Today’s Post by Joe Farace
I think for most photographers it’s obvious that obtaining accurate exposure starts with correctly setting the lens aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Today’s DSLR’s and mirrorless cameras let you set the exposure manually or you let the camera do it for you, including ISO.
A few years ago I was teaching a travel photography class on at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre. On one of our outings to the Wakodahatchee Wetlands, a couple of the students asked why I was not shooting in Manual mode. I explained that I prefer to use the mode that best fits the subject matter and how I was planning on shooting it. The reason they asked was that an instructor at another workshop they attended told them that she only shot in Manual mode because it was the purist form of photography.
Some purists will claim that using manual exposure is the only mode to use and you can use either a hand-held light meter or the metering system that’s built into your camera to determine the appropriate exposure. The truth is that for 90% of photographs that you’ll make, any one of the camera’s automatic modes do a fantastic job in producing correct exposures but its those last 10% that’ll are problematical. And for some photographers who find that 100% of the images they make are in that 10% mode, manual mode is perfect for them.
For me, I find that I have to shift into manual mode, especially when the light is at the extreme ends of brightness or darkness like you’ll sometimes encounter at indoor car shows or special events such as the annual SEMA show i Las Vegas. Complex (and dark) ighting situations like these extremes can sometimes confuse even the most sophisticated automatic exposure system. That’s why manual exposure can be helpful when dealing with a high subject contrast and strong backlight or when a specific mood is desired.
How I Made this Photo: I made this photograph of a “Flying Mustang” at a previous SEMA auto show. It was shot with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS I was testing for the print edition of Shutterbug at the time. Lens was a EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS with an available light exposure of 1/80 sec at f/6.3 and ISO 800, and ISO setting that seems to be my go-to ISO setting when shooting in the Las Vegas Convention Center.
I also think manual mode is useful for those shooters who would rather drive a car with a stick shift than one with an automatic transmission. But while purists claim manual exposure mode is the only one to use, outdoors I tend to use all of the letters on the dial.
Along with photographer Barry Staver, I’m co-author of Better Available Light Digital Photography that’s available from Amazon for $21.50 prices with used copies selling at giveaway prices. around five bucks, as I write this.