The Modes
You’ve heard that age old say “Get familiar with your camera” right? It comes right after you ask a seasoned photographer how you get better at taking photos. It irks me that not a lot of photographers take the time to explain the basics of what’s on the camera. Every camera has manual, shutter priority, aperture priority, and custom REGARDLESS of the brand. It’s universal. That said, I’m going to explain the basics of each one so that you can choose what works best for you.
Let’s start off easy. Manual mode is what most photographers use. I am not one of them (keep reading and I’ll explain why later. Plus I’m a rule breaker lol). Manual mode is where you have the most control and you make every decision of the aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. Having that triangle dialed in is the difference between having your photos look like a two year old took it and a seasoned professional. While somethings you can fix in post if you take your ISO a little bit too far over or under. It does make a difference. I have personally found over my 8 years of my career that it was lacking in sharpness. I want my images to feel like you can touch it it looks so real. While yes lens choices have something to do with it, and well cover that later, as well as practice, manual mode just wasn’t cutting it for the standards I had in my own head. So I kept searching for more answers.
Aperture priority is where the camera selects the shutter speed while you control the aperture. This one I’m not a fan of at all. It’s a royal pain! I like my talent to be moving cause it’s more natural looking in the photo. So having a faster shutter speed to freeze those natural mechanics if the body is important to me and tells a better story. If the camera picks a shutter speed that’s slower it’s going to cause a blurring effect that I don’t want. Also, if you’re in sports photography you’re going to miss an epic moment you’ll never get back.
Shutter priority is my jam! Shutter priority is where the camera chooses the aperture while I control the speed of the shutter. This has made my photos sharper! Over the years my eyes have gotten used to the idea. I can definitely tell when I shoot between manual and shutter priority. While the difference might be small but noticeable, small decisions that compound make huge impacts.
What mode will you choose?
