Comments on: What mode should you shoot in?

By: Steven T Beard LRPS

Steven T Beard LRPS — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 10:37:13 +0000

First of all, theres always greatr tips and ideas on here that are worth trying.

I tend to shoot in P, AV, M or A-Dep and I now find its very much dependant on what type of mood I’m in, yesterday I was out and used all of those modes to shoot with, sometimes I get it right othertimes I kee[ trying and thats the key as far as I am concerned, keep trying and never give up and experiment with the various metering modes.

I shoot in RAW. the only exception is when I am shooting football (soccer) matches at night under artificial floodlight, the reason in a match I would expect to take between 2 and 3 thousand images in 90 minutes.

With all photography it helps a great deal if you can study the subjects behaviour and dont be too disapointed if you don’t get that award winning shot first time, go back and try again and you will get it.

By: Tiberman Sajiwan Ramyead

Tiberman Sajiwan Ramyead — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:58:42 +0000

Steve – your tips are always great; they are eurakas for me, as a DSLR beginner; that means all of my 4 months DSLR ups and downs! By the way I took a series of sunset shots on auto, A and M modes, with and without filters, on tripod and self timer. The auto turned out to be the best.

By: Steve Berardi

Steve Berardi — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 03:04:59 +0000

@Stephen – Great point about shooting in Program mode. Although it’s definitely possible to get great shots with Program mode, going manual gives you complete control of what’s going on, cause the machine can’t read our minds (yet, heh). And, thanks for the nice comment about the site! That’s always been one of my main goals when I write: to write clearly and get to the point

By: Stephen

Stephen — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:39:40 +0000

BTW, I shoot predominately in 'M', and understand how to use the other options to my advantage: I use 'AV' and 'TV' when required. As my camera is always on multi-fire, even when shooting wild-flowers and landscapes, I will use 'macro' and 'action' mode when time is short and the moment is fleeting. An image is so easily changed by the movement of a cloud or between the wings of a butterfly.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:28:06 +0000

Andrea, don’t take the the wrong way: You’ll never know what you are doing with your camera if you leave it in P-mode.
Take a look at any professional photographer that didn’t learn their craft in a classroom, and you’ll find someone who learnt by playing with all the knobs on a camera.
The great thing about the digital age: We can delete all the crappy shots, review the settings on those that work, then go back and attempt to replicate … and learn a few tricks along the way.

Steve, I love your site.
You present and publish information so succinctly. This is an art that many photographer-sites fail to achieve so often!

By: Andrea Westmoerland

Andrea Westmoerland — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:50:42 +0000

Great post as usual, Steve. You want to know the sad truth? I really don’t know what I’m doing with my camera and so I leave it in P mode. I love nature and wildlife photography and have done quite a bit but my successes have been a combination of luck and post processing. I wish I had a mentor, then I wish I had the money and the time to follow them around. So it goes…….

By: Marty Goldenberg

Marty Goldenberg — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:28:38 +0000

Steve, I am an amature but I really believe it’s not the camera or the mode or anything but the shooters eye that makes a great photo. I have seen shots taken with a point and shoot that have won many photo contests. If you show anybody 5 shots and ask them which one is a jpeg and which are raw I’m willing to bet they would not be able to tell which is which. So I must admit I only shoot in jpeg for speed and ease of emailing to different contests. In raw and according to your software there are probably over 500,000 different ways to change your photo. Lots of Luck…………

By: CrisantoAP

CrisantoAP — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:02:58 +0000

Great information as always.. I’ve learned a lot from Steve.. Thanks and keep them coming.

By: Joe Williams

Joe Williams — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:43:47 +0000

Great information, Steve. I’ve been playing around with the modes on my camera between landscapes, closeups, etc., and with the suggestions you provide in mind, I can decide quickly which one to use to get the best shots.

By: Lene

Lene — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:04:17 +0000

Really appreciate the overview and how you applied that information to the work you create. Thanks! Very helpful.