- P: Program Mode
- S: Shutter Priority Mode
- A: Aperture Priority Mode
- M: Manual Mode
- How I Shoot: A Closer Look at the Camera Settings I Use
- Chapter 4 Assignments
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
How I Shoot: A Closer Look at the Camera Settings I Use
The great thing about working with a dSLR camera is that I can always feel confident that some things will remain unchanged from camera to camera. For me, these are the Aperture Priority (A) and Shutter Priority (S) shooting modes. Although I like to think of myself as a generalist in terms of my photography, I do tend to lean heavily on the landscape and urban photography genres. Working in these areas means that I am almost always going to be concerned with my depth of field. Whether it's isolating my subject with a large aperture or trying to maximize the overall sharpness of a sweeping landscape, I always keep an eye on my aperture setting (Figure 4.14). If I do have a need to control the action, I use Shutter Priority, my fallback mode. It's not really a fallback; it's more like the right tool for the right job. If I am trying to create a silky waterfall effect, I can depend on Shutter Priority mode to provide that long shutter speed that will deliver. Maybe I am shooting a motocross jumper. I definitely need the fast shutter speeds that will freeze the fast-moving action.
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Figure 4.14 Landscapes with subjects that are at differing distances benefit from a small aperture.
While the other camera modes have their place, I think you will find that, like myself and most other working pros, you will use the Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes for 90 percent of your shooting.
The other concern that I have when I am setting up my camera is just how low I can keep my ISO. This is always a priority for me because a low ISO will deliver the cleanest image. I raise the ISO only as a last resort because each increase in sensitivity is an opportunity for more digital noise to enter my image. To that end, I always have the High ISO Noise Reduction feature turned on (see Chapter 7).
To make quick changes while I shoot, I often use the Exposure Compensation feature (covered in Chapter 7) so that I can make small over- and underexposure changes. This is different than changing the aperture or shutter; it is more like fooling the camera meter into thinking the scene is brighter or darker than it actually is. To get to this function quickly, I simply press the Exposure Compensation/Aperture button, then dial in the desired amount of compensation. Truth be told, I usually have this set to –1/3 so that there is just a tiny bit of underexposure in my image. This usually leads to better color saturation. (Note: The exposure compensation feature does not work in the Manual shooting mode.)
One of the reasons I change my exposure is to make corrections when I see the "blinkies" in my rear LCD. Blinkies are the warning signal that part of my image has been overexposed to the point that I no longer have any detail in the highlights. When the Highlight Alert feature is turned on, the display will flash wherever the potential exists for overexposure. The black and white flashing will only appear in areas of your picture that are in danger of overexposure.
Setting Up the Highlight Alert Feature
- Press the Menu button, then use the Multi-selector to access the Playback menu (A).
- Once in the Playback menu, move the Multi-selector to the Display mode option and press OK (B).
- Move the Multi-selector down to select the Highlights option, then press OK to place a checkmark next to the word Highlight (C).
- Now move back up to select Done, and press OK again to lock in your change.
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Once the highlight warning is turned on, I use it to check my images on the back of the LCD after taking a shot. If I see an area that is blinking, I will usually set the exposure compensation feature to an underexposed setting like –1/3 or –2/3 stops and take another photo, checking the result on the screen. I repeat this process until the warning is gone.
Sometimes, such as when shooting into the sun, the warning will blink no matter how much you adjust the exposure because there is just no detail in the highlight. Use your best judgment to determine if the warning is alerting you to an area where you want to retain highlight detail.
As you work your way through the coming chapters, you will see other tips and tricks I use in my daily photography, but the most important tip I can give is to understand the features of your camera so that you can leverage the technology in a knowledgeable way. This will result in better photographs.