One of the most asked questions out in the field must be “Which mode should I be using?”
It depends on what you want your image to show. The story you want to tell or the action you want to capture. If you always shoot in Auto or Program mode you are allowing the camera to determine the best shutter speed and aperture for the scene. Now today’s modern cameras are pretty damn smart but the have not quite reached the point where the can read your mind and capture a scene the way you want to interpret it. Whether you shoot Nikon or Canon (or anything else for that matter) here is a look at the different modes.
Before we look at the various mode however it is important to understand the terms.
Shutter speed controls the duration of an exposure – the faster the shutter speed, the shorter the exposure time. Shutter speeds is expressed in seconds or fractions of a second such as 1/30 or 1/1000.
Aperture literally refers to the size of the opening on the front of your lens that determines how much light is let into your camera. Not to get too technical but for example – of you are shooting with a 50mm lens at an aperture of f/2.8 the lens will open to a diameter of 17.8mm (focal length divided by aperture). The same lens at an aperture of f/8.0 will open to a diameter of 6.25mm. to let light in. Not important, just interesting. Bottom line – small aperture equals small opening and high number (f/22) and large aperture equals large opening and small number (f/2.8).
At the end of the day, forget all the numbers - it is easier than you think to start playing with different modes when shooting. When you start understanding the differences between aperture and shutter speed and how the will affect your images you will see a marked difference in your photography.
Suggestion – play with all the following modes and decide which one works best for you in order to fulfill your creative vision. Let’s look at the various shooting modes.
Aperture Priority (A or Av)
This is the mode that I use most often and that most portrait and landscape photographers will use. By setting your aperture you get to choose whether you would like to isolate your subject (by choosing f-stop numbers such as f/2.8 or f4) or whether you want to have the entire frame in focus (by choosing f-stop numbers such as f/16 or f/22). By changing the way your subject and background gets presented together in your image, this mode allows you to tell stories. Is that not what it is all about? All you have to do is set yout aperture and the camera will select he appropriate shutter speed for a correct exposure.
When you have an image where a very ‘busy’ background will detract from your subject you should shoot in aperture mode in order to throw the background out of focus and keep the focus on your subject
This leopard cub was up a tree and quite a distance from me. The lens I was using at the time allowed me to open my aperture up to f/6.7. Luckily this was sufficient enough to blur the distracting green background enough to make the leopard pop just a bit. Note that everything on the same plane as the subject (i.e. same distance from the camera) will also be in focus.
If I were to have shot this image with a small aperture, such as f/14, the green leafy background would have also been in focus which would have made the leopard disappear in the ‘mess’. Great for the cat when it is trying to hide. Not so great for your images.
In an image like the one above the goal I was trying to get the entire image sharp and in focus. There is no focal subject as such and what makes the image work is the road forming a leading line up towards the red dunes in the distance.
I chose to shoot this image with an aperture of f/14 which allowed for the image, road, and background to be in focus. If I chose to use large aperture such as f/2.8 the image would not have been as effective as the hills in the distance would have been out of focus. Just for the record, I focused on the road about one third of the way up from the bottom of the frame. Nice rule of thumb to use when shooting landscapes and combining it with a small aperture such as f/14 or f/22.
Aperture mode is ideal for when you are trying to isolate your subject, such as with the leopard or to tell a story and have the entire frame in focus. The nice thing about this mode of shooting is that it is pretty easy to play with and learn as you will be able to see the different depth of field previews on your camera screen.
- Small aperture – focus throughout the image.
- Large aperture – make your subject ‘pop’.
Shutter Speed Priority (S or Tv)
This mode gets used most often if you want to freeze action such as when shooting sport of fast moving wildlife and birds. You select that fastest shutter speed, based on the amount of available light, and the camera will determine the aperture to get a correct exposure. In this mode you will not have control over the aperture and how the background is rendered in your images but remember, the goal is to freeze or creatively blur the action.
The above image was captured with a shutter speed of 1/1000 sec. The idea was to capture the Impala in mid-air so the focus was on obtaining a fast shutter speed. At a shutter speed of 1/1000 sec ther camera chose an aperture of f/6.7 which threw the background slightly out of focus but allowed me to freeze the action.
In the above image I used a shutter speed of 1/200 sec which was not fast enough to completely freeze the action as these two mongoose flew into each other as you can see from the blurred movement. The camera chose an aperture of f/8.0. If I wanted to completely freeze the movement, I would have had to use a much faster shutter speed which, if I was shooting in Shutter speed mode, would then have made the camera choose a different aperture to keep the exposure of the image the same.
So to make things easy, here is an easy way to decide which mode to use. Simply answer the following two questions:
- Do I want try and freeze action or a fast moving object?
- Do I want to try and capture blurred motion?
If the answer to these questions is yes, then you should shoot in Shutter Speed Priority mode. If you answer no the try the following two questions:
- Do I want to try and isolate my subject by blurring the background?
- Do I want to capture a landscape or show a subject in it’s surroundings to tell a story?
If the answer to these questions is yes, then you should go with Aperture Priority mode. Easy yeah?
Now let’s have a quick look at the other two modes you should experiment with. They are Manual and Program.
Manual Mode (M)
When you are shooting very controlled situations with flashes, studio strobes and other artificial light sources you might want to use Manual. This mode allows you to set both the aperture and shutter speed to determine the desired exposure. Something that is very useful when shooting interiors or food as you can create the desired effect by manipulating the two variables. With various light sources (flashes, etc) the camera might get a little confused as to what the required exposure is so you get to make all the decisions. This mode is probably the most intimidating of all of them but for you to understand how exposure and aperture work together it definitely worth the time it takes to figure it out.
Porgram Mode (P)
The easiest of all of them. If you are in a situation where you don’t want to worry about the details and just want to fire away this is the mode you should be using. In Program mode the camera chooses the necessary shutter speed and aperture for a correct exposure without popping the built in flash. This is a very good thing as the light from this flash should be banned! Not pretty! If you were traveling and want to snap away of if you are at a party where you want to make snapshots rather than proper images this is the one you would go with.
So for wildlife what mode should you be using? I would suggest to stay in Aperture mode and have your camera on standby on f/8. This will allow you to fire away immediately with f/8 being a pretty solid starting point. As the drama unfolds in front of you it is very easy to change the aperture to help you tell the story.
Play around with all the modes. Great way to learn and understand how the whole exposure-thing falls in place!
Until next time.
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