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 ... (
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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.