On the last “Exposures” post we talked about the typical “scene” modes on most modern day digital cameras. This time I am going to expound on the concepts behind each of those modes. IE: I am going to explain to you how you can fully control what your camera tries to do for you in each of those settings. Ever wonder what the the little letters on your camera dial are? Ones like “A”, “S”, “P”, and “M”? I will be discussing these and how to use them if your camera has them. These letters are abbreviations for specific modes that a lot of higher end point and shoot cameras have and obviously DSLRs as well.
Last time I explained how for example: In sports mode your camera is prioritizing your shutter speed and setting all other settings around that. What shutter speed your camera sets for each photograph you take is up to the camera. What if you could pick a SPECIFIC shutter speed, or a SPECIFIC aperture? What if you could select a specific setting for both at the same time. Well, you can (granted, your camera has these specific modes). If understanding shutter speed and aperture seems a little cosmic for you…click HERE to read my previous posts.
Organizing posts like these with so much information can be difficult in itself. Where to start. How to keep a decent flow from one point of information to the next is still something I am working on. I guess I will attempt at starting to explain the definitions of each of these modes, followed by some examples of how they work. Yes, pictures. We all love to see pictures.
Advanced Camera Modes Definitions…
P / Program Mode – It is pretty easy to think of program mode as a “beefed up” automatic mode. As in automatic mode, the aperture and shutter speed are selected by the camera automatically. With the exception of that, a lot of the other settings such as ISO, flash, and metering modes can still be adjusted. One big difference is unlike in automatic mode, when you turn the camera off or switch to a different mode, your settings are saved. Additionally, many cameras allow you to temporarily adjust your aperture or shutter speed from what was automatically selected by the camera. But, for the sake of keeping this simple, just remember it as a way of having more options than you do in automatic mode.
A or Av / Aperture Priority Mode – When in this mode, you are manually selecting that amount the lens opens up to let light in (F number or F stop). The smaller the number (EX: f 1.4), the larger the lens is open, the range of focus becomes narrower. The larger the number (EX: f 32), the smaller the lens opens up, and the range in focus becomes broader. You are selecting the aperture and the camera will adjust the shutter speed automatically. You tell the camera, “I want the lens to open up to this wide or narrow, and you (camera) figure out the rest”. In this mode you have full control of ISO, flash, and metering modes as well.
Example Images:
In the Example image you can see how using a larger aperture (smaller number IE: f 2.8) will give you a more shallow depth of focus (DOF). By using a smaller aperture (larger number IE: f 32) will give you a more broadened DOF. I took this image using three quarters laying on my kitchen floor.In all three images, I set the lens’ focus on the coin in the center. In the first image the center quarter is really the only thing in focus and barely the entire coin at that. In the final image, all three coins are almost completely in focus.
SIDEBAR – The method for increasing or decreasing the amount of light creating an image is measured in “stops of light” Allowing more or less stops of light via your aperture is shown above. These are not all inclusive. Typically, measurements go f1.4, f.2.8, f4, f5.6, f8, f11, f16, f22, f32 and so on. Each stop you go up or down, you are doubling or halving the amount of light entering the camera.
S or Tv / Shutter Priority Mode – In this mode, you are manually selecting the duration you want the shutter to allow light onto the sensor. The faster the shutter speed (EX: 1/8000th of a second), the smaller window of time the shutter allows light onto the sensor, the more “frozen” the movement in the image becomes. The slower the shutter speed (EX: 1/5th of a second), the larger window of time the shutter allows light onto the sensor, the more “flow” or “movement” the action in the image appears to have. You are selecting the shutter speed and the camera will adjust the aperture automatically. You tell the camera, “I want the shutter to stay open for this long, and you (camera) figure out the rest”. In this mode you have full control of ISO, flash, and metering modes as well.
Example Images:
In the Example image you can see how using a faster shutter speed (larger fraction of a second IE: 1/4000) will freeze a moving object no matter how quickly it is moving. By using a slower shutter speed (smaller fraction of a second IE: 1/20) will give you an image that shows you movement of an object over time. I took this image using my kitchen faucet with the water just barely flowing. Nealy continuous drops. In the first image you can see how well the drops of water are “frozen” in time. In the final image you can see how the longer shutter speed captures the “flow” of the water because the camera is catching a longer duration of movement.
SIDEBAR – The method for increasing or decreasing the amount of light creating an image is measured in “stops of light”. Allowing more or less stops of light via your shutter speed is typically measured in fractions of a second. Measurements go 1 sec, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, and so on. Each stop you go up or down, you are doubling or halving the amount of light entering the camera.
M / Manual Mode - This mode involves you having complete control over BOTH aperture AND shutter speed. So for example, you could chose to go out in the bright sunlight and take a picture with a wide open aperture and a long shutter speed, but then your image would be a solid white photo. The camera is not going to attempt to balance out the exposure for you. You will have complete control over your camera. Balance is the key. You tell the camera “I want the shutter to stay open for this long and I want the lens to be open this wide, and I am okay with how bright or dark the image turns out”. In this mode you have full control of ISO, flash, and metering modes as well.
Now you can see just how much more control you can obtain by experimenting with your manual settings rather than your preset automatic modes. The possibilities are literally endless. Just keep in mind it is all about balance. You want to have a correct exposure. Getting that correct exposure can be tackled in more than one way. As you can see from the images above, they are all correctly exposed even though I was using different shutter speeds and apertures.
Take some time experimenting with your particular camera and its settings. Each camera is different but they all work on the same principles I have discussed so far. I think next time I will discuss white balance. Have you ever taken an image that looked extremely orange or blue or green? This is all caused by your camera’s automatic white balance ability. Not cosmic, I promise. I will explain in detail next time! I hope you learned something from my post today.
Thanks!
Jason =)
Credits:
Las Vegas Photographer
by mindiraser
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