settings on dslr, what to do first, second...

[figment97]

hello out there... i've been playing around with my dslr (still learning), and the furthest i've gone, is to set one function (ex. aperture), than let the other functions (iso, speed, whatever else) be set automatically.

is this the way it's normally done? or do people set all functions manually? also, which is the best to set first? i'm assuming this depends on what kind of picture you want to take?

i've seen some firework photos that the only thing in common was the ISO setting (200), the rest of the settings were different. does this mean that I should set the ISO first?

help a confused wannabe please.

 

[MICKEY88]

some people shoot full manual, but with ,modern in camera meters being fairly accurate, most people choose shutter or aperture priority.

if you want to control depth of field then aperture priority is the way to go, if you want to freeze action, then shutter priority is best..

I prefer to shoot most outdoors stuff at iso 100, for minimal noise

indoors with flash I jump to 400 ISO, this allows me to use more ambient light along with my flash for a better balanced and more natural looking picture..

of course there are always exceptions, if I can't get a high enough shutter speed outside, I will bump up my iso if neccessary

then of course there are the tricky light situations which will fool the meter, heavy backlight, hi key, such as a bride in white in front of a white wall.... lowkey such as a woman in a black dress in front of a dark wall...

for these situations some people will go to manual to force more or less exposure....I usually still use aperture priority and use my exposure compensation dial to force the exposure the way I want it..

 

[mabas9395]

In theory, you should just be able to use the P mode and it will pick the best shutter speed and aperture. Unfortunately, the camera does not know what type of picture you are trying to achieve. In some cases P will work fine, like a person standing still against a wall. You don't need a fast shutter speed or a large depth of field.

The rest of the time, you need to decide what is most important; shutter speed or depth of field. If I am taking pictures at my kids soccer games I will use Shutter Priority (aka, Tv) to make sure the shutter speeds are fast enough to stop the action. If I am taking portrait shots and want a shallow depth of field, I will use Aperture Priority (aka, Av). If I am taking landscape shots and want a large dept of field I will use Av also.

I generally start with the lowest ISO I can, like 100. Then for soccer, I might set my shutter speed for 1/500th of a second. If the camera flashes at me telling me it can't get a shot because the max aperture is too small, then I will bump up the ISO until I get the aperture where I want it.

It all boils down to the "exposure triangle" of shutter speed, aperture and ISO and understanding what values you require to get the shot you want and which values have some wiggle room. The ones that are required you set first, the rest you let the camera decide.

At least thats the way I think about it.

 

[boBQuincy]

I set the ISO first since that dictates the quality (noise level) of the images. I use "P" most of the time, my reasoning is: if I am taking a photo of Cindy's castle in daylight what difference does it make if the shutter speed is 1/250 to 1/1000 or the aperture f/5.6 to f/11?
I tend to set the ISO to the lowest that will allow an acceptable shutter speed/aperture to get the lowest noise. Most newer dSLRs show little difference up to ISO 400 for most applications anyway.

It is only when I want a specific effect that I set aperture or shutter, and then it is usually Av. Most of my fireworks photos are at ISO 100 if I am using a tripod.

 

[MICKEY88]

I set the ISO first since that dictates the quality (noise level) of the images. I use "P" most of the time, my reasoning is: if I am taking a photo of Cindy's castle in daylight what difference does it make if the shutter speed is 1/250 to 1/1000 or the aperture f/5.6 to f/11?
I tend to set the ISO to the lowest that will allow an acceptable shutter speed/aperture to get the lowest noise. Most newer dSLRs show little difference up to ISO 400 for most applications anyway.

It is only when I want a specific effect that I set aperture or shutter, and then it is usually Av. Most of my fireworks photos are at ISO 100 if I am using a tripod.

aperture could make a big difference, depends on whether you want everything in your picture to be sharp, of if you want to isolate the castle and have foreground and background objects out of focus..