As we move to the Creative Modes, the creative modes are different in that you have a lot more input in shutter speed, aperture, ISO, your metering modes, your white balance. All these things can be dialed in. P, the P mode stands for program mode. And it is a lot like your full auto dummy mode. The difference being that you can select your ISO, you can select your white balance, you can select your metering, you can change your exposure compensation. It is sort of like taking the training wheels off a little bit. I do not know if you can do that but yes, it is like you are starting to get more permission to do things with a camera. If you are still uncomfortable, the camera is going to do most of the work for you. But if you have an idea of “hey, I want this white balance instead of the automatic or I want this ISO setting” it is going to let you do those things. So, it is a full auto mode, but it lets you make some changes.
The next mode you see is Tv. Tv stands for time value which is shutter priority mode and this is unique and different. It is different than sports mode because it allows you to also dial in slow shutter speeds. You can dial in fast shutter speeds and you can dial in really slow shutter speed. In the Tv mode or shutter priority mode, the camera wants you to tell it how fast you want the shutter speed to be. For example, if you are at a football game I do not know I would set mine about 1500 of a second. The camera well then make the adjustments for your aperture depending on how much light is coming into the camera and it would always do this when you move from maybe bright sunlight to shade to whatever. It is going to try to work that out for you, so you do not have to worry about the aperture.
Av mode stands for aperture value or aperture priority. And in this mode you are going to tell the camera what aperture you want to shoot at and it will make adjustments to the shutter speed depending on how much light is coming through your camera. I usually shoot on aperture value mode when I am shooting weddings. If you are shooting a portion for example and you want to blur the background out, you are going to probably want to put your aperture as wide as possible like a 2.8, 1.8, 1.4. That is going to give you a very shallow depth of field. In the camera will be able to work out the shutter speed for you.
On the other hand, if you were shooting a group photo at a wedding and you have two or three rows of people that you want to get and focus, you may need a higher aperture such as 9.0 or 11, maybe even higher. And when you tell the camera “hey, I want this aperture value,” the camera will adjust the shutter speed for you. And this is a very powerful tool, so you have to keep in mind what you are shooting and what you are trying to do with the picture. And in these two modes, time value and aperture value the camera is going to make the adjustments for you.
M stands for manual and when you get really comfortable with your camera, this is the mode for you. You are going to be able to come in here and tell the camera both the shutter speed as well as the aperture. Using the manual mode is going to be—it is going to take some practice and some time, but you are going to be most powerful when you have the complete freedom to change anything on the camera you want.
What I recommend for beginners is after the dummy mode is to start working with Program Mode. Work on your compositions and get familiar with your focus squares. In program modem practice adjusting your other camera settings such as your ISO or your white balance until you get the swing of things. If you are ever in doubt about any camera settings, it is good to know you can select a program mode and the camera will do most of the work. Next, try out the shutter speed priority and the aperture priority modes. Practice using the shutter priority mode to stop action or to get long exposures. Practice using the aperture priority mode to get wide apertures and blur out your backgrounds when shooting portraits. Usually on wedding shoots, I shoot almost exclusively on aperture priority mode. For beginners, I suggest staying away from manual mode for now until you are comfortable with the other creative modes. You have way too much on your play to worry about both of the shutter speed and the aperture settings. This is usually too much for beginners. Manual mode is typically for those who are very comfortable with their camera and are shooting in controlled lighting situations.
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