Is it normal to feel like I am changing my settings all the time?

[imagemaker46]

take it out of M and use A or S, that will cut your fiddle time in half and you'll end up with the exact same settings.

Really? what have I been doing wrong for the past 40 years. All this time I didn't have to know anything about how my camera works, or how light changes, or how things look when shooting backlit, or shooting in the snow. It's just put it on A and that's it. Thanks.

 

[Stacy Morin]

take it out of M and use A or S, that will cut your fiddle time in half and you'll end up with the exact same settings.

Really? what have I been doing wrong for the past 40 years. All this time I didn't have to know anything about how my camera works, or how light changes, or how things look when shooting backlit, or shooting in the snow. It's just put it on A and that's it. Thanks.

Well.....that is kind of what I was thinking....if I can become totally skilled and undsrstand Manual and my camera 100%-then if I throw it into A or S it WON'T be cheating right??

 

[imagemaker46]

There are no cheats when it comes to taking pictures, learning how your camera works is a progression for many people. There are more people these days that just turn the camera on set it on A and are happy with what they end up with, nothing wrong with that at all. There are others that learn how to use their camera with all manual settings because there are times when it makes the difference.

Whatever works for the user. However making a statement that just using a camera on auto all the time will get you the exact same results as manual settings is a misguided notion and shows a lack of understanding how light works and changes in different situations.

 

[Gary A.]

Actually, you'll be much better off after understanding how the meter works/reads. 18% gray and all that business ... once you understand metering you'll may want to use manual more often than an auto mode. Once you select an auto mode you'll have a better reason for choosing an auto mode, (other than ease of use or lack of understanding manual), and you'll understand what and why it is metering the way it is metering. Photography is all about light and metering is the mechanism which allows you to interpret/translate the light to match your vision.

Gary

 

[CameraClicker]

I'm conflicted. I used to shoot with a Canon FTb, then a Canon F1, shooting slide film. Later I shot with a Nikon 500M for a while. M was the only option. I have had a collection of Nikon and Canon digitals, and they are all little hand held computers. Some like the Rebel/550D have a lot of modes, others like the 1D/5D only have a few modes.

If you are learning, Manual mode may indeed be the way to go. If you are shooting with studio lights, Manual is the way to go because the camera has no idea about the light that will happen when the shutter opens. There are some other odd lighting conditions that need manual. But once you understand what's going on, Aperture priority or Shutter priority makes a lot of sense for most non-flash shots. If you are in Manual mode and simply centring the meter, you are working too hard. The computer is there to make your life easier.

Adjusting shutter and aperture in Aperture priority on a Rebel is pretty fast. Spin the dial to adjust aperture, then press the button on the back and spin the dial again. On models with the wheel on the back, it is even faster because you just spin the wheel with your thumb.

 

[Stacy Morin]

Side note: I shoot in natural light most always. When I get that down I will work with Flash again. (I had a speed light 600 that died and when I did use it I was in AUTO!!)

 

[paigew]

I haven't read all the replies, but I do shoot manual mode 100% of the time. For me, it is just what I like . I'm pretty fast at it now, and can change my settings without even bringing the camera away from my eye . I do talk to my clients a lot, meter, set my wb, etc. There is nothing wrong with taking a minute to get everything right before you take the photo!

 

[robbins.photo]

It's not you, it's the camera. That's why I get all my cameras from this guy:



Lol.

Ok, in all seriousness - I don't actually shoot in manual mode that much myself. I use it only in limited circumstances where I know that I'm going to want to set my exposure for something other than what the camera's light meter is telling me that it should be set.

When you think about it if your simply adjusting your settings so that the camera's meter shows you as "proper" exposure in manual mode, all your really doing is doing exactly what the camera would do if you were shooting in aperture or shutter priority mode, you're just doing it a lot slower and less efficiently.. lol.

I like aperture priority mode when I'm shooting to get a desired level of background separation. I prefer shutter priority most of the time because most of what I shoot is moving or could start moving at any second, and I like setting my shutter speed high enough and knowing it will remain high enough to cancel out motion blur.

If I'm shooting in aperture mode I'll check my shutter speed real quick, if it seems too low I'll bump up the ISO - the camera will then adjust to a higher shutter speed for proper exposure. If I'm shooting in shutter priority mode if want to stop down the lens a bit again, I just up my ISO and the camera will start closing the aperture to compensate and get proper exposure.

Nothing against manual mode mind you, many people use it and love it and for some situations really nothing else can be substituted. But I just don't find myself in shooting situations where manual mode is something I use that often.

 

[mcap1972]

I try to minimize playing with settings and camera and focus on looking at light, composition and subjects. Try shooting Aperture mode + RAW + Auto exposure.

 

[pgriz]

Constantly changing settings is a little like constantly moving the steering wheel while driving on a (more-or-less) straight road. When I started driving, I'd be over-correcting all the time. One of my instructors told me to NOT move the steering wheel unless I had to, and then just enough to nudge the car back to its intended path. I've been driving for 45+ years now, and that advice is still applicable.

 

[Stradawhovious]

What fun is it to not change settings? If I didn't get to change settings, I wouldn't be in this hobby.

My pictures are ****, so for me it's the journey, not the destination.

 

[Braineack]

take it out of M and use A or S, that will cut your fiddle time in half and you'll end up with the exact same settings.

Really? what have I been doing wrong for the past 40 years. All this time I didn't have to know anything about how my camera works, or how light changes, or how things look when shooting backlit, or shooting in the snow. It's just put it on A and that's it. Thanks.

blah blah blah blah.

That's not what I said and you know it.

If you're just shooting to the meter for every shot and constantly changing your shutter speed/aperture/iso in order to always expose to the meter, you might as well use a priority mode so you get the exact same results without having to touch the camera.


Where's that "I shoot M, RAW, & BBF" shirt?

 

[Derrel]

There are times when the lighting will remain relatively consistent for long stretches, or when the pose/shot is consistent and has an even-toned background that does not cause the meter to go up and down as the scene is photographed in different ways, such as zoomed in tight, or zoomed back to a wider point of view, and so on. If there will be NO zooming, you can easily use A or S or M or P exposure modes and arrive at the same,identical exposure with the simple click-click-click of a wheel on advanced cameras, or on the consumer or "one-button" models like the Canon Rebels and the Baby Nikons, you'll need to press a small button and simultaneously rotate the command wheel to get the exposure parameter(s) that you ACTUALLY want to have.

One thing I think about portraiture is that it's worth actually saying to the subject, "I'm going to take a close-up reading and evaluate the exposure. I'm going to come in close to your face and meter to get the EXACT exposure, then verify that, and then we'll start shooting for real." I actually say the above phrase. It explains what you are doing and why you're close to them with that 70-200 lens! And it also conveys that you are paying attention to technicals, and are meticulous.

Now, SOME cameras are very good at Aperture priority automatic, and do well against backlighting and can be relied upon to get the metering pretty close to right...other cameras, and other situations, will be clearly,clearly wrong. Again, how to meter depends on the lighting and conditions. Is it overcast? Metering is not that tricky. Strong, May through August backlighting down by the river? Exposure can be critical shooting against the light!!!

One big plus to shooting in Manual exposure mode is that you can get the right exposure dialed in, and then shoot, and the Lightroom processing will be identical for all frames in each exposure sequence/posing sequence, so you can optimize to the best frame in a sequence, and then copy the settings, select the other frames and then paste the setting to the similar frames. With today's better cameras, it's enough to have a consistent exposure, and then in software, equalize the shots with the right combination of software adjustments.

 

[xzyragon]

I set my aperture to get the DOF I'm going for (somewhere between 2.0-2.8 for portraits), then set ISO somewhere so that my shutterspeed is over 1/200 (during daylight it almost always stays below 200 or so unless you're using filters). Then once your aperture and ISO are locked in, it's just a couple clicks of the wheel to modify the exposure a little bit.

When I use flash, I cant get my shutter speed over 1/250 (or 1/320 with HSS), so if it's still overexposed at ISO100 and 1/250s, then you need to either close down your aperture, or look for a reflector or some way to use the natural light.

 

[imagemaker46]

take it out of M and use A or S, that will cut your fiddle time in half and you'll end up with the exact same settings.

Really? what have I been doing wrong for the past 40 years. All this time I didn't have to know anything about how my camera works, or how light changes, or how things look when shooting backlit, or shooting in the snow. It's just put it on A and that's it. Thanks.

blah blah blah blah.

That's not what I said and you know it.

If you're just shooting to the meter for every shot and constantly changing your shutter speed/aperture/iso in order to always expose to the meter, you might as well use a priority mode so you get the exact same results without having to touch the camera.


Where's that "I shoot M, RAW, & BBF" shirt?

If I'm shooting under changing light conditions it doesn't take any time at all to make a quick adjustment . If I'm shooting under controlled lights, indoors or out, I use three settings and if for some reason I move to a different area where the light has changed, I make the adjustment. It's not difficult. It just gives me the control I'm used to.