Whilst preparing my presentation 'Photographing Yellowstone Winter Wildlife', to be given as the Canon Guest Speaker for the 2018 Bozeman Photo Expo, I had to revisit a number of topics.  I thought this might interest a wider audience.

It allows me complete control over depth of field, shutter speed and ISO.  These three factors work together to control how bright or dark your photo is, known as exposure, as well as to change the overall look of the image – that is, what is in focus and what is not.  In other words, it gives me both technical and creative control over my photograph.  I am making the decisions, NOT the camera!  If your camera is set to a semi-Automatic or Automatic mode, then you are turning your big expensive DSLR into a point-and-shoot camera.

Some lighting situations are simply too difficult for the camera’s Auto modes to handle!  Think backlighting; think a bison on snow in the bright sunlight; think super-low light as the dawn breaks.  The camera doesn’t know whether it is more important to expose for detail in the bison’s head, or for the bright detail in the sunlit snow.  You can’t always get what you want with lighting, compromises must be made.  In Manual mode I can prioritize and selectively adjust each of the three settings in order to achieve the necessary exposure.  If you allow your camera to guess what element in the frame is your subject, you often end up with an undesired compromise and a lousy photograph. 

I learn every time I photograph.  When the light is sub-optimal, shooting on Manual forces you to think about where to compromise to get the best exposure for the chosen subject.  YOU are engaged, thinking and making decisions about your photographs, NOT the camera.  YOU know what the minimum shutter speed is necessary for sharp wing tips, NOT the camera.  YOU know what is the highest ISO that you can use and still get a useable image, NOT the camera.  YOU know what aperture you’d like for a specific composition, NOT the camera.  Shooting on Manual forces you to make decisions and compromises based on the results that YOU want.

Shooting on M makes you pay close attention to the light and to your settings.  You will become expert at rapidly anticipating and adjusting your exposure as the light changes.  You will learn to be pre-emptive in assessing the lighting and the subject, and will pre-plan to get your camera settings set up and ready for the action. 

When you shoot on M you get consistent and predictable exposures.   When you rely on one of the Auto or semi-Auto modes you are gambling every time you release the shutter.  If you move the camera, or if your subject moves, or if the lighting or the subject changes, the camera will adjust the exposure.  It is possible to take photos of two near identical compositions and get wildly different results if a small factor has confused the light meter.  This can create a pretty inconsistent set of images.  For instance, if you are in AV mode photographing a bird on the ground and that bird flies into the bright sky, the camera changes the exposure to prioritize detail in the sky and your colorful bird is now rendered as a silhouette.  Whereas if you were in M mode the exposure does not change from shot to shot and the bird is still properly exposed.  Shooting in Manual mode means that your aperture, shutter and ISO will not change from shot to shot – unless YOU change them.  

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To master Manual Mode you must commit to it at all times!  Sure, there are scenarios where one might think that AV or TV or – gasp – P mode might be quicker, but it is easy to forget which mode you are in and to screw up accordingly.  With an Auto or semi-Auto mode you must also think about exposure compensation to expose properly, ie in snow.  All these Auto settings, Auto ISO included, get confusing and time-consuming when you have to keep changing them.  Remember with Manual there are only three choices/settings and it will become natural and intuitive with practice.  Stick with it - you will be able to adjust your settings quickly and easily if you do.

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