Using the Program Mode

I haven't written any posts for a long time, but here is an item I would like to discuss. The Program Mode. I teach photography classes and I find that, for the most part, students are divided into those who set their camera to the Auto, or "Green Camera" mode (yeah sometimes red) and those who have become more serious and have switched to the Manual Mode. The "Green Camera" mode in modern digital cameras works very well. You will usually get well exposed and in focus photos and be pleased with the results. 

The Green mode relies on the three most important aspects of good photography: 

• Where you are standing
• Which way you are pointing the camera
• When you press the shutter button

Great photos are made all the time by getting those three items correct. The problem, for those who are getting more serious, is that the Green mode gives you no control over anything else and while the "Big Three" are VERY important, the decisions made by your camera's computer do not always result in the best photo and doing well in the big three can still result in a bad photo.

Good photographers use more control to create better photos. Good photographers adjust Shutter Speed to control how motion is captured, Aperture to control how much of the image is in focus, and ISO to allow Shutter Speed and Aperture to be set in a range that will deliver the image they want. Many photographers as they become more serious are aware of this and since they want to control all of these things gravitate to the Manual Mode. Please don't misinterpret me here, the Manual Mode works and there are times when it is the only way to get images the way you want them. 

However, your camera is capable of sophisticated light measuring and exposure calculations that happen faster than you could possibly compete with, and when you put your camera in the Manual Mode you are turning off (for the most part) the camera's computer. When you put your camera in the Green mode you are turning off much of your input. I propose a system (and a Mode) that uses the camera's computer and allows you almost all of the control the Manual Mode shooter has. The Program Mode.

Let's set the camera to "P" or Program Mode and see what control we have (in most DSLR cameras, I can't promise all).

We now control the ISO, the camera will not change it and we get to decide what setting to use.

We control the flash, it will not flash unless we turn it on and it will flash, even in bright sunlight, if we do turn it on. If you are a newbie you may not realize how important this is but when you are taking close up photos of people in bright sun there are usually dark shadow on the face. The flash will automatically lighten the shadows and create a more pleasing image, and that is just one example.

Look through your viewfinder and find the aperture and shutter speed. They are both displayed in most viewfinders and your manual will tell you which is which. Watch the numbers and, at the same time, rotate the main command dial. On most DSLRs if you're rotating the correct dial the numbers will change. One will get larger and the other will get smaller and rotating the other way will reverse the process. If you watch the Shutter Speed you can adjust it to a slower or faster speed and the computer will adjust the aperture to give you a correct exposure.

If you watch the aperture you can set it for a smaller number so that the background will be out of focus and not compete with your subject if you spin it the other way, to a larger number, more will be in focus so that more of the photo will be sharp.

Take a shot and look at the image on the camera's LCD. Is it too dark or too light? If it is the camera's meter did not do what you wanted. Find the small button that looks something like [+/-] you may have to consult your manual under "exposure compensation" to be sure how to use it but frequently you just hold the button down and rotate the command dial. Your display will either show a minus sign followed by increasing numbers or no sign (or +) followed by a number that ranges from 1 to 3 or maybe more. If it is a minus sign you image will be darker when you shoot next and if no sign or + your photo will be brighter.

For most photos there is nothing that you can do in the Manual Mode that can't be duplicated in Program Mode. You can pick your aperture or shutter speed. In Manual Mode you can pick both but you must compensate for changing one by changing the other to keep the same exposure which in Program Mode is done for you automatically. In Manual Mode you can deliberately choose to under expose or over expose and in Program Mode you can do the same with Exposure Compensation. In Manual you must change the ISO yourself and the same in Program; In manual you decide when to use flash and in Program you make the same decision. Flash is controlled automatically in Program Mode and has it's own Flash Exposure Compensation. In Manual you need to figure it out and that requires you to do mathematical calculations and to know the distance from you camera to your subject.

When do I recommend using the Manual Mode? Well since I've typed quite a bit, I will try to return on the next post to address that question.

Thanks, for reading.

Jim