General holiday photos

[Goldcoin79]

Hi all

I just came back from holiday which gave me a bit of time to play around with my camera, when I took pictures of scenes I took one in auto mode and some in shutter speed priority mode to compare the differences. After looking back at my pictures and compareing the auto taken one to the Tv ones quite a few of the scenes I took pictures of seemed to be that the picture taken in auto was the best one.

I understand that when I want to do some thing specific like control the DOF for a portrait I wouldn't use an auto setting but for general holiday shots would it be better to use auto or do you think it's just practice needed to get my Tv mode pictures better than the ones taken in auto.

I am enjoying learning about photography so any advice would be helpful.

James

 

[KmH]

If you don't yet understand how to use the exposure triad of manual adjustments, yes Auto mode will likely produce more consistent results.

You also need to be aware of the focus modes, focus area modes, and light metering modes your camera offers you.

 

[Goldcoin79]

I do understand the exposure triangle and what changing iso, shutter speed and aperture does. I have read about light metering modes so may need to experiment with them a bit more. I have taken pictures in manual modes that i am happy with but guess I just want to be more consistent.

 

[KmH]

Consistancey comes with a deeper understanding of the nuances.

Metering is a key. You have to know when to use spot, center-weighted, and matrix (Nikon)/evaluative (Canon) metering.
You also have to understand how the meter works, because the meter can be biased by scene's that have a lot of white in them.

Most scenes can be properly exposed with any of 9 exposure triad setting combinations, but only 1 or 2 of those combinations will be the right artistic combination.

 

[TCampbell]

Even in "manual" mode, unless you're using a dedicated light meter, your camera is offering "advice" on how to expose the shot via the information you can see through the viewfinder.

At the root of it all, the camera "meters" the shot. You can change the metering mode to tell the camera to be specific as to the metering at some point OR allow the camera to evaluate a larger area -- but in the end, the metering determines the overall exposure value that the camera wants.

If you're in auto mode, the camera is still going to use the exposure value dictated by the meter and the computer will set the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO setting.

For any given value of light, there are probably a half dozen valid combinations of the f-stop and shutter speed alone -- AND add to that that your camera has 3 or 4 different ISOs that might actually look pretty good... and a few more if you're willing to put up with a little noise in the image. In total you have dozens of ways to combine the three settings and still collect the same amount of light on the sensor.

This might lead one to wonder ... how does the camera decide what to use in full auto if there are actually dozens of valid combinations that work?

The answer is... they don't all _really_ "work". They all collect the correct amount of light... but there's a big difference between the "correct amount of light" and a "sane exposure" setting.

By this I mean that you could pick shutter speeds that are MUCH too slow for a hand-held shot, or you could pick a shutter speed that's MUCH too high and forces the camera to crank up the ISO to the point that you have excessive image noise.

This is what Keith means when he says you not only have to know how the exposure triangle works... you have to understand the "nuances". Although you can technically pick any value (the camera will let you), there are consequences which will impact the quality of the photo. Not only may the setting you dial in be detrimental, but it may also force the computer to pick a setting for one of the other parts of the exposure triangle which are detrimental as well.

When the camera gets to do everything on full auto, the computer tends to seek "happy medium" settings because they tend to be safe. But safe settings are not necessarily creative.

I don't always shoot on manual. I will WHEN the lighting is steady. Usually that means the lighting is naturally steady, or I'm controlling the lighting, or I'm directing the subject and can put them in the lighting I want.

If I can't be in control, I might go for a semi-automatic mode such as Tv or Av mode... that way I don't have to keep dialing the exposure up and down while the lighting around me changes rapidly. I use Tv mode only because I need to maintain a minimum shutter speed (usually to freeze action) OR because I want to force a slower shutter speed to guarantee that my shot will imply motion by allowing some motion blur to show up in the image (such as a "panning" shot or a "creamy" waterfall shot.) If I'm not trying to do one of those two things, I'm probably not going to use Tv mode. I'll use Av mode to force either a shallow or broad DoF. I might also use it to force the lens to a sweet spot on image quality (most lenses yield their most optimal visual acuity at about 2 stops down from whatever 'wide open' is.)

REGARDLESS... be aware of the sane limits of an exposure. Just because you CAN dial in an exposure that the meter says will create the proper exposure value for the present light doesn't mean it'll look good.

 

[Goldcoin79]

Thanks for all that advice it is much appreciated, I have read about light metering modes and under stand what part of the picture each mode is metering but not 100% clear on situation you would use each of these mode in. Would I be right in thinking for a scene picture you would want use evaluative and on a portrait you would use spot metering.

If any one can give me some guidance on this it wil be helpful.

 

[KmH]

Would I be right in thinking for a scene picture you would want use evaluative and on a portrait you would use spot metering.

Yep! Those are exactly appropriate for when each would likely be used. There may be other artistic considerations that could justify changing up which metering mode you use.

Center-weighted metering is also often appropriate for portraiture and landscape, the key being that spot mode give the most accurate metering because it samples a very small part of a sscene, and evaluative gives the least accurate metering because it averages all the light in a scene.