To Shoot In Manual Mode?
A Guest Post by Sam Levy from citifar.
In the past couple of years, the price for DSLRs and other fancy cameras has decreased dramatically and these cameras have become affordable to many more photo-enthusiasts. I often stroll Fifth Avenue in New York City and observe so many tourists using their DSLR to ‘snap’ rather than photograph. There is nothing wrong with snapping but I can’t help feeling puzzled by the reasons beyond their purchase of an expensive and heavy camera instead of a good and cheaper point and shoot when the basic difference is the ability to shoot in manual mode.
Since I started citifari to run photo tours for photo-enthusiasts of all levels, I have listened to some of the reasons for not using the manual mode.
Why do I shoot in Manual Mode?
- I never took a photography class
- I don’t have time to think about these settings when I take a picture
- I am afraid of my camera’s settings, or
- It would take bad pictures
Essentially: fear and/or effort. Let’s think about it for a second and let’s tackle them one by one.
Taking bad pictures
What makes a bad picture? Is it only a picture that is not in focus and/or poorly exposed? No, there are plenty of ways to take bad pictures. Rather, then, what makes a good picture? Is it only a picture in focus and properly exposed? Not either! Chances are that you are already taking bad pictures (I did not say only)! So where is the fear? That you will take more bad pictures? Are you afraid at the possibility of maybe taking one good picture by chance? If it is only fear, you are in the digital world: take one picture in manual mode and then switch to automatic to capture that shot you were afraid to miss, it won’t cost you anything additional and with practice you will realize that you don’t need the additional security shot.
Your camera’s settings
If the reason for the purchase of your fancy camera wasn’t a fashion statement or to get some exercise by carrying a heavy camera bag, it was probably in order to be able to play with the settings in order to get control over the camera and get those nice shots.
Learn more about Manual Mode at Photo Shoot Ideas’s Web Site
