Curious and Professionals

[superduperblake]

EDIT: Ahhh. It is supposed to say 'Curious About Professionals'...
When trying to take Candid shots and such do you guys Leave it on automatic so you don't have to use a bunch of time getting the perfect exposure, or do you keep it on Auto-Aperature/Auto-Shutter speeds? Just curious, I use a ton of manual, but I sometimes can't get those good candid shots because of bad exposure times and such. (Changes of the sun, shadows, clouds)

 

[michabo]

I'm not pro, but I'm an avid amateur.

If the light is flat then I may leave it on aperature priority. When it is high-contrast (e.g.: bright sun with dark shadows), then I will shoot manual. That way you can control what will be properly exposed. Sometimes the automatic mode will do the right thing, but it's difficult to tell and you will get a lot of ruined photos.

If you are thinking that you aren't getting the right exposures, then you should make sure to meter while walking around so that you are ready to shoot when something appears. After a few days, you'll get to know what the different exposure times are for different lighting conditions so that if you've metered for sun, you can quickly adjust for shade to take a picture.

 

[mmreed]

Im a bif DoF fan... I love throwing off backgrounds, etc.. so I mainly shoot in Ap Mode... setting the aperature and ISO and letting the cam set everything else.

Candids usually are shot "in the wild" and you often have conflicting backgrounds which an out of focus bg can make a huge difference.

 

[GK]

My default setting in an autoexposure with the option to take 3 quick shots at slightly different exposures. It works for me when I want to pull the camera out in a hurry, not knowing ahead of time what I might be getting myself into. Nice thing is easy-to-turn dials for switching to manual modes (and adjusting those modes) just in the time to get the camera from holster to eye. I'm practicing throwing it from auto mode into shutter/aperture priority modes without looking.

 

[Southern Cross]

I'm a professional. I use P mode all the time. The instuction manuals were wrong when they said P is for program mode. It's professional mode .

In all seriousness, if I have a quick grab shot that I need to nail and I have only a second to raise the camera and shoot, P mode is my prime choice. I work in environments where lighting can really be challenging, so I rely on the camera's native exposure algorithms to help me when necessary. Of course, it's safe to say there are several other factors that come into play, such as making rapid fire decisions on focus/exposure point (which can greatly impact exposure), locking exposure, and composing. When I have a few seconds or minutes) to prepare for a shot, I usually move to full manual or aperture priority and exercise as mush creative control as possible. Much of it comes from knowing how each camera behaves and knowing what you've got to work with. Some shots can take hours to set up, so I always operate in manual for those.

It helps to have a great deal of confidence in your exposure system as well. Nikon's iTTL flash exposure is a winner as far as I'm concerned. Once you figure it out, it's an extremely helpful tool.

 

[myhearts4God]

I'm a pro and never use fully auto mode on my Canon 20D, even for quickie "snapshots". The main reason is I can't stand the look of the on-camera flash. If I have to use a more automated mode I shoot in "p". I think it becomes second nature to adjust shutters and aps for the scene, so I find that it's more trouble to turn my dial to "P" than to just adjust my shutter.

Michelle