Manual Mode Vs Aperture priority mode Please Help!!!

JRE313 · Jan 9, 2012

When Setting the Aperture, i hear that alot of photographers use Aperture Priority over manual.
I took Trey's Stuck in Customs class and he said in one of his videos that he uses Aperture Priority over manual.

Anybody know why this is?

Thanks in advance!!!

jwbryson1 · Jan 9, 2012

Umm.....have you read your post? I have no clue what you are asking.

Big Mike · Jan 9, 2012

Depends on the situation.

If I'm in a situation where the lighting conditions might change from shot to shot, and I don't have a lot of time to be adjusting my settings in manual...then I'll use Av.
But most other times, I'll use manual.

There is a big difference is the way that you meter & come to your settings. In Av (or any auto mode) the camera gets it's exposure settings from what is in front of the lens. So if your subject changes from dark to light, you need to really adjust your metering. Where as, in manual, you meter for the light and as long as your light doesn't change, you don't have to change the exposure if your subjects brightness changes.

Overread · Jan 9, 2012

First understand what Aperture priority is doing.

In aperture priority mode the photographer sets the aperture and the ISO for the photo. You then take a meter reading using the built in camera meter (using the metering settings selected by the user) and based upon that meter reading on the chosen scene the camera will automatically select the correct shutter speed. If the lighting changes (whilst the camera is still metering - ie shutter button held half down) or the user changes the aperture and/or the ISO the camera will instantly change the shutter speed to compensate.
You also have exposure compensation in this mode, which tells the camera that when it sets the shutter speed it should either under or overexpose the photo by the selected number of stops of light. This can be good when the camera meter is being fooled by the current lighting (eg if shooting scene with lots of snow the camera will expose it grey rather than white since 18% grey is the target the camera works to - so a photographer can tell the camera to overexpose and thus bring the exposure back up to what the photographer wants).

In full manual mode the photographer must set all 3 settings themselves - that is aperture, shutter speed and ISO. There is no exposure compensation here, since if the photographer wishes to adjust the exposure from the suggested metered value then they just have to change the settings themselves. There is a meter reading in this mode which, instead of being a target is showing what the actual current lighting is giving (whilst the camera is metering the scene).

mistermonday · Jan 9, 2012

JRE313 said:
When Setting the Aperture, i hear that alot of photographers use Aperture Priority over manual.
I took Trey's Stuck in Customs class and he said in one of his videos that he uses Aperture Priority over manual.

Anybody know why this is?

Thanks in advance!!!

There really is no need to go manual if you have the automation in your camera. There are so many metering options and intelligence in the camera that you should be able to set your aperture and let the camera control the exposure times. Moreover, if you have a decent number of exposures possible in your cameras auto bracketing, and you have sufficient padding in the number of shots you take in the bracketed set, you do not need to have perfect precision in each shot.
Regards, Murray

480sparky · Jan 9, 2012

mistermonday said:
There really is no need to go manual if you have the automation in your camera. There are so many metering options and intelligence in the camera that you should be able to set your aperture and let the camera control the exposure times. .........

To me, auto modes are the biggest and most abused crutches in photography. If you learn how to shoot in manual from the git-go, you're a million times more likely to succeed with auto modes. But alas, manufacturers have brainwashed most everyone into thinking the camera can think better than a human brain can.

The mere fact the OP is asking this question is proof of this.

Overread · Jan 9, 2012

Sparky careful - Aperture and shutter priority modes are not full auto and much of the time one is working without flash dominated lighting those two modes are simply repeating and partly automating what photographers do in manual mode. That is set their primary setting for the creative effect they want - check their secondary setting and then adjust ISO accordingly. The only difference being the camera changes the 3rd value for them.

The full auto mode and the scene modes on lower end bodies (eg landscape, macro, portrait etc...) I agree are modes one should try and move away from. They are not "bad" in that they generally do get a good exposure, but they will not be anywhere near as creative not diverse as a photographer can be even with little training and experience.

cgipson1 · Jan 9, 2012

mistermonday said:
There really is no need to go manual if you have the automation in your camera. There are so many metering options and intelligence in the camera that you should be able to set your aperture and let the camera control the exposure times. Moreover, if you have a decent number of exposures possible in your cameras auto bracketing, and you have sufficient padding in the number of shots you take in the bracketed set, you do not need to have perfect precision in each shot.
Regards, Murray

So just shoot a lot.. bracket like crazy... pad that a little, and maybe you will get Lucky? lol! Yea.. sure! You will occasionally get a decent shot... but did you do it intentionally? Not really! Why not just use THE "P" MODE... if the camera is so smart?

mistermonday · Jan 9, 2012

480sparky said:
mistermonday said:

There really is no need to go manual if you have the automation in your camera. There are so many metering options and intelligence in the camera that you should be able to set your aperture and let the camera control the exposure times. .........

Click to expand...

To me, auto modes are the biggest and most abused crutches in photography. If you learn how to shoot in manual from the git-go, you're a million times more likely to succeed with auto modes. But alas, manufacturers have brainwashed most everyone into thinking the camera can think better than a human brain can.

The mere fact the OP is asking this question is proof of this.

Well, I grew up and got my 1st 2 cameras before they had auto anything so I know what you mean. I also grew up learning how to do math many years before the calculator was commercially affordable. I came across a young person a while ago who needed a calculator to figure out what to me was a minor mental math activity. He claimed he did not understand how to do math but that did not matter because calculators were everywhere - in his iPhone, iPad, Computer, his desktop, his backpack, even in one of his Casio wristwatches. I felt like offering a similar dissertation to yours. But then I thought about it for a moment and realized that maybe he could get through life without ever needing to have a basic foundation of fundamental math - that perhaps he would always have access to a calculator and never be marooned on a desert island. I considered myself fortunate and advantaged to have had the learning just as I have in basic photography but I applied a "live and let live" philosophy. Good luck trying to fight the brainwashing, its a losing battle.
Regards, Murray

ann · Jan 9, 2012

I don't know if i really know why, even with manual metering (which i use, as it is how I learned) one has to pick a value and then adjusted accordingly. Perhaps because with HDR one picks the fstop to maintain DOF, so it seems logically to them to just set the camera to aperture priority mode.

480sparky · Jan 9, 2012

Overread said:
Sparky careful - Aperture and shutter priority modes are not full auto and much of the time one is working without flash dominated lighting those two modes are simply repeating and partly automating what photographers do in manual mode. That is set their primary setting for the creative effect they want - check their secondary setting and then adjust ISO accordingly. The only difference being the camera changes the 3rd value for them.

The full auto mode and the scene modes on lower end bodies (eg landscape, macro, portrait etc...) I agree are modes one should try and move away from. They are not "bad" in that they generally do get a good exposure, but they will not be anywhere near as creative not diverse as a photographer can be even with little training and experience.

I'm not advocating outlawing any auto or semi-auto modes. You gotta learn the basics if you want to learn. You can't learn to tickle the ivories by cranking up a player piano. I think 99.9% of aspiring shooters would be far better served by starting out in manual only. Manual everything...... ISO, shutter speed, aperture and white balance. This teaches you how to work the camera, not let the camera do the work.

Once you've got a solid grasp on those basics, slowly work your way towards that magical Auto mode. But only in steps. After manual mode, let the camera start to take over. Aperture- and Shutter-preferred. Then Program mode. You are only allowed to use Auto once you graduate.

Auto is fine for MWACs and little kids. But if you wanna get serious, start at the real basics.... Manual.

480sparky · Jan 9, 2012

mistermonday said:
Well, I grew up and got my 1st 2 cameras before they had auto anything so I know what you mean. I also grew up learning how to do math many years before the calculator was commercially affordable. I came across a young person a while ago who needed a calculator to figure out what to me was a minor mental math activity. He claimed he did not understand how to do math but that did not matter because calculators were everywhere - in his iPhone, iPad, Computer, his desktop, his backpack, even in one of his Casio wristwatches. I felt like offering a similar dissertation to yours. But then I thought about it for a moment and realized that maybe he could get through life without ever needing to have a basic foundation of fundamental math - that perhaps he would always have access to a calculator and never be marooned on a desert island. I considered myself fortunate and advantaged to have had the learning just as I have in basic photography but I applied a "live and let live" philosophy. Good luck trying to fight the brainwashing, its a losing battle.
Regards, Murray

Too bad these kids can't even make change at Mickey D's even when the register shows it to them. I can calculate the change I have coming as soon as I see the total. Even if my bill is $5.37 and I hand over $10.02.

We're dinosaurs, Murray. It's only a matter of time before the meteor strikes.

EIngerson · Jan 9, 2012

Pretty hot topic here. Some would say use AV/TV most of the time and using manual just means you want to turn knobs and click buttons. Others say use manual or you are not really a photographer. Whatever......I use all of them because thay all have their purpose in photography. Find the one that suits you and use it.