“Real photographers shoot manual.,” I think this is one of the first pieces of “advice” a store owner gave me as I was buying my first camera. Back then, I was buying a cheap Canon DSLR to document my first trip to LA, and strangely enough, the friend I was visiting on that trip told me the same thing a few days later: They were wondering why I wasn’t shooting in manual mode. Looking back at it, if I am being honest, both were condescending. Here’s why I think that shooting photos in auto mode is perfectly okay.
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Fast forward many years down the line, I managed to get to where I make my living with photography, and guess what? I still do not shoot manual 99% of the time.
Photographers can be arrogant. Sorry to say that, but some indeed are. In the past, gear was costly, travel was rare, and the technical skills needed to operate a camera and develop a roll of film were tremendous. Since then, some have not welcomed every step to facilitate the process. The idea of relying on auto ISO somehow makes you a lesser photographer, just like shooting from the back screen instead of the EVF or depending on the dynamic range of your sensor instead of bracketing.
A case for shooting photos in Auto mode can be made anytime you are in a fast-paced environment. What if you are tracking a bird in flight with erratic movements? One second you are shooting against a dark mountain, and a second later, you are shooting into the sun following that same bird. How many of us would have time to change settings with our 12-pound lens when we can barely keep up with movements? The one thing we need is a shutter speed fast enough to freeze our action. Bokeh matters very little if your background is a blue sky. What if you are shooting an event with some guests sitting by the window and others in the back of the room? Those two scenarios can be shot manually, of course, but you are bound to miss a lot of critical moments if you need to adjust for everything all the time.
So, the question is, why waste valuable seconds changing settings when your camera can do it for you when timing is critical?
There is a lot that goes into crafting an image, and we can all agree that ISO is the one thing that has no bearing on the aesthetics, at least not until you reach your personal noise threshold. Anything between 100 ISO and 1600 ISO will look the same if you’re not pixel peeping; some sensors will even let you go higher. The same can be said about shutter speed in most human-based scenarios. Whether your focus is people walking on the street, weddings, or corporate events, there will be no difference between 1/400th and 1/4000th. So, the question is, why waste valuable seconds changing settings when your camera can do it for you when timing is critical?
I have repeatedly heard, “When you’re shooting photos in auto mode, your camera does what it wants instead of what you want.” This could not be further from the truth. Shooting in auto mode does not necessarily mean that you don’t understand what is happening underneath, nor that you are not giving boundaries or guidelines to your camera. All camera bodies nowadays will let you set a minimum shutter and a maximum ISO. The one thing left for you to decide is whether you want bokeh in your shot or not. This is what makes aperture priority my favorite mode. When done correctly, combining aperture priority and exposure compensation can let you steer the other two parameters without setting them yourself to get to your creative vision.
Do not get me wrong; there is a time and a place for manual mode. If I am shooting landscapes, I want to ensure 100 ISO for the maximum dynamic range. If I am shooting Astro, I want to dial in the 500-rule. If I want to achieve creative motion blur, I need the proper settings for my scene. We need to understand the benefits of manual for specific genres, but it does not need to be all the time. It is about YOU enjoying the process and ensuring you get the shot YOU want. If manual gets you there, by all means, shoot manual. Don’t be condescended into thinking this is what you need to do to get better pictures or your peers’ validation. You don’t.
I have seen photographers shooting aperture priority, but they will not admit it. Our community needs to evolve. We live in an era where kids can shoot a “banger” with a click on their phones. Our sense of aesthetics, lighting, timing, and composition keeps us in business, most certainly not our sensor size, camera brand, or whether we are shooting manual.