Photography

cshimokita
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Photography can be both a puzzle and a mystery...

Sometimes we just need a little more information, and other times we need a new way of thinking about the process.  For more on that dichotomy I can recommend "Open Secrets [...] the Perils of Too Much Information" by Malcolm Gladwell from his book "What the Dog Saw", a collection of articles that originally appeared in The New Yorker magazine.

With a film SLR I tend to use Aperture-priority (Av-Mode).  Select an f-stop and the camera automatically chooses a shutter speed based on the metered scene, the ISO setting, plus any dialed in compensation.  A smaller aperture to provide a little focus leeway (larger DOF), or a larger aperture if subject/background separation is desired.  Listen to the shutter to judge the speed, adjust if necessary and you're good to go until the light changes.  I tend to shoot cityscapes with film...

In 1971 the Asahi Pentax Electro Spotmatic was one of the first, if not the first SLR with electronic aperture-priority auto exposure.  I understand that the 1978 Canon A-1 was the first SLR to implement P-Mode.

With a dSLR I tend to use Tv-Mode...  I mostly use digital when out with friends so it's always people shots where I want to make sure to freeze the action.  Don't think I have ever used P-Mode...  M-Mode if I want specific results...

Counter intuitive (to me) is that with a film rangefinder I tend to set the shutter speed and adjust the aperture based on in-camera metering... manual focus of course.  Kind of manual Tv-Mode, and maybe because of the dial layout...  Since the process is generally slow, I tend to find the sweet spot / balance between f-stop and shutter speed after a couple of shots... and from that point I don't adjust anything between shots except the focus... or use zone focus to make the process automatic-ish.

One convenient feature of some dSLRs is multiple Custom User Settings...  It's a way to quickly move between scenarios with less mistakes.  Preset multiple set-ups that cover most of what you want to do...  Here are the main differences and the common items that I have preset with a Canon 5D Mark II - your details may be different:

AF Mode: One Shot
AF Point: Single Center Point
Metering Mode: Evaluative
Drive Mode: Single Shot
Exposure Compensation: +0
Flash Exposure  Compensation: -1/3
Image Quality: S(Raw)2
C.Fn AF Point Selection Method: Quick select method for AF points
C.Fn AF-ON/AE Lock Button Switch: Aternative method to AF & meter^{[Note 1]}

[Note 1] With your right thumb, press the AF-ON button on the back of the camera to autofocus & meter, and press the shutter button halfway to attain AE lock.  Note: The AF Point is single center point for my C1-3 settings.  After you attain focus, recompose and shoot...  if you don't press the shutter button halfway before you recompose the focus still remains on original target point but the exposure is recalculated based on the new composition.

For my most used preset (C1) I use a picture setting of monochrome.  When I chimp I will see a B&W image which is easier for me to judge the composition without any color distractions.  I am shooting S2 Raw, so the color data is there if needed.

I found that by having a dedicated focus button I have much better control of what I want to focus on and it doesn't really take any extra time...

For the non-Custom User Setting modes (Av, Tv, or M) I have a vanilla configuration as sometimes I want to be included in the photograph...  Only once has a complete stranger changed one of the settings and she was correct in doing so... 

Just finished "What the Dog Saw" and started on "As Consciousness is Harnessed to Flesh", Susan Sontags's diaries (part II) 1964-1980.  Both better reading than your camera's user manual...

Thanks for reading,
Casey