Part 7 - DSLR Shooting Modes

Shooting modes were briefly discussed in Exposure posts. It's time to provide some more detailed information.

Virtually every DSLR on the market allows you to specify a shooting mode. Some of the terminology is slightly different between manufacturers, but the verbage is similar enough to apply the shooting modes on a typical Nikon DSLR to other brands.

There is one mode I would like you to forget -- AUTOMATIC sometimes called PROGRAM mode. Your decision to be serious about the craft of photography is reason enough for me to ask you to STOP using automatic mode on your camera. The previous posts covering "Exposure Is Everything" should have shown that using automatic mode is seldom a guarantee that the image will be exposed correctly.

So, I'm skipping automatic mode. Use auto mode for quickie family snapshots.

The three most important shooting modes in context of creative DSLR photography are: Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority and Manual Mode.

Shutter Priority Mode (circled here in red) as displayed on a Nikon D200

Choosing Shutter Priority mode on your camera "locks" the shutter speed to the speed you manually select. With the shutter speed locked in place (shown here as 1/100th of a second), the camera's metering system changes ONLY the f/stop (shown here as F/6.3) to provide the correct exposure.

When would you use Shutter Priority Mode?

Any time you are in a fast-shooting situation (like a sporting event), or when you want to intentionally blur action, having a preset shutter speed is critical to the final effect. These are times when being able to lock a specific shutter speed into the camera is important to your photography.

Although this setting solves one problem, there is STILL a risk associated with using Shutter Priority. If you are shooting multiple images of a subject that moves from location to location within a scene, you run a risk that the f/stop selected by the camera's metering system will be incorrect (similar to the problem with the automatic mode). More on this risk under Manual Mode below.

Aperture Priority Mode setting on a Nikon D200

In this example, this camera is set to Aperture Priority Mode. Now the photographer selects and "locks" in a specific f/stop (in this case F/8) and allows the camera's meter ONLY to adjust exposure (light striking the image sensor) by varying the Shutter Speed (shown at 1/60th of a second above).

When is Aperture Priority Mode appropriate?

As discussed in previous posts on Exposure, the camera's f/stop ultimately determines the amount of the image (from front to back) that will be in focus when the picture is taken. For example, the flower picture below required a very specific amount of depth of field. Enough depth of field was needed to ensure that the front flower was sharp and yet "shallow" enough to ensure that the background was out of focus.

If the actual depth of field (area in focus) was calculated for this picture,
it would be measured in inches and contain only the foreground flower.

As with Shutter Priority Mode, there is an exposure risk involved with Aperture Priority Mode. Because the shutter is allowed to change according to the camera's meter reading, there is the possibility that the shutter speed selected will not provide the best exposure. More about this risk in Manual Mode below.

Manual shooting mode

In Manual Shooting Mode, you control both the shutter speed (shown here as 1/100th of a second) and the f/stop (shown here as F/8) used to take the picture. This is a very good thing.

In Manual Mode there is no doubt that, regardless of the situation in front of the lens, the shutter speed and f/stop you selected will be used.

So, about those risks with Shutter Priority and Aperture Priority. These exposure risks are eliminated when you set and lock both the speed and aperture manually. The fact is that a typical outdoor scene usually changes very little with minor location changes.

In practice, if you took the time to calculate the "perfect" exposure as discussed in earlier posts, this f/stop and shutter speed combination will be good for multiple shots in the same location. However, using Aperture and Shutter priority modes leaves the door open to exposures being automatically changed. This can't happen with Manual mode.


Here's an example of a situation where one f/stop and shutter speed setting was used for an entire shooting session. The day was sunny and the softball game lasted from 10 a.m. to noon. During this time, there was very little change in the light striking the softball field. Before the game began, I took test shots to determine the proper shutter speed (it needed to be fast to stop the action) and f/stop. These settings were entered in Manual Mode and never changed during the course of the game. Knowing the images would be properly exposed, I was free to concentrate on the action of the game.

So, using Aperture and Shutter Priority modes as they were designed to be used is infinitely better than using purely automatic mode. However, at the end of the day, the only way of guaranteeing that the exposure you invested time in calculating will be the one applied is by using Manual Mode.

Given the limitations of Auto, Shutter and Aperture, it's no wonder that photographic instructors would prefer DSLR cameras with no automated metering features in their Photography 101 classes.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments. You know where to find me.