Manual Photography cheat sheet : )

[bluefrog]

I plan to start trying my luck with manual mode a little more. A friend of mine sent me this, looks very useful indeed ..

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/9424/manualphotographycheats.jpg

[golferthirtytwo]

Great summary for anyone trying out manual mode on their SLR/DSLR's :)

[dimi_108]

Very helpful.
I've just purchased a Nikon DSLR and i'm starting out with photography.

At the moment i'm having a bit of difficulty with the night photos and low light ones but slowly learning.

Thanks Todd.

[Robby_jai]

to be honest..... full manual photography should only be used in difficult lighting conditions or when you are trying to get a specific effect ...in most cases the AV & TV mode on the camera is more than sufficient.....

i know of two professional photographer personally (one highly regarded in the industry) who typically use AV & TV mode a lot...

they typically switch to manual mode only when using external flash guns trying to get specific lighting effects... or when photographing at night or dusk/dawn scenarios...

the other is a professional wedding photographer...

i do a lot of photography.. and i typically use the TV/AV mode a lot... and if you understand those mode... you will get a lot of high quality photographs......

where people struggling with photography is

1. photo composition and framing
2. Light/Exposure... (people get into under exposing/over exposing photos or having areas exposed incorrectly)

those are the two areas people should focus on and understand... understanding exposure and composition is the key to good photos.

[Prodigy]

Nice little info sheet.

When i first purchased my DSLR i took a 1 day basic course on how to use manual mode, i tried using only manual for the next few weeks but started getting frustrated with taking crappy over or under exposed photo's all the time, i have now reverted back to mainly using auto mode unfortunately.

[Androo]

The best way to learn photography is by trail and error. TV and AV modes are good, but Aperture Priority (av) > Shutter Priority (tv). Firstly it all depends on the lens/lenses you have, if you have a lens that isn't a constant F stop you will have problems using AV mode, when zooming in and out your lens won't be able to hold for example f/3.5 when you are zooming there for taking photos of people this can get very annoying because the camera will slow down the shutter speed to get more light, which will cause the image to be blurry if the person moves etc. Manual mode is a lot better at night, DSLR's are not that smart at night photography.

If you are using an external flash using AV/TV mode can cause the flash to go into a TTL mode (not e-TTL), this can get painful when the flash doesn't fire. Like i said you will learn how to take photos yourself, photography is something you learn not go to uni to study. Some of the best photographers are self taught.

Personally i like to use manual mode, i control what I want and it's got to a stage where i get the photos that I'm after by studying the environment i am then setting up the camera.

[Pharkus]

I also use primarily AV/TV modes. I had a phase where I just shot in AV and adjusted the ISO to suit light conditions. However I'm now trialing more TV modes to get less blurry pics as can happen with AV when the shutter speed gets too long for handheld shots.

When I first started, learning what the manual modes and each function (aperture, ISO, shutter speed etc.) did was fun and well worthwhile, but you also don't want to have to take a shot and have every one wait 2mins while you get the settings right! You could just miss that moment.

My best advice is take lots, chances are one shot will be the BOSS.

[Robby_jai]

i agree with you as a whole and i also mentioned earlier.. flash photography is best done with manual mode.. for the same reasons you identified..

and yes with lens that dont have fixed apertures and changes.. constantly depending on zoom range you select...

there are however .... certain scenarios.. where manual just doesnt work......:)

if you are shooting moving objects (children in my case) in an environment where there are constantly changing light and exposures (eg.....shadows... bright sun light.. sun behiind subject... sun behind you).... manual is painful because you constantly HAVE to keep adjusting the shutters etc....

thats where AV comes in really handy.. because you can set the Aperture you want... and a half shutter press the camera will take care of shutter speeds and everything else :)

if you an inert object.. then yes... manual control is perfectly fine because you can compose the shot... set your exposures etc correctly and be able take the photo and adjust as needed..

dynamic... photography where subjects move constantly in every changing light scenarios...........(eg children... wedding photography) ..manual is not effective :)

thats been my experience anyway :)

The best way to learn photography is by trail and error. TV and AV modes are good, but Aperture Priority (av) > Shutter Priority (tv). Firstly it all depends on the lens/lenses you have, if you have a lens that isn't a constant F stop you will have problems using AV mode, when zooming in and out your lens won't be able to hold for example f/3.5 when you are zooming there for taking photos of people this can get very annoying because the camera will slow down the shutter speed to get more light, which will cause the image to be blurry if the person moves etc. Manual mode is a lot better at night, DSLR's are not that smart at night photography.

If you are using an external flash using AV/TV mode can cause the flash to go into a TTL mode (not e-TTL), this can get painful when the flash doesn't fire. Like i said you will learn how to take photos yourself, photography is something you learn not go to uni to study. Some of the best photographers are self taught.

Personally i like to use manual mode, i control what I want and it's got to a stage where i get the photos that I'm after by studying the environment i am then setting up the camera.

[Robby_jai]

My best advice is take lots, chances are one shot will be the BOSS.

i agree with you.. but theres an even better thing to do.. take lots look at the picture you like... look at the info for that picture you like... and soon enough you will learn the relationship between shutter speeds, aperture priority and ISO speeds :)

i used to be the guy who takes billions of photos and hopes 2 or 3 comes out nice...

now i aim for a higher percentage of nicer photos :)

The only settings i control manually are

1. Exposure compensation
2. ISO Speeds (hate using auto)
3. Shutter or Aperture depending on what im trying to achieve...

and only go into full manual for static photography or portraits with flash guns :)

[karjadi15]

Raw manual mode and get a rough picture then lightroom ? Lol im lazy.

[Robby_jai]

there are some photos that you just cant get right if you get it wrong.. even in raw mode... and trust me.. if you are lazy...... doing post processing takes even more time and is a complete PITA


Raw manual mode and get a rough picture then lightroom ? Lol im lazy.

[10d]

Meh, unless you learn how to use Manual, you will take a lot of things for granted. Try and error. You will learn from your mistakes.

For god sakes, 99.9% of you shoot digital. No film cost.
Just delete the garbage.

[bluefrog]

is/was there something other than digital? ... film? huh?? ;)

definitely agree with Rob re Av mode and kids :D

.. even for Av and Tv modes, with a quick glance the cheat sheet comes in handy for those like me who have a limited ability to grasp photography concepts quickly, hehe

[schoona]

I bought mine with the sole intention of trying to learn to shoot in full manual (and had a good teacher).
I think ultimately you will end up with the "right" combination at some point for said situation. (permutations combinations haha)

Ie. ISO at 100 in good natural light. For any given aperture (F) there will be a corresponding shutter speed that is not over exposed or under exposed. Typically though, I always find myself lacking the execution. I feel I have gotten close some times but even though there is a finite number of combinations I still miss regularly. It really isnt hard to take in manual, particularly when you can review your previous shot (Im talking statics here), but the consistency makes it frustrating and motivating at the same time.

Agree with Robby, attempting to shoot planes at an airshow was chaos in manual mode. Should explore this Av/Tv business indeed....

[funny]

So agree.

Set ISO (you control the noise, not the camera)
Aperture Priority - I don't shoot Tv. I want to decide how much is in focus.
Check shutter before shooting - no good? change ISO, aperture or compensate (usually don't do this much except for flash shots or if everything i'm shooting is a little over or under for some reason (tricky light like black on black).

And this is coming from an amateur.
Composition and exposure are everything (ok most of it). Av & checking shutter speed (+ your brain, or at least where you take the expsoure reading from) should sort out the exposure.
All that's left is composition.
Only time i rattle off shots are when the subject is moving.
Worst case - you can bracket...

Sadly, I don't go "shooting" much no more.



i agree with you.. but theres an even better thing to do.. take lots look at the picture you like... look at the info for that picture you like... and soon enough you will learn the relationship between shutter speeds, aperture priority and ISO speeds :)

i used to be the guy who takes billions of photos and hopes 2 or 3 comes out nice...

now i aim for a higher percentage of nicer photos :)

The only settings i control manually are

1. Exposure compensation
2. ISO Speeds (hate using auto)
3. Shutter or Aperture depending on what im trying to achieve...

and only go into full manual for static photography or portraits with flash guns :)

[10d]

No such thing as one mode is the best.
Aperture priority have its own merit as keeping the same aperture in the changing light condition.
Shutter priority is useful when you want to control motion blur. A lot of people take this for granted. For crisp photos of fast moving subject you want shutter speed faster than the object you shooting. The other way around if you want blur.

Manual mode probably better reserved for static work.
If you work under controlled lighting this is the mode of choice.
Next carpark meet give it a go

[Androo]

I shared photos in the Random photo thread, the photos are of my mates car in motion. Taken in Manual mode 1/13, f/3.5 unsure of ISO setting. It all depends, trial and error. That's how you learn, with photography it's the best way to learn because even if the photo wasn't clear there might be something in focus that actually looks cool.. if you get my drift. Some of the best photos are at the right place at the right time.

[gh172]

I'm not seeing this cheat sheet. has it been removed?

[73landau]

aperture mode is great if you are using cokin filters. They are what was used before photoshop :-) I am currently collecting some that my kit is missing. Next I am going to get the dual flash lens filter for some effects that only they can do.
PS Link is not showing up for me either :-(

[gh172]

I found this one.

http://livinginthestills.tumblr.com/cheatsheet

[ikprojekt]

Todd, links not working mate.

[bluefrog]

Todd, links not working mate.

sorry gents, funds for my old image host must have dried up ... all fixed :)

[bluefrog]

dragged my arse outside this arvo and forced myself to use the dreaded M mode that I've had nightmares about for so long :eek:

I used a fairly un-educated method and for any given exposure I took pics with multiple aperture settings, then adjusted exposure and did it again and again. I was lazy and just set ISO to auto.

I found the histogram display mode to be very useful btw.

so then I loaded up the umpteen test pics and selected the best one, and finished it off with photoshop ... gonna try this again tomorrow in a better location and see if I can actually learn anything :lol:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7060/6791576776_aefa4d3e45_o.jpg

[ikprojekt]

looks good mate, however on the other side iPhoto simple, quick, easy & makes your photos look like a pro's :p

[J.T]

^ might be true to a degree.. but what are you learning from this?? not a lot.
there is a lot more satisfaction in knowing how to take a good photo and edit it properly with an undertanding of what you are doing, rather than letting intelligent software call the shots..