Photography workflow help please?

[fernandohoja7]

Hi guys

I just joined the forum today and I'm fairly new to photography, only having invested in my first camera which is a Lumix GF2 late last year. I'm still struggling abit with the settings and what's the proper way of getting the right settings at the right time when the photo opportunity presents itself so.. I was wondering if anyone can help me with this photography workflow question

Having looked up and read on photography and all that, I know the technical part of it like larger aperture value lets more light in, higher ISO speed enables faster shutter speed etc etc but basically, I'm confused when is best to use aperture priority/shutter-speed priority/Programme mode/Manual though Ive read up on Aperture-Priority and shutter speed and all that but I guess I'm just confused as to when's best to apply it. Case in point is, lets say I'm wanting to take a picture of my mates and I having lunch, I'd switch to Aperture-Priority but then I'm not too happy with the result and I switch back to Manual-Mode and having to ask my mates to pose again for the photo.

Hence I usually just use "manual mode" but I find it abit difficult to having to keep on changing the settings to get the right settings and by the time Ive set it, the photo opportunity is gone already..so I'm wondering how do you guys do it when you take your photographs, be it street photography, vacation photos etc. Do you put it to manual-mode as well and just change it as you go?

I'm hoping to apply this on my everyday photo-taking excercises I've set myself to be a better photographer but I always set it on "manual mode" and I'm always in the "change settings-check pictures if they're ok" phase...and I'm thinking this workflow of mine won't be useful as I'll miss getting a great shot / photo when the opportunity presents itself. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you so much, really hope you dont mind helping me out

[RichardTaylor]

I do "what it takes" to get the shot.
If it means not shooting in manual so be it.

See this thread.

When do you....

[graciousness]

When I first got out of Program Mode and tried to play around with Aperture Priority, I hated the results. I felt so stupid because I just couldn't get it right. But then I started noticing something weird, which is when I tried to use manual mode in exactly the same settings (same aperture, shutter speed and ISO), the results looked different in comparison to AP. On Program Mode, the result looked the same as the Manual Mode but not with AP.

So I said stuff Aperture Priority and used manual completely. Never looked back then.

Don't worry about AP if it frustrates you. If you are comfortable with using manual, I don't see any reason why you should have to use AP. I like having full control of the camera settings now. Remember that at the end of the day, the camera doesn't know what your vision is in regards to the image you want to create.

[fernandohoja7]

thanks RichardTaylor for the link, that thread's useful, thanks very much

cheers graciousness for the reply. Hmm I guess you're right, and just like you I just ignored A-priority and stuck to manual but what bothers me really is that by the time I'm done getting the right appropriate settings, that perfect photo opportunity passes..and it makes me wonder like them sports photographers..do they have their settings always on manual or shutter speed priority for them to snap that perfect picture at that perfect pivotal moment

[NgaiHill]

Use the green auto square. Its there for a reason
I'm not suggesting that you don't experiment and learn what your camera can do in other modes but while you are in the process of figuring it all out don't be afraid to use the auto-everything mode.
I make a habit, not matter what mode I've been using, to always reset the dial to auto when I put it away back in the bag. That way if I want a quick grab photo - like you with your friends - I can concentrate on getting everything else in the shot right, not cutting off heads & limbs etc & let the camera worry about the settings.
I can then practise on the other modes when I have time to stop & think about what I am doing, and have time to analyse the results & learn from them.

[Hill Country Hack]

Originally Posted by NgaiHill

Use the green auto square. Its there for a reason
I'm not suggesting that you don't experiment and learn what your camera can do in other modes but while you are in the process of figuring it all out don't be afraid to use the auto-everything mode.
I make a habit, not matter what mode I've been using, to always reset the dial to auto when I put it away back in the bag. That way if I want a quick grab photo - like you with your friends - I can concentrate on getting everything else in the shot right, not cutting off heads & limbs etc & let the camera worry about the settings.
I can then practise on the other modes when I have time to stop & think about what I am doing, and have time to analyse the results & learn from them.

The above is very good advice.

I'm not a pro, but when I shoot sports/action I am always in either Apeture or Shutter priority depending on the light. It is just too difficult for me to keep up with the action, compose the shot and keep the exposure needle centered while making adjustments to shutter, apeture and ISO all on the fly. If indoors, I have a minimum shutter speed in mind and dial it in while in shutter priority, the apeture then will usually go wide open and I up the ISO to where I center the exposure needle. If outdoors and lots of light, I'll still have a minimum shutter speed in mind, shoot apeture priority with a low ISO and adjust the apeture to get the shutter speed I want. I try to shoot with a more open apeture to control the DOF and help blur out the distracting backgrounds at sporting events.

[SwissJon]

I think the problem you have is that you have a bridge camera. It's not a DSLR, it's just likely to give you better shots than a P&S camera.

Because of this, changing the settings in Manual is hard work.

I spy a dial on the back of the GF1. I am assuming that you use that in Manual mode to change either the aperture or the speed, then press and hold a button then use the dial to change the other. This is a bit cumbersome (And one of the reasons I chose the D7000 over the 60D) when you use Manual, because you've got 2 settings to change.

I would suggest that you stick to Aperture priority, which is what most people seem to do, unless they have a reason not to, and learn how to get the results you want. You say you use Aperture priority and don't get the result you want, so switch to Manual.. Why? What's different in your settings in Manual that you can't reproduce in aperture? Are you correctly metering the subject? Is the subject backlit and your camera metering for the backlight not the subject? Perhaps you need to change your metering mode, or perhaps use a bit of fill flash.

I would suggest that this problem isn't with your camera's handling of the situation, I'd suggest that the problem is with you knowing how to tell your camera how you want to handle it. It sounds like you haven't got to grips with the different metering modes, haven't understood how to tell the camera to under or over expose a photo because it's backlit or very dark.

However, it sounds like this is an awkward camera to learn on.. No doubt it gives nice results when it gets it right, but if fiddling with the different settings means you miss the shot, then you've got the wrong camera for you. Perhaps, rather than resorting to Auto mode or whatever, you might think about moving up to a DSLR and learning with a camera designed for people who want more control of their pictures. Careful though.. It's a slippery slope into addiction.

[ArmySoldier777]

Originally Posted by SwissJon

Careful though.. It's a slippery slope into addiction.

And all any of us do is feed that addiction for anybody that comes on here . I used to be pretty happy with just my camera and a little kit lens. Thanksssss DPS lol

[fernandohoja7]

thanks very much everyone for the advice and for clearing up my confusion and especially sharing about your workflow with regards to taking photos with aperture-priority, I was very much confused about when I should be using Aperture priority. I've went ahead and re-read my notes on aperture, shutter speed, the exposure triangle and looked up on more info on metering, Ive toyed around with the aperture and shutter speed priority and manual settings after fully understanding the exposure triangle again and I think I'm getting to grips with it all and I'm pretty proud of me self having kinda grasped the manual settings even more than before as well after going through some self-photo taking exercise under different lighting conditions.

Thank you so much everyone ! I'm gonna look up more info on areas like framing, composition etc, well basically apart frm the technical side. Thinking of eventually getting myself a canon 60d or whatever the updated version is in the future once I fully get to grips with my semi slr gf2 camera, again the advice and tips were very much appreciated ! This is addictive !