Being a photographer should.....


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JC1808

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Nov 22, 2008
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Hi All, just only my concern....

I very new to photography and I'm very confuse regards to the type of shooting mode.

To achieve taking beautiful/nice/stunning photos, as a photographer should shoot only in
M mode (manual)?

If I'm using Auto mode (fully auto) or Aperture priority or shutter priority which may result in good photos taken too. Does this mean that I'm not a photographer? :cry:

I felt sad for myself to own a DSLR camera which I dont even know how to handler shooting in M mode like the exposure, aperture, shutter & composition....
 

you don't have to use M mode to take good photographs. loads of people generally use av priority.

what's more important is that you know what you're doing. master the camera, understand your tool. you will be able to do so much more with it than if you didn't.

there is a difference between using Auto/AV priority/Shutter priority and even M mode and understanding what you are doing, know what you are doing.. and just blindly applying settings and whacking it until it works.

i quote Alan Reed:

Without vision the photographer is dependent on opportunity, which is in itself no bad thing; but style requires more than opportunity, it demands some knowledge of what one is trying to achieve and of how one is going to achieve it.

certainly one could make good photographs if one doesn't know how shutter speed/iso/exposure/etc etc works. but one can surely, make better photographs after one understands these things. they are the very basis of achieving what you seek to achieve.
 

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I disagree..

I shoot in aperture priority a lot, and let the camera automate the other settings like the shutter speed. Just set the exposure and the camera will do the rest. I also automate the ISO setting but put a max of 1600.

If you shoot at fully automatic yet achieve what you want in the photo.. that's fine!

If you find that your camera is not doing what you want it to do.. and need to switch to manual.. that's fine too!


The best camera should be one which can shoot whatever you conceive in your mind, without needing you to fiddle with it too much, dont u think so? ;)
 

being a photographer doesn't neccessary mean shooting only in manual mode,I personally use program mode most of the time,recently start using aperture piority mode,seldom shutter piority,a photographer is a name given to a person whose profession is photography,some photographers don't use manual mode because it is more troublesome but they're still able to achieve beautiful photos,my 2 cents
 

The best camera should be one which can shoot whatever you conceive in your mind, without needing you to fiddle with it too much, dont u think so? ;)

that has less to do with the camera, more to do with the photographer.

the camera is dead, you are alive. so live.
 

what kind of analogy is this !!!!


we prefer to shoot in M mode if it is a CONTROLLED environment and

we still use a mix of modes.. depending on what we wanna achieve in an image


why are you even sad ?


just learn from the basics... forget about M mode. enjoy your camera and learn what it can or cannot do for you .... DUN RUN when you cant even crawl yet

REMEMBER ..its the usually the one behind the viewfinder and NOT the camera
 

when u know more about those parameters... u will have a higher keeping rate. :)
its perfectly fine to shoot at fully auto mode. its a good starting pt as well.

Hi All, just only my concern....

I very new to photography and I'm very confuse regards to the type of shooting mode.

To achieve taking beautiful/nice/stunning photos, as a photographer should shoot only in
M mode (manual)?

If I'm using Auto mode (fully auto) or Aperture priority or shutter priority which may result in good photos taken too. Does this mean that I'm not a photographer? :cry:

I felt sad for myself to own a DSLR camera which I dont even know how to handler shooting in M mode like the exposure, aperture, shutter & composition....
 

THANKS ALL!

At least I feel much more better now.

I should concerate to master the basic skill first before jumping over to M mode !

Great words from zac08.
" Read more!
Shoot more!
Post more! "
 

that has less to do with the camera, more to do with the photographer.

the camera is dead, you are alive. so live.

exactly
but i'm sure you're well aware, some cameras make it easier for you to do the job, some not so
 

exactly
but i'm sure you're well aware, some cameras make it easier for you to do the job, some not so

people are different, which is why i frown on recommending particular models for people asking for a choice of offerings.

some work better with complicated models. it is not immediately intuitive, but certainly not untrue. just because a camera is not user-friendly for the general crowd does not mean that no one will prefer it to another model. :)

once again it falls to the photographer. certainly the camera does play a part in photographs, it is both the tool and the user.. but if the user does not bother to select a proper tool, the fault still lies primarily on the fault of the user, because he had a choice. the tool did not choose you.
 

There's little need to doubt yourself if you must rely on the auto functions. I personally do not see an issue with it at all... It's the outcome that matters really. That's what I think.
 

Dun worry...

just keep shooting... you'll get the hang of it in time...

just try to recall the settings that you see when you shoot, and it will come to you in time that this setting works for such a situation. You'll understand better as you keep practising. ;)
 

Hi All, just only my concern....

I very new to photography and I'm very confuse regards to the type of shooting mode.

To achieve taking beautiful/nice/stunning photos, as a photographer should shoot only in
M mode (manual)?

If I'm using Auto mode (fully auto) or Aperture priority or shutter priority which may result in good photos taken too. Does this mean that I'm not a photographer? :cry:

I felt sad for myself to own a DSLR camera which I dont even know how to handler shooting in M mode like the exposure, aperture, shutter & composition....

Don't worry everyone has been through this, great photos can also be captured in auto mode if you were there at the right time and moment. Even pros may have to resort to using auto functions if they only have 2 seconds to turn on the camera and capture.

However it would be to your advantage to learn the manual stuff as auto will not give you the special treatment to your photos like controlled DOF (blurring of background), silky smooth waters/skies (longer exposure time), stars (longer exposure time) and so on. In fact learning manual has taught me a lot more about my kit lens, its limitations and capabilities within its range.

My photos also taught me the kind of photographer I am, do I take a lot of landscape, people or closeup of animals? Maybe I should get a specific kind of lens for my purpose and learn from there. People can readily give you advice on what they use and it would be a lot easier learning too. Pretty soon, you'll be able to understand immediately what kind of settings is necessary for shooting a particular scene just by looking at it.

Getting a book would definitely help as I'm sure every photographer had one when they started.
 

Hi All, just only my concern....

I very new to photography and I'm very confuse regards to the type of shooting mode.

To achieve taking beautiful/nice/stunning photos, as a photographer should shoot only in
M mode (manual)?

If I'm using Auto mode (fully auto) or Aperture priority or shutter priority which may result in good photos taken too. Does this mean that I'm not a photographer? :cry:

I felt sad for myself to own a DSLR camera which I dont even know how to handler shooting in M mode like the exposure, aperture, shutter & composition....
depends....a photographer imo doesnt need to have a DSLR or modern camera to take excellent pictures. Can use a instant camera as well. Whats important is that the photographer knows how everything works and when to follow the book and when to simply shoot away.
 

I once heard someone claimed proudly that he took a picture in M mode. After some "interrogation" I realised that all he did was to set the aperture first, then check the camera's metering info while adjusting the shutter speed, until the camera told him the exposure is right for his "manual" settings, then he pressed the shutter release.

So what's the point? What he did was a merely a crippled version of Av (or aperture priority) mode.

Don't be fooled by people claiming to use M mode. The more important thing is how the settings are made. Does the person really understand the reason behind his settings? If someone uses M mode and bracket 10 or 20 shots blindly on the same scene and then pick the one that has the right exposure is there much to be proud of?

Once you have a good understanding of exposure and how the camera metering works, you will eventually start using M mode to overide default camera settings to achieve better results in special conditions. Most of the time, the camera metering and autometic settings can do a better job and faster.
 

... After some "interrogation" I realised that all he did was to set the aperture first, then check the camera's metering info while adjusting the shutter speed, until the camera told him the exposure is right for his "manual" settings, then he pressed the shutter release...


This method was taught by Bryan Peterson in his book...

So he makes no point? :bigeyes:
 

This method was taught by Bryan Peterson in his book...

So he makes no point? :bigeyes:

I think the method is not the using manual mode per se, as it still sticks to the camera's recommendations based on either the Tv or Av priority?
 

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I think the method is not the using manual mode per se, as it still sticks to the camera's recommendations based on either the Tv or Av priority?

What do you mean? His nikon cam is on M mode

Read his book!
 

What do you mean? His nikon cam is on M mode

Read his book!

Hmm, I guess I read the line "set his aperture first" as setting it to "aperture priority mode." My mistake.
But I wonder if there is any difference between using his method compared to setting it to aperture priority mode?
 

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we prefer to shoot in M mode if it is a CONTROLLED environment and

we still use a mix of modes.. depending on what we wanna achieve in an image

just wondering,
do u speak for more than urself?
or does photographer speaks with the royal pronounce?

jude
 

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