Is This "Cheat" Photography or a Good Practice?
Feb 11, 2020 10:45:05 #
evan_moor wrote:
Hello. I have a question. I have an above average ... (show quote)
There is no "cheating" in photography (except taking credit for someone else's photo), you just do what you need or want.
Feb 11, 2020 11:07:26 #
It sounds as if you are using Auto in place of a light meter. I don't see it as cheating at all. We all want the best photos we can get. My uncle, a very accomplished photographer simplified things many years ago when he said, If the picture is dark add light. If it is too bright then detract light. Pretty simple. It sounds as if that is what you are doing, taking a picture and then adjusting to make it right.
Dennis
Dennis
Feb 11, 2020 11:11:25 #
I see no grounds for justified criticism of anyone first taking shots in 'Auto' or 'Programme' in order to get an indication of iso, aperture and shutter speed then using the information to set the camera manually. This may also give scope for tweaks in order to provide a better outcome. Some purists may disagree but I say 'One man's meat..........'
Feb 11, 2020 11:49:03 #
Too me it the same thing as "I don't use HDR because if you know your camera and it's limitations then don't take the shot if it is beyond a single exposure to get both highlight and shadow detail. Or HDR is not real photography. " Nonsense. Ansel Adams did it with exposure, development of film and paper and dodging and burning. We are blessed today to have Artificial Intelligence to help us along. With AI there are no limits to our creativity.
Feb 11, 2020 11:56:26 #
rmalarz wrote:
I think the P stands for Professional.
--Bob
--Bob
My manual says P is for programmed, and M stands for MAYBE.
Feb 11, 2020 12:03:37 #
Feb 11, 2020 12:26:39 #
I see it as a learning tool. Take a shot, look at the auto settings so you can see the results of those settings and then play with the camera going up and down with the Aperture and the Speed and see what happens. That’s one of the best things about digital photography: instant results to be analyzed right away or studied later.
Feb 11, 2020 13:17:13 #
evan_moor wrote:
Hello. I have a question. I have an above average ... (show quote)
Not at all is it cheating. It is using our smart tools to help us get smarter, better at our craft.
Is it cheating to read a book about getting better?
Is it cheating if someone is standing there advising you/me as to how to approach this?
No, so using the info the camera can provide is no different in my opinion.
I think we find that as time goes on we reply less on things like that and we work more from our experience!
Feb 11, 2020 13:28:20 #
evan_moor wrote:
Hello. I have a question. I have an above average ... (show quote)
It is not cheating but good practice to get the best image possible, no matter the mode. Personally I have never been totally satisfied with the camera results in AUTO mode but I love auto ISO especially in Aperture mode. I have been known to shoot several of the same image at different settings until I am satisfied. Not cheating at all but thank Goodness for digital!! I would like to get it “right” the first time but the reality is that my end goal is to get the shot that finally expresses what I see.
Feb 11, 2020 13:29:22 #
I really don't think of it as cheating. Supposedly the auto function will give you the best(what the camera thinks) exposure. But if you want to earn how to use your camera, then you should learn how to use the shutter and aperture priority and then the use of manual exposure. You want to control the camera not the camera controlling you.
Feb 11, 2020 14:31:27 #
BigDaddy wrote:
Is it cheating to use a light meter, auto focus, l... (show quote)
I'll second that.!Feb 11, 2020 14:52:02 #
I think we all do what works for us.
I find that I use most of my camera modes although I usually shoot in one of my custom settings.
Flexible-Priority (Fv) is my usual mode and my custom settings are based on that.
Shutter preferred (Tv) for action shots with challenging lighting conditions
Aperture preferred (Av) for depth of field control with inanimate objects
Manual (M) for special situations like nighttime shots
I use C1 for manual shutter and aperture with auto ISO, C2 for people and C3 for action with typical lighting. Although I always shoot RAW+JPG, I try to get straight out of the camera JPGs and adjust my saturation and sharpening settings to be recalled in the custom modes. For the other modes I use the standard settings for saturation & sharpening.
Auto (A+) when I'm in a gigantic hurry to not miss a shot or handing my camera to somebody before setting anything up.
I don't use P much because if I don't have time to think, I use Auto. I don't use Scn much since I use my custom modes for that because I know what to expect.
I find that I use most of my camera modes although I usually shoot in one of my custom settings.
Flexible-Priority (Fv) is my usual mode and my custom settings are based on that.
Shutter preferred (Tv) for action shots with challenging lighting conditions
Aperture preferred (Av) for depth of field control with inanimate objects
Manual (M) for special situations like nighttime shots
I use C1 for manual shutter and aperture with auto ISO, C2 for people and C3 for action with typical lighting. Although I always shoot RAW+JPG, I try to get straight out of the camera JPGs and adjust my saturation and sharpening settings to be recalled in the custom modes. For the other modes I use the standard settings for saturation & sharpening.
Auto (A+) when I'm in a gigantic hurry to not miss a shot or handing my camera to somebody before setting anything up.
I don't use P much because if I don't have time to think, I use Auto. I don't use Scn much since I use my custom modes for that because I know what to expect.
Feb 11, 2020 14:58:57 #
evan_moor wrote:
Everyone. Thank you for your input. So basically I am not doing anything wrong, but I also do need to learn my camera well enough to ween myself from it and use it rarely if any.
I am using a more professional level of camera now and I am just excited about all of the features and understand how using them ALL can make taking pictures easier and my prints better.
I am using a more professional level of camera now and I am just excited about all of the features and understand how using them ALL can make taking pictures easier and my prints better.
I agree with the comments that noone will care how you get to the final result, so if this works for you, you should work this way. But, you might want to pay attention to the settings your camera is coming up with. I used to do what you did in complex lighting situations, mostly indoors and in places where I could not use flash. After awhile I stopped doing this. As others have said, different cameras will arrive at settings in different ways. I had one camera, not sure which one, which would shoot ISO way up, so all I ever got were noisy photos. This was partly to keep shutter speed up. I am a very steady shooter and could get nonblurry shots with IS on lenses at lower shutter speeds than the camera would pick, so I could lower ISO and get much better, cleaner shots. Even in bright sun, the camera would pick high isos.
Taking note of what the camera is choosing can be a great way to figure out how your camera is working. Have fun as you figure this all out.
Feb 11, 2020 15:39:43 #
evan_moor wrote:
Hello. I have a question. I have an above average ... (show quote)
Do you think Ansel Adams would take a picture and then just print it off in his darkroom? He would often spend 1-2 days tweaking 1 picture in his darkroom. One of his famously quotes was “You don’t just take a picture, you make a picture.”
Feb 11, 2020 15:42:30 #
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