Shooting Modes

P, A, S, M and AUTO

Now that you know how metering works, let's move onto Shooting Modes! If you don't know how the metering in the camera works, read that article first. The shooting modes are directly associated with the metering so it's best to know it too!

So what are shooting modes?

A quick run down would be the P, A, S (Tv), M and AUTO mode! Most camera's have all of these modes which are the most popular. But as technology goes forward and tries to appeal to the masses, many companies have added what are known as SCENE MODES. We won't be discussing the scene modes, because they are basically preconfigured presets. And the entire point of reading all these articles is to get better at photography and not have the camera think for you so much!

The one's we will be discussing are the most commonly used and most powerful modes.

P which stands for Program Mode

A which stands for Aperture Priority Mode

S (Tv) which stands for Shutter Speed Priority Mode

M which stands for Manual Mode

AUTO which is pretty much AUTO

So as I stated before, each of these modes is directly associated with the metering in your camera. They are all basically AUTO mode except for MANUAL MODE. Hopefully by the time you read everything that is on this website, you will be shooting in Manual Mode and never look back!

Before we begin I want to go over a couple of definitions so that when I talk about something you are not completely lost! If you are not familiar with these terms, I highly recommend reading the PHOTOGRAPHY 101 section which goes over everything in detail.

Shutter Speed - This is referring to the length of your exposure. It controls the amount of time light is allowed to hit the sensor. A faster shutter speed will allow less light in, but will freeze action. A slower shutter speed will allow more light in and will show motion.

Aperture - This is referring to the opening in your lens that allows light to enter your camera. A larger aperture, the wider the hole, allowing more light in. A larger aperture will also have a smaller depth of field (less in focus). A smaller aperture, the smaller the hole, will allow less light in. A smaller aperture will have a larger depth of field (more in focus).

Exposure Compensation - allows you to increase or decrease the overall brightness of your image. The camera does this by adjusting the aperture or shutter speed automatically.

Metering - is the process of your camera reading the brightness of your image.

ISO - is the sensitivity of the sensor to light. The higher the ISO, the more light gathering ability the sensor has. The lower the ISO, the less light gathering ability the sensor has. With higher ISO's, comes more ability to capture light, but you also increase noise which degrades your image quality.

Again, these are not detailed definitions, so please if you don't understand any of them, read the PHOTOGRAPHY 101 articles!

So let's begin, and we'll begin with the MODE that you hopefully will never use again after reading all these articles:

AUTO MODE - Auto mode is that green square that is on your dial. This is the mode that all you do is push the shutter button and the camera does all of the work for you. It calculates the aperture, shutter speed and in some cameras even the ISO. This is the least creative mode since you are essentially telling the camera to take the picture however it see's fit! It's a great place to start and technology is getting better and better. But if you want to be a creative photographer, this is not the mode to be in.

S (Tv) - Shutter Speed Priority Mode puts the shutter speed into your control. You can change the shutter speed and make it faster or slower and the camera will adjust the Aperture to compensate the exposure. Some cameras will even adjust the ISO as needed. If your camera doesn't offer this, you can adjust the ISO manually.  Shutter Speed Priority is a semi automatic shooting mode. This is great to use when you have to have a minimum shutter speed to get the effect you want. Whether you need to have a fast shutter speed to freeze action, or a low shutter speed to show motion. This is the mode you use when you want to have complete control over the shutter speed and you don't need to worry about the other settings.

A - Aperture Priority Mode puts you in control of the Aperture of your lens. In aperture priority mode you adjust the aperture and the camera will adjust the shutter speed to acquire the proper exposure. In many cameras, the ISO will also be automatically adjusted by the camera. If your camera doesn't offer this, you can adjust the ISO manually. This mode is best used when the Depth of Field of your image is priority (Depth of Field Article). The depth of field is how much of your image is going to be in focus. So when you need a very shallow or very large depth of field, this mode is excellent because it locks in the aperture setting that you need and the camera adjusts the rest.

P - Program Mode is a mix of Auto and Manual. It's basically auto mode because you can't adjust the Aperture or the Shutter speed, the camera does it for you. But unlike Full AUTO MODE, you can adjust your ISO and use exposure compensation. Some camera's do offer the ability to change your shutter speed and aperture, but not all of them. If your camera does allow the adjustment of your shutter speed or aperture, whichever you choose to control, the camera will control the other. For example, if you change your aperture setting, the camera will adjust the shutter speed and vice versa. In my opinion this is a transitional setting when you are beginning to move out of AUTO mode. I recommend using this mode over AUTO, Program mode give you a little more creative control. You can also change your metering mode, so if you have a complicated lighting scenario like a backlit subject, you can switch to spot metering and the camera will adjust your exposure accordingly.

M - Manual Mode is the only mode I ever shoot in. Yes it's a little more complicated, but once you get the hang of it, the creative power is undeniable. In manual mode every adjustment is up to you. You can adjust your shutter speed, aperture, iso to whatever your liking is. Nothing changes around automatically so it does require a little more thinking on your part. I really enjoy using manual because it gives me full creative freedom.

A big point that I want to make that I stated at the beginning of the article is that these modes all work hand in hand with the metering of the camera. Remember that although the camera is right many times, there will be times where the camera's meter gets confused and your exposure is off. The camera will always try to "zero" out the exposure, but many times it's just not correct. For those times the camera manufacturer's came up with exposure compensation.

Exposure compensation is basically you telling the camera, "thank you for the exposure, but it's wrong, can you please adjust it by this amount". The exposure compensations works in stops just like everything else (Read Photography 101 to learn all about stops). If you are in Aperture priority mode and the shot is underexposed, instead of changing your aperture, you can use your exposure compensation to adjust the exposure.