Digital Photography
Camera Mode Settings
Camera Mode Settings
Camera settings for the different shooting modes vary by maker and model. Be familiar with your camera and manual.
In Automatic mode all decisions are made for you including ISO, shutter speed, f-stop and flash. Automatic mode will give you excellent exposures under most conditions.
Program Mode offers a bit more control than Automatic Mode. Program Mode allows you to vary both F-stop and speed in sync to give you perfect exposure. As speed increases f-stop decreases (the lens opening increases). Or as you open the lens (f-stop decreases) speed increases. Though you have no control over flash in Auto Mode, in Program Mode you can force the flash to fire.
Often it is best to keep white balance (WB) set to Auto WB. If your camera has RAW mode and you shoot RAW, Auto WB is the only setting you will ever need to use. When shooting RAW you can change WB to any setting you choose post shoot.
A good way to learn is to keep the camera set to one of the Basic Zone Modes: Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports or Night Portrait. You can check and see what the reading was for shutter, aperture and ISO in each of these Basic Zones. When you get familiar with the basics you can then use your own settings with the Creative Zones: TV(Shutter), AV (Aperture) and Manual. For example you might want to use TV or AV or Manual for your Portraits.
| Mode | How the mode works |
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You need to separate the portrait from the background. You can do this with a medium telephoto lens, a wide aperture, or combination of both telephoto and wide aperture. Both tend to blur the background which makes the subject stand out. Portrait mode minimizes depth of field or the range within the scene that will be in focus. |
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Landscape |
Landscape mode has a small lens opening resulting in a wide depth of field. A high number f-stop means a small lens opening. You want a wide depth of field for most scenic shots. Try to have both near and distant objects in at least some, if not all of your scenes. Focus on near objects in some scenes and distant or mid focus for others. |
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Sports mode uses fast shutter speed combined with higher ISO setting. This mode is for fast-moving subjects when you want to freeze the action. Pan the camera keeping the subject as the focus point. |
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With close-up shots you determine how much or how little is in focus. First use the camera’s Close-up setting and see what points you like or dislike. Then you might want to use AV or Manual and have as big or little depth of field as suits the subject. |
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This mode is for shooting people in twilight or for low inside light. The flash illuminates the subject and a slow sync speed captures exposure of the background. Try the Night Scene Mode and then try TV or Manual. The lower the light the slower camera speed. |
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In this mode you set the shutter speed and the camera sets the aperture. With a high shutter speed you can freeze a fast-action shot or at a slow shutter speed you can blur the motion. If you take a shot of water at a slow shutter speed you will get the silky effect. |
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In this mode you set the desired aperture and the camera sets the speed. The smaller aperture (large f-stop) the wider depth of field or focus and the larger aperture (small f-stop) the narrower the depth of field or focus. |
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| Manual Exposure |
In this mode you set both the shutter speed and aperture value. You also decide on whether or not to use flash. Be careful to check that your exposure needle is right in the center, not in the minus of plus range. But manual mode allows you to overexpose or underexpose your shots if you choose to do so. After taking a shot and viewing the histogram, you may decide to over or underexpose to get the best shot. You can also choose any aperture you want for that exposure. |
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Fill Flash (Use with any setting) |
Take some shots with either the sun or a bright scene behind the subject. If your camera allows you to force the flash to shoot, do this. Normally, on a sunny day, avoid the sun in your subject’s face. If you must take a shot with the sun in your subject’s face, force the flash. This will help to avoid extreme contrast by lessening shadows. So on a sunny day you would use fill flash whether the sun is behind or in front of your subject. It is best, though, to take the shot in bright shade. |