LocalNavy433 Photography

Hello and how the hell are you and if this is your first time here thanks for stopping by.  In this blog we are going to go over how to learn to shoot in manual mode.  This would be the mode that every new photographer thinks is the holy grail of shooting and to that I say it is the wrong mind set to be in.  I learned how to shoot in manual mode from watching so many YouTube videos on how it was done.  The one that stuck with me was FroKnows Photo in that video Mr. Polin explained that the easiest way was to shoot an image in auto then check the info screen to see the exposure.  

You see this method gives you the base for how to get a starting point with shooting in manual.  Let the tool teach you what type of exposure you are going to need to capture the image in a manner that will have a good exposure.  I tried this and then the whole exposure triangle just clicked (yes pun intended).  This was the fastest and easiest way for me to learn and it was on from that point forward for me.  Now days the only times that I shoot in manual is when I want to capture the photo in a certain way.  For example, when I am shooting a super long exposure to get the movement in the image.  I always shoot in Aperture mode because then I am in control of the depth of field in my images and I let the camera do the rest for me.  

When you are first starting to shoot in manual mode you feel as though you are now a photographer and that is true to a certain degree.  The part that truly makes you a photographer is the fact that you have your camera (and this includes a cellphone) in your hand and taking photos.  The trick to shooting in manual mode is knowing what the finished image is going to look like.  The fact that you are trying new things really teaches you what will work and what will not work.  The one thing that I found was shooting in manual mode gives me total control of my images and at the end of the day that is what we want right. 

The next issue that we see as photographers is the fact that it is stated time and time again that you are not a real photographer if you shoot in any type of auto mode.  This could not be further from the truth in my opinion.  The truth is it is not about how you shoot the image or with what you are shooting the images with.  It becomes more about what you want to shoot and how you express the feelings that you had when taking the photo.  For example the most favorite image that I have ever taken was shot in AV mode on my Canon 80d which by a professional standard is not the pro way of shooting an image.  I have been told in the past that the best image expresses the feeling that you had in the moment.  The feeling that I expressed when taking that photo was that of pure joy.  

I was in a happy mood when I took that photo because I tried to get it for three years.  Once I noticed I captured the image I was after I was stopping myself from jumping for joy, because I didn’t want to scare the moose.  The art of capturing a great image is being in the moment and putting those feelings into the images that you are taking.  The way that you shoot the image really only matters to how you want the image to look.  By using a slow shutter speed to show the movement in the water or clouds is one way of doing that. Then there is wanting to stop all motion in an image with a super fast shutter speed.  In a sience what I am trying to get at is shooting in manual mode is the most sought after type of shooting but it is not the only way to shoot.  

As a new photographer we are told that there are certain things that we have to do to become a great photographer and that is something that needs to stop.  In my opinion as long as you are out shooting you will learn what you need to get a certain type of image.  By using auto and checking on the settings gives you the only teacher that you need to start with.  It worked for me and it can work for you.  So get out there shoot in auto and learn what the settings will do and practice getting the types of images you want after you learn how to get the settings that you want.  

Thanks for stopping by to read this and I hope it helped in some way.  Enjoy from just outside of St. John’s AZ y’all.