Which image mode to choose in the Nikon camera. Manual mode in the camera: how to work with it correctly and in what cases? Means camera sign

Updated 08.08. Views 2929 Comments 45

If you bought a camera that is more serious than a regular soap dish, then most likely you will want to master the manual settings (although they can also be found on soap dishes). And I would even advise you to do it as soon as possible, so that even if you shoot in automatic mode, you will understand what is happening.

The main parameters on the camera that you will control are few, but they are all closely interconnected: shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance. There is also such a parameter as depth of field (depth of field), which itself is not set in any way, but it turns out due to other parameters. I'm afraid for the first reading all this will seem too complicated and scary, but here I can only advise you how to try as much as possible at first. Shoot the same shot with different settings and then see what happens, look for relationships, analyze. And do not forget about the instructions for the camera, this is practically a reference book at first.

All parts of my Beginner Photographers FAQ

The main settings for a digital camera are shutter speed and aperture, their ratio is called exposure. Therefore, when they say you need to choose an exposure, they mean that you need to set these two values.

Excerpt

Changes in seconds (1/4000, 1/125, 1/13, 1, 10, etc.) and means the time for which the camera curtain opens when the shutter is released. It is logical that the longer it is open, the more light will enter the matrix. Therefore, depending on the time of day, the sun, the level of illumination, there will be its own exposure parameter. If you use automatic mode, the camera will measure the light level and select the value itself.

But not only the illumination is affected by the shutter speed, but also the blur of a moving object. The faster it moves, the shorter the shutter speed should be. Although in some cases, on the contrary, you can make it more authentic in order to get an "artistic" lubrication. Likewise, lubrication can come from shaking your hands (shaking), so you should always choose such a value to neutralize this problem, well, and train so that shaking is less. A good stabilizer on the lens can still help you with this, it allows you to use slower shutter speeds and prevents wiggle.

Exposure selection rules:

To prevent hand shake blur, always try to set your shutter speed no faster than 1 / mm, where mm is the millimeter of your current focal length. Because the larger the focal point, the greater the likelihood of blur, and the more you need to shorten the shutter speed. For example, the cut-off value for 50 mm will be a shutter speed of 1/50, and it would be even better to set it even shorter, somewhere around 1/80, to be sure.
If you are shooting a person walking, the shutter speed should be no slower than 1/100.
For moving children, it is better to set the shutter speed no slower than 1/200.
Very fast subjects (for example, when shooting from a bus window) require very fast shutter speeds of 1/500 or less.
In the dark, to shoot static objects, it is better not to raise the ISO too much (especially above the working value), but use slow shutter speeds (1s, 2s, etc.) and a tripod.
In case you want to shoot beautifully flowing water (with lubrication), then you need 2-3 seconds exposure (I don't like what happens longer). And if you need splashes and sharpness, then 1/500 - 1/1000.

The values are all taken from the head and do not pretend to be axioms, it is best to independently select them based on personal experience, so this is just a guide.

Shutter speed 1/80 is too long for such movements, it turns out blurry

Exposure 3 sec - water like milk

Diaphragm

Indicated as f22, f10, f5.6, f1.4 and means how open the lens aperture is when the shutter is released. Moreover, the lower the number, the larger the diameter of the hole, that is, as it were, the other way around. It is logical that the larger this hole, the more light enters the matrix. In automatic mode, the camera itself selects this value according to the program embedded in it.

The aperture also affects the depth of field (depth of field):

If you are shooting a landscape during the day, then feel free to cover the aperture to f8-f13 (no longer worth it) so that everything is sharp. In the dark, in the absence of a tripod, on the contrary, you will have to open it and raise the ISO.
If you are shooting a portrait and want the most blurred background, then you can open the aperture to the maximum, but keep in mind that if your lens is fast, then the f1.2-f1.8 values may be too many and only the person's nose will be in focus, and the rest of the face blurred.
There is a dependence of depth of field on aperture and focal length, so in order for the main subject to be sharp, it makes sense to use f3-f7 values, increasing it depending on the increase in focal length.

Aperture f9 - everything is sharp

105mm, f5.6 - the background is very blurry

ISO sensitivity

It is designated ISO 100, ISO 400, ISO 1200, etc. If you were shooting on film, remember that films were sold with different sensitivities, which meant the film's sensitivity to light. The same is for a digital camera, you can set the sensor's light sensitivity. In practice, this means that your frame will be brighter as the ISO increases, with the same shutter speed and aperture settings (at the same exposure).

A feature of good and expensive cameras is a higher working ISO, reaching up to 12800. Now this figure does not tell you anything, but it's really cool. Because at ISO 100, you can only shoot in daylight, and setting 1200 and higher is already not a hindrance to twilight. Budget DSLRs have a maximum working ISO of about 400-800. Next comes color noise. Pull the ISO all the way up and shoot at dusk and you'll know what this is about. Soap dishes with this parameter are really bad.

ISO 12800 - noticeable noise, but it can be partially removed during processing

ISO 800 with the same settings, the photo is much darker

White balance

Surely you have seen photos where there is too much yellowness or blue? This one is just because of the wrong white balance. The fact is that depending on the light source (sun, incandescent lamp, white light lamp, etc.), the color spectrum of the photo depends. Roughly speaking, imagine that we will shine a special blue lamp on the chair and then the whole photo of this chair will be cyanotic. If this is a special artistic effect, then everything is fine, but if we want normal shades, then setting the white balance will save us. All cameras have presets (automatic, sun, cloudy, incandescent, manual, etc.).

To my shame I must admit that I always shoot with the machine. It's easier for me to tweak everything in the program later than to set the white balance. Perhaps someone will consider this blasphemy, but everything suits me, and I think most will also suit, so I will not talk about manual white balance.

Focus point selection

As a rule, all good cameras have the ability to select a focus point, as well as their automatic selection (when the camera itself selects objects and decides on what to focus on and how). I rarely use the automatic mode, mainly when there is little time and objects are moving, for example, in a crowd of people, when there is no time for thought. In all other cases, I use the center point. I pressed the button, focused without releasing the button, took it aside, and pushed it to the end, having made a shot.

The center point is usually the most accurate, which is why it should be used. But it is necessary to look at a specific model of the camera, for example, now all points are working on my current camera. I also wanted to say that if your camera dulls and focuses poorly (twilight, backlight), then you need to look for the border of light and dark and focus on it.

Depth of field DOF

Depth of field is the range of distances in which all objects will be sharp. Let's imagine that you are photographing a person and there is a straight line: camera - person - background. The focus point is on a person, then everything will be sharply in the range from this person to you for a certain number of meters and from this person towards the background also for a certain number of meters. This range is the depth of field. In each case, it will be different, because it depends on several parameters: aperture, focal length, distance to the object, and on the model of your camera. There are special calculators of depth of field where you can enter your values and find out what distance you get. For landscapes, you need a deep depth of field to make everything look sharp, and for portraits or highlighting objects by blurring the background, you need a shallow depth of field.

You can play around with the calculator to understand a little the relationship of these parameters. But in the field you will not have it at hand, therefore, if you are not a professional photographer, then it will be enough to remember some values convenient for you, and also every time to look on the display (zooming in on the photo), what did you get and whether you need take a photo.

First of all, you need to remember that:

- The more the aperture is open, the shallower the depth of field.
- The longer the focal length, the shallower the depth of field.
- The closer the subject, the shallower the depth of field.

That is, shooting from close range, for example, a person's face at 100 mm and an aperture of 2.8, you risk getting only a sharp nose, while the rest will be blurry.

You will need to experience empirically this "triple" dependence of the depth of field on the focal length, aperture and distance for the subject. For example:

When photographing a landscape or other subject at a wide angle, you can always use f8-f13 and everything will be sharp. In fact, the calculator says that you can open the aperture much wider, but I like these values. As a rule, I always bet f10 (during the day).
For a beautiful blurred background, you do not need to have an expensive high-aperture lens with which you can greatly open the aperture, a normal zoom with a standard aperture is enough, you just need to move away and zoom in on a person (for example, 100 mm) and then even f5.6 is enough for you to blur the background.
The distance from the subject of photography to the background plays a role. If they are very close, then it may not work normally to blur the background, you will have to use a long focal length and a very open aperture. But if the background is very far away, then it will almost always turn out to be blurry.
If you are photographing a flower at close range, and for some reason you need to sharpen the mountains on the horizon, then you will have to clamp the aperture down to f22 or more. However, in this case, there is a chance to get a not sharp image anyway due to other features.

Alternatively, you can just remember a couple of things. We shoot landscapes and similar plans at f10, people and select objects at f2.5 (50 mm) or f5.6 (105 mm).

Relationship between shutter speed, aperture, ISO and semi-automatic modes

We got to the most difficult part, to the interconnection of all these parameters. I'll try to explain what's what, but you still can't do without trial. First of all, I want to advise you to use at the very beginning not a full manual mode (called M), but semi-automatic (Av and Tv for Canon, or A and S for Nikon), because it is much easier to think about one parameter, and not two at once ...

So, I have already cited some relationships just above. And if it is rather difficult to understand the depth of field at the beginning, then choosing the shutter speed and aperture without reference to the depth of field will be easier. It all boils down to keeping your frame moderately light / dark, because even if you shoot in RAW, it's not a fact that you will be able to stretch the photo with too erroneous values. And that is why I am in favor of semi-automatic modes.

Aperture priority (Av or A)

Let's say you are photographing a landscape in Av mode and your focal point is 24mm. Set f10, and the camera selects the shutter speed for you. And all you have to do is to make sure that it is no longer than the critical value of 1 / mm (I wrote about this above in the Excerpt paragraph). What to do next?

If the shutter speed is shorter than 1/24, for example 1/30 or 1/50, then everything is fine.
If the shutter speed is slower than 1/24, then you will have to set a higher ISO.
Further, if the ISO is not enough, then you can start opening the aperture. In principle, you can initially immediately open it at f5.6-f8, and then raise the ISO.
If the maximum working ISO is already set and there is nowhere to open the aperture, then either "put your hands on your sides" to somehow reduce the shaking, or look for a surface where you can put or press the carcass, or get a tripod. Alternatively, you can raise the ISO even higher, but then the photo will make a lot of noise.

Shutter Priority (Tv or S)

Moving objects or people are best shot in Tv mode to avoid blurring the subject. Naturally, the shorter the shutter speed, the better, but if there is little light, then you can focus on the values that I gave in the paragraph on shutter speed. That is, we set the shutter speed and control which aperture the camera will choose. It is better that it is not fully open, especially with fast lenses. If there is not enough light, then we also increase the ISO, if it is still not enough, then we try to lengthen the shutter speed.

ISO 1600 f2.8 1/50 sec - parameters at the limit, because it is dark and moving

Exposure compensation

Av and Tv are also convenient for this. Since the camera measures the exposure using the focus point, and it may be in the shade, or, on the contrary, it is too illuminated, the selected aperture or shutter speed values may not correspond to the required ones. And the easiest way to correct them is by using exposure correction, just turn the wheel 1-3 steps in the right direction and that's it, that is, if you need to make the whole frame darker, then in minus, if lighter, then in plus. In low light, I always immediately shoot at -2/3 negative in order to have a greater margin of settings.

P.S. I hope the article turned out to be not too difficult and readable. There are many nuances, but it is difficult to place them here, given that I myself do not know many things. If you find an error, write in the comments.

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to learn how to take really beautiful and enticing photos, you definitely need to deal with shooting modes on the camera. Try not to stay too long for Auto mode since pictures taken in this mode do not differ much from good point-and-shoot cameras, which raises the question: "Why then do you need a DSLR camera?"

This article is a logical continuation of "", in which we will analyze the shooting modes, such as : Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual.

Auto mode

This is the most popular mode among budding photographers... Many, after buying the first DSLR, look with horror at mode dial and see nothing more suitable on it than green mode "Auto"... And one / two weeks after the purchase, they climb on the forums and complain that the photos are not juicy, gloomy, and most importantly, smeared and indistinct. The whole problem lies in the fact that the person simply could not figure out the shooting modes, and settled on the simplest, Auto mode, where the camera does everything for him.

Modern SLR cameras have learned how to correctly select the right exposition, but to get the maximum result, you must at least learn how to correct it. You can trust a picture to the automation only at the first stages of studying the device. A month later, you simply have to forget about this mode, and switch to something more suitable :)

Mode P

It stands for how and is not much different from Auto, but if you decide to switch to it, this is already step forward... In this mode, the camera, just like in Auto, selects the shutter speed and aperture itself, but at the same time a number of possibilities become available to you, such as, for example, choosing with your own hands or, as well as several other less important parameters. I advise you not to dwell on it for a long time, because this mode is intermediate in mastering mode dial shooting.

Mode S

Indicates the mode shutter priority and is used most often when shooting sports or fast moving objects such as children. This mode has a limitation - the camera itself chooses a suitable aperture, i.e. you cannot blur the background, because it will already be decided by your device. And also, since the shutter speed values are much longer than the aperture values, this can lead to a dark or overexposed frame.

Mode A

Most popular with photographers - aperture priority mode... In this mode, you are given the opportunity to control the aperture, and hence the degree of background blur. Ideal for portraits, macro photography, and everyday life.

The camera itself sets the desired shutter speed for each frame, you only need to keep an eye on the aperture. This is the most convenient of the modes and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Mode M

Manual mode, i.e. manual shooting mode. Here you exhibit yourself and exposure and diaphragm... This is my second most important mode (in the first place, of course mode A), and I use it only in some cases, for example, when shooting at night with a tripod, or when I need to photograph children (fast moving objects, i.e. set a fast shutter speed) and at the same time keep an eye on the aperture so that it is as open as possible since there is always a lack of lighting in the premises.

Exposure compensation

In all shooting modes, you are given the opportunity to correct exposition, i.e. change the value suggested by the camera. It is not the main value that changes, but the secondary value, for example, in the aperture priority mode, exposure compensation changes only the shutter speed, and if you take pictures in the shutter speed priority mode, the aperture.

You can adjust the exposure compensation from “-5 ″ to“ +5 ″. If you drive the value to minus - the photo will be darker, if plus - it will be lighter. For example, here's a photo that was taken in aperture priority mode:

But exposure compensation at -5 Ev

And here is an amendment of +5

We have considered shooting modes for mirrors Nikon cameras... Have Canon they differ only in name, for example, aperture priority mode - Av, shutter priority mode - Tv. The program and manual modes are named in the same way as in Nikon - P and M.

Each camera has a bunch of modes, so you look at them and do not understand anything, but want to understand something ...? If - "YES", then I will try to introduce you to them as simply and interestingly as possible. Well, if "no", then take the instructions in your hands (although it will not help you much).

I want to say in advance that the camera has 4 main modes and a favorite Auto mode (in expensive professional DSLRs there are only 4 main modes). Of course, you’ll tell me now, but what about my favorite night mode, or portrait mode, or some other mode that you use so often. But in any way, this is just a husk, which is done mainly for those who understand little in the camera, and often do it rather poorly, the highlight is the modes P, S, A, M.

The first and most popular mode that 70% of people use is the mode codenamed "Auto", or auto, to whom it is more convenient. The mode is for those who don't bother too much about what they can do, they just press a button and that's it. In many cases this is correct, I am talking about those situations if you do not understand anything at all about your camera, or you just bought it, etc. But sooner or later, I hope, you will get tired of the constantly popping up flash (if you accidentally forgot to turn it off), or you just want to find out what more your camera is capable of. If you choose the path - "do not sweat", by the way, which is also quite likely, then well, you can stop reading this topic at this point.

We go further, very close and dear to the regime "Auto"- mode "P"(program mode automatic). In this mode, the camera automatically selects the required and by default. You can control this ratio, if it is possible, of course (in low light, you cannot fix anything). This mode already makes you think about what you are doing, therefore, for those who take pictures in "Auto" I advise you to urgently switch to the regime "R", it will not be worse, but better - I hope!

The mode, which is indicated by a Latin letter "S"(priority mode). You need to know when to use this mode, it is intended, as its name suggests, to control your exposure, it is. You control, and the camera sets automatically, depending on the selected shutter speed. This mode is useful if you are not satisfied with the shutter speed that the camera imposes on you. For example, if you are shooting handheld in a dark room and want not to blur the frame, you can set the shutter speed you need using the mode "S".

Mode "BUT"(priority mode).

This mode is the complete opposite of the previous one. Those. in this mode, you set the value, and the camera controls automatically. As for me, this is the most convenient mode, 90% of all the photos that I take, I take in this mode! Why, yes, because controlling the aperture is much easier than controlling everything, or controlling the shutter speed! For example, you are photographing a portrait of a person, in the mode "BUT" quickly expose what you need, and then you wanted to photograph the landscape, without switching anything, you just change the aperture value. Simple, convenient? Yes!

"M"(manual), or manual mode... You have to set both shutter speed and aperture value and be in control. My advice to you, if you hear from someone - take pictures only in the mode "M" and you will be a cool photographer, run away from this person, this mode should be used extremely rarely, and in certain situations, for example, if you (I still take pictures in it when I attach old Soviet lenses to the camera, but not because I want to , but because there is no other way out). Why am I so negative about this, because I have met very, well, just very few people (or rather, I have not met such people) who can cope faster and better than a professional DSLR camera, in which the developers have invested all their experience , and not small. Yes, you can choose the parameters you need, while spending a lot of time on it, do you need it? You have a DSLR camera in your hands, you are in the 21st century, if you want a thrill - pick up a film camera, a light meter and take photographs the way my father did, who took photographs on film for 20 years, developed it and took it on sleepless nights photos.

Bonus: "video" mode, everything seems so clear, rejoice those who have it, and even more rejoice those who do not have it! Although sometimes, it is very rare, but I regret that I do not have it on my fotik.

Usually, after getting bored with all the 'Auto' camera modes, a lot of people start using special semi-automatic modes. M, A, S, P... These modes can be found on the camera control wheel, as shown in the image below. Usually mode M, A, S, P stand out in a separate set, for example, in the photo below, these modes are highlighted with a special arc that unites them. Can be found instead of the name 'M, A, S, P' another name - 'P, A, S, M' or 'M, AV, TV, P'- they are all the same. I will try to talk about these modes in this article.

All modes of the camera are aimed at creating the optimal one. Any mode selects shooting parameters in such a way as to get the most correct picture in terms of the amount of light required to convey the exposed scene.

Important: modes P, A, S, M give additional access to many menu items that are not available in automatic modes. In these modes, you can adjust any functions to your liking, for example, control the ISO, choose the image format, etc.

To understand how these modes P, A, S, M work, I highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with such basic concepts in photography as:

Diaphragm

P

The simplest special mode is 'P' (Programmed) - flexible program mode.

It is very similar to the automatic mode of the camera ‘Auto’, but in this mode you can change the shutter speed within certain limits... changes in the range that allows the extreme values of the lens aperture. The shutter speed can be changed using the control wheels of the camera. If changed by the photographer, “*” is appended to the mode name. Shortest in mode 'P' is available at the smallest number F, and the longest is available at the largest number F. There is a golden rule of interchangeability of aperture values and, just on this rule, the operation of this mode is built. For example, if you increase the shutter speed, for example, 2 times, then the aperture will also close by one stop.

Example: if you increase the shutter speed from 1/200 second to 1/100 second, this will enable the matrix to absorb more light and get overexposure, so the camera must reduce the amount of light by closing the aperture, and the aperture will be closed by one stop. For example, if at 1 / 200s it was F4.0, then at 1 / 100s it will become F5.6. I do not like this mode in that it constantly tries to set the value and aperture that are convenient for the camera itself. With every new scene with a different exposure, camera re-adjusts shutter speed / aperture values and the exposure value has to be changed over and over again to suit your needs.

What the ‘P’ mode is used for: the mode is convenient to use when switching from the green zone (fully automatic mode of camera operation) to class modes M, A, S, P... You can be sure that the camera will help you get the normal settings. In this mode, you can take pictures of almost everything without worrying about the correct settings. It is very easy to achieve the fastest shutter speed available with the lens and the current ISO, and you can have complete confidence in the correct exposure. This can be used for ''. If you turn on the auto-iso mode, then the program mode works a little differently.

A(or Av)

A very useful mode is 'A' (Aperture Priority), or 'Av' (Aperture value) - aperture priority

This is one of my favorite camera modes. It is quite convenient, as it allows you to control the aperture, and with it the depth of field. In this mode, you can simply set the desired aperture value, and the camera itself will recalculate and select the shutter speed. The larger the aperture, the slower the shutter speed. Conversely, the smaller the aperture, the longer the shutter speed. The shutter maneuver is much wider than the aperture maneuver. Usually the shutter speed varies from 30 seconds to 1/8000 of a second, that is, the shutter speed limits are very long and the camera is almost can always find the right shutter speed for almost any aperture value on the camera.

For example: for a lens with aperture range from F3.5 to F36, the camera will almost always select the required shutter speed for any value of the F number. For example, for F3.5 a relatively fast shutter speed will be selected, and for F / 36, a slow shutter speed will be selected.

If at a certain value of the F-number the camera cannot find the required shutter speed value, then the value HiGH or LOW will be displayed on the camera in the field that is responsible for the shutter speed.

What is the ‘A’ mode used for: it is very convenient to control in this mode. Using Aperture Priority Mode is easy. Normally, aperture (aperture control) can dramatically improve image quality, as most lenses only provide maximum image quality in a certain range of F-numbers. For example, aperture greatly affects vignetting and. With this mode, you can easily control the intensity of bokeh, which is sometimes important for portraits. And with a closed aperture in the mode 'BUT' you can achieve long exposure photos, for example. You can and get different interesting effects, for example. This mode works very effectively when it is on.

S (or Tv)

'S' mode - (Shutter Priority), or 'Tv' (Time value) - shutter priority

Here, the opposite is true - this mode allows you to control the shutter speed, in contrast to the program mode, the shutter priority mode allows you to set any shutter speed that the camera can use. If you set a certain shutter speed on the camera, then the camera itself will select the desired aperture value. The mode works similarly to the aperture priority mode, only instead of the aperture value, you need to set the shutter speed here. The aperture travel is quite limited, and you can often find that the camera cannot set the correct aperture for a certain shutter speed.

If at a certain shutter speed the camera cannot find the required aperture value, then the HiGH or LOW value will be shown on the camera in the field that is responsible for the aperture.

What the ‘S’ mode is used for: this mode is very easy to achieve. This is very useful when shooting sports and fast moving subjects. In order to freeze something in the photo, it is enough to take a picture at a short shutter speed, for example, at 1/2000 second, while the camera itself will select the required aperture value for a shutter speed of 1/2000 second. Also, in this mode it is convenient without blurring the picture. This mode works very well when the auto ISO function is on.

M

'M' (Manual) - manual mode.

In this mode, the camera will have to set both the shutter speed and aperture manually, in fact, that's why the mode is called ' manual camera control here.

Conclusions:

Creative semi-automatic camera control modes are very useful in a number of situations and can very easily get the camera to do what the photographer wants. I recommend doing your own experiments.

↓↓↓ Like it :) ↓↓↓ Thank you for your attention. Arkady Shapoval.

Modern cameras have a variety of shooting modes. They are all divided into two types: scene modes such as Portrait, Landscape, Sports and creative modes such as Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority and Manual.

It is the creative modes in DSLRs that make shooting so convenient and controllable. These modes are used by professionals and amateurs, leaving the story modes for beginners.

It may seem to a beginner photographer that shooting in creative modes is something difficult, inaccessible to a mere mortal, but this is not at all the case. Once you understand these modes, using them is no more difficult than shooting in fully automatic mode.

Whichever mode you shoot, the (brightness) of the photo is determined by three parameters:, and.

When shooting in automatic mode, the camera independently sets these parameters to obtain a standard exposure. At the same time, the camera measures the illumination of the scene, in other words, it "knows" how much light falls, and, relying on this knowledge, sets the required values for ISO, aperture and shutter speed (read more about this in the article). All you have to do is point the camera at the object and press the shutter button.

Just? But simplicity comes at the price of a lack of control over filming. We can only guess what values of shutter speed, ISO and aperture will be chosen by the camera. The only thing we know is that the frame will have a normal exposure.

At the same time, for artistic photography, it is important to control the depth of field of the image, which is set by the aperture, motion blur, which is determined by the shutter speed, and the level of noise, which depends on the sensitivity of the sensor.

Creative modes: and Shutter Priority combine control over the parameters that are important to us and the simplicity of shooting in automatic mode... Let's consider the process of shooting in these modes in order.

Depending on the brand of camera, this mode may be referred to as Av(Canon) or A(Nikon), perhaps in other cameras this mode will be designated differently, but the logic of operation will be the same everywhere.

In Aperture Priority mode, we set the aperture value, and the camera independently adjusts the shutter speed to obtain the standard exposure. Thus, shooting is not much more difficult than in automatic mode, but at the same time we get full control over the depth of field. This allows us to control the blur (or sharpness) of the background and foreground, those areas that are closer or further away from the focusing distance.

I use this mode most often because it is best suited for shooting both portraits and landscapes, and in general any scene where control over the depth of field is important.

Consider an example of shooting a portrait outdoors in natural light. Shooting a portrait, I want to focus on the model, on her eyes and emotions. To do this, I will use a shallow depth of field, thereby blurring everything that does not come into focus (first of all, the background).

I am setting the mode. Since the shooting will take place on a street where there is a lot of light, I set the minimum ISO- 100, which will give me a minimum of noise and pure colors. Then I install open aperture 2-2.8. I shoot with high aperture portrait lenses such as the 85mm 1.8, which allows me to shoot at very large (open) apertures, blurring the background a lot. All this can be done while preparing for shooting.

When shooting starts and the model is in place, I point the camera at it and press the shutter button halfway. At this point, the camera will measure the light and set the shutter speed required to obtain a standard exposure. The shutter speed will be displayed in the viewfinder. Since I set the sensitivity and aperture myself, shutter speed is the only parameter that the camera sets to obtain a standard exposure.

At this point, I need to make sure that the shutter speed is not too high for handheld shooting, otherwise the frame may be blurred. For the 85mm lens, shutter speeds faster than 1 / 100th of a second are acceptable for handheld shooting. If I see this value in the viewfinder, I shoot with these settings. If the camera sets the shutter speed longer, for example 1/30, I will raise the sensitivity to make the shutter speeds shorter.

Taking off in Aperture priority I set the aperture and ISO myself, but I make sure the shutter speeds are fast enough to keep my pictures sharp. If I place the model in the shade, or it is a cloudy day or evening, then it may be necessary to raise the ISO. If I raise the ISO twice, then the camera (to compensate for the change in exposure) will also reduce the shutter speed by half.

For example, the camera gives a shutter speed of 1/30, but I want it to be shorter than 1/100. To do this, I need to raise the ISO from 100 to 400. This will reduce the shutter speed to 1/120.

This is how I shoot most of my portraits.

When I shoot a landscape I need to get both the foreground and background clear, in this case I also use the mode, but now I close the aperture down to 11-16, getting a greater depth of field. However, the shutter speed can be too long for handheld photography, so landscapes are usually shot with a tripod. But, as in the first example, I set the aperture and sensitivity myself, and the camera selects the shutter speed to get the standard exposure.

With a little practice, you will become familiar with the mode. In practice, it is not much more difficult than shooting in automatic mode. The camera will still adjust the exposure based on the light metering in the scene. You will have complete control over the depth of field. For example, in this shot, I wanted to clearly convey the entire depth of the scene, for which I simply closed the aperture to f 5.6.

But do not forget to keep an eye on the long exposure in order not to get the so-called "wiggle" when shooting handheld.

Shutter Priority

The mode is denoted as Tv or S... In its principle, it is similar to the previous regime, but here the opposite is true.

In Shutter Priority mode, we set the shutter speed, and the camera independently selects the aperture to obtain the standard exposure.

This mode combines the convenience of auto exposure and fixed shutter speed.

For example, when shooting sports events, it takes short shutter speeds of 1/500 - 1/1000 second to freeze motion. The best mode for this is Shutter Priority... We select this mode, set the shutter speed to 1/500 second and the minimum ISO - 100. Then, aiming the camera at the scene, press the shutter button halfway. The aperture value set by the camera will be displayed in the viewfinder.

Since the aperture is limited by the lens, it may not be sufficient to obtain the desired exposure. In this case, the aperture value will blink in the viewfinder, suggesting that the camera cannot obtain the correct exposure. In this situation, we need to raise the ISO until the aperture value stops blinking.

Exposure allows us to control motion blur. At short shutter speeds, fast-moving objects are “frozen”, while at long shutter speeds, on the contrary, they are blurred or become completely invisible. For example, raindrops begin to stop at 1 / 1000th of a second, and the boiling water in a river smoothes out at 15 seconds.

There is an interesting technique called "". It consists in taking a frame, following a moving object with the camera. In this case, you need to choose a shutter speed so that the subject is sharp enough, and the background is blurred, emphasizing the rapid movement in the frame.

This shot was taken at a shutter speed of 1 / 125th of a second. A similar technique can be performed as in the mode Shutter Priority and in Manual mode.

Manual mode for all cameras is indicated by the letter M.

In this mode, we independently set all the parameters:, and. But this is not as difficult as it seems, because in this case, too, we rely on the readings from the light metering of the frame!