So you think P on your camera stands for Professional?
I know, I know .. it’s a funny comment that P stands for professional. But somehow it always irks me to the extent that I just can’t suppress my reply. Maybe it’s the purposeful dumbing-down making it seem okay not to want to know more and continually improve. Maybe that’s what gets to me. Still, I think my reply is more cute.
Breathe!
This post got a lot of reaction on Facebook … mostly good, with most people seeing it as humorous. However, some people chose to be offended. There will always be those too.
But if we could have a serious moment and look closely at what I actually said there – I didn’t dismiss shooting in Program mode. I do so at times when the situation warrants. My comment really is a response to the easy and dismissive platitude that is “P is for Professional.” And you may well reply that that in itself is meant as a joke – however, I do think that at some level it perpetuates the “I don’t have to even really bother” mindset.
So if you shoot in Program mode or Aperture Priority when necessary … we don’t really have issues here. It wasn’t directed at you. Breathe.
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I had the same feeling when I recently learned that a friend who shoot a D600 Nikon said he usually uses Auto mode. In response I decided to see if I could easily demonstrate that Auto is a long way from where we aught to be. I set up a challenge to myself. In my next few photo sessions I would start full auto mode, no flash, auto ISO with limitations. After taking that picture I would try full manual to show that I could do better. I did learn that in many situations these cameras are amazing. Some scenes I did not see I could beat. Others I could. But, I agree that the satisfaction comes from knowing you had a major part in the outcome. In certain situations where you have to shoot in an instant auto is probably your best choice. If flash is involved Manual wins without question because of your ability to control backgroud vs subject. Still, I encourage your readers to try the Auto challenge. I understand the difference between Auto and Professional. In the former you have almost no control, while the later does permit deviations from the camera’s choice.
there are times when Auto is fine, but to rely on Auto all the time is not an attractive option, for me. I shoot a lot of music photography so naturally Auto won’t work well for me. 99.999% of the time I shoot Manual Mode. Plus, I’m one who prefers to tell the camera what to do instead of letting the camera make all the decisions, so I’m not just a button pusher. Those that are comfortable with the triangle; shutter speed, aperture and ISO, will have no problem shooting Manual. Take control of your images!
I got my first point & shoot in 2007. A Canon A95. My brother-in-law, who’s a professional photographer, gave me some great advice: Put the camera on ‘P’ that way you can learn. I have never used the ‘Auto’ setting and I’m very glad. When I moved up to a DSLR I knew how to use all the settings.
I take exception to that statement. ‘P’ for Professional. Really, any photographer that’s worth his salt knows it is actually ‘P’ for Perfect (b/c even professionals mess up photos). Closely followed by ‘A’ for Almost Perfect, ‘S’ for Sometimes Perfect and ‘M’ for Maybe Perfect. Of course, I always shoot in ‘M’ because I don’t like Perfect, it’s not my style. I’ve been campaigning the camera manufacturers for a more creative mode but they are too close minded to see the sense in it : I need a ‘T’ mode, you know, ” ‘T’hat is just how I roll” mode, a combination of all the other modes that varies based on desired outcome and subject matter. Now, wouldn’t that be ‘T’erfect?
Johan, thatis a wonderful explanation. I love it. ´P´is Perfect and ´M´ is for the `M´acho mode. For those who do not own long white lenses :)
Hey that is fun :)
I guess the bottom line to this subject is that no matter how one might explain the logic of something, in a very logical way, there will always be a certain percentage of people that simply do not comprehend what is being said. Else they simply refuse to step outside their comfort zone and engage a practice that might …just might… be better.
I applaud Neil for being the ultimate teacher of his subject. Whether people choose to learn and benefit though is another thing altogether!
Take it this way: “P” stands for Professional in terms of a Professional knows when cirumstances (light/shadow, contrast, colors etc) will allow his camera to deliver decent shots without requiring him to set things manually :-)
Aren’t we all using auto or semi auto modes when it makes sense?
TTL controlled flash is also an auto mode, that saves us manual fiddling with settings when we better concentrate on getting the shot.
The problem is that understanding how the different auto modes work and how to combine them, is sometimes more difficult that just shooting manual.
That’s one of the funniest statements I have seen. You would have to be quite insecure to be offended by that.
I switch between AV and M nearly all the time and so far usually use the flash in TTL mode (manually zooming it though). Never yet used ‘professional’ mode – but I am sure the time will come.
More please!
We’ve already relinquished our control of focusing and white balance to the camera and find it OK most of the time, right? What’s so wrong about giving control of the exposure to the camera as well? The latest cameras’ P mode is really good, as some of them can even take account of the movement of the subject to prevent motion blur. The P mode gets thrown off sometimes, for sure, but so do autofocus and auto WB. I wonder why the auto v. manual discussion concentrates on the exposure setting, while autofocus and auto white balance get free pass.
White Balance gets a free pass, since this is something we can control as we please, in post-production.
On the other hand, camera settings are things we can’t control in post. I can’t later on fix lack of DoF, or a shutter speed that is too slow. And that’s the difference – with Manual Exposure mode, I have complete control at the time it matters.
(As for Auto-focus – AF is so blazingly fast and (mostly) accurate, that you can achieve a lot more than with manual focus with some fields of photography.)
Wow !!! This topic cracks me up on the Turkey day !!! Great jokes ever !!! LOL
What does it matter what mode you shoot in as long as you get the picture?
For all those who like to bang on about the “auto” modes V “m” modes makes for a worthy topic.
BUT, for consistency of exposures, M mode is the only way to go.
All the auto modes are that, the camera thinks what is best and will change according to focal length, tones etc etc.
.
As Frank Constanza said on Seinfeld
Serenity Now, serenity now.
Real Photographers Do It Manually ;-)*
*Auto exposure usually doesn’t match our eye.
*Auto exposure usually doesn’t match our eye*. ~ Volen
Precisely, dead on, unless all the elements in the frame are in the midtones range.
But the moment you have a dark background with subject in light and leave it to auto, you will have an over-exposed image; with a bright background like sky, sand, water and your subject in a little shade, it will be under-exposed, then you maybe might say, ok how about I just apply some compensation?
Well, then you are fiddling around with exposure anyway, so why not manual and it will be a ‘constant’, not ‘guessing’ as to how much comp you apply.
Angelo above also said changing focal length, he’s correct; if in auto exposure, just by changing focal length to include/exclude background you will influence the exposure values in camera as well.
I do use Shutter Priority a bit, only in the ‘meet and greet’ stages of a wedding when guests are mingling with the couple and generally you are working in sun, full shade, mixture of both, that way I am not fiddling on the fly too much.
Same here Trev. Shutter priority for the “faster” paced, multi/changing light situations. Easy, set to max sync speed, use auto ISO, {max “allowed” value for the lighting}. I move FEC around for shade or full-sun, AND exposure comp to -1.0 . There are few situations where you need to boss the camera’s compensation around a bit, ie. bright faces on dark backgrounds and vice versa… Using RAW, I can’t remember “loosing” any under/overexposed images. Down and dirty, gets it done when it needs to be done.
Ha P for pro was coined if memory serves years ago by a certain Mr Rockwell initially tongue in cheek it’s amazing how that has filtered in to the digital photography community.
Our camera club has a member {gender omitted} who thinks P is the Pretty button
have fun and good light to all.
The great wedding photojournalist photographer Joe Buissink shoots Program mode all the time. He said he over rides it when needed but shoots program mode exclusively so if he can do it there is something really good about it. He said his face paced shooting doesn’t allow to take time to make changes like you have to in Manual, Program mode is much faster. What’s good for Joe cannot be bad.
Again, you do realize this is not about shooting in Program mode per se? But rather about the “P is for Professional” dumbing down?
As an addition. I personally do not like the fixed shutter speed of 1/60 on Canon’s P mode, I wish I could change that.
Sorry Neil, I got caught up in the P shooting mood.
I started shooting soley in Manual mode about a year ago. Prior to that I was using semi-auto modes like Aperture Priority and/or Shutter Priority. These are great modes to shoot in when you’re starting out and they give you (almost) complete control until you feel at ease to go full on manual. Once I started manual mode, it’s helped me gain all the control I’ve ever wanted out of a photograph. Yes, at times I’ve goofed and miscalculated or just simply forgot my ISO was up a bit high (I rarely raise it past 200), but again, it’s a learning process, and the more you do it, the more at ease you become.
Sometimes, the situation will call for a semi-auto setting and I will give it a whirl. If it doesn’t come out as I hoped, then I go back to manual to readjust things. These are usually situations where I do not have people involved, so I get some second chances.
It’s all a preference thing, but manual mode clearly gives you the best results once you’ve gotten it down. And, once you’ve got it down, you can get your settings accurate enough just as quickly as you’d get it in an Auto mode. Sometimes I am really impressed with how fast I can get it just right.
There is always a counter to someone else’s “move”… i.e.; You’re shooting in manual? I shoot in “pro” because I know what my camera is doing, I told it so… please don’t cry.
Both of these statements, up top and mine here, are a waste of time. Get in there and get the job done. You will not have time to be frustrated when they are; walking down the aisle, cutting the cake, dragging you over to “take a picture of us!” and other moments that require you to be on your toes. Practice, be ready, if you weren’t, adjust it, whether that is “you” spinning the dial on exp. comp! or aperture, shutter speed, or ISO, it doesn’t matter, get that shot looking right!
Amen, Cliff!
At a Doug Gordon seminar, I learned he shoots in aperture priority. While watching a Kevin Kubota webinar, I learned he shoots using auto-ISO. It’s all about finding out what works for you, but if you’re “chasing the light meter” trying to find the settings to null the light meter, you’re wasting precious time, and only adding frustration. That’s exactly what the auto modes are doing, so you might as well let the camera do it for you.
90% of the time, I’m using aperture priority AND auto-ISO. I do think a bit more when using the flash about how I want my ambient lighting vs. the flash. Keep in mind that the ANSI standard exposure is a bit different than you’d get following Ansel Adam’s 18% gray standard exposure. )
I spent 20+ years shooting Kodachrome 25 with a Nikon FM-2 (and the FM-2n that replaced it when it was stolen from my car in Pioneer Square in Seattle). I started shooting weddings with a Mamiya RB-67. I’m equally comfortable shooting manual, but Nikon introduced it’s 3D matrix metering back before cameras had AF (1983, in the FA). The auto exposure systems in todays cameras are very advanced. Infallible? Certianly not. But it’s not utter rubbish as most manual exposure snobs will try to tell you.
While ‘P is for Professional’ mode, the ‘M’ mode is for “Master” ;)
Post processing images shot in auto modes is a pain in the ass. Every time the camera changes exposure you’ve got to re-twiddle those sliders. For event/wedding work you’ve just added hours of work on the computer.
I’m going to be honest, I can’t seem to figure out The P mode. I’ve used it a couple if times and couldn’t get the result I wanted so I rarely use it. I can hand my camera to someone and put it in P mode and their images are fair. It just doesn’t work for me.
The first (and only) time I heard “P is for Professional” was at a WPPI convention. The guy who said it was Joe Buissink and he was serious, not joking. If you don’t know Joe, you’re probably not into wedding photography.
Hahaha! Thank you for this! As someone who shot primarily high school sports for 6 years, I relate. It is like you were at every game with me! So many moms, some well meaning and just looking to talk about cameras… Others wanting to show the Christmas present from their husband.
I think shooting in P mode is definately not perfect. It can seem intimidating, at first, to shoot in full manual, including manual strobe. However, after study, trail and error, you will improve quickly. I used to shoot in AV mode a lot, but now I prefer manual in all respects. You simply have more creative control and since we don’t live in a world that is middle gray we can create photos that reflect how we really see. A pro will not want to rely on auto once they have a firm grasp of manual. It just simply is better.
I started out on a manual film camera, so when I bought my first digital, Manual setting was the natural place to be. I rarely shoot fast action, if I did, I could see the point of A & S, but for me, Manual is the only Mode.
I have never used full auto (except on my p&s camera), and I have always wondered why Nikon bother putting Auto and Scene options on any camera above their D3000 series, I use an SLR because I like to have full creative control. If I just wanted to shoot a good looking photo, I’d use one of the many brilliant Point and shoot models out there..
Program (P), I think, could be a good learning tool for someone just starting out. However, I feel, that learning the basics of exposure and becoming aquanted with the ‘Sunny 16’ Rule, will teach a beginner far more than using shortcuts and Auto gimmicks.