ABA Creation: shutter speed

Shutter priority,Aperture priority,Program and Manual mode explained

What is this M A S P on my camera? What is this Av Tv? How is this useful to me? Lots of question in your mind and the answer is here. Now its time to turn off your Auto mode and make decision by yourself. On most digital cameras you’ll find a variety of exposure modes, typically referred to as:

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• Aperture priority AE (Av)

• shutter priority AE (Tv)

• Program AE (P)

• Manual (M)

Obviously the entire above mode has their own function and particular use. It’s important to understand when to switch to these exposure modes lets explain each of these separately to understand their functionality when to use.

Hot Camera Equipments

1. Aperture Priority Mode:

As the name indicates, it’s all about your priority and if your priority is to control only aperture then set this mode. The aperture priority mode enables you to set the f-stop (Aperture) and the camera will then adjust the shutter Speed to give the correct exposure. In other words you just set the aperture and forget about the shutter speed, camera will look after that.

Photograph by Abhishek Anand
f/5.6, Exposure time 1/200, ISO/200, 55mm AV mode

When to Use: This mode is particularly useful in low-light conditions, where you want to set the brightest, widest f-stop in order to get the highest shutter speed and the minimum amount of movement. When want to blur the background of foreground or in other words, more depth of field is needed, you can use a small f-stop to get as much of your picture in focus as possible. I also use this mode when photographing landscapes and nature, where continuously I need to change f-stops too continuously. For example when I photograph any landscape I need to change f-stops from f-5.6 to f-14 or f-16 and vice-versa when taking close-ups.

2. Shutter priority AE (Tv):

Again it’s all about your priority and if your priority is to control Shutter speed then just set this mode. Using the shutter priority mode, you can set the shutter speed, and the camera selects the f-stop (aperture) to give the correct exposure.

Photograph by Abhishek Anand
f/10 Exposure time 1/200, ISO/4000, 18mm Tv mode

When to Use: This can be especially useful when you’re shooting action pictures like sports and wildlife action and you want to freeze the motion by setting a high shutter speed. By the same token, if you were photographing a waterfall and you wanted the water to blur, you could set a slow shutter speed and the aperture would adjust accordingly. It goes without saying that both modes assume you have enough light to expose your pictures within the range of shutter speeds and apertures you’re using.

3. Program AE (P): This setting leaves all the decision-making to the camera. The camera sets a combination of shutter speed and aperture so you don’t have to think about exposure at all.

When to Use: Personally I never use this mode and in my personal opinion this mode can be rarely choose in any condition of photography (may be this opinion would be change in future) but In some cameras this may be set up as subject programs such as “portrait,” “sports,” or “landscape.” Be careful though. If there’s not enough (or too much) light to achieve the effect you’re after, your camera won’t be able to work miracles. Even on this setting, check the LCD to make sure you are getting the images you want. And remember that you can still use auto exposure compensation to override the camera’s decision.

4. Manual (M): Oh this is my favorite mode; any professional photographer would say this when asked by someone. If you want to have full control over the camera then manual mode is there, just turn it on. This mode enables you to manually set ISO, the shutter speed and the aperture (we’ll talk about ISO Shutter speed and aperture in our later post) independently of each other, referring either to the camera’s built-in meter or to a handheld meter. Professionals tend to use manual exposure and handheld light meters. This allows them to take multiple meter readings in various points of the subject frame. In this method the photographer has total control over the pictorial effects that various shutter speed and aperture Combinations can achieve.

Points to Remember:

• Aperture priority AE (Av) - set the f-stop (Aperture) and the camera will adjust the shutter Speed. Use when-low light conditions, change f-stops too continuously.

• Shutter priority AE (Tv) - set the shutter speed, and the camera selects the f-stop (aperture), Use when-shooting action pictures like sports and wildlife.

• Program AE (P) - Camera sets shutter speed and aperture, Use when-shooting portrait, sports, landscape but always be careful

• Manual (M) - You set ISO, the shutter speed and the aperture, Use when- it’s your choice.

Tweets by @MAbhishekAnand

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