Photography basics IV: Shooting modes

Photography basics IV: Shooting modes

From full auto to full manual,
the journey begins.

Well, if you've stayed this much with me, tolerating my rambling about photography and its basics, then you certainly can bear or care to have a few more minutes of that, take your pick. ;) So, in my previous chapters, I have mentioned the exposure elements in detail, how they effect your final shot and what's their effect on the overall exposure of your shot. Now it is time for switching to the various 'modes' that your camera provides, to ease the process of taking shots.

What are modes? 

To put it briefly, modes are combinations of various settings provided to you by the camera for ease of use. You have full auto mode to full manual mode, with others in between, also known as semi-auto modes. Understandably, as you begin to explore photography in more detail, you'd want less automation and more control. A well-known photographer has written in her book "Why give your camera, a black box with zero intelligence, full power and control over the entire decision-making process?". After all, the camera can not understand what type of image you'd want to capture, so it is best to start switching from auto mode to semi-auto modes, and finally to full manual mode. 

Ok, so what are the modes available to me? 

Most high-end bridges and dSLRs built by Nikon and Canon have different conventions for naming the modes, but what they actually do is the same. Modes can be selected via the mode selector, which is that wheel-like knob sitting right above your command selector. If you have a Nikon camera, you can see signs like U, M, A, S, P, Scene and some thumbnails. All these are the various modes available to you. So, here's a brief look at the various modes, what they do, and when to use them.

1. Auto mode 

In auto mode, every 'side' of the above
triangle is set by your device.

Auto mode, also known as full-auto mode, is the most basic and easiest-to-use mode. You allow the camera maximum power over almost every aspect of image-making, from selecting the shutter speed and controlling the aperture to even selecting the focus. Most photographers start from this mode at the beginning of their journey, and I personally believe while it can be a great starting point for exploring the creative (and not technical) side of photography, you should really consider moving on if you're still using it.

Auto mode allows the camera to set the aperture, shutter speed and even the ISO (if it's set to Auto value) in some cameras. You can not override any of the camera's decisions, and this only makes matters worse. In some cameras, even ISO value is determined by the camera, no matter whether you've set it to Auto or not.

If you set the camera to Auto mode and move it around, taking a peek at various scenes, you'll see that the aperture and shutter speed readings are almost always changing. This is actually the camera trying to balance the exposure, by changing the exposure elements. However, remember that the same exposure can be attained in various ways, and can be compensated for. So, while Auto allows you to have a balanced photoi (exposure-wise), it may not give you what you want to achieve, such as capturing a fast-moving cyclist, making a proer portrait focusing on the subject and the foamy appearance of water seen at slower shutter-speeds.

When should you use it: 

1. Auto mode is best if you are just learning to use your camera, and are interested in taking a 'balanced' image. 

2. When you're simply willing to capture a still subject, without much ado, Auto can do the job for you. 

3. When you're not sure what the best exposure settings will be, auto mode might do the job. But even in that case, semi-auto modes or one of the scenes will do it better. 

2. Scene Mode 

This mode allows you to use any of the pre-installed presets for taking your shot. A number of presets are available, for day-to-day situations, such as Portrait (for taking a portrait, naturally), Sports, night portrait, party-indoor, beach and snow. There's also a scene auto selector usually, in the case you're changing between scenes quickly, or not sure which scene to use.

Sports scene mode can be useful for
capturing fast-moving players and their actions.

Primarily, these are extensions of auto mode, but with more enforced values of elements. For example, 'sports' is fit tfor capturing fast-moving players in a game, and therefore chooses a faster shutter-speed by default. It compensates for that by choosing a shallower DoF, and higher ISO. While this leaves motion blur, it often causes you to have an image in which everything except the subject is not in focus, because of a shallow DoF. Thus, leaving your camera to decide the best settings might not always be fruitful.

When to use it: 

1. When you're willing to capture the scene itself, without going into further details, scene mode can be helpful. For example, in a fireworks display, you might not be able to change your aperture, ISO and shutter so quickly. So, it's okay to use the 'Fireworks' scene. 

2. When you're sure that a particular situations fits into a certain scene. 

3. Programmed Auto (P) mode

In this mode, you have what is known as 'flexible' mode. It gives you some control over the image-making process by allowing you to change the aperture and shutter speed values simultaneously. When you rotate the command dial, different values of aperture and shutter speed are dselected, in a way that the exposure remains the same. Also, you can change ISO measure using the menu button. This mode is useful when you quickly want to alternate between various motion sensitivity and DoF values without changing the overall exposure.

When to use it: 

1. When you're willing to capture the essence of a scene without choosing the aperture and shutter values every time. Since the exposure is balanced, your change is compensated. 

2. When you believe you've got the correct exposure, and don't want to change it. 

4. Shutter-priority mode 

In situations like this, shutter-priority mode
can be immensely useful.

This is one of the semi-auto modes provided in your camera. It is a good way to experiment with these modes without having to worry about everything, because the camera decides one/two of your exposure elements while you decide the shutter speed. That is, you're free to select a shutter speed of your choice using the command dial, and the camera chooses a balancing and compensating aperture, and ISO (if Auto is selected as the ISO value). Thus, without having to worry about aperture or ISO, you can simply focus on capturing motion.

When to use it: 

1. When you're capturing a fast-moving scene, such as a football match, and don't want to meddle with aperture and/or ISO, and just wish to capture the scene with the correct shutter. 

2. When you're not sure what the correct ISO/Aperture will be for a scene, and would like to focus on the shutter speed itself. For example, while shooting a water-fountain, if you wish to capture the water in a 'frozen' state, shutter priority might be your mode. 

Note: Shutter Priority is marked by 'S' in Nikon cameras, and Tv (Timed value) in Canon systems. 

5. Aperture-priority mode 

This is another semi-auto mode, in which you are free to select an aperture of your choice, while the camera chooses the other one/two elements, keeping the exposure compensated for and balanced. It is similar to shutter-priority mode, expect that in this mode you;'re allowed to select the aperture (DoF) while the camera decides what the correct shutter-speed will be. Similarly, if ISO is set to Auto, the camera also decides it, or else you're free to select any value of your choice.

When to use it: 

1. When you're simply bothered about the correct Depth of Field you'd like to capture, and not worry about the shutter speed. 

2. When you're not sure what the non-aperture elements will be for a balanced exposure, after you've selected a proper aperture.

Note: This mode is marked by 'A' in Nikon cameras, and 'Av' in Canon systems.

6. Manual mode (M) 

This is the ultimate mode for customizations, which gives you full control over the process of taking your shot. You can override almost every single of the camera's decisions, and this gives you amazing flexibility and control. However, there is almost no automation in this mode, so better stay alert while choosing your exposure elements, focus and other settings, or else you risk getting a bad exposure.

Turning to full manual mode can be
a challenge.

You can change the aperture value using the multi-selector, while command dial can be used for changing the shutter speed. Likewise, your menu button takes you to the ISO setting, for which a value can be selected. A great help in this mode if the internal; light-meter that your camera has, which is graphically exposed as the exposure-bar (which I've already mentioned in my previous articles). While selecting your exposure elements' values, be sure to have a look at the exposure bar, and try to keep your image from being too overexposed or underexposed.

When to use it: 

1. When you want absolute control over the process, and would like to override all of the camera's decisions. 

2. When you're absolutely confident that you're able to decide better than your camera. 

7. User mode (U) 

This is a special mode provided to store the settings you think are the 'best'. Everything, including the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, lens zoom and focus is recorded for future use.

8. Other auto modes 

In addition to the above modes, you may also have some special modes for your camera, such as landscape mode, night landscape mode and back-light mode. Landscape and night landscape are easy to understand, and don't need any explanation. The latter automatically triggers 'Noise-reduction burst' setting, if your camera supports it. Back-lighting mode is useful when light is coming from behind your subject, such as when he/she is standing with the Sun behind. Easy to get, eh? I'd love to discuss a bit more about them, but since they're easy to get and automatic, I guess it'll be better to leave them out. If you're willing to learn about them in a bit more detail, this article might be helpful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_digital_camera_modes

In the next and final chapter of this tutorial, I'll discuss some of the 'rules' that we have for photographic composition.