DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

The three things you need to know if you’re new to shooting in manual mode

Aug 14, 2019 by John Aldred 2 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Shooting in manual isn’t some magic bullet that will make all your shots perfect, no matter what some photographers might want you to believe. But there are things you need to understand in order to be able to use it effectively. Those three things are ISO, aperture and shutter speed.

In this video, photographer JoshinCincinnati walks us through the three basics of manual mode exposure, what they mean, and the implications of changing each.

Josh shows a number of examples of how changing each setting affects the image. Ultimately, all three things control how bright or dark your image is, but they come with side effects.

  • The aperture determines the depth of field in your shot, how much of the scene is in focus from front-to-back.
  • Shutter speed controls the amount of motion blur captured in your shot. This can be anywhere from a lot to none at all.
  • ISO largely controls how much noise is in your shot. The lower the number, the less noise, but sometimes you need to raise it up to get a bright enough exposure.

The first two are mostly creative tools to let you create the image you saw in your head. The latter is simply a matter of function with a downside the more you ramp it up. There’s really no right or wrong way to use any of these, but they are important to understand if you want to improve your photography.

Josh does say that he’s not a manual exposure elitist and that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with shooting in auto modes. You don’t need to shoot in manual all the time, or even ever. But even when your camera is in one of the automatic modes, it’s using these principles. So, if you spot problems in your images, then understanding the exposure basics will help you to figure out what your camera’s doing, and how you can correct it.

And if you do decide to shoot in manual mode, you’ll have some idea of what you’re doing.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Five ways to master manual mode This is why I choose to shoot in manual exposure mode Zeiss Starts New Manual Focus, Manual Exposure Loxia Line Use these three techniques to shoot manual focus lenses on a gimbal

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: exposure, exposure settings, JoshinCincinnati, Manual, manual exposure, photography basics

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« New video shows off the rumoured “DJI Mavic Mini” – Successor to the DJI Spark
Photos of the GoPro Hero 8 have leaked – Will shoot 4K at 120fps »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy