A or S mode?

[ian9v1wd]

Does anyone have any tips on when to shoot in A or S mode?

Thought I might pose this question as someone might have a good answer which might benefit all of us. Thanks.

Ian

[lostmysnorkel]

Hi Ian,

There's no straight answer to the question really. It all depends on what you are shooting and what effects you are trying to create.

As a wedding 'tog, most of my work is done in 'A' (Aperture Priority) so that I can control the depth of field. While working this way I always keep an eye on the shutter speed to avoid camera shake and movement blur.......

If you are shooting fast-moving subjects, like cars, and want to freeze the action, then 'S' or Shutter Priority might suit best. You can set the shutter speed to freeze the action and let the camera work out the best aperture for you.

Shooting waterfalls to achieve the blurred water effect, then set a slow shutter speed and let the cam work out the aperture.

[ian9v1wd]

What about taking a group photo, would A Mode be correct?
Thanks

Ian

[sarah_c]

What about taking a group photo, would A Mode be correct?
Thanks

Ian

probably best, yes, to make sure you have everyone in focus

[MickT]

What about taking a group photo, would A Mode be correct?
Thanks

Ian

Hi Ian...in general - Yes - but you'll need to be aware of the effects different apertures have on the depth of field in the shot (the amount of the shot that's in sharp focus)....wider apertures have a 'narrower' dof, whereas smaller apertures have a 'wider' dof (this also varies with the focal length of the lens)....take some test shots M8....or use the dof preview button if your camera has one...:)
Cheers
Mick.

[Chris Hawkins]

I have never shot in any mode other that Ap priority. Exception is shooting multi-shot panos, when u have to shoot in manual.

[Alan W]

Outside at weddings I generally I shoot in shutter priority with the speed set at 1/200 second. For me this gives nice crisp sharp shots and I keep an eye on the aperture size and if the aperture starts to get a bit too wide for the shot I compensate with the ISO to close it down.

If the shot requires a very shallow DOF I turn to Av which is always set on f4 and if flash is to be used try to remember to switch on the high speed sync.

Inside the church I do a variety of things - shutter priority set at 1/125th second when the bride is walking down the aisle and let the flash sort the rest out. General shots in church wide to mid range where flash is allowed maybe P mode with iso at around 800 to pick up some of the ambient. When flash isn't allowed out comes the 85mm f1.8 and I switch to Av and try to shoot at f2.8, adjusting the iso to get the right shutter speed.

At the reception maybe manual, 1/80th second f5 iso 800

[ian9v1wd]

Grateful to all who answered my recent query.
(What about taking a group photo, would A Mode be correct?)

This is indeed a great place to learn and get some useful tips on photography
as well.
Cheers all!

Ian

[DavidFenwick]

For group shots aperture priority mode is definitely the way to go since control of depth of field (DOF) is critical. Since you want to fill the frame with the group you end up standing quite close - which radically reduces DOF - watch out if you have several rows. To compensate for this I shoot at at least f/8.

I'm also a big fan of manual mode - but under very specific conditions.

1. You're shooting outside at a wedding and the light is unchanging (obviously it does change but during the afternoon it shouldn't vary dramatically over the course of 15 minutes). Provided everybody is illuminated by the same incident light (no shadow areas, shafts of sunlight through clouds etc), once you find an exposure that you're happy with (by checking the histogram) you can plug these values into manual mode and shoot away. It doesn't matter what levels of reflectance you're seeing in your shots (all white or all black, it doesn't matter) you'll always be spot on with your exposure.

2. Flash situation 1. You're inside for the reception. You want to capture the maximum amount of ambient light but there's so little you're getting shutter speeds that are too slow for human subjects, or a photographer with delirium tremens. You choose the exposure parameters, compatible with your needs, to let the most light in (ie let's say you're at a focal length of 50mm, you choose 1/50s for no camera shake, f 4 to give you some DOF, and the highest ISO setting that gives acceptable noise results in your camera). Plug these settings into manual mode (your camera's meter will be blinking to tell you that you're underexposing) and then use flash to illuminate your subject.

3. Flash situation 2. Shooting outside - underexposing for ambient light and using flash to illuminate the subject. Obviously you can do this in other modes but most cameras only give you exposure compensation of -2 stops. This is a fun technique. Meter for ambient light and then underexpose in manual mode to keep detail in the sky (this may require up to 4 stops depending upon the condition). Leads to very dramatic shots.

Yours,

David