The Manual Mode

In my last post I nearly ranted about the Program Mode. And that, seriously, is the way I shoot. I try to use the camera's computer to do the hard work, fast. I did mention that their were situations which require using the manual mode and I'd like to tackle some of them here. I say "some of them" because as I go I'll probably think of more and more, but as a percentage of shooting situations I think those that require Manual Mode are a fairly small percentage (I may change my opinion on that as I go, but I don't think so).

Baseball under lights (Little League) My experience has been that Little League fields are lit well; this is not pro ball where the fields seem as bright as daylight but, kick up the ISO to 800, open the lens wide, and you can get shutter speeds of 125th of a second. What is difficult to get is consistent exposure. The background for a specific shot may be bright dirt around home plate, mid tone grass in much of the field, or black sky behind a low angle shot. Each one of these situations creates a different exposure and your subject (a player) may be exposed properly, or be under or over by a stop or more. Since the fields are lit quite evenly you can try several exposures manually until you get one you like and stick with it. The players are usually lit the same wherever they are. I find in the deep outfield I may need a stop more and I can set that on the fly quickly.

Followed the same rules with b&w film in the mid 70s.

Panoramas A panorama is composed of several shots, at least two and maybe eight or more. Let's say we take 5 photos that we plan to combine into one panorama. If the exposure changes between each shot they will be hard to blend together. Moreover if the white balance changes, or the focus it can be difficult to create the final image that looks like one photo. So here is the second occasion that Manual Exposure is, if not absolutely necessary, is a far better way of creating the necessary images to blend into a panorama.

Night Sky Taking a photo of the stars in the sky is relatively easy in the Manual Mode and virtually impossible in any automatic mode. Here's how to make a first try. After dark set your camera up on a tripod and aim it at the area of the sky you'd like to try first. A small flashlight will come in very handy.

• Set your Mode to manual
• Focus to manual
• ISO to 400
• Aperture to it's widest opening (smallest number)
• Focus at infinity
• Shutter speed to 30 seconds
• Shoot

You can't do that in an automatic mode but it will probably give you a good start for your first night sky shot.

Studio Photography This topic is way beyond the scope of this post but traditional studio photography uses flash studio studio lights. The shutter speed is normally set to the "sync" speed of the camera, maybe 1/250 sec. and the aperture adjusted for correct exposure. If neither the lights or the subject moves all exposures will be identical. Auto exposure will not work with studio lights. (Studio is studio, dogs are allowed.)

Multiple flashes can be used fully automatically if, as an example, you purchase all Nikon Speedlights and operate them with Nikon's CLS flash control system. Canon and others have similar systems and some after market manufacturers sell flashes that are advertised to operate with this system.

Multiple Flash (the inexpensive variety) Another method of studio style lighting can be done with relatively inexpensive flash units that are, like Nikon Speedlights, designed to fit on top of a camera. This is done in exactly the same manner as studio photography above and the camera is in a fully manual mode. In studio situations you can use auto-focus if desired.

Groups of Similar Photos to be Displayed Together Here an example might be several photos of the same child playing in the back yard. In an automatic mode the skin color and tone as well as the appearance of clothing can change in a disconcerting manner between photos. Manual Mode will solve this problem.

Of course some experienced photographers use manual exposure all the time. With practice it can be very fast and easy. I will still save it for those occasions when I feel it's necessary and use Program Mode most of the time. This is a topic that can create a discussion similar to the Nikon vs. Canon wars that occur among photographers. I don't claim to have the best answer, but the one that works well for me.

Since I've posted a taste of using the Manual Mode I believe I've planted a seed which I may try to grow in coming posts. Perhaps the Muse is with me.