Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I know it's a skewed demographic and statistically inaccurate, but there are an "awful lot" of folks posting the question to UHH, "What settings should I use?" who have taken the advice to shoot in manual, but have not learned anything about exposure or the properties of aperture or shutter speed.

So we end up with long threads of conflicting suggestions (including to "experiment") and the OP goes away still without a clue as to how to make decisions on their own and without understanding that exposure, depth of field, and controlling blur don't have to be guessing games.

Like any advice written as truth, one size doesn't fit all. Learn methodically (the term used by the OP) in whatever mode is comfortable or makes sense.

BebuLamar

But as I have said before and you have questioned me but I feel statistically that those who had problem with manual mode like you said were those who started out with auto. People who started out with manual don't seem to have that problem.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Impossible to prove your observation, and I suspect we're all just recommending whatever we did starting out

But to clarify, I'm not necessarily recommending full auto. I used just aperture priority for many years, and in a priority mode like that - and even P mode where you have exposure compensation available - you learn how each part works towards the whole.

On the other hand...I can see the value for auto mode when someone feels overwhelmed by the technology side and wants to concentrate on composition. If they find they love shooting backlit subjects or other tricky lighting situations, it might be more incentive to take that first step towards learning how to control their exposure.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

That advice may well result in newbies giving up.
The purpose of a camera having 'modes' is to allow a 'successful image' quickly and easily. Most people can take years to master all situations using manual - or a couple of months to get a variety of images in different situations by using all of the modes.

There are many more things to learn in creating great images than simply 'which mode' to shoot in. The learning process is endless.

I rarely use manual. The mental dexterity needed is not what I crave; The image is what I want and I will use 'whatever settings and modes' to achieve this.

Most hobbies satisfy a 'need' first and teach skills secondary. Auto satisfies the need, the rest simply makes it 'different or better'.

have fun

BebuLamar

Music is also a hobby and an art like photography. So if you start to learn the piano you would put the disc in the Diskclavier and having it plays Listz Nocturne? Or rather you learn to play the scale which sounds boring but you would learn.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Couldn't agree more!



But I usually start newbies off with their cellphones loaded with Moment, an app to control exposure settings - to get them thinking about composition. Inevitably someone produces an absolutely wonderful idea with absolutely dreadful execution (poor exposure settings choice), and this becomes a point of discussion - what the intent was, what went wrong, possible steps to take to correct. The next round of images comes out 100% better, then we move onto the real cameras. No lecturing about exposure triangles, ISO/ShutterSpeed/Aperture etc. They all learn by doing and seeing and adjusting based on their own feedback. This also teaches them to be more self-critical and less dependent on validation from others.

BebuLamar

Aha! Although you're about the same age as Bryan Peterson you didn't invent the triangle so you don't talk about it.

wetreed

Well said

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Well, on many cameras there's "Auto", which is a "super automated point 'n' shoot" style mode.... It automates much more than just exposure. Anyone who wants to move beyond "snapshots" probably should avoid it.

"Scene modes" are another feature on many cameras.... also highly automated, but "tweaked" by someone who thinks they know the best settings for you to use for particular types of subjects. Examples of these are "sports", "portrait", "landscape" and similar. Like Auto, these also significantly limit your choices and - if you are at all serious about your photography - should probably be avoided.

Many cameras also have auto exposure (AE) modes: Aperture Priority (Av in Canon, A in some other cameras), Shutter Priority (Canon : Tv. Other makes: S), and Program AE (P in most cameras).

There's also Manual with Auto ISO in many recent cameras. That's actually another auto exposure mode.

The AE modes automate exposure, but let you control all the other aspects of your camera... such as focus, metering pattern, drive rate for continuous shooting, white balance, type of files that's saved, flash or no flash, etc. (Auto "interfere" with most of those.)

Manual (without Auto ISO) is great to lock in your exposures... when you can use it. But in fact there are lots of times when fully Manual mode simply can't be used. You'll miss shots or get poor exposures if it's the "only mode you ever use".

Learn Manual (M), but the four AE modes each have their uses and should be learned, too, along with features such as Exposure Compensation and AE Lock that are used to modify and control them for different shooting conditions.

It's way more involved than can be covered adequately in blog posts or Youtube videos. Get at least one book to read, study and learn. Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" is an excellent investment if you want to learn to use a camera well... IMO, it might be the best <$20 you ever spend on your photography! Peterson does a good job explaining how and why to use all the different exposure modes of a modern camera. But it really takes a book to cover it all thoroughly.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Most newbies' first camera doesn't come with a manual exposure setting. Nowadays, first camera is typically a smart phone. Before that, it would have been an automatic pocket P&S camera, or maybe a disposable camera. My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic. No manual setting there! To recommend a newbie to learn to shoot in manual mode as a first step isn't practical advice if the newbie doesn't have the right camera for it. Better advice would be to first learn how to compose effectively and produce images which express something and have meaning, using the camera at hand. Of course if you travel far enough back in time, before auto exposure cameras existed, then learning about exposure triangle and how to shoot in manual mode as first step absolutely made sense... it was a necessary skill to achieve proper exposure.

crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

Started in photography at age 49 with 0 knowledge. Bought a 70D with kit lens and within a couple weeks had moved to full manual. Rarely if ever used the other modes then or since.

Word of caution.

If you are not a passionate learner with an unsettled creative urge... starting with Manual will frustrate...but I will say, learning the simple exposure triangle is fundamental to ALL other things you learn. If you dont understand those simple concepts and their combinations effects as well as individual effects (shutter-blur, Fstop-bokeh, ISO-noise,) ...you will be lost in the learning journey.

I saw photos online and asked "how did they get that photo"....25k of gear, 1000s of hours of study and practice later and I now do weddings, portraits, Corp events as a side job (mostly to pay for GAS but will be my vacation cruise money after I retire :-).

My experience was that learning the "
modes" was more challenging than going to straight manual. I kept "fighting the camera" as it was automating elements of the exposure triangle and really kept me from mastering it.
I WENT back to the modes AFTER I learned manual and now can use them for very specific situations when the extra 2secs to adjust settings in manual is not available (BIF in high dynamic range environments, backing out of a church during a wedding when dark to light happens instantly etc)

...and shooting RAW, using LR/PS etc ... those learning curves are longer than learning the camera.....

Net: curious creative learners who have patience - start manual

Others start Auto and learn composition so you can get positive results quickly to keep you moving forward.

Bill_de Loc: US

I agree, but believe some people grasp it intuitively.

You don't need a camera to recognize the difference in light levels. As a kid I knew a lamp with a 3 way bulb got brighter as I turned the switch from click to click. Today I just say, "Alexa, turn on lamp at 60%.

The more you opened the blinds, the more light came in.

The longer you sat in the sun the more red your skin got.

These things all relate to what we do with our cameras today.

Most of us need to attach numbers to work out the relationships, some folks just see it.

--

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

ALL modes are useful at some point. The trick is to use the right tool for the job. That requires knowing what each mode is most useful for, and why. But there certainly is more than one way to capture most scenes.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

GV, I’ll go ahead and put in my 2 cents as long as everybody is at it.
First, Talent will win out over Tech every time.
That said my response to these types of questions is alway...., go to SCHOOL!!!
I advice anybody wanting to learn photography to go to school. I don’t mean the internet, I mean a REAL school where you get professional help and guidance.
Most kids trying to get seriously into photography have dabbled in high school. In college they either take introduction to film or digi.
These courses are designed to take one from step 1 through professional and everything in between.
The assignments are designed to introduce a student to ALL of the problems encountered in photography and the students have to find the solution on their own. It’s this problem solving that teaches different modes, usually starting with manual.
One learns the tech needed along the way to get the job done and are introduced into the different genres as well. No more tech is needed than to get the job done.
It only takes a week to figure out the exposure triangle if you’re gonna pass the class!!! LoL
To get stuck in manual is not a badge, it’s a bandaid.
If you’re going to be GOOD, work on the ART, not the tech.
A GOOD artist will outshoot a camera engineer at Nikon every day of the week and twice on Sunday, and I guarantee the engineer knows more tech.
Photographs are about the end product, not the journey!!!
SS

Hammer Loc: London UK

Totally agree that using manual mode is usually best . Took up this mad photography affliction about 5 years ago and only switched to manual about a year ago.

To learn manual I suggest taking photos in shutter or aperture priority then, input the setting into manual mode . Then play about a bit . Use auto ISO as well and experiment . Personally , I use Nikon and find that on my camera, the automatic modes overexpose . But that is just my taste and, well, what do I know?

Went on a course and was very surprised to find that most people did not realise that they can view the exposure metre through the view finder and quickly and easily adjust in manual mode. This give you the flexibility that the fixed modes do not allow .

I like to use auto iso when light is changing rapidly, subject moving from dark to light areas etc, so believe that the auto modes do have a good use but still prefer manual for real control .