The Challenge of Manual Exposure (Page 4): If your camera has a built in light meter, shooting in manual exposure mode isn't really much harder than shooting in automatic exposure. The...

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

If your camera has a built in light meter, shooting in manual exposure mode isn't really much harder than shooting in automatic exposure. The real challenge is if you don't have any meter at all.

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

The chalange is not how you shoot, it's what you get.

redlegfrog

ImageCreator wrote:

For several months I've been trying to master manual exposure. My initial challenge is "what exposure " to start with.I'm getting closer to getting it right the first time. Usually, I still need to fine tune the image. What I really like about shooting manually is the control over the image. Admittedly, I am slow at the manual exposure process, but hey, what's the hurry?

Does anyone have any wise insight to shooting manually?

Enjoy the experience, don't get rushed and investigate the zone system.

User ID

redlegfrog wrote:

Enjoy the experience, don't get rushed and investigate the zone system.

Zone + Digital = Silly Joke

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

ImageCreator wrote:

For several months I've been trying to master manual exposure. My initial challenge is "what exposure " to start with.I'm getting closer to getting it right the first time. Usually, I still need to fine tune the image. What I really like about shooting manually is the control over the image. Admittedly, I am slow at the manual exposure process, but hey, what's the hurry?

Does anyone have any wise insight to shooting manually?

It just so happens that "Photopills" posted another FREE E-book on their site today. It looks like it will answer questions to both of your posts today. Just click on the black notice of the FREE E-book and give them your email so they can send you the download link. They will send you e-mails once in awhile about new FREE e-books to help you with photography. There is NO CATCH and the e-book is FREE and they will not tell you that you have to buy anything. I put this extra info in here because I posted about another FREE e-book in here and someone on here complained to the ADMIN that they were upset because I had posted something that he said they tried to get him to buy things, and I got a nasty notice from the ADMIN not to post things like that again. I have no idea what this person clicked or where he got the idea that he had to buy anything. Some people just can't follow directions without getting themselves in trouble and blame others for it. I have downloaded about 4 or 5 FREE E-books from Photopills over the years, and have never had any problems or been asked to buy anything. Anyway, it looks like there is a lot of info in this FREE E-book about "natural light" and other things that should answer a lot of your questions. Hope this helps you.

https://www.photopills.com/articles/mastering-golden-hour-blue-hour-magic-hours-and-twilights

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

selmslie wrote:

Ysarex wrote:

It's not better. I mostly use my camera in Program mode and I get the same results I would otherwise get using manual mode.

You can't use any form of auto exposure if you are going to make a panorama.

So I just walked down the block and took a 4 frame panorama with my camera in Program mode. Hmmmm.... looks like you can do it in an auto mode. The key of course is that you want to select an exposure for the entire scene and then make sure each frame is shot at the same exposure. In the panorama below each frame was shot at 1/320 sec, f/8 camera in Program mode. Most modern cameras provide adequate control tools to make what I did easy (same exposure all 4 frames with camera in an auto mode); for example AE lock would be one way to do it.

(Download)

User ID

MrBob wrote:

Professional mode has a lot going for it.... enable program shift and spin the wheel to prioritize what you desire... Aperture or shutter. You already have set your ISO. Easy peasy; but as always, use what you like and am comfortable with...

Never saw any camera that featured a “Professional Mode”.

A very thorough google search produced nonsense plus some relation to Program Mode, which when introduced facilitated mass marketing of “advanced” cameras to hordes of VERY unprofessional users.

Clearly, there is no “Professional Mode”. Maybe it’s just a part of UHH mythology.

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

RichardTaylor wrote:

The above statement is incorrect.
I have shot indoor, hand held, panoramas of concerts whilst in aperture priority mode.

If the light and subject reflectivity is consistent from frame to frame, you can get away with aperture priority, but generally speaking you don't want to be trying to merge images with different exposure/ISO settings. Better to determine the best compromise exposure settings/ISO and use that for all images in a panorama sequence. So the statement is mostly correct, with the exception noted.

If you don't believe me, try taking a pano of a street scene at night - where there are lights in some frames and not others - you will not be successful with using any auto modes.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

RichardTaylor wrote:

The above statement is incorrect.
I have shot indoor, hand held, panoramas of concerts whilst in aperture priority mode.

That might work if the scene is evenly lit.

Try doing it outdoors. It’s not going to work as you pan across a scene where each capture is based on different brightness levels.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

User ID wrote:

Clearly, there is no “Professional Mode”. Maybe it’s just a part of UHH mythology.

It’s closely linked to the S mode - for Sarcastic.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

selmslie wrote:

That might work if the scene is evenly lit.

Try doing it outdoors. It’s not going to work as you pan across a scene where each capture is based on different brightness levels.

So keep the camera in an auto mode and just prevent the exposure from changing as you pan across the scene for each frame. Ever seen this feature on a modern camera called AE lock?

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Ysarex wrote:

So I just walked down the block and took a 4 frame panorama with my camera in Program mode. Hmmmm.... looks like you can do it in an auto mode. ...

I don’t think you understand the subject. See Gene’s explanation.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

selmslie wrote:

I don’t think you understand the subject. See Gene’s explanation.

I saw Gene's explanation. He said; "Better to determine the best compromise exposure settings/ISO and use that for all images in a panorama sequence." That's what I did -- using Program mode. And I proved that you are wrong. Explain what I got wrong.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Ysarex wrote:

I saw Gene's explanation. And I also proved that you are wrong. Explain what I got wrong.

What you did was a simple one row pano. Anyone who has ever used multiple rows would know what I’m talking about. You haven’t and you don’t

Try doing a pano where the sky is clear at one end and full of brightly lit white clouds at the other.

On auto anything it only works if you start at the end with the clouds and lock in that exposure.

It’s a piece of cake on full Manual. Sunny 16 makes it even easier.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

ImageCreator wrote:

For several months I've been trying to master manual exposure. My initial challenge is "what exposure " to start with.I'm getting closer to getting it right the first time. Usually, I still need to fine tune the image. What I really like about shooting manually is the control over the image. Admittedly, I am slow at the manual exposure process, but hey, what's the hurry?

Does anyone have any wise insight to shooting manually?

Learn to use an incident light meter. A good example of one is an iPhone app called myLightMeterPro, which costs around $5.

A similar approach is to buy an exposure-and-white balance target and learn to use it. It will let you find an incident exposure setting for a scene, as well as custom white balance for more accurate color balance in the available light.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/15633-REG/Delta_22010_Gray_Card_8x10_2.html/

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/429983-REG/Photovision_DT24011_24_One_Shot_Digital.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1613583-REG/expodisc_2_0_expod2_77_77mm_white_balance_filter.html

Most camera stores will have several different examples of such tools. I've seen as many as 60...