(Took this in P mode yesterday, but yes, it has been post-processed. The photos below are straight out of the camera. The rest can be seen here.)
Turning off auto can be a harrowing experience when you’ve just picked up a new camera. It really doesn’t have to be, and the best way to learn is to practice until you’re just shy of blisters. Or the school calls and somebody needs picked up to get out of a test.
This week we’re going to hang out in the Program mode of our cameras. There are three (to five) program modes, depending on your model with the most popular being P, Tv and Av on your dials.
- P = Program
- Tv = Shutter Priority
- Av = Aperture Priority
We’re going to hold our horses and really get to know the first two, P and Tv, leaving aperture for its very own week. Trust me. The lil’ Av deserves it.
Simply put, automatic mode is when the camera makes all the decisions regarding exposure, including flash. In program mode, the camera remains chief on primary decisions but defers to you on the use of flash, ISO and white balance.
Program mode is my favourite of the automatics; I find it easier to get a dreamy look like here:
The flash on your camera will never engage automatically in P mode. Instead, you’ll have to search out available light and keep a steady hand unless you pop it up yourself using the little lightning button on the front/side of your camera body. Let’s try. Twist that body ‘round. Find it? See it? If your dial is set to P, pushing that button should make the flash pop up.
The best way you can avoid needing a flash is by changing your ISO. Outdoors, consider yourself fine anywhere from 100 - 200. Indoors with lots of natural light, I tend to enjoy 400 but it’s a personal thing. If you’ve got limited light indoors, you’re going to need 800 and as the light shrinks from there, the number rises.
Keep in mind, however, the higher the ISO, the higher the chance of noise. No, not the noise from the cheers of self-victory for mastering P mode, but rather little fuzzy specks that are apparent when you download to your computer or worse, invest in that 20x40 stretched gallery canvas. There are post-production tricks to reduce or minimize this pesky problem, however, but the best way is to prevent it altogether. Always make sure you’re maximizing the light available without altering the mood of the shot (a quiet picture of Timmy and Daddy before bedtime will definitely be ruined by every overhead light beaming in their face!)
Speaking of light, the lower the light and the non-use of flash will increase the chance of blur. A tripod isn’t necessary every time but consider a makeshift one while you quickly frame the shot. Stack the camera steadily on some books or the coffee table, or put your feet shoulder’s distance apart to create a steady stance.
Finally, white balance. If you’re shooting in JPG, adjusting your white balance can go a long way to alter the tone of your shot. Auto is a reliable default, but feel free to explore with others such as cloudy or sunny or shade. White balance finds the middle grey tone to your photo so the camera knows to correctly expose all the other colours. It can be the difference of looking like you’re standing under a rainy bus shelter when, really, you’re field-side for your nephew’s soccer team in the middle of sunny July. Creatively, this can be liberating and it’s a matter of personal preference and one that needs experimented with.
Here, the white balance was on ‘sunny’ but could have done to be switched to ‘tungsten’ or even ‘auto’ to minimize the warm glow and make it seem less artificial.
Shutter priority mode (Tv) lets you determine the shutter speed and the camera match the appropriate aperture for the best exposure. Controlling the shutter speed is ideal for freezing action (a high shutter speed) or blurring for effect (a low one as a car zooms by).
You’re going to need to check your manuals on this ones, folks. Every camera body is different in their ways to switch ISO, white balance, etc. But once you’ve doubled checked that, experiment away!
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