Full/Semi Auto Part 1
Ok so most of the time we shooting in full auto mode which is indicated by a green square on the mode dial. This works great as the camera calculates everything itself… But what happens when the camera miscalculates something and the picture doesn’t turn out how you intended.
Well your first instinct is to retake the shot right ? Good idea but the bad photo is bound to happen again. My advice is steer clear of the full auto mode as it will cause you to become less creative with your photo’s. Lets switch the camera into “P” mode.
“P” mode, meaning program mode. This is basically a semi auto mode in which you can change certain settings to control the way light enters the camera.
So you out capturing precious moments when your natural lighting falls away and you have a relatively dark scene, but to your eyes its the perfect shot with atmosphere and a good feel to it. So now we switch to P mode and take the photo. Change the ISO settings by pressing your ISO button if you are not satisfied with the results. I would play with the settings until my picture looks the way I want it to. This will change the camera’s image sensor to be more sensitive to light. Meaning your dark picture now comes out a little bit brighter and visa versa. You will also notice that the shutter increases and decreases as your camera automatically calculates according to your different ISO setting.
The thing about High ISO settings is that it tends to add noise to the photo. The higher the iso the more noise. So be careful when using high ISO’s because it might look good on the camera’s LCD but not when printed or viewed on computer.
So take your camera now and go test the iso settings and just play around with it in different lighting situations. Notice the speed of the shutter. Also notice if you zoom into your images the difference in noise on the photo.
Part 2 of this will cover more settings in “P” Mode.
