# What shooting mode does everyone use?



## JMBriggs (Jul 28, 2011)

I am just curious what mode others are using to shoot with... I.e. Full Auto modes, P, AV, TV, M, CA? 

For myself I usually shoot in P mode because then I can control the elements that I want to for a certain shot, but I don't have to worry about getting under or over exposed shots like I would in M mode (I'm not experienced enough yet to take good M mode pictures on the spot.)

What about the rest of you?


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## sandraadamson (Jul 28, 2011)

Always manual mode-control freak here must control everything would control the sun too if it were possible.

www.sandraadamson.com www.sandraadamson.blogspot.com


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## oldmacman (Jul 28, 2011)

If I am shooting with strobes or flash I use manual mode. Everything else (with few exceptions) are in aperture mode.


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## johnh2005 (Jul 28, 2011)

I find I get the best shots with that.  If I touch anything besides the shutter button the photo is borked.


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## Tomasko (Jul 28, 2011)

Av or M mostly, except action shots, then I choose Tv


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## JMBriggs (Jul 28, 2011)

Do you shoot in M mode when you are just taking snapshots or even when there is a lot going on? I am too afraid to be messing with my camera and have the moment pass me by.

 I can't stand Full Auto! Ugh... flash just pisses me off... and with my t1i it is built in so it is consistently ruining good pictures in full auto... with CA I can switch it off but after a few seconds the settings reset and its back on.


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## Trever1t (Jul 28, 2011)

Primarily in Aperture mode with somewhat slow moving subjects. Shutter mode for fast moving objects and M mode to get the effect I want with landscapes.


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## 480sparky (Jul 28, 2011)

If either camera got stuck on M, it really won't bother me much.


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## spacefuzz (Jul 28, 2011)

A for most things.  M for seascapes or long exposures.


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## Robin Usagani (Jul 28, 2011)

C1 C2 or C3


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## table1349 (Jul 28, 2011)

What ever the situation calls for.  Either M, AV, or TV.


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## willis_927 (Jul 28, 2011)

M 80% of the time. The other 20 is Av or Tv


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## Opher (Jul 28, 2011)

i shoot M and Av...   auto is evil:greendev: and im not in situations where Tv is important


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## Tigertail (Jul 28, 2011)

Almost always in M mode. Though, it does suck to use M and be taking photos of subjects in the sun and quickly move to ones in the shade.


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## JMBriggs (Jul 28, 2011)

A question for those of you using M... Do any of you use metering tools besides your eye and your camera? I think I will start trying to master M mode. How come no one is using P?


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## KenC (Jul 28, 2011)

Mostly Av, M for flash, occasionally Tv if on a moving boat or something.  Using P means giving up all control over the photo - you might not like the ISO, aperture or shutter speed the camera selects, or possibly all three - better to pick at least two of them yourself.


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## JMBriggs (Jul 28, 2011)

Hmmm in my P mode (they are probably all the same...) I can either set them myself or let the camera set them... I always set my iso, wb, and a lot of the time the shutter speed...


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## table1349 (Jul 28, 2011)

JMBriggs said:


> A question for those of you using M... Do any of you use metering tools besides your eye and your camera? I think I will start trying to master M mode. How come no one is using P?



Depending on the situation I use either the in camera meter or a Sekonic 358. 

P = Picture Taker.  All you are is the guy or gal holding the camera and pointing it at a subject.  The camera decides what to expose and how to expose, at what shutter speed, aperture and ISO.  These are all things I want to control, not let the camera control.  

Shooting sports I need fast shutter speeds and just enough DOF to capture the action in focus and nothing else.  P mode won't do that most of the time unless all the stars are aligned just right.

Landscapes don't always call for a general metering to try and get everything exposed properly, usually resulting in most things not exposed properly.  I want to meter on the various contrasts and calculate the settings I need to get the look I want.  If I have a great range of contrasts I may take several shots and put them together.  Several shots of the same subject in P mode is going to give me the exposure the camera wants, not what I want. 

Best way to get out of P mode is to read this book: Amazon.com: Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera (9780817439392): Bryan Peterson: Books
Once you understand light, aperture, shutter speed and ISO and how they all work together you will discover how to achieve your photographic vision, not take pictures.


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## KenC (Jul 28, 2011)

JMBriggs said:


> Hmmm in my P mode (they are probably all the same...) I can either set them myself or let the camera set them... I always set my iso, wb, and a lot of the time the shutter speed...



I just put my camera in P mode for the first time and it sets both aperture and shutter speed, although it doesn't seem to be changing the ISO that was set.  It's still better to be in the less automatic modes.


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## TheBiles (Jul 28, 2011)

M almost always unless I am shooting a subject with a lot of movement then I go for Av or Tv depending on what's important. 

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G


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## D-B-J (Jul 28, 2011)

oldmacman said:


> If I am shooting with strobes or flash I use manual mode. Everything else (with few exceptions) are in aperture mode.



+1


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## joealcantar (Jul 28, 2011)

D-B-J said:


> oldmacman said:
> 
> 
> > If I am shooting with strobes or flash I use manual mode. Everything else (with few exceptions) are in aperture mode.
> ...


+2


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## c.cloudwalker (Jul 29, 2011)

JMBriggs said:


> A question for those of you using M... Do any of you use metering tools besides your eye and your camera? I think I will start trying to master M mode. How come no one is using P?




Your eye is not the best of tool for a correct exposure. I use a flash meter because most of my work is done with strobes, indoor or outdoor. Your camera meter is fine for most non-strobe work as long as you understand how it works.

I always shoot in Manual because of the strobe work. But even before when using available light I used to shoot in Manual for the simple reason that there was no other choice when I learned and I got so used to it that it was just faster for me. However, a correct exposure is a correct exposure no matter what metering mode you use.

One thing I didn't see mentioned is the fact that sometimes you will go against a technically good exposure setting because what you are trying to achieve requires something else.


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## cnutco (Jul 29, 2011)

gryphonslair99 said:


> What ever the situation calls for.  Either M, AV, or TV.



+1


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## EmilRye (Jul 29, 2011)

I use M 90% of the time because I like to be in full control . If I'm shooting in the sun and have to move to shade (and haven't done tests beforehand) I'll put it in Av but that's all I use


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## Sarge (Jul 29, 2011)

Always in Manual Mode myself


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## Orrin (Jul 29, 2011)

JMBriggs said:


> A question for those of you using M... Do any of you use metering tools besides your eye and your camera? I think I will start trying to master M mode. How come no one is using P?



I use P most of the time except for landscapes, then I set the Canon Powershot to the 'Landscape' symbol.


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## Scoody (Jul 29, 2011)

50% of the time in Av, 30% in TV and 20% (maybe) in M.  I do not think that I have ever taken a photo with my Canon D60 in Auto.


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## Derrel (Jul 29, 2011)

I shoot in *A* or *A*wesome mode, quite a bit. I also shoot a lot in *M* or *M*asochist mode a fair amount. Somebody a long time ago told me that those were the two best modes to use, so those are the modes I use 99.9% of the time.


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## TwoTwoLeft (Jul 29, 2011)

I just turn it to the little green box... Hell, after dropping all that cash on a DSLR I'm gonna make it do all the hard work! Unless I shoot babies, then I turn it on the little head with the star. They come out all fuzzy, but babies look so darn cute when they're fuzzy!


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## frisii (Jul 29, 2011)

I used to use aperture priority most of the time. Now i mostly use manual, sometimes i-auto (on one of my cameras which isnt an SLR), sometimes aperture priority and hardly ever shutter priority.


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## Overread (Jul 29, 2011)

To me its not the mode that is important, but the settings themselves and ensuring that - at the given time - the settings at the best possible to expose the photo how I need it to be for the creative result I want at the end. 

To that end I strongly second the Understanding Exposure book suggested earlier and reading it well. A photographer should aim to learn how to balance aperture, shutter speed and ISO together in any of the modes on their camera so that they are in an informed position - from there you can better select the mode to use, whilst retaining a creative control over the photos, rather than always relying upon chance and the cameras own internal mind.



Myself the mode I use depends on what and how I'm shooting, but as a typical rule:
Aperture Priority mode - my most used mode on the camera and typically my default; letting me control my aperture, and thus depth of field; whilst letting the camera balance the shutter speed - one must of course keep an eye on it to make sure its fast enough and if not, then use either a wider aperture or higher ISO.

Shutter priority - I use this less in general, but for me its main use is for when I specifically want a certain speed creatively. Normally this is when shooting something like propeller planes where you need a certain shutter speed to get the blades to blur - I also use it as a quick wildlife/action grabshot mode - ie speed set to 1/400sec.

Manual mode - typically when I'm shooting where flash is the dominant light source for the scene, and thus the meter won't be giving the best answers (because the camera meter can't balance for flashlight being added to the shot). As such this mode gets used the most for macro work.

Custom modes - on higher end bodies you have custom modes, which are based on the regular modes listed above, but allowing for specific tweakings (eg in custom settings). Thus far I've not used them as much, but I've a macro and action modes setup as custom modes for quick selection.

Auto - quick grabshot mode, though in all honesty Aperture priority mode gets used for this most of the time.

Program mode - never got used to using it thus I never use it myself.


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## JMBriggs (Jul 29, 2011)

To everyone who replied, you inspired me to start using my M mode and I realized that with my cameras metering system its really quite easy! If anyone has any tips let me know!!! I will post some pictures for c&c soon.


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## kundalini (Jul 29, 2011)

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I always thought that......

P is for professional
Av is for average
Tv is for timing something, kinda like an egg timer
M is for machismo

Am I wrong?


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## Destin (Jul 29, 2011)

Manual if I'm using off camera flash, or trying to properly expose a dark subject against a bright background (most often, shooting motocross riders jumping, with a bright sky as the background). 

Aperture Priority for ALMOST everything else, which is ~70% of the time. I very rarely use Shutter Priority, as I don't like letting the camera control DOF. In a Case where I want to lock in a certain shutter speed in changing light conditions, I've had good luck with running manual mode and letting the iso float using the auto-iso setting. Not all cameras have this though, and you have to make sure you keep it in check.


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## Robin Usagani (Jul 29, 2011)

I still cant get any reception on my LCD when I switch it to Tv.  Do I need an antenna or something?  It would be nice if I can watch some TV while waiting.


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## 480sparky (Jul 29, 2011)

Schwettylens said:


> I still cant get any reception on my LCD when I switch it to Tv.  Do I need an antenna or something?  It would be nice if I can watch some TV while waiting.



You need a converter box.... you're trying to receive the old analog signals.  A converter box will get you the new digital signals.


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## Destin (Jul 29, 2011)

480sparky said:


> Schwettylens said:
> 
> 
> > I still cant get any reception on my LCD when I switch it to Tv.  Do I need an antenna or something?  It would be nice if I can watch some TV while waiting.
> ...



Screw the Tv mode, I'm still trying to figure out how to activate the damned wireless internet browser on my Nikon D90....  LINKY


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