Discover the Power of Camera Modes for Stunning Photography
What are the main camera modes?
Before diving into each mode and explaining the functions, it's essential to remember that each mode will allow control over specific parameters (ISO, aperture, shutter speed) that will affect the overall exposure. Outside of Automatic, there are four main camera modes.
Program Mode: Somewhere between Manual and Auto is Program Mode or, as I'd like to think of it as, ISO Priority Mode. When you choose the ISO of your liking, the camera will automatically select the shutter speed and aperture. ISO is your camera's sensitivity to light and will control how bright or dark an image is. The main reason you'd want to adjust your ISO depends on how much light is present, so in daytime scenarios, you'd like to change this to something lower like ISO 100. Keep in mind that high ISO will lead to more noise or grain. However, since you're in Program mode, your camera will try to compensate for that by lowering the aperture or slowing down the shutter speed.
Shutter Priority: Depending on the manufacturer and model, this is displayed as an S or Tv (time-value) symbol for my fellow Canon shooters. Shutter speed is measured in time and controls how long it takes the camera to capture the photo. Changing your shutter speed will change how motion is perceived. For example, in wildlife or sports photography, you'd want to switch to a higher shutter speed like 1/3000 to freeze an image for moving subjects. So this would be a bird flying through the air or a sprinter at a track meet. Conversely, a slower shutter speed will create a motion blur effect, which is the foundation of long exposure photography. Unlike Program Mode, which changes the two other values, Shutter Priority mode will only change the aperture.
Aperture Priority: If you haven't caught on just yet, each priority mode will allow you to change that specific variable, and the camera will adjust accordingly. So in aperture priority, you can select the aperture, measured in f-stop numbers, which is the narrowing and opening of the lens. Aperture affects how much light can enter and the depth of field, which is the distance between objects. Opening your aperture (lower f-stop number) such as f2.8 or lower is ideal for low-light situations since it lets more light in but creates an image with a more shallow depth of field. In layman's terms, depth-of-field is how much your subject is in focus in relationship with the background. So for landscape shots, you may want to narrow your aperture (higher f-stop number) to something like f8 or higher in well-lit conditions or to retain detail in the background.
Manual Model: Opposite of Auto Mode, the camera will automatically change the ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. Manual Mode gives you complete creative control of all three variables. Although it is a bit daunting to learn initially, it's commonly used by professionals as moving subjects, and changing lighting conditions will create inconsistent images that aren't well-exposed. In extreme situations, large amounts of light might even cause blown-out highlights, so in those instances, you may even want to underexpose to retain detail in the brighter sections of your images.
When I first took photos, I avoided manual mode as I wasn't necessarily comfortable with the different exposure settings. Still, the only way to get better is to keep shooting and experimenting. I suggest using one of the priority modes before you make the leap to Manual Mode. One quick hack I did was to take a photo in Aperture or Shutter Priority Mode, take note of the settings, plug in those values in Manual Mode, and play around with some of the numbers. This helped me get a better feel when an image is under or overexposed or how much the background is in focus.
| Camera Mode | ISO | Aperture | Shutter Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic | Camera | Camera | Camera |
| Program | User | Camera | Camera |
| Shutter Priority | User | Camera | User |
| Aperture Priority | User | User | Camera |
| Manual | User | User | User |
Feel free to use the table above to recap the four main camera modes on how each will allow you to change certain variables and start shooting! If you found this helpful, check out my other tutorials and subscribe if you haven't already.
As always, until next time!
