Photography Modes in a Camera

Point and Shoot Digital Cameras are easy to use with built-in photography modes that manages all the camera settings and does all the work for the person using them. Modes like Automatic, Landscape, Portraits, Night Photography and Macro can be found on most of the modern DigiCams. DSLRs also have these features built-in for basic photography as well as some advance modes for those users who want better control and great photos from their cameras.

It is crucial to know these modes very well to properly utilise them at the proper moment and lighting conditions for capturing a good photo. Some of these modes found in most of digital cameras are:

• Automatic Modes: These modes can be used for a quick photo without any manual settings by the user or for people who want a high quality photo at the click of a single button. The most common automatic modes in a Point and Shoot or a DSLR are:
• Full Automatic: This mode lets the user click a photo in any shooting condition. The camera analyses the lighting conditions and automatically manages the settings like shutter speed, aperture, ISO setting, focus, white balance and flash to take the most suitable photo. Many point and shoot camera owners use this setting to take most of their photos because it removes the complications of adjusting the settings for each photo and is simple as just clicking a button to take a photo. Entry level DSLR users can even use the automatic mode to capture photos which are high quality and better than point and shoots without the complexity of manual settings in DSLR.
  
  • Ä Use this mode to take a quick shot if there is no time to do manual settings or to set another more appropriate shooting mode.
• Landscape: The automatic landscape mode is used to take wide pictures of scenery like beaches, mountains and city skylines. In this mode, the camera automatically adjusts the settings to a small aperture (larger f-number e.g. f/11) to set a large depth of field which captures photos of the full landscape with everything in focus. Since the aperture is small, if the light is insufficient the camera adjusts the shutter to slower speed and hence the camera needs to be put on a tripod to reduce blurring due to shakes. For low light condition, it is feasible to use the Night Landscape mode if supported by the camera.
  • Ä Use this mode to take wide photos of beaches, mountains and city skylines or to take a group photo of people in front of a monument/tourist attraction so that both subject and background are in focus.
• Portrait: The automatic portrait mode is used to take pictures of people usually nearer to the camera. In this mode, the camera automatically adjusts the settings to a large aperture (smaller f-number e.g. f/2.8) to set a narrow depth of field which captures photos of the subject in focus and the background out of focus (blurred). Most camera models also enable the flash in this mode to fill the face of the subject with light so that shadows are reduced. Also, in most cameras, the skin tones are made to look more natural and softer in the photos. This mode works best if used in proper lighting. If you take a Portrait photo in darkness like a theatre or pub then you may be able to take photo of the subject who will look very bright (burnt out) with background all dark. In this case, use Night Portrait mode if supported by the camera.
  • Ä Use this mode to take close up of people and isolate them from distracting backgrounds.
• Night Landscape: This mode is used to take landscape photos in low light conditions or at night. The camera adjusts a high ISO level and the shutter speed to be very slow (i.e. shutter is open for few seconds) to capture more light. Due to this, a tripod is absolutely neccesary to prevent blurry photos caused due to shakes.
  • Ä Use this mode to take brightly lit city skyline photos at night or to capture traffic on highways which captures the headlights of the cards as long lines of continuous light.
• Night Portrait: This mode is used to take portrait photos in low light conditions like theatre/pubs or at night. Similar to Night Lanscape mode, this mode also sets a high ISO and opens the shutter for a longer time, but the flash fires off to illuminate the subject. This causes the photo to include the brightly lit person and also the background.
  • Ä Use this mode to take photos of people in a party or pubs (in low light situations), with nicely illuminated backgrounds.
• Sunset: This mode is used to capture vibrantly colored photos of sky at sunrise or sunset. The camera automatically sets the appropriate saturation, white balance and temperature to capture a vivid photo.
  • Ä Use this mode to take photos of sun rising or setting and its colorful effects on the clouds.
• Sports: Sports mode lets the user take photos of objects moving at a high speed like car race or people playing sports like football/basketball etc. The camera automatically sets a high shutter speed to capture a still of the moving object. Since the shutter speed is high, in low light conditions, the photo will come dark or totally black. Hence, for a perfect sports photo the lighting conditions should be bright.
  • Ä Use this mode to take frozen photos of cars, people playing sports, running pets and wildlife.
• Macro: Macro mode lets the user take closer photograph of objects like flowers, insects and other small objects like coins. In macro mode, the depth of field is very narrow and hence some part of the object may be out of focus if the camera is held at an angle to the object. e.g. The petals of a flower may be blurred if the focus is on the stigma and the camera is held at an angle to the flower. Also, the use of tripod is essential to steady the shot since even a small shake can cause the photo to be out of focus.
  
  • Ä Use this mode to take extreme close up (withing centimeters of the object) of small objects like flowers and insects.
• Fireworks: Fireworks mode is similar to Night Landscape mode, but having a longer shutter speed. This mode is used to capture colorful and bright photos of fireworks. The longer shutter speed enables the full explosion of the fireworks to be captured in one photo which creates photos with long streaks of light as the burning fireworks spread across the sky.
  • Ä Use this mode to take wide photos of fireworks or even of night traffic in city highways.
• Panorama: This mode can be used to take extremely wide photos of landscapes. In this mode, when the user takes the first photo, the camera uses a part of that photo as a mask to align the next photo. After the user takes a few overlapping photos, either the camera automatically stitches the photos to form one continuous photo or stores them so the user can later manually join them using a software. Some cameras have options to choose to rotate from left to right or right to left. Some of the latest Sony cameras (Point and Shoots and DSLRs both) can take a panoramic photo by letting the user sweep from one side to the other in a continuous motion instead of clicking individual photos. Rotating the camera on a tripod will help align the photos in a straight line.
  • Ä Use this mode to take wide photos of scenery or a city skyline. Panoramic photo of full 360 degrees captures the full essence of the location.
• Manual Modes (PASM): These modes are semi-automatic or fully manual, where the user selects one or more settings to be fixed and the rest of the settings are set by the camera. The most common manual modes found in DSLRs (and in some Point and Shoot cameras) are:
• Program Mode (P): In this mode, the camera automatically sets the shutter speed and aperture for a suitable exposure of the photo depending on the lighting. The user can manually select any other settings like AF mode, drive mode, flash etc as per their requirements.
  • Ä Use this mode when more control is needed over settings like ISO, Flash etc than Full Automatic mode.
• Aperture Priority (A/Av): In this mode, the user sets the aperture and the camera sets the other options like shutter speed, ISO, white balance after analysing the scene for a proper exposure.
  • Ä Set a smaller aperture (high f-number) for a wider depth of field (landscape) or a higher aperture (low f-number) for a narrow depth of field (portrait).
• Shutter Priority (S/Tv): In this mode, the user sets the shutter speed and the camera sets the other options like aperture, ISO, white balance after analysing the scene for a proper exposure.
  • Ä Set a faster shutter speed for sports and slower shutter speed for night photography, night traffic or waterfall shot
• Full Manual (M): This is a user customisable mode in which the user sets the shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, ISO (can be Manual or Automatic) manually to obtain a correct exposure of the photo.
  • Ä Use this mode when full control is required over the settings and can be used for any type of photography like Portrait, Landscape, Night Photography, Waterfall (silky water effect).
• Bulb (B): In this mode, the shutter remains open as long as the shutter button is pressed down and closes when shutter button is released. Bulb mode can be used for low light conditions where longer shutter times are required. A tripod is very essential to keep the camera still and reduce blur. Also, a remote controller/cable release can be used or alternatively set the timer so that the shake from the pressing of the shutter button does not cause a blur.
  • Ä Use Bulb mode to take photos of fireworks and night photography.

The automatic modes are as simple as clicking one button to take a beautiful photo, if the person knows which mode is best for which lighting conditions. However, the person who knows the basic aspects of photography can use the manual modes to capture even more beautiful photos. We will delve into the basics of capturing a perfectly exposed photo using manual modes in the next post.

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