POLL Advice for beginners: manual mode or one of the (semi) automated modes (Tv, Av, P, AUTO even)?

[Levina de Ruijter]

Which shooting mode would you advise to someone who is new to photography: manual mode or one of the (semi) automated modes, like Tv, Av, P etc.?

I think it's an important question as it basically asks from which mode a budding photographer will learn the most.

After voting, let's hear why you voted as you did in the comments.

 

[Jan1977]

To me there is no clear answer. I voted for semi-automated modes, given it is about beginners.

Depending on the subject the person wants to shoot (most) I would advise either Av or Tv. It is 'just' one choice in the exposure triangle rather than 2 (in auto-iso) or 3 in manual mode. One thing less to think of.
Depending on how easily I would be able to explain something to the beginner and there ability to learn or understand or available basic knowledge I might suggest manual, but that would than be for a specific situation.

I shoot a lot of sports, so for example if I was to give some tips to a beginner for sports I would likely suggest Tv, given that beginners probably do not have the real fast lenses (f2.8 like), so the camera in Tv will try to work at lowest ISO in case the shutterspeed is fast-ish (1/1000 or faster). I would however in any advise mention shutterspeed and aperture from the exposure triangle to make them aware.

In general I think a beginner could best be advised on how to set the proper AF mode (but that was not the question here), although that might depend on the camera. A semi-auto mode leaves more brain capacity for focusing. A proper focus mode can control where the camera focuses which can have more impact, than auto-metered cameras and current ISO-capabilities.
P-mode I guess allows control over focus settings (green auto mode does not I think) and for general photography where neither shutterspeed or aperture are dominating the other, P mode might be fine. But if you want the beginner to learn, Tv or Av are more suited as they will better understand the creative influence of each parameter (freezing motion vs depth of field).

 

[pcs]

I agree with Jan it may depend on the type of photography but also on the individual, how is there technical knowledge and how fast do you learn new tricks.
I started with Av but switched to M with auto-ISO.

 

[Ltdave]

Which shooting mode would you advise to someone who is new to photography: manual mode or one of the (semi) automated modes, like Tv, Av, P etc.?

I think it's an important question as it basically asks from which mode a budding photographer will learn the most.

After voting, let's hear why you voted as you did in the comments.

i think to get someone started and not overwhelm them with needing a ton of experience or 'prep' to taking photographs, a semi-auto method works well.

i think one of the reasons the AE-1 was such a huge hit was you tell a prospective photographer, to look at the lens youre using. flip it to the denominator of a fraction (use the reciprocal) and make sure your shutter speed is matching or higher to avoid blurry pictures from camera shake and then go make pictures. after theyve done that some, and youve introduced the exposure triangle, you can start explaining more in depth, how the aperture is being used.

you can also explain once theyre grasping the basics of depth of field etc, how to achieve a specific aperture. that by selecting a shutter speed that will allow the camera to choose said aperture. i know EVEN NOW, shooting digital, i often dont catch the indicator in the viewfinder showing 'matched needle' (not like an actual needle) in part because i know the super wide latitude digital gives us in correcting gross over/under exposure. that and the 'match needle' is more like the A-1 and not an actual scale and moving needle in the AE-1 or F-1.

a Nikon or other camera that might be Ap, i find doesnt offer the more intuitive "pick a shutter speed high enough to avoid camera shake" because, the aperture has to be continually adjusted to keep the SS above the lens focal length.

i dont know. it worked for me 40 years ago.....

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

We had three voters. That's not much. And the votes are equally divided: one vote for each option.

Personally, I firmly believe that it is best for beginners to shoot in manual mode exclusively as it is the only way to truly learn about light and how to properly expose photos. After all, photography is capturing light and how will new photographers learn about that if the camera makes the changes for them? Sometimes the change in light is subtle. But when shooting in manual mode you will see it. You will miss it in Tv or Av mode as the camera immediately compensates.

I think that once you know how to take a good photograph yourself, in terms of exposure, it's fine to use whatever mode you want: one of the semi-automated modes or even the green box if that suits you for a particular situation. But to use the Green box or P or Av or whatever because you don't know how to properly expose your shots, in my opinion, is a bad idea as it will teach you nothing.

And there's also what Dave touched upon: how the three variables on the exposure triangle affect the resulting image differently. I tried using auto ISO on my 1D4 once. I was done with that after 10 minutes because the camera made choices that I never would. I haven't tried it since and maybe it's much improved. I know most people use it and love it. I guess I'm a dinosaur. There is one thing that is automated on my R6m2 and R5m2 and that is when I zoom in or out, the ISO speed is automatically adapted to the new aperture so the exposure stays the same. Very handy.

 

[Jan1977]

We had three voters. That's not much. And the votes are equally divided: one vote for each option.

Personally, I firmly believe that it is best for beginners to shoot in manual mode exclusively as it is the only way to truly learn about light and how to properly expose photos. After all, photography is capturing light and how will new photographers learn about that if the camera makes the changes for them? Sometimes the change in light is subtle. But when shooting in manual mode you will see it. You will miss it in Tv or Av mode as the camera immediately compensates.

I think that once you know how to take a good photograph yourself, in terms of exposure, it's fine to use whatever mode you want: one of the semi-automated modes or even the green box if that suits you for a particular situation. But to use the Green box or P or Av or whatever because you don't know how to properly expose your shots, in my opinion, is a bad idea as it will teach you nothing.

And there's also what Dave touched upon: how the three variables on the exposure triangle affect the resulting image differently. I tried using auto ISO on my 1D4 once. I was done with that after 10 minutes because the camera made choices that I never would. I haven't tried it since and maybe it's much improved. I know most people use it and love it. I guess I'm a dinosaur. There is one thing that is automated on my R6m2 and R5m2 and that is when I zoom in or out, the ISO speed is automatically adapted to the new aperture so the exposure stays the same. Very handy.

Maybe the answers/ response also differ since "beginner" is a broad denominator and lots depends on the 'learning skills' of the respective beginner. In my opinion the exposure triangle is not too difficult to explain, but looking at 2 (or 3) variables may be daunting for one, while easy for another. So that might also determine the advise, but in general less to 'focus' on is easier than all in once. For something like DOF also focal length and distance to subject come into play.

With respect to the "only way to truly learn", I feel like Tv or Av may be better than manual. When only changing shutterspeed, one can clearly see the impact of shutterspeed (assuming camera keeps expoure more or less even). But it will be needed to explain what to look for. So if you let somebody use Tv you should make them look at motion blur like effects. And with Av they should try to look at depth of field. Challenge is off course for the beginner to see the difference in unsharpness resulting from motion blur or from limited depth of field.

 

[Jack Dawe]

Personally, I firmly believe that it is best for beginners to shoot in manual mode exclusively as it is the only way to truly learn about light and how to properly expose photos.

I'm not sure I'm properly qualifed to comment since I'd hardly call myself a photographer, but this is how I started. I did so basically because I thought I ought to. I'm glad I did, though I soon switched to AV because I found fully manual a bit impractical for birds. The downside is that I'm pretty much stuck there through habit, although, now I have a good denoise programme, I'd probably get more keepers with TV.

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

Maybe the answers/ response also differ since "beginner" is a broad denominator and lots depends on the 'learning skills' of the respective beginner. In my opinion the exposure triangle is not too difficult to explain, but looking at 2 (or 3) variables may be daunting for one, while easy for another. So that might also determine the advise, but in general less to 'focus' on is easier than all in once. For something like DOF also focal length and distance to subject come into play.

With respect to the "only way to truly learn", I feel like Tv or Av may be better than manual. When only changing shutterspeed, one can clearly see the impact of shutterspeed (assuming camera keeps expoure more or less even). But it will be needed to explain what to look for. So if you let somebody use Tv you should make them look at motion blur like effects. And with Av they should try to look at depth of field. Challenge is off course for the beginner to see the difference in unsharpness resulting from motion blur or from limited depth of field.

DOF, motion blur, subject separation and what have you are the next step in my opinion and I don't think it matters much in which mode you are when you start experimenting with them, in manual mode or in one of the semi-automated modes.

I am mainly talking proper exposure here or rather I'm talking about light itself. I think you need to be in fully manual mode to get a grasp of it. Although I am aware that different people learn in different ways, how do you learn about light when the camera does the work for you? If the camera suddenly stops down the aperture with 1/3 of a stop would a beginner know why that happened, what changed in the light to have the camera make that adjustment? Or would they even notice it?

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

I'm not sure I'm properly qualifed to comment since I'd hardly call myself a photographer, but this is how I started. I did so basically because I thought I ought to. I'm glad I did, though I soon switched to AV because I found fully manual a bit impractical for birds. The downside is that I'm pretty much stuck there through habit, although, now I have a good denoise programme, I'd probably get more keepers with TV.

I started in manual mode too because I wanted to learn the basics, the fundamentals if you like. And I stayed in manual mode. Maybe I will try auto ISO again. It didn't work well on the 1DIV but that was 6 or 7 years ago, an eternity in camera land. I will try again with the R5m2.

 

[Ltdave]

i based my response on the fact i kind of really got going with an AE-1 with film. you cant really see right away if you have bad shots and while i rarely use automation now with my digital, getting an entire roll of film back a day or a week or more from the lab to find every thing is wrong, is very disheartening.

i use Auto ISO all the time for football (american) high school stadiums are notoriously dark. i pick the shutter speed i need for stopping action, almost wide open (1/3 stop closed) so i can have a tiny teeny margin of dof and then because until about half way through the game there is light and dark areas as the sun sets and lights come up, i can be assured my photos are (usually) within 1 stop of being correct.... thats really the only time i use Auto ISO. i got that tip from a former UPI photographer who covered the Seattle Seahawks NFL team