Shooting in P mode

[unpopular]

really gipson? did you HAVE to use the creepy licky face?

 

[unpopular]

Hey guys, what is this rule of thirds I see tossed around here?

perhaps the wisest thing said on TPF ever!

 

[cgipson1]

really gipson? did you HAVE to use the creepy licky face?

YYYYYEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS, I did! :raisedbrow: :shock: :scratch:

 

[cgipson1]

really gipson? did you HAVE to use the creepy licky face?

YYYYYEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS, I did! :raisedbrow: :shock: :scratch:

 

[Derrel]

I almost never,ever shoot in P mode, even though my cameras do have it as an option. I prefer Aperture priority auto most of the time, since depth of field control is so fundamental to me. The shutter speed that results from choosing a specific aperture is pretty much a "given", simply based on how bright it is. I mean, if I want to have shallow depth of field, and I have picked f/4.2 as my aperture value, and it's a bright day...I KNOW that the shutter speed is going to be extremely brief...but if I am indoors and it's winter time, I KNOW the shutter speed will be quite slow, like say 1/6 to 1/15 second. This is a really elementary type of "basics" issue that I think even the beginner can handle. Program mode chooses both an aperture value and an appropriate shutter speed, based on a relatively predictable program, and then allows the user to "shift" faster or slower with the touch of one,single control. It is kind of like computer-aided exposure metering. The real skill part is knowing where to point and when to press, or not to press, the shutter release. One thought is that, in 80% of situations, or maybe more, the exact specific exposure values used are quite often not that critical.

Where the photographer arrives at is more critical than the exact,specific route he drove to get himself "there"...

 

[Desi]

I think that shooting in P is a perfectly acceptable part of learning photography. It is a stage.

There really is so much to think about when learning (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, metering types, exposure compensation, composition, lighting) that, for a beginner, it can be quite challenging to keep track of all of these things while looking through the viewfinder. The result can be anxiety and disappointment.

I believe in guided learning, in steps.

"P" allows you to focus on composition, while temporarily ignoring the other things. No shame in this. Composition will give you the biggest bang for your buck in terms of getting a pleasant image. Also, it gives you control of when to use your flash. From there, you can learn about aperture control and shutter speed. Then you are ready to experiment with different metering modes. Then, when you think you know what you are doing, you try manual, but still the camera is controlling your ISO.

And then......you realize that despite some technical competence, you have such a long way to go.....but you are finally beginning to see the way.

Don't chastise a beginner for shooting in P, just nudge them along and point out what they could have done had they taken more control over their camera.

Desi

 

[Steve5D]

My only objection to P mode or Auto mode... is when Quasi "PROS" use it because they don't know how to shoot in any other mode. Even then it is not P or AUTO mode that is the problem..... it is the so called "PRO"!

Why is that a problem for you?

What someone else does can only affect you if you allow it to...

 

[CCericola]

In my experience, the people that don't want to learn the basics in manual mode also do not have the patients to learn good composition either. Aperture priority and shutter priority modes were added to cameras at the request of professional photographers not to replace learning the basics.

 

[cgipson1]

My only objection to P mode or Auto mode... is when Quasi "PROS" use it because they don't know how to shoot in any other mode. Even then it is not P or AUTO mode that is the problem..... it is the so called "PRO"!

Why is that a problem for you?

What someone else does can only affect you if you allow it to...

Why that should be totally obvious!!! Is a "pro" who can shoot only in P or AUTO mode, really a PRO? NOOOOOOOO! That is my objection! It doesn't affect me except in a ethical, philosophical sense... OK?

I used to to be proud to be a "Professional Photographer"!! Now they are just a dime a dozen, and most are as useful as tits on a boar hog!!

 

[CCericola]

There is nothing wrong with any of the program modes you just have to know how to use them. Joe Buissink uses the "P" mode often and he does very well. Including shooting J-Lo's wedding and LeAnne Rhimes. But he also says the Auto modes can be a nightmare if you don't know what you are doing in the first place.

 

[ronlane]

Hey guys, what is this rule of thirds I see tossed around here?

Isn't that where you have every third picture come out perfect? I'm really not sure, but I noticed my camera had this really cool tic-tac-toe board on the screen. I just can't stop playing that game now, but I wished it was easier to erase the board when we finish.:mrgreen:

 

[PixelRabbit]

Lew, I think that everyone in this thread has made some excellent points including yourself. I would say that you may be trying to paint with too broad of a brush and you are perhaps missing the value in a strong foundation. I think that at the beginning of any endeavor, artistic, sports, hobbies, career you have to learn the ropes, you have to put your time in and pay your dues, learn the basics and make them your foundation to draw on. In photography that is ingraining technical basics so they are automatic and you no longer have to give them as much time and energy in your thought process but you need to understand them to be able to formulate your creative thought process around them. Learning how your gear works whether you approach it in a technical manner or a more intuitive manner is part of your apprenticeship.

At the risk of sounding narcissistic I will use myself as an example. I was brand spanking new to photography one year ago when I dove in and bought my 60D, green as green can be. I knew zip, zero, zilch, nada. A couple days after getting my camera I found TPF and I started to learn.

I took pictures of everything around me. Mundane stuff, common birds, squirrels, flowers, sunsets, I cut my teeth on all of it. I spun dials the wrong way, I spun dials to their extremes, I made many mistakes some of them happy, I learned the technical side by doing it over and over and over. Along the way when I made mistakes I saw things on the screen that I wanted to recreate in an intentional way but I didn't "see" the artistic potential before I saw the shot on my computer screen, my brain was too occupied still working on the technical side of things, I was still paying my dues.

After a while of capturing things "right" and about a bazillion shots of cute squirrels, flowers, pets, rocks, pretty scenes I started to get bored because my brain was no longer being challenged by the technical aspects, they were becoming ingrained, I could start to instinctively spin the dials to an acceptable exposure and tweak it to fire off a "technically sound" shot. Then is when I was ready to start looking at things as you described in your OP, I paid my dues, I learned enough about my tools to free up the brain power to focus more on the artistic side of things.

I think what you are saying is absolutely correct but there needs to be front end learning of your tools prior to where you are starting in your OP. You can't create with intent if you don't know how your tools work, the creative process will be stymied by lack of technical knowledge. Your ideal student has paid their dues and has at least a general understanding of what their camera outputs and how to control it.

 

[cgipson1]

There is nothing wrong with any of the program modes you just have to know how to use them. Joe Buissink uses the "P" mode often and he does very well. Including shooting J-Lo's wedding and LeAnne Rhimes. But he also says the Auto modes can be a nightmare if you don't know what you are doing in the first place.

As I said.. if P mode is the ONLY way they know how to shoot, that is a problem! I would be more than willing to bet that Buissink is experienced enough to use any mode if he chooses to, correct? He chooses P mode for a reason, but that reason is not a lack of knowledge and experience!

And I agree.. even P and Auto can be bad.. if there is no knowledge behind them in creating the image

 

[amolitor]

Something I have not heard of, but which I think would be a neat feature would be to change the labels on things.

What if the P mode display changed not from 500 2.8 --> 250 4.0 --> 125 5.6 but: Freeze Motion -> Some Depth -> More Depth or something? That's what we're thinking anyways when we're setting stuff, this process of converting these stupid numbers to desired effects is a good part of what "understanding exposure" is about.

Some people really like the technical stuff, and I struggle to not hate them for it. There's nothing wrong with just plain digging the gear and the numbers and farting around with them. Some people can't stand the gear and the numbers and the technical stuff. It's silly to say "You must learn exposure first, and then art". It's like saying "you have to learn to sail before you can bake a cake". Photography is both, to be sure. Some people like the sailing, some people like the baking, and you gotta have some understanding of both sides to make much headway. Still, you can learn them in parallel, and, depending on what you really want to do, sometimes you can skate by with some pretty skinny sailing or baking skills.

 

[HughGuessWho]

I learned to drive a car with a manual transmission on the steering column. Using the logic given here by some, I would be less of a driver if I were to use an automatic transmission. Why would anyone seriously believe that utilizing advanced technology or features make you less of a photographer. Let's just all go back to kerosene lanterns, wood cooking stoves and out houses. After all modern day technology is only for the incompetent.