One of the main advantages to using manual mode on you camera is that it puts you in full control of the photographic exposure you will take.
If you are learning about photography you have probably heard about the golden triangle of exposure.
This describes the inter relationship between the aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
To get a good exposure your camera needs to find the best combination of these three elements that allow just enough light to be recorded to display an acceptable image.
However for every scene there are different combination that will produce an equally acceptable image.
For example an image may be shot at f1.
8 with a shutter speed of 1/250 of a second (lets ignore ISO for now).
This would produce a nice image for a portrait say with a shallow depth of field (due to the large aperture) that blurs the background nicely.
However we can get an equally good portrait by say using a smaller aperture of say f11 and a quicker shutter speed of 1/1000 of a second.
The image will have more of the background in focus due to the smaller aperture.
In the above situation we can use manual mode to help us choose the exposure we prefer.
This highlights that by using your cameras manual mode you are increasing your creative potential to choose the best type of exposure to make, rather than simply opting for the cameras choice.
Shooting In Manual Is Easier Than You Think One fear I used to have with switching my camera to manual mode was that I had no idea what settings to use in order to get a decent exposure.
Well the real benefit of using manual mode is that your digital cameras internal light meter will suggest the correct shutter speed required to get a good exposure.
This means that in manual mode you are not 'on your own' and the cameras light meter will always be there to suggest some settings for you.
If you are learning about photography you have probably heard about the golden triangle of exposure.
This describes the inter relationship between the aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
To get a good exposure your camera needs to find the best combination of these three elements that allow just enough light to be recorded to display an acceptable image.
However for every scene there are different combination that will produce an equally acceptable image.
For example an image may be shot at f1.
8 with a shutter speed of 1/250 of a second (lets ignore ISO for now).
This would produce a nice image for a portrait say with a shallow depth of field (due to the large aperture) that blurs the background nicely.
However we can get an equally good portrait by say using a smaller aperture of say f11 and a quicker shutter speed of 1/1000 of a second.
The image will have more of the background in focus due to the smaller aperture.
In the above situation we can use manual mode to help us choose the exposure we prefer.
This highlights that by using your cameras manual mode you are increasing your creative potential to choose the best type of exposure to make, rather than simply opting for the cameras choice.
Shooting In Manual Is Easier Than You Think One fear I used to have with switching my camera to manual mode was that I had no idea what settings to use in order to get a decent exposure.
Well the real benefit of using manual mode is that your digital cameras internal light meter will suggest the correct shutter speed required to get a good exposure.
This means that in manual mode you are not 'on your own' and the cameras light meter will always be there to suggest some settings for you.
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