What your "Scene Modes" can't do for you.



One of the first things that I teach my photography students is this: Your camera is dumb. It's true. I don't care how expensive your camera is, it's not likely to be able to understand anything but how much light is in the scene. Even that can be sketchy. Because of this, cameras are now shipping with modes called "scene modes". These are the little pictures of mountains or children or flowers on your camera dial. Many people use these modes to give the camera a better guess at what they are photographing with the hopes that the camera can do a better job. The problem is, well, the camera is still dumb.

Let's use a scenario to explain this, shall we? Let's say that you are photographing your crazy little kids running around outside in mid-day sunlight (plenty of light) with the "children" mode selected. For the most part, the camera has just been told that it is photographing children and to keep the shutter speed as fast as it can....at that's it. It can't really figure much else out. It may not necessarily blur the background or keep your shots in focus or any of that. It just knows that it is photographing a fast-moving subject. But what if your lighting changes? What if you are photographing them in the shade at a park on an overcast day? The lighting is dramatically different. Your camera is going to have problems.

You see, scene modes are simply an automatic mode with an educated guess. Nothing more. What is worse, they make you completely reliant on your camera to figure it all out. It never allows you to change settings and to learn what they do.  Now, if you have no desire to learn what the settings do then keep on using those modes (by the way, why are you reading this blog then?).

In future posts, I'm going to begin explaining the settings on your camera so that you can begin to take control of your settings and get the shots you want to get. 

Popular posts from this blog

What camera should I buy? (2018 edition)

Image
This is probably one of the most asked questions by anyone looking to get into photography. To be fair, there are way too many choices out there, so let's do our best to tackle this question as objectively as possible. First off, I need to let you readers know that I have owned and used a tremendous amount of different cameras over the years. From smartphone cameras to point-and-shoot models to industry-leading DSLRs to mirrorless and everything in-between. That being said, I obviously have my preferences. This post will not spend time on that. I'll try to be as quick and concise as possible. Here goes: 1. Get what you can afford, but be reasonable. Seriously. If you can't afford much, I would advise save up to expand your options. If you are looking for the perfect camera, then you will be majorly disappointed, because it doesn't exist. I DO know that unless you are willing to spend more than 100 dollars, then you probably wont' find anything worth buying...
Read more

How to photograph your family holiday time.

Image
In my family history, one of the most consistent activities that occurred during the holidays is that the camera was ever-present. You knew that you were getting your photo taken during this time. As time when on and I began to get into photography, I joined in this trend as well. Soon, however, I started to find myself asking, "what should I focus on for these photos?" This was because every holiday was looking the same. I wanted to somehow make holiday photos a little more interesting. Not just for the viewer, but for me as the photographer. Here are a few tips that I have found useful for keeping holiday photos a bit more interesting for everyone: 1. Start a tradition: These kinds of photos, although kind of cheesy, can be fun. Get the kids in front of the tree, pose everybody with wrapping paper head-pieces, or come up with a new idea. The tradition photos have the less likely chance of promoting any grumbles, as they are "tradition after all". Try t...
Read more