Camera Labs

I use Aperture Priority mode for 99% of my shooting. Does it sound noob? I don't care because I'm still quite new to photography, but I do care to know what M or P mode can bring me and under what circumstances I should use them to get things done in a more appropriate way.

Here are what I usually do before shooting:

1. Set ISO (don't change it often)
2. Set Aperture value (use the largest when the lights are not enough, and use f5.6 or f8, the considered "sweet point"?, when the lighting is good)
3. Composite and shoot

Any tips you could share about how to take a picture?

Best Regards,
Tony

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GALLERY

I generally do what you describe. I try to set the lowest ISO for the situation. Set aperture accordingly (wide for low light or bokeh, small for more DoF). Sometimes I might adjust the EV a bit to optimise the lightness in the area of of interest, particularly for high contrast scenes.

Even if I want to set a particular shutter speed (for deliberate blurring effects for example) I'd tend to adjust in A mode rather than S.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
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Tinies: Sony HX9V.

Me too! So shooting in A mode is not exactly a crime right?

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GALLERY

Of course not, why should it be. I shoot in A 99% of the time too (1% in fully manual). I definitely don't think there's anything 'wrong' with the Aperture priority mode.

- Bjorn -

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Street and documentary photographer | Google+ | Twitter | Blog | Tumblr

Leica M9-P (my article on Camera Labs) | Leica D-Lux 5 | 50mm Summilux

You can't base a photographers "skill level" on what shooting mode he shoots

Photography and the outcome of the photographers pictures are not based on what shooting mode was used.

Shooting in M, A, S, P, AUTO, or any other modes makes no difference. As long as you learn something in the end, and you compose a nice photo, the camera is there just to give you correct exposure (sometimes )

But seriously, I know wedding photographers who put the camera onto Auto mode and just shoot away. Do their clients know what the difference between Auto or Manual is? Probably not... and do they care? No... All they want is beautiful photos.

So don't let a puny shooting mode factor whether or not you are a good photographer, noob, or pro. Makes no difference.

Each have an advantage. I shoot A for a lot of my shots. But I leave it on M when I do studio portraits because I'm firing more than 2 strobes(monolights) and have already metered for all the lights with my light meter. So my exact exposure awaits.

Over time, you might want to switch and/or learn different shooting modes; That's cool, No worries.

Just don't let a shooting mode make you think your a noob or whatever. Because no matter what anyone says, there will always be a professional photographer who puts his camera on AUTO because he knows it won't make a difference for certain shots.

Best wishes,
-Sean

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I started shooting in A mode as well, switching to S mode for shooting action and longer exposures. Nowadays, I'm mainly using the P mode, as I have found it and the matrix metering mode to work better than using center-weighted metering and applying -0.7 EV in other modes. I usually shoot RAW and post-process to enhance contrast anyway. Whenever I need greater DOF or the absolutely cool 'motion blur' when shooting action, I simply 'adjust' the program and my exposure is usually spot-on (based on personal taste, of course).

I still use CW/spot metering and Manual mode for shooting still life, some portraits and longer exposures, though. Working with my old CS-201 auto flash also dictates the M mode, as the flash works in some sort of non-TTL auto mode, which dictates setting the shutter speed to either 1/60 (indoor/ambient background) or 1/125 (daylight fill) and working with the aperture to control the exposure.

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"Shoot RAW, ask questions later"
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