Thoughts on shooting A or S vs M

[H4X1MA]

So a friend of mine gave me a hard time because I recently started shooting in A or S mode rather than Manual. I think the exact words were "A and S are for noobs", which is him just giving me a hard time. I look at it this way, 90% of the time using A I will get a lot better exposure than if I were to shoot in M, so why waste my time getting 1/100 decent pics when I can have 20/100. M obviously shows that you have more control, and understand, your camera better but why take the long route when the shortest distance is a straight line.

What are your thoughts?

 

[ann]

When I started learning about photography the only option was manual mode so I tend to use that 99% of the time as it is just natural, and after 64 years in that mode my brain is on auto pilot.

However, one uses what ever it takes to get the job done!

 

[MTVision]

Have you read the book Understanding Exposure? I use manual now and I bought my camera in July! There are 6 correct exposures for every scene and only 1 creative exposure out of the 6. Manual is the way to go because you have complete control.

 

[RebeccaAPhotography]

As a fellow noobie it's a good learning place. U can start to see how shutter speed aperture and iso affect each other. Honestly I've never used those modes I only use manual. BUT I decided to bust out my manual and take a peek at tv and av modes. Personally I think it's a great teacher if u pay attention to it. I know I would notice more theathematics of photography and it will probably click better for me. Where I'm guessing too much in manual. Get the book understanding exposure by Bryan Peterson. That's got great examples and experiments for u to do so eventually you'll know the mathematics of photography and know how to get te 20/100 photos in manual like u would in tv

Just my 2cents from a noobie

 

[pixilstudio]

your friend is full of BS. i have been shooting as a pro for over 15yrs and use A and S all the time. for example s is great for shooting party pics outside where there is different lighting depending on the direction you stand and action shooters use A at 2.8 all the time

 

[Overread36]

What are A and S mode?
I mean specifically because different camera brands do call some things different names.

 

[H4X1MA]

Overread: Apeture and Shutter

Could someone link me to the correct book. I have seen links before to it, and I have come to the conclusion that I will be ordering it within the next 10 minutes (provided a link lol). On Amazon I see 2 versions

 

[tirediron]

I've been shooting for *cough* thirty *cough* odd years. My cameras have four modes: Manual, Shutter Priority (S/Tv), Aperture Priority (A/Av) and Auto. I use them all when it is appropriate to do so. If I'm travelling and just walking around some place I will leave the camera in 'Auto; so that if I see something that I only have one chance at, I can shoot and be reasonably assured of at least a half-decent picture. If I'm shooting sports/action or something where either stopping or enhancing motion is critical, I use shutter-priority. If depth of field is critical, such as, say, out-door portraits, than aperture priority is my preferred method. If I'm shooting a complex scene with difficult lighting, using studio strobes, etc, than manual. I suspect that your "friend" is someone who just learned the basics of how manual mode works and decided that it's cool and makes him look like an experienced photographer. Anyone who doesn't use all the flexibility afforded by his tools because he thinks that certain methods are beneath him is a fool! Use the mode that best suits the shot you're trying to capture.

 

[Overread36]

Aperture priority and shutter priority modes were modes specifically asked for by the pro shooters. All they do is let the user control two key settings (aperture or shutter and the ISO) and then the camera balances the 3rd variable against those two settings and the meter reading. This is little to no different to what many do in manual mode - set one key setting for the situation - vary the ISO on the lighting and then balance up the 3rd to get the exposure correct.

You can even use exposure compensation to under or overexpose from the meter reading based on the lighting conditions (since under specific conditions the meter can be "fooled" - for example when shooting a scene with considerable amounts of snow one often has to overexpose the photo since the meter will attempt to make everything 18% grey - and that means grey, underexposed snow).


In the end its not a case of what mode you use - but that you get the right settings in the given situation for your creative desire from the scene. Now that view has to be tempered by ensuring that its a case of choosing the mode through informed choice - ie that you can use all the available modes and make the choice to go for the best in teh given scene - rather than know only one or two and thus be limited by inexperience.


Heck in current times most people I know shoot in aperture priority mode when using regular lighting - with many only shooting manual when they are controlling the lighting directly with flash (whereupon the meter in the camera is less useful at getting the settings right since it can't factor for the light one is going to add with the flash).

Myself mostly everything I shoot is in aperture priority mode; I use shutter priority when I need a certain speed above all else (eg propeller blade blurring on aircraft) and I use manual mode almost exclusively for macro work since I'm nearly always using flash dominant lighting.

 

[cgipson1]

Overread: Apeture and Shutter

Could someone link me to the correct book. I have seen links before to it, and I have come to the conclusion that I will be ordering it within the next 10 minutes (provided a link lol). On Amazon I see 2 versions

That would be Peterson's Understanding Exposure.. the latest edition Amazon.com: Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera (9780817439392): Bryan Peterson: Books

 

[MTVision]

Overread: Apeture and Shutter

Could someone link me to the correct book. I have seen links before to it, and I have come to the conclusion that I will be ordering it within the next 10 minutes (provided a link lol). On Amazon I see 2 versions

Get the 3rd edition Understanding Exposure - Bryan Peterson. It's the newest edition

 

[MTVision]

Amazon.com: Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera (9780817439392): Bryan Peterson: Books

 

[Mot]

It depends what I'm hoping to achieve from my photos. While I'm fully capable of using Manual I often find myself using Av on the DSLR or Tv on the film cameras, often because there are no massive advantages to using Manual in certain situations.

The main reason I switch to Manual, when I do, is because of highlights that trick the meter. It could be water, snow and most often the sky that give an incorrect exposure. Exposure compensation can be helpful but bracketing yourself is usually quicker and more accurate.

I think the main thing to do is use Manual at the right time, in the studio or landscape are obvious examples. Capturing a candid moment can also be ruined if you have to think about exposure before-hand, I'd rather think about composition!

Just my thoughts! I think it's hilarious that people think it's nooby to use program modes!

 

[H4X1MA]

Ordered, good to see you made it through the storm MT!

So, this topic doesn't even seem to be a debate really, everyone has their own preference but will typically dabble into all of them depending on the situation. Using a different mode doesn't make you less of a photographer. In fact from the sounds of it, when done for the right reasons, it shows that you know a little more than usual.

 

[matt hkd]

I usually shoot in A or S, just because for any given scene, I'm going to want to prioritize one of them (usually aperture for depth of field), and just adjust the other to give me a decent exposure. why waste the time with manually setting both in both situations, when i can let the camera automatically do it faster. If the exposure isn't what I want, I'll just adjust the exposure compensation to fix it, which essentially just changes the shutter speed. I also really like the auto ISO setting because I would normally adjust it to the lowest possible value to give me the shutter speed and aperture I want.

In my opinion, learn what the camera is doing for these automatic settings so you are aware of the changes and what they'll do, and then use whichever auto features that would do whatever you would have done manually.