Understanding Shooting Modes in Photography: A Beginner's Guide to Manual, Aperture Priority, and Shutter Priority

As a newbe photographer, one of the first things you'll need to learn is how to use the different shooting modes on your camera. While it may seem intimidating at first, each shooting mode serves a specific purpose and can help you achieve the look you want in your photos.

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Let's start with the most basic shooting mode: Manual

In manual mode, you have complete control over all the settings on your camera, including aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. This mode is great for experienced photographers who want to fine-tune every aspect of their shots, but it can be overwhelming for beginners.

Next up is aperture priority mode.

In this mode, you set the aperture (which controls the depth of field in your photos) and the camera automatically adjusts the shutter speed to get a properly exposed image. This mode is useful for when you want to control the depth of field in your shots, such as when you want to isolate your subject or show the relationship between your subject and the environment. Unless I’m doing long exposures or time lapse’s, my camera is in aperture priority mode.

Unless I’m doing long exposures or time lapse’s, my camera is in aperture priority mode.photo: blend of image from adobe stock (Camera) and landscape from Are Ramstad

Shutter priority mode is similar to aperture priority.

You set the shutter speed and the camera adjusts the aperture. This mode is useful for when you want to freeze or blur motion in your shots. For example, you can use a fast shutter speed to freeze action in sports photography, or a slow shutter speed to create a blur effect in landscapes.

However, in my personal experience, aperture priority mode works well in most situations and offers flexibility, you can use exposure compensation to fine-tune your exposure . photo: Adobe Stock

Choosing the right shooting mode can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you're a beginner photographer. It all comes down to the desired look you want to achieve and your experience level with your camera. If you're new to photography, aperture priority or shutter priority mode can be a great place to start as they allow you to easily experiment with different settings and understand how they affect your photos. As you gain more confidence and skill, you may want to try experimenting with manual mode to have even more control over your shots. However, in my personal experience, aperture priority mode works well in most situations and offers flexibility, you can use exposure compensation to fine-tune your exposure as well. Manual mode is particularly useful for types of photography such as Astrophotography, timelapses, and certain types of long exposure photography where you want your settings to be 100% in your control.

In manual mode, you have complete control over all the settings on your camera. photo: unsplash

the three main shooting modes – manual, aperture priority, and shutter priority – each have their own specific use cases and allow you to control different aspects of your photos. As you practice and become more familiar with your camera, you'll start to understand which mode is best for different situations.

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