I sat down today and was getting my gear set up and ready to go because I have a shoot with a famous soccer player tonight. (My son). It is the opening game of the season and I want to make sure that everything is just right. Batteries charged, 55-200mm lens attached, lens hood, a flash...just in case, and of course memory cards. Those tend to be one that gets forgotten quite a bit. As I was getting everything together I smiled and remembered what getting ready for a game use to be like. Grab the kids, check the uniforms, make sure everything is right, shove the camera in the pocket and out the door. It was simple, and now I have so much more to think about, and sometimes it can be a lot, but when I look at those early pictures of my children playing sports and I look at them now I am so glad that I upgraded to a DSLR, and even more appreciative of the fact that I finally turned off auto and went to manual.
I have read in a number of photography groups about beginners asking if they really needed to take their brand new camera off of the auto setting and if they did, what mode, any mode besides manual should they put it in.
The very short answer, YES! Take it out of auto, and take control!
I remember being in that very situation, and worrying about taking control away from the camera and having to rely on myself to pick the aperture, or shutter speed, or the ISO, and make sure that it was focused and trying to catch that perfect shot. It was a lot, and it was a very scary thought. These are my children, and they only play that very game once, and than it is gone forever. My biggest fear was taking control of this camera and than missing the amazing moments in the game and never being able to share it with the family is back home.
My first DSLR camera was a Nikon D40. I thought that camera was amazing. It was a huge improvement from the Cybershot that I had been working with, and even with the kit lens I realized there was less noise and the focus was so much better than the previous photos I was getting. I had a huge fear of the dials, and buttons and anything that gave me control over the camera in any sort of way, and in many ways, especially during night games I learned that this was causing so much more stress than I really needed to be dealing with. The struggle to get the photo right was so great that I began to notice that I was missing more of the game struggling with poor image quality and the camera not wanting to focus than I was enjoying shooting the game or even enjoying it. This was when I realized that the auto mode was not all that I thought that it was.
I decided that it was time for a change. I started taking my DSLR everywhere with me. During practice I would use different modes. I was very stubborn and decided that instead of reading a manual I could teach myself, so every practice it was a different mode. Which in most cases worked well. The reason it worked was because I fought the same conditions during practice as I did during the game, so I was able to spend all week running through the modes and trying to figure out which would work best for the game. I will say that there was one mode that I avoided, and that of course was manual mode. It remained very intimidating to me. So for a whole season I practiced in aperture priority, shutter priority and so on. This did yield better photos, but I still was not happy. I finally gave in during practice and switched to manual, and since that day I have not looked back.
(One of my first attempts with my camera on manual)
It was something that was not instant, and definitely was not perfect, but I realized that I was free, and had control. I could pick all of the settings, and control the dynamics within the constraints of my camera, and it was as if a huge light bulb went off in my head. Suddenly shooting at night became a little easier. It wasn't perfect as I tried to push my camera far beyond what it could do in performance, but I noticed that there was a much better improvement and I loved the pictures much more.
Were my pictures perfect from the beginning? Absolutely not! Are they always perfect now? Definitely not. There are things that I forget all the time. For example I forget that the last time I shot my camera it was the middle of the day and I have the settings set to accommodate for the mid day sun, and the shutter speed up, and when I grab my camera and rattle off the first test shots all the photos come back black, or vise versa I was shooting a night game and transition to a day game and all the test shots are blown out. This causes a short set back as I have to make adjustments, but once I have it set I am ready to go until my lighting changes or what I am shooting changes.
As with anything in life there is a learning curve. But if you are not learning you are not living, therefore never be afraid to learn. Remember you bought a DSLR for a reason, and you only know that reason, but you need to own it. Don't just throw your money away by never exploring the other options outside of the auto setting. Take the time to explore, and learn how to use each setting, and once you have determined your favorite stick with it, but never forget that the other settings are there, just in case, there may be that time that you do need them.
There is a saying that eyes are the window to the soul, and I believe that this is very true, I also believe that photographs are windows to the past, and I want to make sure that I have done everything that I can to make that window as clear, and as perfect as possible.
(A few seasons later. It may not be perfect but so much better!)
I would love to hear your thoughts or answer your questions regarding switching from auto to another mode. If you have tips or tricks please share those as well! I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you!
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