Carusoswi

I consider manual the perfect "auto" because, once set, it is not influenced by variables (such as shade vs no shade, white vs black (as in clothing). When attempting to capture a backlit subject, I might point the camera in the opposite direction and use that reading as a starting point for correct exposure of the backlit subject. You could accomplish this in auto by using exposure compensation, but it is far simpler in manual mode.

Given that we use digital cameras instead of film, it is very easy to check whether you got the exposure right or not. Shoot a frame and check the result. If adjustments are necessary, make them and shoot again.

I love shooting film, and find myself often amazed at the results I obtained using manual only exposure (there was nothing else at the time) and a capture medium that one could not immediately review.

Perhaps those of us who learned on that sort of equipment tend to over simplify shooting/learning manual, but, like most anything, the best way to learn shooting in manual I to persist in shooting in manual. With a digital camera, you could go out and take practice shots all day long. If you do that, especially in combination with your wise decision to seek advice here and at other online for a, you will gain a working knowledge of manual exposure very quickly.

In your OP, you mentioned dealing with changing light conditions. If I were you, I would get the exposure set right for one lighting condition, then practice changing only one exposure variable as lighting changes. As an example, set your ISO, aperture, and shutter such that you get an acceptable exposure in a sunny location. Then, as you move to the shade, try adjusting only the aperture until proper exposure is restored. When you are comfortable using only the aperture to adjust exposure, try using only the shutter. Comfortable with that? Try using just the ISO.

As someone new to manual exposure, if you constantly use all controls (aperture, shutter, ISO) to make exposures, you will have a more difficult time getting the feel of the controls individually.

I've been shooting a long time, but don't consider myself an expert. I hope these suggestions will help you along your way to a greater enjoyment of the wonderful world of photography.

We live in a wonderful age with tools that make mastery of the basic photographic skills accessible to most everyone.

Enjoy.

Caruso

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Interesting you have a camera with great capabilities and you want to saddle yourself with unrealistic limitations.
That said.
When I was using a match needle camera I adjusted aperture as needed as I looked through the viewfinder for each shot as lighting changed. I took a fraction of a second to do so but I had the camera to my eye already for the shot.
This came with practice though. At times you will find the current crop of cameras are not really geared to work as quickly in full manual as a majority of people looking for speed take advantage of the automatic features. And if you are "matching the Needle" according to what the camera tells you to do or an external meter would then why not let the camera make the adjustment instantly to that setting anyway? Or if wanting under or over exposure there is a quick way to do that as you shoot as well in auto.

RPSteiner

For the most part, I agree. I've been disappointed with Auto (or "Green Mode") enough times that I don't use it anymore--P works well, though, most of the time. One thing I like about my Pentax K-5 is that while in P mode, you can override the programmed settings with the aperture or shutter speed wheels (not both). This way one can pretty much switch to aperture priority or shutter priority if there is time to adjust, but have the camera ready on P for those quick shots. I suspect other manufacturers have cameras with this capability, too. Might work with the Rebel. Of course, it's not the same as full manual.

Papa j Loc: Cary NC

Thank you for the link very refreshing

Joe

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

I keep my camera set on "P" when I just carry it or put it in the bag. I found I get a decent picture when I need to get a quick shot. When I have time I will set my "F STOP" Aperture to control my depth of field.

ronz Loc: Florida

Iam sure you probably are getting discouraged. I have been shooting professionally for almost 30 years but have the advantage of shooting 15 of that on film. Myself and all my friends I know shooting professionally, choose aperture priority and make adjustments to get the proper exposure. I admit we all shoot in Raw but the idea is to get it right in camera. I strongly suggest you consider an option of Aperture or Shutter Speed and learn from there. I shoot weddings, product and portraiture and about 95% is aperture priority. Try it for awhile, them go to shutter priority. I think your learning curve will be much shorter and you will begin seeing your accomplishments.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

If you can adjust ISO to be automatic on that camera, you can do that, and then set your aperture and shutter speed settings as you please. Unless you get into a pretty dark situation you should have plenty of light. Unless you need to set shutter priority (catching fast action, blurring moving water, etc.) you can use aperture priority. Then set the aperture as needed depending upon how much depth-of-field you need.

Or you can have "Manuel" do everything, and you can stay at home. (Sorry - we often give people a jab time over spelling errors...)

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

More importantly, you need some patience. Practice is wonderful if properly applied. Cameras have different shooting modes to meet the different challenges presented in every day usage. While manual is my preferred mode, aperture priority is probably my mode most frequently used. I shoot many photos of birds at close range and things sometimes move too quickly for the time required to manually shoot. This is true with most wild life photography. Landscapes offer the time needed to manually manipulate the camera so that is my preferred mode. By learning your cameras' operations you will allow yourself the luxury of having them work for you. The use of automatic features can both restrict you and help you. Too much use makes you a slave of the camera but knowing when and how to use them gives you very powerful tools. If you absolutely have to use the screen to chimp get yourself a "Hoodsman." If encouragement is important find a shooting-buddy and have at it. The very nature of photography seems to bring out that quality in people, camera-types love to help each other. When we truly enjoy something it is very easy to share it (money and members of the opposite sex are sometimes excluded from this line of thought). Most importantly? Have fun!

advocate1982

There is this whole urban myth that was created about manual. Trust me, that is all it is. An urban myth. Shooting in manual does not make you a better photographer. It does not allow you any more control than any of the other auto modes - including program. And, as you have found out, there are many times when using manual is actually the worst choice.

Here is a simple test. Take a piece of black poster board, and a piece of white poster board. Put them both in a spot where there are receiving even lighting. Now, move in close enough to the white board that it fills the viewfinder without throwing a shadow on the board. Set your camera in manual - center the meter for a "correct" exposure, and take a photo. Write down the settings you used. (You can get the data later off the file, but it's easier to just write it down).

Repeat with the black card.

Next, change the metering mode to Aperture, and repeat the above steps.

Next, change the metering to Shutter Priority, and repeat the above steps.

Do the same with any other exposure modes on your camera.

It's now time to import all of those photos into your editing software. You notice something about those images. You should. They are all going to be approximately the same shade of grey. There will be no white images, there will be no black images, they will all be about 18% grey.

Repeat all of the above, but this time, with the white card, open up from the recommended reading by two stops, with the black card, close down two stops. With the auto modes you use the +- exposure compensation button.

Import and compare - now the white card looks white, the black card looks black. And again it doesn't matter which mode you used, they will all look the same for each of the metering modes.

So why then this thing that you need to shoot in manual. Like I said, it's an urban myth. It didn't exist before the advent of the digital camera. In fact if you go back to books written in the 80's you will find lots of references to the advantages of the auto exposure modes (one of the advantages of being older than dirt - institutional memory of what was before). With the digital camera came a whole plethora of newly minted photographers trying to enter the world of professional photography. But being a real professional photographer is hard work. It's not anywhere near as easy as looks, because the camera really is only a tool, just like a hammer or a saw are the tool of a carpenter, or a paint brush and palette are the tool of a painter.

You know that old saying, those that can do, those that can not, teach. Well they found out that it was far easier and more lucrative to teach the newest batch of photographers. But what to teach. Well, you cannot be a "real" photographer, unless you use manual mode. So that's what they came up with. Building this whole myth that to be a real photographer you need to shoot in manual.

Well it is just as much bull, as back in the day, you were not a real photographer unless you used a view camera - that was cry when the roll film cameras came out. Followed by the cry you were not a real photographer unless you used medium format - that was the cry when the 35mm camera came out.

Every generation has the elitists that claim that you have to do X to belong to their select group. They are trying to make themselves feel important by excluding those that don't meet the criteria of their club.

Lets not forget the acolytes of the sunny 16 rule. They claim that you don't need to know anything more than a series of rules. Like if the sun is out and throwing distinct shadows that you shoot in manual and set your fstop to 16 and your shutter speed to 1/ISO. There are different settings for sand, snow, cloudy, etc. and they all used to be printed on the little instruction sheet that came with your roll of film. But the settings are not infallible they were simply designed to give you an exposure that would, when combined with the exposure latitude of the film, a negative that could be printed. That negative could be out by two stops either over or under, and you would still be able to pull an image in the darkroom. Today, it relies on the "We will fix it after in Photoshop"

The control you seek, does not come from any exposure mode in the camera. It comes from thinking about what you want the final image to say. Like do you want to illustrate speed, by the blur created by panning the camera with a slower shutter speed. Or do you want to do it by freezing the action with a high shutter speed.

This is a decision that you as the photographer make before you press the shutter, before you take a meter reading, before you put the camera to your eye. Once you make that decision you can capture that vision with whatever exposure mode you want to use.

My preference is for aperture preferred, because if I want to freeze action, I just open up the lens as far as it will go. That will give me the fastest shutter speed that lens and ISO combination can give me. It may not be fast enough, but I still end up with a properly exposed file. When you use shutter preferred - you are likely to come away with a lot of underexposed images because the lens isn't fast enough to support the shutter speed.

The big advantage to the auto modes is that they take care of the technical side (right brain side) of the image, leaving you to concentrate on the creative (left brain side) of the image. Todays cameras are far better and faster at dealing with the technical side, but they still haven't made a camera that can deal with the creative side. So let the camera do what it can do better than you, and you concentrate on what you can do better than the camera. And the hell with the elitists that say you have to do it this way or that way.

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

I'll bet that poor Manuel is worn out. LOL

RPSteiner

advocate1982 wrote:

There is this whole urban myth that was created about manual. Trust me, that is all it is. An urban myth. Shooting in manual does not make you a better photographer. It does not allow you any more control than any of the other auto modes - including program. And, as you have found out, there are many times when using manual is actually the worst choice....

I really enjoyed your post. It's probably the best treatise I've read on the subject. Thanks.

James R. Kyle Loc: Saint Louis, Missouri (A Suburb of Ferguson)

=================

Good advice here "ronz".....

I too have captured images in many different cameras over the years. With film, then and now, I use Manual, mainly because I must with the cameras that I have for Film.
When I came-over to digital, for most of my work, I was a little confused as to all the buttons and menus.... And with digital cameras today that has gotten much larger of a list. Anywhat.....

I shoot 80% in Aperture Priority. I do this - Landscapes, and portraiture - because I have the control on Where and What I wish to draw attention to. Being where I place the focus on. If I want just a little of the whole frame to be All in Focus I use a small Aperture (i.e. 16-22) If I make the choice of a more Selective focus (i.e. 2.8 to 4.0) for Portraiture ....

Total Manual - Just Jumping In - With not understanding the How and Why will - most likely - produce poor results. I suggest to ANYONE first learning photography = Would be to understand the "Photographer's Triangle" = ISO - Aperture - Shutter Speed = will do. This is usually done by reading "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson, or some other teaching photographer. THEN After Reading a Capture or two.... Get your camera in your hands and WITH the book, Follow What It Reads ... But WITH the camera - In this manner one can easily learn what the exposures are about. AND I might add to KEEP a NOTEBOOK.... USE it when you are trying to learn procedures. ((I think that by writing down what you are doing, "sinks" into the mind better == Well! It Does For Me anyway.))

So.... To the OP of this.....

May The Light Be With You.

-0-

jwinberg1

I really LIKE this very encouraging and informative reply! THANKS for posting. Our backgrounds sound very similar.

jwinberg1

I really LIKE this very encouraging and informative reply! THANKS for posting. Our backgrounds sound very similar.

Sir Motley

Excellent advice. I think it will help me immensely, a raw beginner.