11. How to Take Photos 6: Camera Modes & Features

If you have a camera with different settings, it’s better not to use Auto mode, or any other Basic modes. Those modes are for beginners who don't know any better. Once you know how your camera works, using the creative modes gives you greater control of your images. Basic modes are for people who don't know how to improve an image, so they just hope for the best. With creative modes, you take a picture. You look at it. And you consider which settings (aperture, ISO, shutter speed) to change to make it better.

There are reasons you shouldn’t use basic modes. Most importantly, the autofocus system uses a field of points in the picture frame to measure from – which is a problem.

All these little points of reference are competing with each other, trying to find something to focus on:

It’s better to use just the very middle (single point) for auto focus,

For example, if you want to take a photo of a bird flying in the sky. Trying to get the bird and the background sky in focus will never work, and the bird will fly off before you ever get a shot (it’s so frustrating!!). And, you can’t customize your autofocus points when you’re stuck in any of the Basic modes.

When you switch from basic to creative modes, your flash won’t just pop up automatically anymore (so annoying!). If you want to use your flash in the creative modes, you need to press the little flash button to the left of your flash, on top of the camera. This is true for P, A, TV, M, and B modes.

Portrait Mode: This is basically a form of Auto mode set up for portraits. It uses a small F number for aperture. But yeah, try to avoid all the auto modes.

Landscape Mode: uses a large F number for aperture. When you take these shots, and you wonder, where should I focus the image? Focus on something closer, because only 1/3 of what’s in front will stay focused, whereas 2/3s of the focus will be devoted to what’s behind it.

P (Program) Mode: This is one step up from Auto mode. It’s good for beginners. Eventually you’ll stop using it. With P Mode, the camera selects the shutter speed and aperture, and ISO. The shutter speeds can vary from 1/4000^th of a second to 30 seconds. And it automatically balances for you the shutter speed and aperture, so that your photos won’t be over or under exposed. One annoying thing is, every time you auto-focus on a subject, it sets an “ideal” aperture, regardless of what you want. You can change it, but you have to do it for each shot.

A (Aperture) Mode (AV for Canon): With this, whatever F number you set, it stays that way until you change it. You pick the aperture you want, and the camera determines the best shutter speed to get a good exposure. If the F number you select is too great or small, the shutter speed will start flashing, indicating there’s either too much or too little light for that setting, so you should go back one. When you take these shots, and you wonder, where should I focus the image? Focus on something closer, because only 1/3 of what’s in front will stay focused, whereas 2/3s of the focus will be devoted to what’s behind it.

TV (Time Value) (S) Mode: This is the opposite of Aperture Mode, you choose the shutter speed, and it picks the aperture. Like with A Mode – if you try too extreme a shutter speed, the aperture won’t be able to compensate for brightness, so the F number will flash at you. It’s good before you begin shooting to just scroll through your shutter speeds to get a sense of the slowest and fastest options, before the F number starts flashing. Try taking photos at different speeds – make sure you focus first, before taking each picture. With this mode you can practice the right amount of motion blur based on your shutter speed, and panning shots, where you follow the subject as it moves, so that the background is more blurry.

Add a tripod with this setting and you can try all sorts of pretty shots:

M (Manual) Mode: There’s a false belief that you have to take all your shots in manual mode to be a real or professional photographer. This just isn’t true. A and TV modes give you full creative control, while quickly finding the right exposure, according to the light. The only thing M mode is really useful for is studio work, where you can set your values once, and know that it’ll come out right. Or, if you’re using strong flash photography, and you don’t want the camera to respond to ambient light, then M Mode works well.

B (Bulb) Mode: This is a mode that lets you switch your shutter speeds beyond the 30 second limit, so you can take hours long photos – for star trails and things like that. If your camera doesn’t have a B mode, don’t worry, it’s hiding in your Manual Mode. With this feature, you can choose your aperture, and then you hold the shutter button for as long as you like – for hours if you like. However long you hold the button is how long the photo is exposed. Now, wait a minute, doesn’t that introduce all kinds of camera shake? Absolutely, which is why you’d need to buy and plug in an external shutter button (called an intervalometer). It allows you to take a picture without touching (and shaking) the camera.