Shooting in P mode

[The_Traveler]

Most everyone debating in this thread are .....photographers, you all have many years under your belts and each of you got to where you are today in a different way. You all took responsibility in your learning and it worked for you, with what was available to you at the beginning of your learning.

We are talking about learning two sides of a whole that uses different parts of the brain.

What Lew initially presented to us was for us to use the capability of the current technology and approaching this dominantly from the right side of the brain, the creative side, when we start out with camera in hand.

Through the creative process the technical side will be taught when the photograph is offered up for C&C, then you are sitting in a learning setting and can focus just with the left side of your brain.

The next time the student picks up the camera they carry forward their technical learning regardless of when in the process they learned it. Seems pretty logical to me.

It seems to me that everyone is so intent on being "right" that they can't see another means to the same end.

PixelRabbit said it better than I have.

Teach photography the same way we teach children drawing, allow people to exercise their creativity and then engage their desire to be better. Just as children eventually want to color within the lines, the new photographer will want to make their photographs better.

There seems to be an almost embarrassing tendency for individuals to try and make this about themselves or their technique. I certainly couldn't care less about 'your' technique.
It is this solipsistic desire to reproduce one's own final method that I think is destructive to the creative process and an impediment to new photographers.

 

[Mike_E]

I've known sculptors that wouldn't use a steel hammer, painters that wouldn't use any brush that they didn't make themselves. A camera is just a tool and newer ones have more gadgets than a Swiss Army knife but they are still just tools.

What hits the floor doesn't matter nor does it matter how what hangs up in the light got there. The child will stand on it's own, for better or worse, and all that will matter is who or what that child is.

All of the control that existed up to that point is gone and no longer matters so why stress over it? Do your best with whatever tools you have and then let it go to live it's own life.

 

[Mully]

It is all about seeing and how to get what you see made as an image. If you let the camera do all your thinking your understanding of what you are doing is not clear. This raises questions like "why are my photos out of focus" If the mountain is a mile away and you put the lens on infinity it will not be out of focus ( under most conditions) Auto looks at normal ....maybe the image you want is not in the normal range, for a beginner it would be better to choose what they are doing..eg shoot at 4.5 at 1000/sec and change to 60/sec at f16 and see what the relationship is, choosing how the image will look and how you see it, instead of what the camera decides to give you. Otherwise everything is point and shoot where some cameras you can change lenses.

 

[pixmedic]

I heard "P" was for "Professional"

 

[unpopular]

She's so convincing! LOLz

 

[Mully]

I heard "P" was for "Professional"

Pix this was so great ...I bet even her kids hate her ....Just what the world needs a Photo Yenta ....I did make it 80% through it

 

[unpopular]

LOL Mully - you didn't actually think she was serious?

"I drop them off at Cosco, and pick them up! Plus, you're supporting a local business, and that's really important"

"I will give you a little tip though ... i had a little incident, with six pounds of leaky ground beef and two portrait orders"

 

[unpopular]

"We're professional photographers, if that means take a mouth full of snail, we do it!"

 

[Mully]

Ya I did After being on this site I believed her...Great laugh though ...If you ever lived in NYC there are yentas just like her and that is how they talk to there kids.

 

[unpopular]

I wasn't sure, but she seemed like she was acting when she couldn't remember "shutter speed" ... not that I wouldn't expect someone to forget "shutter speed" but it just wasn't as convincing.

Episode 11 is just great though. I was literally LOLing.

If you watch enough, it's pretty clear though she actually knows very much what she's doing, especially when she's criticizing the "old school".

 

[The_Traveler]

It is all about seeing and how to get what you see made as an image. If you let the camera do all your thinking your understanding of what you are doing is not clear. This raises questions like "why are my photos out of focus" If the mountain is a mile away and you put the lens on infinity it will not be out of focus ( under most conditions) Auto looks at normal ....maybe the image you want is not in the normal range, for a beginner it would be better to choose what they are doing..eg shoot at 4.5 at 1000/sec and change to 60/sec at f16 and see what the relationship is, choosing how the image will look and how you see it, instead of what the camera decides to give you. Otherwise everything is point and shoot where some cameras you can change lenses.

My original suggestion was to use the shoot in P or Auto for those new to photography so that they can get hooked into the creative mode and use that excitement of creation to encourage the learning of technical things.

I'm just not certain why people don't/wan't get that distinction and answer as if I suggested everyone shoot in P or A all the time.
Perhaps I should have this translated into other languages?

 

[unpopular]

Lew. Go do something else.

 

[thetrue]

Lew, I only see that in what I assume is Turkish, I apologize for the inconvenience but could you translate it to Japanese?








Yes, I'm kidding, and believe it or not, I did exactly that. Started in P, went to priority modes, and now to manual when I really want creative control.

 

[runnah]

Yes, unless you don't want to, then no.

Can we move along now?

 

[skyy38]

There is nothing that is more certain to set off a chicken fight than even hinting to a photographer that the way he/she learned to do things or the way they do things now may not be the absolute best way it can be done.

The mere expression of a contrary opinion - and maintaining it - just sets people off.

Don't I know it!