Manual Mode Changed My Life
Ok, so this might be a semi-nerdy photographer post. I am going to discuss different shooting modes on a DSLR camera. There's a good reason for it though, I promise. Stick with me here.
There are several different shooting modes on a DSLR camera. When I first started shooting with my trusty old Rebel XTi, I went to a workshop in Abilene and I asked the photographer teaching it what mode he shot in. He is a great photographer in Abilene, very successful, and he replied that he shoots in AV mode, which is aperture priority mode. That means that you set the aperture, or F-Stop (they mean the same thing) and the camera sets the shutter speed for you. Oh wonderful, I thought. Professionals shoot in AV mode, which means you do half the work of getting the "correct" exposure and the camera does the other half. Basically, it cuts the work in half and you can go much faster. I was super happy about this, less work+correct exposure+not shooting in auto mode=i'm a pro. Or so I thought.
So I'm living in my happy little AV mode, shooting merrily along, getting what I thought was the correct exposure (though I had to learn how to fix lighting in Photoshop, hmmm...) and thinking I was pretty awesome because I didn't shoot in auto.
When I signed up to go to For The Love in Tennessee last February, there was no way I could have no the far reaching impact that one week would have on my life. During class one morning, Poser, who is one amazing photographer, told everyone that they should be shooting in Manual mode. And me, thinking that professionals shoot in AV, asked if AV counted as manual, because it kind of did in my head. Well, he all but laughed at me. Actually, I think he might have actually laughed at me. He launched into this lecture about why we should shoot in Manual...I don't want to bore you with the nerdy details of shooting modes, but basically he said I had to. Well I didn't really want to. It's more work, I have AV mode down and I can shoot super fast and never have to worry about exposure. So to be fair, I tried that day to shoot in Manual. It was quite distressing, let me tell you. I felt clumsy and beginnery all over again. I had to learn different buttons on my camera, it took me forever to find the right exposure, and don't even get me started on those stupid histograms. Yuck. Needless to say, I switched my camera back to AV mode and thought I did just fine the rest of the week.
So a few months later, I have the awesomest opportunity in the world to second shoot with Lauren Clark, who I thought, and still do think, is one of the best photographers out there. Naturally, I was super nervous the morning of the first wedding. When I got to her house, she asked me what mode I shot in and I shyly admitted, AV. Well, not anymore! she said. As of now, you shoot in Manual. She gave me a crash course in a couple of minutes and we were out the door. I was more afraid of what Lauren would think of me if I wimped out and switched to to AV during the wedding than of actually shooting in Manual. So I struggled through that first wedding with her, super frustrated and feeling pretty defeated by this stupid hunk of machinery she called a camera. I had the hardest time finding the correct exposure and by the time I got home and uploading my pictures, I was a mess and I wanted to just quit trying.
Funny thing though. The next wedding I shot with Lauren, I got faster. Not fast, just a little faster. And I got more correct exposures. Then the next wedding was even better.
And now I am proud to say... I shoot in Manual mode 100% of the time! Thank you, thank you... I have so much more control over how my images turn out and I'm actually able to work on developing my style. It has been a freeing process. I bucked it big time at the beginning, and it hasn't come without frustration and maybe a few tears and doubts, but it has been totally worth it.
Top: Shooting in Manual, not in control of what my camera sees.
Bottom: Most recent wedding, shooting 100% Manual, in 100% control of what my camera sees- fear conquered!
Moral of the nerdy shooting mode story. If there is something you want to do, or know you should do,
but you're afraid it's going to be hard or uncomfortable or frustrating or the way you do it now is just fine...whatever excuse you want to use is fine. Stop making excuses. Just do the thing you're scared of, the thing that you know you should be doing anyway. Do it! Yeah, maybe it won't work like you thought it would or should. Just keep at it. Don't give up. It could be one of the best decisions you'll ever make.
There are several different shooting modes on a DSLR camera. When I first started shooting with my trusty old Rebel XTi, I went to a workshop in Abilene and I asked the photographer teaching it what mode he shot in. He is a great photographer in Abilene, very successful, and he replied that he shoots in AV mode, which is aperture priority mode. That means that you set the aperture, or F-Stop (they mean the same thing) and the camera sets the shutter speed for you. Oh wonderful, I thought. Professionals shoot in AV mode, which means you do half the work of getting the "correct" exposure and the camera does the other half. Basically, it cuts the work in half and you can go much faster. I was super happy about this, less work+correct exposure+not shooting in auto mode=i'm a pro. Or so I thought.
So I'm living in my happy little AV mode, shooting merrily along, getting what I thought was the correct exposure (though I had to learn how to fix lighting in Photoshop, hmmm...) and thinking I was pretty awesome because I didn't shoot in auto.
When I signed up to go to For The Love in Tennessee last February, there was no way I could have no the far reaching impact that one week would have on my life. During class one morning, Poser, who is one amazing photographer, told everyone that they should be shooting in Manual mode. And me, thinking that professionals shoot in AV, asked if AV counted as manual, because it kind of did in my head. Well, he all but laughed at me. Actually, I think he might have actually laughed at me. He launched into this lecture about why we should shoot in Manual...I don't want to bore you with the nerdy details of shooting modes, but basically he said I had to. Well I didn't really want to. It's more work, I have AV mode down and I can shoot super fast and never have to worry about exposure. So to be fair, I tried that day to shoot in Manual. It was quite distressing, let me tell you. I felt clumsy and beginnery all over again. I had to learn different buttons on my camera, it took me forever to find the right exposure, and don't even get me started on those stupid histograms. Yuck. Needless to say, I switched my camera back to AV mode and thought I did just fine the rest of the week.
So a few months later, I have the awesomest opportunity in the world to second shoot with Lauren Clark, who I thought, and still do think, is one of the best photographers out there. Naturally, I was super nervous the morning of the first wedding. When I got to her house, she asked me what mode I shot in and I shyly admitted, AV. Well, not anymore! she said. As of now, you shoot in Manual. She gave me a crash course in a couple of minutes and we were out the door. I was more afraid of what Lauren would think of me if I wimped out and switched to to AV during the wedding than of actually shooting in Manual. So I struggled through that first wedding with her, super frustrated and feeling pretty defeated by this stupid hunk of machinery she called a camera. I had the hardest time finding the correct exposure and by the time I got home and uploading my pictures, I was a mess and I wanted to just quit trying.
Funny thing though. The next wedding I shot with Lauren, I got faster. Not fast, just a little faster. And I got more correct exposures. Then the next wedding was even better.
And now I am proud to say... I shoot in Manual mode 100% of the time! Thank you, thank you... I have so much more control over how my images turn out and I'm actually able to work on developing my style. It has been a freeing process. I bucked it big time at the beginning, and it hasn't come without frustration and maybe a few tears and doubts, but it has been totally worth it.
Top: Shooting in Manual, not in control of what my camera sees.
Moral of the nerdy shooting mode story. If there is something you want to do, or know you should do,
but you're afraid it's going to be hard or uncomfortable or frustrating or the way you do it now is just fine...whatever excuse you want to use is fine. Stop making excuses. Just do the thing you're scared of, the thing that you know you should be doing anyway. Do it! Yeah, maybe it won't work like you thought it would or should. Just keep at it. Don't give up. It could be one of the best decisions you'll ever make.
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