Modes - Manual Modes - Part 1
bracketing - is to make several pictures with several different shatter speed and the same apperture (to have the same DOF), it is mejered in f stops (1/2 or 1 f stop + or-) but really it is a shatter speed - it gives you 3 pictures with different exposure. The feature present in almost all the cameras, actually it is good to use it all the time - and to chose with what to work, but it eats up memory.... | | February 7th, 2007 01:23 PM | | LVE
Joined: Aug 1, 2006
Posts: 827 | Not giving Up Cheri
Please try what I have been telling you and Andrey said. There is no real checklist to do this. I describe above what shutter speed and aperture are, and the combination result in the exposure. How much light (Aperture) & How Long - Shutter Speed = Exposure.
Will talk more tomorrow about ISO and AWB which also have effects on the exposure. We have also talked about the Histogram, and what this tells you, This is how the camera sees the exposure over the entire photo, and, how it effects individually Highlights, Midtones and Shadows as well as individual colors RGB. You know how to look at this, and coupled with your settings, tell the story. | | February 7th, 2007 03:41 PM | | LVE
Joined: Aug 1, 2006
Posts: 827 | Both
I think it is best to start using Aperture Control, and working with stationary or slow moving objects. The same principles apply with moving objects, but then you would use Speed control. This simply means setting the shutter speed to the setting that would stop the moving action the way you wanted it. I find that quite often people tend to overdue this, and for example shooting a dog running, tend to go way too high when they could shoot lower SS and still stop the action, and get better DOF to go with it. Again, this has to be practiced until one gets the feel. Cheri is working hard at this, and I keep telling her, and relate the same message to everyone in the forum. THERE IS NO EASY BUTTON TO PRESS! YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THE BASIC CONCEPT AND THEN PLAY WITH IT! | | February 7th, 2007 07:01 PM | | andreyG
Joined: Sep 19, 2006
Posts: 391 | moving things
first, as with any pictures - it is what you want to see on your picture, and what you are redy to pay (quality) for the look. DOF - if you use authomatic 1/5 times you are lucky and your AF get the object, if you know the DOF - you can predict where you object will be in full focus and preset you f stop and focus to this. In time of the movement you do not care about it. Shutter speed: with 1/2000 seceverything is frosen and you have those people frosen in the air and divers diving in the glass, it is possible that you want it - you have to preset your camera for very high speed (800 asa or up) - and you pay by grains. If you want you movement be shown (blurr on the tips of hands, feet ets) you have to keep your camera very steady (monopod?) and use 1/130 - 1/60 shutter speed. But first - what you want to see - it is a mantra, you can not shoot out of blind luck, you have to change your attitude and shoot knowing what you want to see. | | February 7th, 2007 07:24 PM | | LVE
Joined: Aug 1, 2006
Posts: 827 | Andrey's Comment
"you can not shoot out of blind luck, you have to change your attitude and shoot knowing what you want to see."
Please, please think about this! I review photos and some people get very defensive. I spend on the average more than 60 hours a week on this site, and reading and learning. Andrey forgot more than I know, but if you want to get really good, listen! It is not magic, it is a lot of work. If this is not for you, that is fine and we are going to make some changes soon to accomodate everyone. The point is that the principles of photography have not changed over the years, it is Physics, and it is the method, now Digital that delivers the results electronically. Make a commitment as to where you want to go with your work and pursue it. | | February 7th, 2007 10:29 PM | | LVE
Joined: Aug 1, 2006
Posts: 827 | Spot On ROT
I agree 100%. As I mentioned before I do this often and always if a very familiar place, so I am sure the photo represents what my eye sees. Thank you! | | February 8th, 2007 01:25 PM | | andreyG
Joined: Sep 19, 2006
Posts: 391 | Re: Auto Modes - Manual Modes - Part 1
I looked them up - they do not show what is in the cards, but they look good. it is not damaging finantially, I have some daubts that it will be a great help, but will never harm, if you buy it, just remember one thing - never follow the recomendations without questioning, otherwise you will change authomated setting on advanced authomated sessions, and do not listen to LVE - I do not know too much, just follow my instincts, as in the old joke: Rabinovich, could you play violine? -I do not know, never try it. | | February 8th, 2007 02:39 PM | | LVE
Joined: Aug 1, 2006
Posts: 827 | Fuuny
Cyndi, I agree with Andrey. I don't know if you ever shot in the pre Digital days, with SLR Camera. Around the circumerence of every lens that was a guideline to DOF. Basically, it showed the the higher the Aperture Number, the larger the DOF. There were two rings, one that showed the F Stop, and another that showed the Distance from like 3 feet to infinity. This was a stake in the ground, but it still boiled down to what we are talking about here. It was a guideline, and you had to "try and play the violin". I used to go out with a notebook, and record every setting for every shot until I got writers cramp. With the digital you do not have to do this, because you have the EXIF date on the downloaded image. I have a gift, that I was born with, and that is the ability to memorize every shot I take and when I look at it off the camera I can visualize the day, lighting, direction of the sun, etc. If you can't do this, I would suggest taking some notes and recording this, or if your camera permits, turn on the voice recording mode, and imbed a recording for each shot you take. Something like this, "Mid Morning - low light - very cloudy - windy - sun directly behind me, etc." If you match this up with the camera settings for a given shot, it wil help you understand the resullts and what you might change or correct. It also helps if you use filters, because light direction greatly affects what the filter did and can do. For example, a poarizing filter works best at 90 degrees from the sun, and not as well when the sun is in back or directly in front of you. You will not get the same effects.
My wife likes to keep notes on everything, and I get angry with her when she shoots and tries to look up something while she is shooting. I think she finally has got it, and her work has not only improved but is very, very good. You have a great eye, and compose your shots very well. Got to get the camera to work for you. | | | [1] 2 >> | |
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