Photography Tips – Your Digital Camera’s Program Modes
Modern digital cameras are in reality complex computers. They have memories, processors, input and output devices. And, like computers, their capabilities (read ‘processing power’) doubles every 18 months to 2 years.
One of the advantages of all this progress is the program modes that are available. In this photography tips article we’re going to take a look at some of these modes and get an idea of what they can do for us.
Often the program functions are accessed via a dial on the computer. In other cameras they are accessed from the menu. Or, some cameras use a combination of both. Your camera manual will spell this out for you.
The modes are divided into three broad categories – automatic, semi-automatic and manual. Let’s look at each beginning with Automatic.
Automatic Modes
In the automatic modes, the camera makes all the decisions about exposure, focus, shutter and other functions.
Auto
The most frequently used mode by most everyone is Auto. That’s the green setting in the illustration above. In this mode the camera makes all the decisions. It will give you a good exposure in most circumstances. It will automatically set the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, focus and flash. You will be able to take one picture at a time.
The drawback of Auto mode is that you’ll get the average image. That is to say, the camera will choose settings that are generally suitable for the average photograph. There will be some situations where you can improve the quality of the image by giving the camera an idea of the subject your shooting. This leads to the other automatic modes.
Portrait
Use Portrait mode when you are taking photographs of people. Portrait mode works best for head and shoulder compositions so it works well for a single person or a very small group of people, say no more than three. It adjusts the camera so that the subject(s) will be in focus but the background will be out of focus. It does this by increasing the aperture (lower numbers) and decreasing the length of the exposure. This produces a very nice effect, one that is desirable when photographing people close up. Some cameras will soften the subject as this is often more flattering. You’ll be able to take only one picture with each press of the shutter button.
You’ll want to move in close to your subject so that you get just the head and shoulders. You can do this by physically moving or by using your zoom lens. Portrait photography is best done in open shade. Move out of the sunshine and into the shade of a building or large tree. Make sure your background is also in the shade. You will be very pleased with what the soft light does to facial features and your subject won’t have to squint.
Landscape
Landscape mode tries to get as much of the picture in sharp focus as possible. It does this by decreasing the aperture (higher numbers) and increasing the length of the exposure. It is particularly useful when you have scenes that have objects that are both close and far away. Because this mode tries to keep everything in focus it’s useful for more than just landscapes. You can use landscape mode whenever you want as much as possible to be in focus such as the group picture at the family picnic.
One thing to be aware of when shooting in Landscape mode is the camera my need to select a slow shutter speed. This will tend to occur if you are using Landscape mode during those situations where there’s not a lot of light. If your camera has some sort of image stabilization function built in (as many cameras do these days) then you might be able to get a sharp image as long as it’s not too dark. The other alternative is to use a tripod, set the camera on a solid surface or brace yourself against a solid surface.
Sports
Sports mode is great for action shots. It is designed to give you sharp images of moving subjects. It does this by decreasing the length of the exposure and increasing the ISO. In addition, Sports mode lets you take multiple pictures with one press of the shutter button. Finally, Sports mode changes the way the camera focuses. It adjusts the focus to keep the subject in focus, even when they’re moving toward or away from you.
One of the challenges of taking action shots with many cameras is the time it takes to get your initial focus. Sports mode may be able to help. Just keep your shutter button pressed half way down to get your camera to continually refocus. Then, when you get the great action shot, press the shutter the all the way down and click off three or four pictures.
Macro
Macro mode is perfect for taking extreme close-ups. Not all digital cameras have the same macro capabilities. With this mode you will get effects similar to portrait mode. The difference is with Macro mode you’ll be inches from your subject.
When doing close-up photography like this you’ll need to focus very carefully. The biggest problem is getting so close to your subject that the camera can’t focus. Each lens has a minimum distance at which it can focus. If you’re hand holding your camera, image stabilization technology won’t help you keep the subject in focus. Just be extremely careful or use a tripod.
Night
Night mode uses the flash to illuminate your subject during twilight or at night. But it does more than that. It also increases the length of the exposure to capture more of the dark background. This works because the flash correctly exposes the subject while the longer exposure adds detail to the dark background. You may need to turn on the flash function of your computer.
You can play around with Night mode and get some interesting effects. Because of the longer exposure you can try moving the camera, especially if you have colored lights in the background. Give it a try. You could be really pleased with the results.
Other Program Modes
More and more automatic program modes are being added to cameras. There are modes for shooting in the snow, at the beach, fireworks, sunsets, underwater, foliage and more. Look these up in your camera’s manual and experiment with them. It will be a lot of fun.
Semi-automatic Modes
The semi-automatic modes allow you to make some of the decisions while the camera handles the rest. The decision that are semi-automated relate to exposure. You are free to make all the other decisions such as ISO, white balance, metering mode, focus mode, etc.
P – Program AE
P mode lets the camera determine the aperture and shutter speed. You have control over the ISO and white balance. This mode is very close to fully automatic. The reason for controlling the ISO is to control the amount of noise in your images. Low ISO values produce low noise. The higher the ISO, the more noise you will have, especially with digicams.
You can also control white balance in this mode, allowing you to adjust to situations like open shade, indoor lighting, etc.
Av – Aperture Priority
Aperture Priority mode lets you control the aperture in addition to the things you control in P mode. The camera determines the shutter speed. The chief reason for using Aperture Priority is to control your depth of field. Increasing your aperture (smaller numbers) decreases your depth of field and vise versa.
When you want to emphasize your subject and de-emphasize your background you can use a wide aperture (small numbers). When you want to have near and distant objects in focus you can use a small aperture (large numbers). I prefer Aperture Priority for 90% of my landscape photography.
Tv – Shutter Priority
Shutter Priority mode lets you control the shutter speed. The camera determines the aperture. The reason for using Shutter Priority is to control moving subjects. If you’re photographing a soccer player you’ll want a short exposure (like 1/500 or 1/1000). If you’re photographing a waterfall you’ll want a long exposure (like ½ to several seconds).
Manual Mode
In Manual Mode you control everything. You make all the decisions and are in control of every one of your camera’s functions. I use manual mode when I’m shooting panoramas, taking very long exposures (over 30 seconds), using my camera’s built in light meter in spot metering mode or using specialized filters like graduated neutral density filters.
So there you have it. Today’s cameras produce excellent results in most all of the situations we encounter. But, we can take our photography to the next level by using some of these program modes. Play around with them and I think you’ll like the results.
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