Comments on: 4 Reasons Not to Write off Shooting in Automatic

By: Bojo

Bojo — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:30:04 +0000

I knew there was hope for me! Thank you for this!

By: Nichole

Nichole — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:09:20 +0000

Thank you so much for this article. I have been learning and trying with manual as much as possible to better my skills, but it is just hard to “play with settings” with my kids and all of their adventures. I am glad to know that not all fellow photogs think it is wrong to use auto. Makes me feel loads better. :)

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 08 May 2009 21:04:48 +0000

Thank you, thank you thank you. I just finished up a beginning photo class where were were forced to shoot ONLY in manual!! UGH. It was so frustrating since it was the first I have taken. I love photography but it is so easy to get discouraged. You are right though, no matter how the shot is captured, a good shot is a good shot. Thanks for the encouragement!! :)

By: C.R.

C.R. — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:00:47 +0000

If you were here, I’d hug you! I’ve been cramming to learn av and manual for a family wedding i’m shooting and I get the AV and M settings, but was not sure if I would be fast enough to use them. I’ve been a bit stressed about the wedding hoping to get the settings right than the shots, instead of the shots than the settings! Wow, what a relief to just not worry about it! I loved, loved, loved your article, did I mention I loved it? :o) I am fantastic at photos and know I will do great at the wedding but was so concerned about my settings instead of the shots and now I can breath a sigh of relief and just not worry about it. I won’t pick that day to practice AV mode LOL. Not that I won’t use it, but I will do at times when I have a moment. Thank you! What a wonderful article. :o)

YOU HAVE INSPIRED ME!

C.R.

By: Lucian

Lucian — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:39:41 +0000

Love the article and I agree with it. Most of the time the camera takes the same decisions you would have taken yourself (given good light and no object between you and the subject ). It misses one thing though: the learning. If you stay on Auto, you will never learn to react on the special conditions: bad light, where should you get the light measurements, what ISO to chose, how to control dof etc … so using Auto you’ll remain an Auto person. You need to create the reflex for the settings you need, otherwise all the books and articles you’ve read mean nothing when you need to take that special shot. Once the reflex created, you can switch back to the ‘composition’ mindset. But indeed, you may never need it.

I personally used Auto for many years, although had an SLR. But now I’m forcing myself to use manual modes (AP mostly, sometimes M, always RAW), exactly because of the reason above. And I felt serious improvement in the last 6-12 months. Good enough to be able to decide to switch to Auto every now and then :) …

By: kate

kate — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:45:32 +0000

thank you so much for this post…actually this whole site!
i am just now getting back into photography after a few year hiatus and i really appreciate all the helpful explanations of the different settings and modes. i did not have the luxury of that last time :)

By: Aamir Chaudhry

Aamir Chaudhry — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:03:07 +0000

I think I agreed with all who commented in favour of this article. This is the fact that if you start taking photos in Auto Mode then slowly you will gain experience, confidence and excitment to explore more and more in your camera and through your camera.

By: Mandy

Mandy — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:02:58 +0000

I’ve just graduated up from a point and shoot to my first DSLR, and considering the price I paid for the DSLR I felt a bit of a fraud using it in auto.

Thank you for letting me see it in another way, and one which I whole heartedly agree with, it’s the image we create that matters and not how we did it!

By: Rene Skrodzki

Rene Skrodzki — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:59:00 +0000

Although I tend to like AV SP and Manual mode I can see how auto can somtimes help in a pinch. After all I dont ever remember my clients saying “Hey you used AUTO you hack”. I think it is what makes you comfortable thats important. Start with AUTO and move when your ready. Nice article, a little against the grain hehe.

By: disco~stu

disco~stu — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:38:51 +0000

what a brillaint article, well written and very true….=D