Disney World Photography: Full Manual or Program Mode?

[CapeCodTenor]

As I was responding to several posts in my thread Balancing Vacation and Photography, I read that some photographers are quick when it comes to taking pictures down in Disney World. This got me thinking about how can they be so quick at it? As photographers, we practice and get good at it, but sometimes the scene changes quickly which makes us change quickly. So think makes me want to ask the question: Do you use full manual or one of the program modes when down in Disney World? When I shoot dance or theater photography I use shutter priority. Because things happen quickly, especially in dance, shutter priority allows me to set the shutter speed at a speed I know I can capture the action without it being blurry. But in shutter priority, I can add in some exposure compensation for when the lights are low. Shutter priority also allows me to not have to think about one part of the exposure triangle. When I do shoot in full manual, I have a few "go to" settings, but was curious how other photographers do it. So which do you use, and would you be willing to share some tips?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

For me it would just depend on what I was shooting. I think one of the joys of getting to understand how to use your camera fully is that it becomes fairly instinctive to switch out to what you need pretty quickly. My favorite was generally Aperture Priority, because I love the bokeh. One thing I never used on my DSLR once I really learned how to use it was Auto. I was out one night shooting down at the water when another photographer who told me she was a “professional photographer” came up to me to chat. I asked her a question about settings and she looked perplexed and said, “Oh, I don’t use those settings, I only shoot in Auto”. I was pretty surprised to hear that. So I think everyone is different. Some of these guys around here (on this board) are pro level even though it’s more of a hobby for them. If you notice at weddings, often photographers carry two or more cameras around with them so they can switch out quickly without changing settings on their cameras. It’s fun watching them in action.

 

[OKW Lover]

I mostly use aperture priority. I'm in Disney very regularly since I live so close to the parks. When I do take my DSLR (actually a mirrorless now) with me I'm seldom shooting anything with a lot of motion. I'm also usually there during the day so dim light performance isn't really an issue. I'm just looking to control depth of field.

 

[mom2rtk]

I shoot mostly aperture priority at Disney. I'm looking at getting my shots in without slowing down my group, but without missing the shots I want to bring home with me. I do sometimes throw it into program mode when we're meeting a character and I'm using a flash. Those are situations where you have to move fast and don't get a second chance.

The only time I'm really fiddly with all of it is when I'm setting up the tripod and shooting the fireworks. But then you typically need your spot early, so have time to focus on the setup.

There was a poster here some time ago that used to scoff at anyone shooting mid-day, since the lighting wasn't great. His work was great, but he was clearly an AP holder who toured the parks quite frequently. I also don't think he was touring with family most of the time. I loved his shots. But I'm in a different position. I go once a year at most. And it's with family. My goal is to shoot my family experience and take some beautiful parks shots on the side. I think his goal was to shoot the parks as perfectly as possible.

My goal in the parks is to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I get the shot and keep moving. I shoot in RAW so I can have the most latitude to adjust later at home when I have the luxury of time.

Would I love to have a chance to shoot the parks by myself sometime? Sure, it sounds kind of fun. Like a great creative endeavor. But that's really just not happening any time soon for me. Truth is every time I'm in the parks, I want to enjoy the time with family. So I keep balancing.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

The mode I shoot in depends on the circumstances. At WDW, in the vast majority of cases, I'm in aperture priority mode because setting the aperture is the primary creative decision I want to make. I'll do a quick check of shutter speed and adjust my ISO if I need the shutter faster or slower.

I almost never use manual mode. The main exceptions are when I'm using external strobes (which would never happen at WDW) or when I'm taking multiple shots and want to be sure that I get the same exposure. This would be the case for things like panos or some type of image stacking.

I thought one other exception might be dark background shows like the old Voyage of the Little Mermaid show, but when I checked I shot that show in both auto exposure and aperture priority. I often used spot metering and sometimes some exposure compensation. Keep in mind, that was more than 10 years ago and the dynamic range of sensors is getting better, so you don't need to be as precise with your exposure.

I never use auto ISO, but that's a legacy of Canon implementing it very poorly. They may have fixed that, but I haven't bothered to test it in year. With a dedicated ISO dial on my current camera, I don't feel a need for auto ISO.

One really nice thing with mirrorless cameras at the park is the electric viewfinder (EVF). That allows you to review your shots without having the screen on the back of your camera light up and annoy everyone around you. So fire a few shots, review them in the viewfinder, and make adjustments as necessary.

So for me, aperture priority most of the time and occasionally just auto exposure. No auto ISO, but I maybe stupid about that. Exposure compensation in extremely high contrast scenes or spot metering. But I hate to switch on spot metering because when I do, I forget to turn it off and then get wonky exposures.

It's good to remember that two photos will look exactly the same regardless of what mode you shot in and how you metered it if they end up with the same aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. The modes only make it easier for you to control those things and, if you aren't controlling them creatively, why are you controlling them manually. I say this because I've met more than a few photographers that shoot manual by picking an ISO for the general conditions, setting their aperture based on their creative needs, and then adjusting their shutter speed based on the camera's meter. That's just shooting in aperture priority with more steps. Better to spend your mental energy on picking creative camera angles.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Morning, everyone. I know it's been a couple of weeks since I posted this, but I tend to over think when I write, so it can take me a while to respond, so I apologize for not responding sooner.


I initially found it interesting that everyone said they generally use Aperture Priority, but then I got to thinking about it an it makes sense. You're in the park and need to take a quick picture and don't want to slow things down. Thanks for responding, everyone.

For me it would just depend on what I was shooting. I think one of the joys of getting to understand how to use your camera fully is that it becomes fairly instinctive to switch out to what you need pretty quickly. My favorite was generally Aperture Priority, because I love the bokeh. One thing I never used on my DSLR once I really learned how to use it was Auto. I was out one night shooting down at the water when another photographer who told me she was a “professional photographer” came up to me to chat. I asked her a question about settings and she looked perplexed and said, “Oh, I don’t use those settings, I only shoot in Auto”. I was pretty surprised to hear that. So I think everyone is different. Some of these guys around here (on this board) are pro level even though it’s more of a hobby for them. If you notice at weddings, often photographers carry two or more cameras around with them so they can switch out quickly without changing settings on their cameras. It’s fun watching them in action.

This surprises me that a "professional photographer" would choose to shoot in Auto mode. But if it works for them.

I mostly use aperture priority. I'm in Disney very regularly since I live so close to the parks. When I do take my DSLR (actually a mirrorless now) with me I'm seldom shooting anything with a lot of motion. I'm also usually there during the day so dim light performance isn't really an issue. I'm just looking to control depth of field.

I'm not looking to shoot anything with a lot of motion either. They'll be some motion, DD dancing running and having fun, but but having shot enough dance recites has prepared me for that. The problem I'll run into is if I'm prepared for the running and jumping.

There was a poster here some time ago that used to scoff at anyone shooting mid-day, since the lighting wasn't great. His work was great, but he was clearly an AP holder who toured the parks quite frequently. I also don't think he was touring with family most of the time. I loved his shots. But I'm in a different position. I go once a year at most. And it's with family. My goal is to shoot my family experience and take some beautiful parks shots on the side. I think his goal was to shoot the parks as perfectly as possible.

I don't always shoot in mid-day, but if I do take the opportunity to turn the pictures into black and white photos and even add a splash of color on one item. I learned how to do that in Photoshop and it's really fun to do.

My goal in the parks is to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I get the shot and keep moving. I shoot in RAW so I can have the most latitude to adjust later at home when I have the luxury of time.

Would I love to have a chance to shoot the parks by myself sometime? Sure, it sounds kind of fun. Like a great creative endeavor. But that's really just not happening any time soon for me. Truth is every time I'm in the parks, I want to enjoy the time with family. So I keep balancing.

I like the highlighted saying. You're there to have fun and get some good photos. And like you, I shoot in raw so I can edit later.

It's good to remember that two photos will look exactly the same regardless of what mode you shot in and how you metered it if they end up with the same aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. The modes only make it easier for you to control those things and, if you aren't controlling them creatively, why are you controlling them manually. I say this because I've met more than a few photographers that shoot manual by picking an ISO for the general conditions, setting their aperture based on their creative needs, and then adjusting their shutter speed based on the camera's meter. That's just shooting in aperture priority with more steps. Better to spend your mental energy on picking creative camera angles.

I have to admit I had to read this a couple of times of before I understood it, but it makes sense.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Some additional thoughts while reading, just for discussion.

I think I was a little confused by the title and questions for this reason: I always learned that there are three modes on a manual camera. 1) Full Auto - camera picks all settings, 2) Semi-Auto (Aperture and Shutter Priorities and Program modes, where you pick the one most important to you and the others fall into place although you can adjust the ISO with either), and Full Manual - you pick all your settings. I remember a time when people were buying manual cameras but keeping them on full Auto all the time. That’s what happened in my “professional photographer” example - she was using Full Auto all the time and didn’t understand how to use semi-auto modes, which I was trying to learn myself at the time. I think it takes some work to use the Semi-Auto modes because you have to understand both your camera and the Exposure Triangle in order to get the kinds of shots you want (indoor sports or shows always being a challenge to practically everyone new at it, and then some).

That being said…

As I was responding to several posts in my thread Balancing Vacation and Photography,I read that some photographers are quick when it comes to taking pictures down in Disney World. This got me thinking about how can they be so quick at it? As photographers, we practice and get good at it, but sometimes the scene changes quickly which makes us change quickly. So think
makes me want to ask the question:

As has been mentioned, practice, practice, practice enables one to become intuitive, and that makes it easier to know which settings you want, on the fly. I mentioned how a wedding photographer may carry multiple cameras, that’s because they can’t afford to miss a shot futzing around with lenses and settings, and also why many people won’t do weddings even when asked because there’s too much at stake for all but the most accomplished photographers who know they can get what they want out of the camera in a split second. Kids’ sports and recitals (and certainly the parks and resorts) aren’t as critical, so we might have more time and less pressure to get the kinds of shots we want when we’re adjusting to try to figure out what works best given the shooting conditions at any given time.

Do you use full manual or one of the program modes when down in Disney World? When I shoot dance or theater photography I use shutter priority. Because things happen quickly, especially in dance, shutter priority allows me to set the shutter speed at a speed I know I can capture the action without it being blurry. But in shutter priority, I can add in some exposure compensation for when the lights are low. Shutter priority also allows me to not have to think about one part of the exposure triangle. When I do shoot in full manual, I have a few "go to" settings, but was curious how other photographers do it. So which do you use, and would you be willing to share some tips?

Exactly. When I had time on my hands I enjoyed shooting in Full Manual because I could use my histogram to help me figure out which settings were working, and which weren’t. But then I often found that I may not be getting the kinds of shots I liked best, which were the ones with the bokeh (as I’ve mentioned before, I really love, and it’s probably part of what got me into this in the first place) so that’s how I figured out that Aperture Priority usually works best for me - unless I needed speed or wanted trail effects like with fireworks or waterfalls, etc. A lot of people like Program Mode but that wasn’t one I used often.

ETA Putting this here as it may be helpful:

I hope this helps. In many ways I am still learning myself. I did get away from it for a while when life got busy and technology changed, but I do enjoy it when I have time and I’m even thinking about upgrading my equipment to something with WiFi capability so I don’t have to deal with cords and computers anymore. (I primarily use an iPad Pro.)

 

[Pea-n-Me]

In case this might be helpful.

There was a thread I did here back in 2008 called The Learning Curve. I was going to suggest a search but I’ll just put the link here, for ease. It was a neat thread (back in the day) because a lot of users joined in from various skill levels and we got to learn from those with lots of experience and questions were answered patiently and kindly, which is another thing that’s important to all of this - we need good teachers.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-learning-curve.1794070/

 

[boBQuincy]

I use Program almost exclusively. The front dial is exposure compensation, the rear dial is program shift. With those two I can quickly select any valid exposure and shutter/aperture while still enjoying the P mode quick response to changing light conditions.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

In case this might be helpful.

There was a thread I did here back in 2008 called The Learning Curve. I was going to suggest a search but I’ll just put the link here, for ease. It was a neat thread (back in the day) because a lot of users joined in from various skill levels and we got to learn from those with lots of experience and questions were answered patiently and kindly, which is another thing that’s important to all of this - we need good teachers.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-learning-curve.1794070/

Oh wow. Major nostalgia there. What a good thread with responses from so many great contributors - both those asking and those answering questions.

And why didn't Disboards convert the old links to other Disboard threads to new ones? It wouldn't have been that hard. I can find a lot of the old threads by doing a google search in the form "site:disboards.com inurl:999999" where the 999999 is the ID of thread. But that doesn't always work. I'm not sure if they deleted some old stuff that hadn't been accessed or if it is hidden in some other way.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Some additional thoughts while reading, just for discussion.

I think I was a little confused by the title and questions for this reason: I always learned that there are three modes on a manual camera. 1) Full Auto - camera picks all settings, 2) Semi-Auto (Aperture and Shutter Priorities and Program modes, where you pick the one most important to you and the others fall into place although you can adjust the ISO with either), and Full Manual - you pick all your settings. I remember a time when people were buying manual cameras but keeping them on full Auto all the time. That’s what happened in my “professional photographer” example - she was using Full Auto all the time and didn’t understand how to use semi-auto modes, which I was trying to learn myself at the time. I think it takes some work to use the Semi-Auto modes because you have to understand both your camera and the Exposure Triangle in order to get the kinds of shots you want (indoor sports or shows always being a challenge to practically everyone new at it, and then some).

You're not confused, I may have stated the question wrong, wouldn't be the first time. When I asked the question, I meant one of the semi-auto modes but asked program mode instead...at least I hope that's what you meant. I was trying to find out what other photographers use when down in the park. There's wanting to take a good picture, but there's also the need to be quick about it, and that's that's where I was going with this post. Just wanted to find out what other photographers do. And it always bothers me when people spend the money to buy a DSLR only to keep it on Full Auto. Learn to use the camera....even if a little bit.

That being said…

As has been mentioned, practice, practice, practice enables one to become intuitive, and that makes it easier to know which settings you want, on the fly. I mentioned how a wedding photographer may carry multiple cameras, that’s because they can’t afford to miss a shot futzing around with lenses and settings, and also why many people won’t do weddings even when asked because there’s too much at stake for all but the most accomplished photographers who know they can get what they want out of the camera in a split second. Kids’ sports and recitals (and certainly the parks and resorts) aren’t as critical, so we might have more time and less pressure to get the kinds of shots we want when we’re adjusting to try to figure out what works best given the shooting conditions at any given time.

It does take practice, that's for sure, something I don't do very often. I do, however, play around with the buttons on the camera so their position becomes second nature to me and I don't have to look and can make changes quickly (like knowing where the 4 buttons on top of the camera are: 1. Meter Mode 2. ISO 3. Drive Mode 4. AF Operation), well, with the exception of dialing in "exposure compensation" that is. I have to look at the screen for that.

Exactly. When I had time on my hands I enjoyed shooting in Full Manual because I could use my histogram to help me figure out which settings were working, and which weren’t. But then I often found that I may not be getting the kinds of shots I liked best, which were the ones with the bokeh (as I’ve mentioned before, I really love, and it’s probably part of what got me into this in the first place) so that’s how I figured out that Aperture Priority usually works best for me - unless I needed speed or wanted trail effects like with fireworks or waterfalls, etc. A lot of people like Program Mode but that wasn’t one I used often.

ETA Putting this here as it may be helpful:

I hope this helps. In many ways I am still learning myself. I did get away from it for a while when life got busy and technology changed, but I do enjoy it when I have time and I’m even thinking about upgrading my equipment to something with WiFi capability so I don’t have to deal with cords and computers anymore. (I primarily use an iPad Pro.)

I prefer to shoot in manual mode as well, but understand I'm not quick at determining the settings. Once I get those settings dialed in, with the help of the histogram, I'm fine. Ok, that sounded stupid. Of course everyone's fine when they get the settings dialed in. Hope you understood where I was going with that.

In case this might be helpful.

There was a thread I did here back in 2008 called The Learning Curve. I was going to suggest a search but I’ll just put the link here, for ease. It was a neat thread (back in the day) because a lot of users joined in from various skill levels and we got to learn from those with lots of experience and questions were answered patiently and kindly, which is another thing that’s important to all of this - we need good teachers.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-learning-curve.1794070/

Thanks for the link, I'll take a look through the thread.