Do you need to shoot in Manual mode?

Thank you :)

Are camera settings important? Should you use a manual mode, or can everything be done in Auto? In this video I walk through how I choose my camera settings, and why it doesn't have to be a complicated process!

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Thank you :)

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GEAR:

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[foundations]

My school's off now... I know which Youtube channel I'll be watching all day long... pssstt it's yours

[DavidSenteno]

I think by making photography seem complicated it gives us the feeling we are special. Ellie people who know every mode and setting and you don't. When I started I felt like I could never compete. Now I just want to have fun and do the best I can. Sharing the love of photography is way more infectious than the tiny details. 👍🏻👊🏻🥂

[TW]

Once again James's 'photography philosophy' is spot on

[Jazzmaster]

"There are an awful lot of people, making an awful lot of money, out of making photography seem much more complicated than it is"

Thank you, I could not agree more. The amount of "gear" I see recommended by other people can be pretty insane. I think some folks are unsure of themselves and so they feel they have to have a variety of lenses, filters etc. "just in case", like they may need a long expsosure so they pack in multiple ND filters etc. so they can get the kind of photo they think they ""should"" get. It's taken me a while, but I moved past that, and now my setup and process is very simple. It doesn't need to be complex, maybe because I'm pretty satisfied what I'm getting out of it now.

[marktrued]

Photography is a craft. Seeing, really seeing, is the Art.

[mattcom]

Terrible video editor? No way. The manner in which you finesse some of those jump cuts....audio edit before video, for example...speaks of mastery, not ineptitude. I’ve been watching Youtube videos for a couple of years now and I came to the medium hating jump cuts. Still do, except when they’re done well. You’ve somehow managed to incorporate everything from framing to subject motion to brilliant timing in a way that makes them completely acceptable, even admirable. I can’t even see most of what you’re doing. No greater praise.

[CheeseOnEverything]

This is very true, because you have to understand the settings and what they do instead of having each photo's settings on the frame. The light is different in every situation, whether you're shooting during sunny days, cloudy days, in the shade, shooting portrait or landscape. Everything changes.

[GeneWaddle]

As a beginner several years ago the best advice I got on settings was to find a scene I wanted to shoot, set the camera to auto, then look at what it determined the settings should be and adjust from there. The camera itself is a great learning tool.

I suppose until the outside is available again we'll have to settle for the 🐑 on the shelf unless of course, some 🐑 come to visit at your house. No offense intended to the 🐑 on the shelf, I'm sure he's a fine 🐑.

[joekoz]

For what it's worth, you're spot on about posting settings along with the image. It's something I've believed since the beginnings of my photographic adventure in the late 1960s. Posting the settings tell you little or nothing of value to the viewer. Because of the relationships between ISO, shutter speed and aperture, you could post two dozen settings that would achieve very much the same image.

[Mr_Smith]

Thankyou James, this finally triggered the initive in me to go and do some simple research to learn if it technically mattered if I was shooting high shutter speed wide apature vs. slow shutter speed narrow apature. And as you would know I learned technically no, it mostly dictates motion blur and depth of field which makes me happier knowing I wasn't doing anything inherently wrong.

So thank you again for making these videos James.

I started out, as I imagine most of us did, shooting exclusively in auto mode. It wasn't until I was at an event that went into the night that I had to force myself to rather quickly learn manual mode due to auto mode severely underexposing the shot. As of that day I have never had the need nor desire use auto mode again.

[christophpleininger]

Once again, I couldn't agree more. I love your honest approach and putting fun first in photography.

[franklawler]

Your Videos are always a breath of fresh air James. Photography is not as complicated as some people make you believe. I think there is are so many videos on YouTube which seem to be aimed at photographers who spend all their time renting or buying the latest equipment and that it makes me wonder they will ever fully master anything they buy.
I have used the same set up for a long while and know what I can get out of my camera/lens combination for my wildlife photography. With digital (unlike film) you can do trial and error and quickly correct in most cases and digital just cries out for experimentation. There is a lot to be said with just fiddling about in photography which is both fun and intuitive.
On your mountain biking..Have Emily ride in front of you as I'm sure she is less reckless than you and is more money conscious!
Also, I think you have scored a first in photography video land by helping a lady load scuba gear into her car..Well done!
Thank you for another fine video.

[washingtonradio]

Great overview of how to chose settings. I understand your point about reviewing the settings someone else made is often pointless because we were not there to see what the issues were that determined the settings.

[marekward]

Thanks. I listened to all those who spouted that Manual Mode was the proper way. After about 8000 pictures I switched to Aperture Priority. I still keep an eye on speed but my usable pictures have increased dramatically. It only takes a little cloud to drift by, or away and the exposure changes in the space of seconds. A/P reacts way quicker than me. More than anything it allows me to take one or two shots instead of five or six to get what picture I wanted and just saves time sifting through the better photos on a memory card.

[spiegeje]

Love your honesty and humor. Your editing isn’t bad...your personality seems to come through.

[CarolyneMacMillan]

I've been an aperture priority girl for years. I occasionally go shutter priority for bike racing and chasing my kids but mostly AP. It's just habit I think, formed after 30 odd years making images. I found what worked best for me and stuck with that. Lately I've been checking out P mode to try something different while we're locked in. I must say I quite like it. I switch between fixed ISO and auto ISO depending on the situation and the light. I like that I can change both aperture and shutter speed with one dial instead of switching to one or the other and then changing the settings and of course you still have exposure compensation for fine tuning things. I can understand why photojournalists find it useful. It's a very quick way to change settings in fast changing situations. Manual mode on steroids.


As for settings on images, I have to confess I never look at them. I'm more interested in walking around inside the image if you know what I mean. The only time I've really looked at them has been recently for astro shots. I bought a Samyang 7.5mm lens to give astro a go but since the lens arrived a couple of days ago, it's been raining. Murphy's law I think.


Cycling I'd say keep trying. Don't run before you can walk though. Try easy trails and build up speed and confidence. One tip I learned from a friend that crashed off a farm motorcycle, don't wear wool close to your skin. It causes burns in a fall. Keep a layer between. I've no idea what all these new man-made fabrics are like in a fall. Hopefully they give some protection. Stay safe :)

[TheMoodyPhotographer]

@3:03 The best sentence anyone has heard about camera gears 👏🏻👏🏻

[joeshmoe]

One does not have to shoot in manual, but some of us prefer it. 6 years after my first DSLR and around 100K photos taken...99% in full manual. I start with abase setting like ISO 640, shutter 800, f6.3. The vast majority of time I am shooting birds or wild life, so the base settings is a start.

I can change shutter and aperture on the fly with out taking my eye off the subject. It is just my preferred way to work. Auto modes do work well in a modern camera, but I am puzzled at those that shoot in Av mode and choose an aperture that will get them a high shutter speed. 

Av when you want to control depth of field, Tv when you want to choose shutter speed.

On good thing about at least learning to shoot in manual is the ability to guesstimate an exposure if something isn't working. I can sunny 16 my way out of any scenario.

[timothylinn]

I'm going to be the voice of dissent on the issue of sharing settings with your images. They _can_ be instructional but, more than that, they are interesting. Interestingness is reason enough. I don't deny that some newb may not know what to do with the information but dumbing down a channel to target the lowest common denominator seems short-sighted.

As for the extra effort, if you create a project template from which you begin each episode, you can include a title template in it which you can copy and customize for each image with very little time or effort expended.

Great channel, BTW. I'm enjoying the content as well as your sense of humor.

[quadisimov]

Welcome to the world of editing James. 5 hours for a 10 min vid is actually pretty good. When I’m editing a TV show, I often need weeks if not a month to edit a single episode. It’s time consuming! Love the video, glad you’re ok after falling of the bike.