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Oct 12, 2017 09:24:31   #
ballsafire Loc: Lafayette, Louisiana
 
jccash wrote:
Getting use to the light meter your images will turn out good. Also, you will get use to learning to use exposure compensation adjustment.

Takes time and practice. I use D500 and only use manual.



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Oct 12, 2017 09:28:09   #
BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan
 
Not sure why you were using manual focus, but with my DSLR camera I often use manual focus for closeups but first use autofocus to get in the ballpark, then manual to focus further. For ever-changing distances I would use auto settings, though I vaguely remember the old film days when manual focus was my only choice and I did fine.

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Oct 12, 2017 09:33:12   #
ballsafire Loc: Lafayette, Louisiana
 
AlfredU wrote:
Agreed, the semi auto exposure modes are excellent and still give full creative control. I don't understand all this BS about shooting in manual or you are not a real photographer. When I want to over or under expose, I use the exposure compensation option. I also make a test shot when I can and check the histogram. This will all make sense to you Pat once you take that course.



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Oct 12, 2017 09:54:00   #
lamontcranston
 
jerryc41 wrote:
It continues to amaze me that people prefer to shoot in full manual. Auto everything is very fast and near perfect every time. Forty years ago, I had to focus manually and set exposure by matching a needle and a spot. There's no way I would want to go back to that system. My car starts with the push of a button, and it shifts up and down by itself. Why would I want to go back to crank starting and manual shifting?


Exactly! For those really important photos where you only have a moment to take a quick shot Auto Mode is a great choice. You paid for all of that fantastic technology in your camera...use it. Then when you are just casually shooting, experiment with Full Manual to learn how the various settings interact.

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Oct 12, 2017 09:57:48   #
mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey
 
jerryc41 wrote:
It continues to amaze me that people prefer to shoot in full manual. Auto everything is very fast and near perfect every time. Forty years ago, I had to focus manually and set exposure by matching a needle and a spot. There's no way I would want to go back to that system. My car starts with the push of a button, and it shifts up and down by itself. Why would I want to go back to crank starting and manual shifting?


When you say auto everything, does that mean you are shooting in full auto? And even today lots of people prefer a manual transmission in their cars.

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Oct 12, 2017 10:00:08   #
kcooke Loc: Alabama
 
PatM wrote:
Hello Ladies and Germs,

I have Been taking photos using manual for a short period of time. I guess a couple months now. I went to a wedding this Sat. with our camera. I had a little hope that the skills I have been studying might show up in the photos I captured. Sadly it was an unhappy result. I was not doing this for anyone but my experience. Nobody was counting on me but me. Most all photos taken in auto were satisfactory to Good. Most of the manual focus photos I took were out of focus blurred or otherwise virtually unusable. When in live view the screen looked acceptable for taking but end result was not. I did not use a tripod at all as I did not want to interfere with the real photographer. I believe there was vibration or movement showing in some of the photos but not all and none when in auto. Needless to say I am disappointed that even a modicum of competence was not displayed in my endeavor. Lighting was horrible but not an excuse. Just venting frustration.
Have a good day
Hello Ladies and Germs, br br I have Been taking ... (show quote)


Not sure what camera you are using. If you must focus manually then use the viewfinder. My Nikons have a focus confirmation indicator in the viewfinder that lets me know I'm in focus. I use this all the time when using old manual focus lenses.

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Oct 12, 2017 10:00:46   #
mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey
 
PatM wrote:
Hello Ladies and Germs,

I have Been taking photos using manual for a short period of time. I guess a couple months now. I went to a wedding this Sat. with our camera. I had a little hope that the skills I have been studying might show up in the photos I captured. Sadly it was an unhappy result. I was not doing this for anyone but my experience. Nobody was counting on me but me. Most all photos taken in auto were satisfactory to Good. Most of the manual focus photos I took were out of focus blurred or otherwise virtually unusable. When in live view the screen looked acceptable for taking but end result was not. I did not use a tripod at all as I did not want to interfere with the real photographer. I believe there was vibration or movement showing in some of the photos but not all and none when in auto. Needless to say I am disappointed that even a modicum of competence was not displayed in my endeavor. Lighting was horrible but not an excuse. Just venting frustration.
Have a good day
Hello Ladies and Germs, br br I have Been taking ... (show quote)

Posting an image or two would be helpful.

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Oct 12, 2017 10:04:03   #
leftj Loc: Texas
 
AlfredU wrote:
Yes, I think he is.


Then his question is very confusing. He starts out talking about Auto and Manual. Those are not references to Auto Focus an Manual Focus. I can't imagine he was trying to shoot wedding pictures where everyone is constantly moving around and using manual focus.

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Oct 12, 2017 10:09:09   #
mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey
 
lamontcranston wrote:
Exactly! For those really important photos where you only have a moment to take a quick shot Auto Mode is a great choice. You paid for all of that fantastic technology in your camera...use it. Then when you are just casually shooting, experiment with Full Manual to learn how the various settings interact.

When there is no time, sometimes auto may better than nothing, but then the camera, and not you, decides what's best for you. I choose the aperture, shutter speed and ISO that meets my needs. otherwise my camera is just an expensive point and shoot. When I'm in a situation where paying attention to what I'm looking at is more important then fiddling with my camera, I will occasionally put it into P mode and generally select the center focus point. The camera selects the rest with some adjustment available by me. That's is about as close to auto as I will go.

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Oct 12, 2017 10:10:38   #
mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey
 
leftj wrote:
Then his question is very confusing. He starts out talking about Auto and Manual. Those are not references to Auto Focus an Manual Focus. I can't imagine he was trying to shoot wedding pictures where everyone is constantly moving around and using manual focus.


Anything is possible, especially if he is lacks knowledge and experience.

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Oct 12, 2017 10:37:25   #
agillot
 
in the film days 70 s or so , indoor pictures with poor lights where flashed , so , the flash cured 2 problems , bad light , and motion .i hand focus everything , i need 1.75 glasses to read , but dont use them on camera . you may have to set the diopter adjustment on the view finder . today with modern dslr you can shoot at iso 2000 and still look ok , in the film days iso 400 was about max .you dont say what speed you where using ??

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Oct 12, 2017 11:32:08   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
PatM wrote:
Hello Ladies and Germs,

I have Been taking photos using manual for a short period of time. I guess a couple months now. I went to a wedding this Sat. with our camera. I had a little hope that the skills I have been studying might show up in the photos I captured. Sadly it was an unhappy result. I was not doing this for anyone but my experience. Nobody was counting on me but me. Most all photos taken in auto were satisfactory to Good. Most of the manual focus photos I took were out of focus blurred or otherwise virtually unusable. When in live view the screen looked acceptable for taking but end result was not. I did not use a tripod at all as I did not want to interfere with the real photographer. I believe there was vibration or movement showing in some of the photos but not all and none when in auto. Needless to say I am disappointed that even a modicum of competence was not displayed in my endeavor. Lighting was horrible but not an excuse. Just venting frustration.
Have a good day
Hello Ladies and Germs, br br I have Been taking ... (show quote)


Back in the film days of the 1960s, when people learned photography, *all we had* was manual mode. There was no P, no A or Av, no S or Tv, no iA...

SO... We had to learn how things really worked! We didn't know any better (i.e.; there was no automation). We learned:

How to control camera shake and subject motion by adjusting the shutter to specific speeds at specific focal lengths and distances...

How to control depth of field by using the right aperture on the lens and film format in use...

How to calculate depth of field by using the DOF indicator lines on the lens...

How to choose the right film for the available light...

How to pick the right color correction filter for the type of color film and the color temperature of the light we were using...

How to meter a gray card in the same light falling on our subjects, or how to pick a neutral area with similar reflectivity...

How to use the Zone System for exposure control...

How to use the inverse - square law (1/D^2, where D is distance from light to subject) to calculate flash exposures...

How to focus using a viewfinder screen with an etched matte surface, a split-image rangefinder, and a microprism collar... (Oh, how I miss those!)

How to choose lenses, apertures, and camera-to-subject distances that create the perspective, field of view, and depth of field we want for the subject...

How to modify the character of light by using reflectors, diffusers, scrims, gobos, umbrellas, soft boxes, polished bowl reflectors, light tents...

The difference between specular highlights, diffuse highlights, and the transition between the two...

How to control the shadow edge acuteness (the sharpness or softness of the transition area between diffuse highlight and shadow)...

Working in manual mode requires a lot of pre-planning and pre-setting your gear for the moment you want to catch. It's all about anticipating what is going to happen, where it's going to happen, and what you need to do to prepare to capture that moment. You must understand what sort of approach is required, and then take it...

Learning digital photography in full manual mode can be done the same way it was learned with film, but it still requires a lot of study, methodical testing, and discipline. The great news is, you get immediate feedback! Every exposure is like a Polaroid test.

More great news: YouTube is FULL of videos explaining every one of the aspects I mentioned above (or, of course, its digital equivalent), and a lot more. There are plenty of books and web sites dedicated to teaching the same things. Yes, there is a lot of crap to wade through before you find the gold, but it's never been easier to learn.

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Oct 12, 2017 11:35:58   #
mas24 Loc: Southern CA
 
Know exactly what Jerry is talking about. That described my father's film SLR camera. The SRT-101. Manual focus with the needle to put at a certain spot.

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Oct 12, 2017 12:48:59   #
tinwhistle
 
I confess, I did not read all the replys, so I may be repeating. The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear "wedding" is a service in a church. If that's the case here, the OP has a start on the problem. Lighting. The lighting in a Christian Church is not suited for photography, and it takes a long, long time to master such situation, starting with a complete understanding of "White Balance". There's an awfull lot that goes into wedding photography and a lot of years to do it correctly.

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Oct 12, 2017 13:04:59   #
Jerry Coupe
 
There is also some middle ground in this discussion. I tend to use both Aperture and Shutter settings depending on what I am shooting. Aperture setting if I am seeking either shallow or deep depth of field. Shutter priority if motion is involved and I want to control sharpness of the main subject. So I have control of two-thirds of the equation. Either shutter or aperture plus ISO. The camera system helps out with the third variable.

Very few photographers can accurately estimate all three components of a good image along with composition. Typically "manual shooters" comment that they make the first image and then adjust one or more settings to get a better image. So, I generally prefer to shoot in either aperture or shutter priority. However, recently shooting the full moon, I found it necessary to go to manual mode to get detail of the moon surface, so there are situations where knowing how to use manual mode that is very helpful.

In summary, I think everyone should use the mode or modes, that help them get the best results. None are absolutely the best one.

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