Digital Photography 1 on 1: Episode 53: Shooting in Manual Mode

[chopinQ8]

your the best Mark 2 Month ago I know nothing about photography now I shoot like a pro

[terenas1986]

That's very nice stuff Mark. Thank you. :)

Could you possibly give some tips for film photography as well? With those older machines where you don't exactly have a quite reliable/modern light-meter built-in? Thank you.

[mariannela]

This is by far the most comprehensible explanation I've found on the web. However, is there a difference in your final photography if your priority is let's say the aperture value over the ISO and the shutter speed? In other words, giving more priority to one of these three elements makes your photography better or is it the same as long as your meter is at zero?

[LAtrailers]

Best teacher EVER.

[Amcacs5654]

So how do you decide what to focus on, shutter speed or aperture? Say I just want to take a picture of a landscape. What would I do? It almost seems to simple lol.

[knaayi]

it was uploaded on Feb 19, and yes that was my b-day. lol.

btw, nice video Sir and im also into photography but still in the learning process. :D

[Soleil6089]

Hi Mark, couldn't a speedlite allow you to avoid raising your iso?

[JamieLePhotography]

ALSO: does the d700 have the histogram view?

[JamieLePhotography]

Mark, great video! But i was wondering if all or most dslr's have the exposure thing. What I mean is, when it shows you if your under/over exposed with the little graph to the right or bottom of the LCD screen. I will be buying a nikon d700 soon and was hoping that it has this feature. If not in live view, does it show in the view finder?

thanks!

[kenishiro]

Thank you very much, my good sir. i TOTALLY & FULLY get it! Great tutorial, keep up the good work.

[amir0103]

Hey Mark...After all 3 exposure triangle, when do i suppose tu use the EV ( exposure value) on nikon??

It means you still have 1 more option to make the metering go to perfect exposure rite.



[yellowbandana]

i dont really get why manual mode would be better than P/Av/Tv here since you're using the cameras metering system on all those modes aswell as manual. it shouldnt make a difference if you're shooting a painting like this?

[MrLeviaFUN]

Mark, I've heard anything over ISO 800 will produce a lot of "noise" to the photo. Is this true ? In this video you change manual setting to ISO 4000 ! (on the canon). Is that okay? seems to me this is produce A LOT of noise.

[ilovekylemeade]

Thank you so very much. I received my first DSLR about 3 weeks ago and although i feel i am grasping manual mode pretty well i still was a little confused but this is EXACTLY what i needed. Thank you thank you thank you! :D

[Cypher791]

hah =D.. our nice ugly picture =p

[Lai829]

this is the best tutorial ive seen so far..thanks!

[ENINNALP]

are the interfaces the same for the high ends as the rebels for the canon models?

[thargor2k]

If you use the meter of the camera anyway, why bother to shoot in manual mode? You just have to turn one wheel more... If you do it that way, you can just use aperture priority or shutter speed priority and let the camera set the other value itself. IMO the only case where you have to use manual mode is when you want to control the balance of flash/ambient light when using flashlights...

When use use manual mode like you explained there is just no gain, just more hassle IMHO. But nice video...

[shonasam840]

@thargor2k You need to shoot in manual otherwise you'll lose your control over the camera & your shot. 'S' & 'A' will not let you choose shutter speed & aperture respectively.

[thargor2k]

@shonasam840 That is clear, but as I said: if you use the method described in the video, you will still use the metering of your camera (using the little bars in the viewfinder telling you about the expose). So what the video describes is essentially how to 'emulate' the 'S' & 'A' modes of your camera, since you do exactly what the camera would do. That's why I stated that I see no gain, just more hassle in the described method.

I didn't say there were no cases were to use manual mode...

[shonasam840]

@thargor2k Listen, I ain't any amateur. I do these my whole day & night & get paid to that. You need to use 'M' because the meter on your camera uses reflective metering & most of the time goes wrong so you need to decide your Aperture & Shutter Speed on your own & assuming. If you use 'S' or 'A', You can't do that because the camera'll change the Shutter & Aperture depending on it's own metering system which is gonna confuse him.

Anyways, What's Ya Age..?!

[thargor2k]

@shonasam840 It seems you should reread what I wrote: I didn't say manual mode did not have it's uses, I merely said that using manual mode & your cameras metering (as shown in the video) does not gain anything. That aside it was a nice introduction to the idea from

I can't really see any reason why my age would be important regarding this discussion...

[shonasam840]

@thargor2k AAH.. Just Messin' With Ya.. :P

[irtheweasel]

@thargor2k Because you have to also consider the depth of field and the freeze frame effect. Say you want to get a picture of a water droplet falling off a leaf, but have everything else be blurry. In Aperture priority, you could get the desired depth of field, but lack the ability to freeze the water droplet and so you'd have motion blur as it fell. In Shutter speed priority, the opposite would be true. Manual Mode allows you to control for the combination of desired effects.

[thargor2k]

@irtheweasel

Assuming you want a good exposure for your image, there is only one ratio of aperture/shutter speed that will give you a good result. No real gain.

This video shows to set either AP or SP and regulate the second one using the cameras internal metering, as I said before.

With flashes you get another degree of freedom, the light itself. By changing that you get can choose both SP/AP (to some degrees).

Using M like shown here just makes taking photos harder, with no gain...

[valleyboy314]

@thargor2k : This video is HOW to shoot in manual mode. Not WHY.

2 good reasons (Neil van Niekirk "On-Camera Flash").

1) Correctness. If lighting conditions do not change, that implies that the exposure should not change. However, in ANY metering mode, the reading will necessarily change every time you change composition/zoom. So, your exposures are always wrong in any metering mode. Not by much, but always a little.

[valleyboy314]

@thargor2k : 2 good reasons to shoot manual, thanks to Neil van Niekirk "On-Camera Flash".

2) consistency: An exposure error is easily batch mode corrected in Lightroom, IF AND ONLY IF, the exposure was constant. If you use a metering mode, then each picture is metered independently and needs to be manually corrected individually. Can you imagine hand-correcting several hundred shots ? Just the typing alone would be hours of work.

[thargor2k]

@valleyboy314 As I said, 2 reason: working with flash, overriding camera in difficult light situations

In the case you described you can either have constant lighting conditions where your cameras meter in other AP/SP will also give you constant exposures, or you have varying lighting conditions where working in manual without changing anything will give you overexposed/underexposed images. So not a real advantage, easier lightroom work is not really worth it if the images are exposed wrong...

[valleyboy314]

@thargor2k There is a small, but critical, point you are not understanding.

Even under constant lighting conditions, AP/SP DOES NOT give you constant exposure ! (unless neither the camera nor the subject moves). AP/SP re-meters with each shot, so each shot is slightly wrong BY A VARYING AMOUNT. In manual mode, each shot is wrong by a CONSTANT amount.

Consider wedding shoot: First. shoot bride with white dress, then groom with black tuxedo. Should be same exposure, but AP/SP will be different !

[thargor2k]

@valleyboy314 normally this would exactly be the case why I would not use M...having to keep up with slight changes...I would have counted your example under "difficult" (a series of shots where I need constant exposure), OTOH it also depends how you are using AP/SP (e.g. metering on their faces). btw. your example made me think of another case where it might be useful to the more casual photographer (which are afaik the main audience, they don't shoot weddings that often...): panorama images

[framedshow]

framedshow . com

[ptlofts]

I guess that its not the same thing outdoors where the intensity of light its constantly changing, right? Youll have to be changing the settings all the time? (without a tripod holding the camera) Thanks.

[Godpleaser77]

With the ISO at such a high level. There is too much noise? Yes? Crazy grain!

[SlimRose30]

OH my goodness!! These tutorials definitely come in handy!! Thanks SO much for even taking the time out to go into detail about photography and making them extremely easy to understand. MANY thanks.

[eezytiger]

I enjoy your videos but this one really was a bit of a disappointment. I don't understand why you were telling people to aim for a centred meter all the way through the video until over 9 minutes in. If that's all you will do then shooting in Av, Tv or P modes will get you there way quicker than faffing about manually.

Secondly, while the Nikon demo showed the effect of exposure adjustments in the image the Canon demo did not. No big deal to me, but for those who are still learning.........

[manilashark]

great vid there, just got one question though, how do you apply all these principles when the (Canon) camera's built in flash is in use?

[Biskotboy852]

nice video :D

i've learned a lot from you

btw could you do a review on Tokina 100mm macro? :)

[h0ns0y]

MARK WALLACE IS THE MAN!!!

[diwash9612425]

Mark Wallace

Mark  ll

[kauxkaux]

Great Video!!! Thanks...

So Mark... Those number you pulled "out of the air". What method or way of practice do you recomend to start recognizing those numbers really quickly?

[ChrisAstro30]

I always shoot in manual mode!The best way to learn your camera and plus you have the full control of your camera. :)

[torched80]

Hey, i have a question. How do you get started in photography. Im interested in it but im only 14 and in grade 9. I should be choosing my high school courses soon and im wondering what i would need to get involved in photography.

[snapfactory]

@torched80 Pay attention to your math classes - you'll need it for the tech and business part of photography. Make sure you take as many art classes as possible. Also master writing so you can market yourself. Get some computer skills (typing, Word, Excel). Talk to your high school guidance counselor. Get excellent grades - you'll want to get a scholarship to a good school if possible. Work hard and you'll make it!

[inof8or]

@torched80 Find a decent camera & tripod. Shoot as much as possible! If you cant afford a dslr grab your self a summer job. In the mean time just do with whatever you have now or can borrow. Learn post-processing ASAP, you hear of Photoshop a lot but there is a free photo editor called GIMP that will do the same thing. Assume will your going to learn in school will be lacking what you need to know and read read read till you pass out. Online video tutorials like this will give you a fast start.

[PachulizPunk]

Thanks Mark!!! Great Video

[Macintoshtip]

Another great video from Mark.

I learn a lot!

Thank you so much Mark!

[monkeystu52]

very helpful videos. - but you got your left and right mixed up (3.34)

[snapfactory]

@monkeystu52 Yeah, I get confused easily. ha ha. Mistakes make life more fun.

[GrendelPL]

@snapfactory So, can you make another episode about shooting in manual mode with flash in manual/program mode? I do that a lot, but... There is always room for improvement, right?

[dmunro91]

@monkeystu52 From where he is standing, it was to HIS left, but our right.

[mikestakeon]

Any chance you could put the link to each of the previous videos mentioned (from around 1:00 to 1:25) in the description box or something? Would be useful to be able to just load them all up in separate tabs.

[snapfactory]

@mikestakeon Great suggestion. I've added the links to the description box.