Shooting modes

Learning goal

You will be able to explain how each position on the mode dial shares the decisions between the camera and you: in full auto everything is with the camera, in scene modes it follows a ready recipe, in P the camera suggests and you correct, in A and S one decision is yours and one the camera's, and in M everything is yours. You will recognize the different names different manufacturers give to the same modes, be able to show why moving from auto to P is the first and easiest step, and complete the module project.

The question

When you turn the dial on top of the camera for the first time, you see a series of letters and symbols: a green square or the word "Auto", a small mountain, a running person, a face, and then P, A, S and M. Most people set the dial to the green square and never touch it again. The letters look like a secret language that belongs to experts.

What do the letters P, A, S and M on your camera mean? In fact these letters are not a complicated code but the steps of a staircase. At the bottom, the camera makes every decision. At each step, part of the control passes to you. At the top, all the decisions are yours. In this lesson we will climb the staircase step by step and find the right starting step for you.

Context

In the previous lessons you got to know the parts inside the camera: the aperture, the opening through which light comes in; the shutter speed, how long the light comes in; and ISO, how sensitively the sensor responds to weak light. In every photo, each of these three settings has a value. The mode dial decides who chooses those values: the camera, you, or the two of you together?

This question matters because the camera is clever but doesn't know what you want. Do you want to melt the background in a portrait, or have everything sharp from front to back in a landscape? Freeze a running child, or make flowing water look like silk? The camera guesses the answers to these questions and usually chooses a safe average. Knowing the modes means knowing when to accept that guess and when to correct it. We will see the details of exposure and the deeper use of these modes in the exposure module; this lesson is the map of the staircase.

Simple explanation

What do the auto and scene modes leave to the camera?

Full auto mode is usually shown with a green square or the word "Auto". In this mode the camera decides everything itself: the aperture, the shutter speed, ISO, white balance, whether the flash fires. Your job is only to build the frame and press the shutter button. It is comfortable for a beginner, but it has a limit: on most cameras, corrections such as exposure compensation are locked in this mode. When the camera gets it wrong, for example when it leaves a face dark, you can't step in.

Scene modes are ready recipes shown with small symbols. A face symbol tries to soften the background for a portrait, a mountain symbol tries to keep everything sharp for a landscape, a running-person symbol chooses a short shutter speed to freeze movement. These recipes are an easy way to tell the camera what you are photographing. But you don't know what is inside the recipe, and when the recipe doesn't fit the scene, you can't change it.

What does P mode change?

The first real step on the staircase is program mode (P). In P mode the camera still chooses the aperture and the shutter speed itself, but it leaves the other decisions to you: you set ISO, white balance, exposure compensation and whether the flash is used. On many cameras, by turning the command dial, you can also shift the aperture and shutter speed pair the camera suggests while keeping the total amount of light the same.

The biggest gain from moving to P is that you can correct the camera's decision. This is especially valuable when you photograph people. The camera wants to bring every scene close to a middle gray; when the sky glares behind, it does this for the scene as a whole. The face of a darker-skinned person smiling under that sky stays dark in full auto, and on most cameras you can't fix it; the camera may also fire the flash at a moment you didn't want. In P mode you turn exposure compensation a little toward plus, switch off the flash, and the face comes to the right brightness. If a lighter-skinned face comes out brighter than it should in front of a dark background, you give a little minus compensation the same way. Climbing a single step gives that decision back to you.

How does control pass to you in the A, S and M modes?

The next steps of the staircase give the creative decisions to you. In aperture priority (A/Av) mode you choose the aperture and the camera finds a suitable shutter speed. This mode is used when you want to decide whether the world behind the subject will soften or not; it is a frequent choice of portrait and landscape photographers. In shutter priority (S/Tv) mode, on the other hand, you choose the shutter speed and the camera finds a suitable aperture. This mode helps when you want to freeze movement or let it flow on purpose.

Manufacturers may give these modes different names. On some brands aperture priority is written Av instead of A, and shutter priority Tv instead of S; their jobs are the same. At the top of the staircase stands manual mode (M). In M mode you choose both the aperture and the shutter speed; you can also set ISO by hand or leave it on auto. M gives you control of everything, but it also puts the responsibility for every decision on you.

On this staircase, a higher step doesn't mean a better photo. Experienced photographers also change steps according to the scene: A or S on a fast-changing street, M in the studio or under a night sky. What matters is knowing, at each step, who has the control. We will work through each of these modes separately and in depth in the exposure module.

Visual evidence

Imagine photographing a friend's portrait twice on a sunny afternoon, in front of a white wall. Your friend has darker skin, and their face has fallen a little into shadow against the strong light reflected from the wall. First you shoot with the dial on the green square. The camera sees the bright wall and darkens the scene; your friend's face is close to a dark silhouette, and their eyes and smile can't be made out. On top of that, the camera has fired the flash: a hard, flat glare in the middle of the face and a sharp shadow on the wall.

Then you turn the dial to P and set up the same frame again. You switch off the flash and move the compensation dial one step toward plus. The wall is now a little brighter, almost white; but your friend's face is at the right brightness. The warm tone of their skin, the light in their eyes and the detail of their smile come out, and the flash's hard shadow is gone. The same camera, the same light, the same moment; the only difference is that you turned the dial up one step and could correct the camera's decision.

Common mistakes

Summary

The mode dial is a staircase that shares the exposure decisions between the camera and you: full auto and the scene modes leave everything to the camera, P mode lets you correct the camera's suggestion, the A and S modes hand you either the aperture or the shutter speed, and M mode hands you both. Moving from auto to P is the easiest and most rewarding first step, because in the moments when the camera gets it wrong, especially when photographing faces, it gives the decision back to you.

Mini assignment

This assignment is the module's "10 Frames From My Home" project itself.

1. Take ten different photos inside your home using full auto mode only: different rooms, different lights, different objects and at least one face.
2. Open the details of each photo and write down in a list the aperture, shutter speed and ISO the camera chose.
3. Choose a frame where you think the camera got it wrong, and shoot the same scene again in P mode, changing the exposure compensation or the flash.
4. Gather the ten frames and the frame you corrected in a folder; under each one, write a single sentence about the camera's decision.

Check yourself

• Did you take all ten frames in full auto and in scenes different from one another?
• Were you able to read and list the values the camera chose?
• Could you explain why the correction you made in P mode improved the photo?

Glossary

Mini quiz

1. What is the most important difference between P mode and full auto mode?

• A) In P mode the camera makes no decisions
• B) In P mode you can correct decisions such as exposure compensation, ISO and flash
• C) P mode is only for night shooting
• D) In P mode photos are saved in black and white

2. If you want to decide how blurry the background will be, which mode is more suitable?

• A) Scene mode
• B) Shutter priority
• C) Aperture priority
• D) Full auto

3. Which mode does the letter Tv, seen on some cameras, show?

• A) Manual mode
• B) Full auto mode
• C) Program mode
• D) Shutter priority

4. If a darker-skinned face in front of a bright background comes out dark in full auto, what is the easiest fix?

• A) Moving to P mode and shifting compensation toward plus
• B) Nothing; the camera's decision is always right
• C) Choosing the landscape symbol in scene mode
• D) Shooting from further away

Answers

1. B — In P mode the camera still chooses the aperture and shutter speed itself, but the compensation, ISO, white balance and flash decisions pass to you; in full auto these are mostly locked.
2. C — In aperture priority you choose the aperture, and the aperture opening directly decides how much the world behind will soften; the camera sets the shutter speed to match.
3. D — Some manufacturers write shutter priority as Tv instead of S; its function is the same: you choose the shutter speed and the camera finds the aperture.
4. A — The camera sees the bright background and darkens the scene; in P mode, turning compensation toward plus brings the face to the right brightness, while in full auto this correction is mostly switched off.

Summary card

• The mode dial is a staircase: at each step, part of the control passes to you.
• Full auto and scene modes: everything with the camera, correction mostly switched off.
• P: the camera suggests, you correct with compensation, ISO and flash.
• A/Av: the aperture is yours; S/Tv: the shutter speed is yours; M: both are yours.
• A higher step doesn't mean a better photo; choose your step to suit the scene.

Bridge to the next lesson

The know-your-camera module ends here: you have seen its types, its inner parts, its sensor, its buttons, its files and its modes. The next module turns to the camera in your pocket, and its opening question is an honest one: where does your phone camera let you down? There you will see why a phone is so strong in daylight, and why it struggles in the dark, at a distance and with fast movement.