The #1 Photographer Tip! | How to shoot better photos with your DSLR!

[YoungPhotoGirl]

tl;dr

IMHO, it doesn't matter which mode you use as long as you get the photos you need. Some of the automatic modes can be very useful in certain situation especially moving in and out of different lighting. People get fixated on manual mode. It's not the answer to become a better photographer.

Also, metering without specify which metering mode and where to meter is leaving out major critical parts of getting the correct exposure. Matrix metering mode of a high contrast scene will give you a totally different reading vs spot metering of highlights vs center weighted of mid tone. A general understanding of the exposure triangle is an important part of becoming a better photographer, and it will help you to effectively control your images in manual mode.

When you blog from a position of knowledge, you need to make sure you cover all your bases because it is an invitation to be scrutinized by other professionals especially on an open forum. The negative tone against other professionals in the blog doesn't help either.

My humble opinion...

Wait did someone say post some work??
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I'm decent with off camera flash too...
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Lovely work

 

[SCraig]

I have news for you. The "M" on the mode dial doesn't stand for "Magic" and simply "Centering The Meter" is going to yield photographs that are no better than when using one of the automatic or semi-automatic modes. All a person is doing in that situation is mimicking what the meter wants to do and forcing themselves to randomly spin dials until the meter centers. I would expect a "Professional" to realize that.

In reality it actually IS important to understand ISO, aperture, and shutter speed, and how they relate to one another, since until one does the settings they choose, whether in manual or one of the semi-auto modes, are likely not the most optimum for the photographic situation. Why use 1/2000 second to photograph grandma in her rocker when the depth of field is razor thin? I would expect a "Professional" to realize that.

I would also expect a "Professional" to realize that there is more to a photograph than proper exposure, which is ALL that the mode can adjust. Framing, composition, background, and more all contribute as much to the final photograph as the exposure does.

Additionally, I find it ironic that most of the people you are arguing with learned to use a camera when ALL WE HAD was manual mode. There were no built-in meters or mode dials or any of that. We couldn't even change the ISO (we called it ASA back then) from shot to shot since it was based on the film we had in the camera. We got the exposure right through our knowledge and intuition or we got nothing.

I'm quite sure this will garner me another "Disagree" but that's fine to. Any time I get a "Disagree" from certain people it simply means that I was right.

 

[zombiesniper]

I'm not going to get into which mode is best since they ALL have their place.

However to the OP, you're walking a really tight line of getting this thread shut down or worse.
You've disliked almost every post that didn't agree with your post. We all don't have to agree to get along, it's part of being an adult.

why don't you, with your extensive know-how share your reasons and knowledge?

You may want to read up a bit. He's helped more people than you have.

Or is this just a site for people with failed businesses to bash others.

Personal bashing of someone is not normally a welcomed behavioural trait.

Decent professional photographers wouldn't take time out of their day to bash an informative BEGINNERS tip thread lol

Unless YOU are a professional then YOU have no idea what a professional would or would not do.

You have written an article from YOUR point of view. Own it but do realize NOBODY has to agree with you. You are making some pretty large assumptions with no evidence to support it i.e. why people don't use manual, why pro's try to keep others from using manual.

Lastly, when someone takes issue or doesn't agree with something you have posted:
a) Try and see it from their point of view and see why they see it that way.
b) Try not to take it personally
c) Don't make it personal by attacking others since if a member can show a history of this you can be banned as per the forum rules.

 

[astroNikon]

I try to tell people to use Manual when *you* want "specific" control over Shutter (speed for sports vs studio) and Aperture (for depth of field). In Semi-Auto modes too you can set low and high limits (may vary based on camera) for Shutter / Aperture values. You can also throw in Auto-ISO with limits into the mix in M and Semi-Auto.

So many potential ways of using the camera. But one really should understand the Exposure Triangle concepts first in order to start playing with M/Semi-A modes otherwise they'll still get, for example, blurry images.

But I understand the concept presented to get a newbie to venture into a Manual mode. Using the exposure bar to get the right exposure balance. May not be "right" but helps a newbie to start learning more.

Oh my god. That tattoo. It's...I don't know what to say. That tattoo is exceedingly amazing to me.

I thought it was pretty cool too !!

 

[pixmedic]

I agree that you dont need to know mathematical formulas. i sure dont. I dont math well.
I agree you dont HAVE to buy flash equipment to learn manual. I didnt, that came later when i learned portraiture.
i absolutely agree you dont need to spend $4k on courses. i didnt do that either.
and I certainly agree that learning proper exposure is the beginning of learning good photography.

what I kinda disagree with is the assertion that "professional" photographers are somehow keeping manual mode a closely guarded secret.
the pros on this site push manual mode literally all the time. there are a bazillion free online courses as well as youtube videos with professional photographers teaching you how to use pretty much any mode your camera has, as well as lighting, posing, editing...everything.
tons and tons of "pros" trying to teach newbies how to properly use their camera. (we invited forum members that wanted to learn wedding photography to come second shoot weddings with us..how is THAT for opportunity?)
its certainly possible that some pros are hoarding their knowledge out of fear that someone will take business from them, but I honestly have not experienced that myself, nor have I seen it on this site. with that in mind, I feel its a bit disingenuous of you to use "they" and "professional photographer" in such a broad and encompassing manner when you can clearly spend just a few minutes on the internet and see that there are plenty of professional photographers willing to share their knowledge. you being one of them, for example.

i shoot almost exclusively in manual. I use a lot of OCF, which are also all in manual.
I rarely "center the needle".
for my portraiture work, the scene is always "underexposed" according to the camera because of the flashes.
for everything else, I learned ETTR loooooong ago, and i still basically use it today. it works well for me.
admittedly not necessarily newbie material, but I think it bears mentioning in a blog dedicated to getting people to start using manual mode that "centering the needle" is only the very beginning of learning exposure, and learning more advanced techniques like high key, low key, and flash photography necessitate purposefully rendering an overexposed or underexposed scene.

 

[otherprof]

There's so many amateur photographers who are scared to take their skills to the next level.
I say scared, because it's not about the individual lacking the skills necessary- Skills are something you develop naturally as you practise.
FEAR is what stops you from trying, fear stops you from practising something new.
These types of enthusiasts tend to hover between AUTO mode, NO FLASH mode, and APERTURE-PRIORITY mode. They stay in these "safe zones", too afraid of failure to practise using manual mode. They either tried manual mode once, got disappointed with "how much they needed to learn" and quit forever, or sometimes hover back expecting to be much, much better (but having not practised manual mode in a year!) and feel inadequate so don't go back to manual for quite some time.
However, as an amateur, an enthusiast and especially as a professional- you MUST KNOW that your pictures are much, much worse due to staying in the safety of these "easy modes".

I'm going to be extremely honest with you. Experienced photographers make manual mode sound much more difficult than it is. I've often wondered why they do this (potentially to lower the amount of photographers in the industry with real technical knowledge, or they just don't fully understand the mode themselves). Here's some things you DON'T need to know that they will claim you do need to know:
- You DON'T need to know every single mathematical equation for ISO, APERTURE, SHUTTER SPEEDS, AND EXPOSURE.
- You DON'T even need to know 3 of these things off the back of your hand
- You DON'T have to buy flash equipment to assist you with manual mode

- You DON'T need to take courses or pay 4k for that new photography weekend away with your favourite photographer (and they likely won't even properly teach you manual mode anyway!)

Yes I know!....But hear me out...There's a reason why you haven't learned manual yet. THEY don't WANT you to learn manual mode.
It's the professional photographers secret saving grace. It changes EVERY SINGLE PICTURE to a drastically better quality. And also, Fear, as we mentioned earlier.
Here's what you DO NEED TO KNOW:
-How to read and understand your metering (that's the little funny dial on the inside of your camera when your looking through your eye piece)
-How to correctly change the settings in reflection to the metering.

The end. That's it. That's how you get started.
If the image is correctly exposed, it will be centred in the middle. If not, you adjust your aperture (if you don't mind it affecting your bokeh & focus), or more often than not, you adjust your shutter speed. How simple is that?
Seriously, go pick up your camera right now and try it. This blog is for amateurs, or enthusiasts only because obviously once you understand these basic changes there is a whole bigger world out there on what else you need to learn while using manual. But this is going to be a great jump start for you!
Here's some examples of the difference between AUTO MODE and MANUAL MODE (some of the auto mode images were actually aperture priority...so yes, APERTURE MODE is also not exceptional- but hands down better than AUTO.)

DON'T USE AUTO MODE!
Please note all the images below are RAW and unedited (we'll tackle raw another day, if you're not already using that!)

AUTO (Bit underexposed, dull and slightly more noise) ^

MANUAL (Exposed nicely, bright and sharp)^

APERTURE MODE (Dull, too dark, Noisy)^

MANUAL (Much more light and much sharper. Easy to edit) ^

AUTO (flash, harsh shadows, not very sharp or detailed) ^

MANUAL (smooth exposure, no harsh shadows, more accurate aperture, smooth for editing)^

Hopefully you can now see how important this is. Start practising manual mode and watch your photography get drastically better.
The main issue is not practising, so get out- flick that dial around to manual mode and instantly be a better more knowledgeable photographer from it! Don't forget to share this with someone you know doesn't use manual mode regularly, share the love!
Best of luck and don't be shy to leave questions!
Karissa Best

Those professional photographers with their secret handshakes make me sick! Who would have thunk it? Conspiracy theories come to "auto-no-flash".

 

[SoulfulRecover]

You got it set to 'M' for Mini when it should be set to 'W' for Wumbo. Come on! You know... I wumbo, You wumbo, He she me... wumbo? Wumbo, wumboing, we'll have the wumbo, Wumborama... Wumbology, the study of wumbo? It's first grade!

 

[Rafterman]

I always thought that MASP stood for:

Maniacal
Arrogant
Snooty
Pompous

I use Arrogant mode when shooting people and places. This mode is especially good for use with people, because it helps them realize that I'm a Pro and they should respect me. Arrogant mode works best when using as large and obtrusive a lens as possible. This adds to the "wow factor" and really impresses folks when they can see how big my "gear" is.

I use Snooty mode when I'm shooting birds/animals, in conjunction with Auto ISO (Imperious, Smug, Overbearing) to keep shutter speeds high. Wildlife photography doesn't benefit as much from Arrogant mode. Critters aren't impressed by my huge glass, or by my presence at all, for that matter. Frankly, I think they all hate me.

Pompous mode is for when I'm feeling lazy and just need to project an overall confidence in my master-level skills as a photographer. It's the best shooting mode for self-defense situations, such as when being challenged by a fellow photog who is calling my abilities into question.

As for Maniacal mode, no one talks about that. It's only for the truly crazy among us. I personally don't think cameras should even have that mode. It scares the hell out of me.

 

[Overread]

PEOPLE (ALL)
Lets try to remain respectful toward each other. Even if we don't all agree, lets at least remain mature about it.

If the image is correctly exposed, it will be centred in the middle. If not, you adjust your aperture (if you don't mind it affecting your bokeh & focus), or more often than not, you adjust your shutter speed. How simple is that?

I want you to read this back to yourself a few times over.
What you've done is a very classic couple of mistakes in teaching

1) You have simplified a more complex situation into a very limited number of very specific steps. You have actually simplified it to the point where the above will only work within a limited range of situations.
This is not a good way to teach beginners because you're assuming that they are even shooting in the same conditions you are in. Last week it was snowy here, ice and snow everywhere the landscape was a blanket of white. A beginner following your advice and stepping outside and getting that meter reading on the middle would have got a shot underexposed by quite a noticeable margin.
Similarly if they decided to take a photo of their child/pet running or even were in dim lighting indoors then they'd get a very blurry shot as you've left the shutter speed to the side almost as if its not important.

These are all things you already know; indeed you likely know them so well you don't even much think of them. But in your short comment you've provided instruction that will fail for some, will sort of work for others and will work for a handful who are in conditions that favour that approach.

2) You've presented what is basically a very simple introduction to a subject on its own. What you've posted above would work perfectly fine if you crafted it within a case-study situation (eg photo of a product on a table whilst camera is on a tripod).
It would also work perfectly fine as the beginning of a longer article (yes more writing) where you'd steadily take each concept and present it other beginner so that they can start to understand each point before adding them all together.

You've essentially presented the very basics of metering, but your working and presentation have given it a false message which is what many in this thread are trying to make you aware of.


Most of the community here of professionals/experienced amateurs etc... are more than keen to help others and many take their free time to do so. What they see in you is a person eager to do likewise, but who has taken off on the wrong foot in a big way - hence why there's a lot of unified effort ot try and make you aware of this and to get you to change your approach. This is in the view of helping you to help others in a better way.




Photographic skill is actually NOT all that important in this situation. We aren't talking about photographic skill but Teaching Skill.

 

[Ferrarimx5]

This forum is quite forgiving, understanding and uplifting.
A place to grow, share, and prosper.
The fruit that grows on a tree, is not for the tree.
The tree, no matter how harsh the environment may become, can not feed from its fruit.
The fruit is for others to enjoy.
Be fruitful.
The fruit contains seed.
Enjoy the fruit and plant the seeds,

 

[dxqcanada]

I think the issues here about the tutorial have to due primarily with the tone is it presented ... Professional Photographers are evil ... and the statements about not having to really know what the controls do.
There have been many discussions about utilizing manual control in this forum, so I don't think we (experienced manual exposure users) are trying to hide this function as some secret handshake.

... and there are many photographers that use automatic modes very effectivity to obtain their "correct" exposure.

 

[pixmedic]

Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk

 

[Vtec44]

I think the issues here about the tutorial have to due primarily with the tone is it presented ... Professional Photographers are evil ...

Yeah that kind of rubbed me the wrong way to be honest. Photography has been around for over 150 years and that information is not new or even a secret. To present it such a way that some how professional photographers are trying to keep the information away from people and it's THE secret to better photos. I think it is down right deceptive. That's just my personal opinion, obviously.

 

[DanOstergren]

THEY don't WANT you to learn manual mode.
It's the professional photographers secret saving grace. It changes EVERY SINGLE PICTURE to a drastically better quality.

Ok this is the funniest thing I've ever seen here. Are you trolling the forum? Because you're very good at it. Absolutely hilarious.

 

[DanOstergren]

I disagree. You are not at the stage to be able to give beginners tips. Your tips are incorrect and misleading. I understand your feelings are hurt and I apologize for my earlier sarcasm, but moving on, you need to learn more and understand more before trying to help beginners. Maybe it's too late now with your hurt feelings to patch up and take a positive turn but the people on this site, Tirediron and myself included, can help.

More fact in this statement than in the entire blog post.