Aperture vs shutter priority

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Tom

Tom

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In a separate topic, I mentioned reading Bryan Peterson's book on exposure. One thing I came away with was that he keeps his camera on aperture priority. Another gem, learned from observing a pro at a recent outdoor event, was the use of a diffuser when applying flash fill for "portraits".

Yesterday I had an opportunity to talk with a retired pro photographer who worked for a major Bay area newspaper and now, in retirement, takes on paying photo projects. I thought "this is my chance to get some expert hands-on advice". Sure enough, he imparted some useful info in a short time. However, I came to learn that he keeps his camera in shutter priority. This left me confused  ???

Yesterday's location always presents me with a challenge due to the fact that I have to take pics against the background of a large wall of glass. I thought that this was an opportunity to use my recently-acquired diffuser. The pro said "that won't do you any good"  :(  His suggestion was to use the flash off-camera (on a cord), and illuminate the subject from above. My "best" shot from yesterday's event was the one I took with a diffuser  ???

Following our discussion, the pro showed me his gear in the trunk.of his car. The assortment of cameras, lenses and other goodies was mind boggling.
 
Are you film or digital?


The way digital technology has developed "point and shoot" capabilities, I think priorities are really camera and habit dependent.
Back in the day of 35mm only photography all cameras were basically the same and it really mattered what settings you had the camera adjusted to...but there were still many ways to take a decent photo.
 
I've been digital-only for many years, but I'm still trying to figure out the basics  :-[

Several years ago, while attending a grandson's wedding, I couldn't resist leaning into the aisle at the church and asking the 'pro' photographer "did you remember to put film in the camera?". He was quite indignant and replied "I'm a professional, and this is a digital camera". Resisting the urge to tell him I had digital cameras before he was in diapers, I said "cameras without film? Whatever will they think of next?"  ;D

FWIW that grandson now has his own pro photography business. We still laugh about my "film in the camera?" story. If he wasn't 6,000 miles away, I'd be taking lessons!

FWIW the best shots I ever took (some time in the late 70's when I had no clue what I was doing) were taken with a Minolta film camera on a speeding bullet train in Japan. Wish I could recall the settings.
 
Whether you use shutter or aperture priority depends on what you're shooting.  When I shot sports like football and basketball, shutter speed was the most important, but for portraits and scenery, aperture is more critical to control depth of field.  There is no one best method for all photos.
 
Makes sense Ned. Wish he/they explained it that way  :(
 
Tom,

There is no one right answer. It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

Most of the time, when depth of field is not an issue, I will shoot wide open (or close to it) in aperture priority. That gives me the fastest possible shutter speed for the light available.

If I want to maximize the depth of field, I will use shutter priority and the slowest practical shutter speed for the given focal length and type of scene.

If I am after some specific affect, such as blurred water in a waterfall, I will use shutter priority and set whatever speed will give me the effect that I am after.

Joel
 
Thanks Joel. There was no depth of field issue yesterday, all essentially portraits. I was shooting in Av, and it was a surprise to hear the pro tell me to switch to Tv. Sure confused me  :-[
 
You do have to be careful when you're exploring different settings with digital cameras because the effects aren't always what they would have been with film cameras. 

For example, with my Canon DSLR Xti if you shoot with aperture priority in flash mode the shutter will remain open long enough to properly expose the background of the picture (the area beyond the flash).  This reduces the dark background that often is characteristic of flash photos.  Sometimes this extended open shutter will produce a blurry background, but with image stabilized lenses I've had good luck keeping the background crisp if the lighting in the room isn't too dark.

Of course, none of this is a "normal" characteristic of using aperture priority; it's simply an extra feature incorporated into this camera.
 
I only use shutter priority when a very specific shutter speed is the single most important thing to me about a picture - if I want to convey motion with a certain amount of blur, or be sure that I stop action such as brass flying out of a rifle.

All other times I'm in aperture priority or manual.

He may have kept his gear in shutter priority because he wanted to insure that he didn't drop below a safe handholding speed and end up with shake.  I tend to use auto iso for the same function; I'll tell the camera that I don't want a certain lens to drop below a certain shutter speed, and it will adjust the iso on the fly to make sure that doesn't happen.

The way you really learn is to picture the shot in your head before you take it or set anything up, and how making different adjustments to aperture, shutter speed, focal length, iso etc will affect the results.  When you know how you ideally want it to look, then you start setting up your camera.

 
Thanks all. I'll keep the camera in aperture priority for 'still' shots, and will continue experimenting with the off-camera flash for portraits.

Meanwhile, I got a chance to experiment a little with some outside (bright sunlight) shots yesterday. I was on my way home from some early morning fishing and happened to have the camera on the boat. One of these days, I'll skip the fishing and make a morning of photography; There's a lot of bird life on our surrounding waterways.
 
Ned nailed it. His answer is exactly why I sometimes shoot shutter and other times shoot aperture priority. And then you can also throw iso and auto iso into the equation as well. Getting the shot you want is really a combination of all three (that is if your camera has auto iso).

 
Tom,

If you decide to go out on the water to shoot the wildlife birds, be sure to put your shutter speed to fast speed.  That way you can help get the bird's wings in flight.  Also if you have a "burst" mode, use it so that you take a number of pictures and one is sure to be good.  Also if you camera has a focus choice of "one shot", "Al Focus" or "Al Servo", you can choose Al Servo which will keep the subject in focus if it moves.  This is very nice for moving birds.... ;D

Marsha~
 
1joester2 said:
Are you film or digital?


The way digital technology has developed "point and shoot" capabilities, I think priorities are really camera and habit dependent.
Back in the day of 35mm only photography all cameras were basically the same and it really mattered what settings you had the camera adjusted to...but there were still many ways to take a decent photo.
Click to expand...

Huh?  Film or digital, it is still the same how aperture & shutter priority work and when to apply them.  Aperture priority whether film or digital, allows the photographer to set the aperture desired and the camera correspondingly selects the correct shutter speed, while shutter priority is the direct opposite.  I typically shoot manual for full control, but in dynamic fast moving situations I will sometimes shoot in aperture priority.  Even in sports type photography I shoot aperture priority, to control depth of field or lack of (still important).  Some will say but what about freezing or blurring the action? Fair question, this is why one needs to not rely on the camera meter and think.  So if I am wanting to freeze action, hence the need for a faster shutter speed, I take that in consideration when selecting an aperture and ISO (there are 3-parts to the exposure triangle) to yield the desired result. 

 
    Both are equally important regardless of the type of shot -- fast action or looking DOF, or whatever. If in SP, for each unit I increase the shutter speed, a corresponding unit must be applied to the aperture to maintain the same amount of light getting through. So the faster the shutter speed becomes, e.g., the more open the lens aperture must be. The point being, whichever you are in, SP or AP, keep an eye on the other one to make sure it will also work for that shot. Don't just set the shutter speed to super fast not realizing that your aperture is now wide open (and the corresponding DOF is extremely shallow).

My cameras are in Aperture Priority and stay there most of the time. I most always begin a setup with DOF consideration. If shooting a wedding reception or other party event atmosphere, I just go P programmable auto mode. Those are for the most part, point and shoot events. However, an environmental of the bride and groom begins for me in AP.

If shooting fast action, I adjust the aperture to give me the depth of field I want - then adjust it to make sure I have a fast enough shutter speed for that event. If shooting a portrait, I usually want the most shallow DOF beginning with the nose, then check the shutter speed for that event.
 
Adjustable ISO does add a 3rd dimension to digital photography compared to film.  Once the film went in the camera, the ISO was fixed.  It could be pushed 1 or 2 stops in the darkroom, but usually with undesirable side effects.
 
[quote author=Gizmo]...there are 3-parts to the exposure triangle...[/quote]

That's the core of Peterson's book on exposure, or at least a gem that I took away from it.
 
Ned said:
Adjustable ISO does add a 3rd dimension to digital photography compared to film.  Once the film went in the camera, the ISO was fixed.  It could be pushed 1 or 2 stops in the darkroom, but usually with undesirable side effects.
Click to expand...

True enough and one of the benefits of digital photography.  I cannot tell you how many rolls of film I pulled with just a few exposures made, in order to change ISO (ASA back then).
 
Tom said:
That's the core of Peterson's book on exposure, or at least a gem that I took away from it.
Click to expand...

Indeed Tom, your understanding is correct.  By the way Peterson's book is very good.
 
Ned said:
Adjustable ISO does add a 3rd dimension to digital photography compared to film.  Once the film went in the camera, the ISO was fixed.  It could be pushed 1 or 2 stops in the darkroom, but usually with undesirable side effects.
Click to expand...

As does the increasing resolution of digital sensors.  It used to be that 1/focal length minimum was a good guideline for shutter speeds (so for a 100mm lens, you wanted to have at least 1/100 second shutter speed to avoid blur)

That just doesn't cut it anymore with many of the newer cameras if you're looking to get the sharp detail capabilities that you paid for with them.
 
Thanks all. I'm still digesting the replies.

FWIW in a prior life we used to supply (silicon) chips to all the (digital) camera manufacturers in the world, and I spent my share of time on airplanes visiting customers to discuss/resolve technical issues. However, non of the technobabble means anything unless the aperture/shutter-speed/ISO triangle is satisfied.

The episode this week that confused me, and was the catalyst for this topic, was the "pro" photographer saying that he kept his camera in shutter priority; This was in direct response to my question about how to set my camera for a portrait shot against a bright background, with no depth of field consideration. I was expecting him to say "set the aperture to fx.y", but was thrown a curve when he replied with his shutter speed setting (IIRC it was 1/250).

Another FWIW ... a former forum member, and admin for a photography forum, used to say quite simply "photography is all about light". Was that an understatement!

We've come a long way since my Dad used to use his light meter and tape measure, then read off the back of an Agfa or Kodak film box (I still have some of those film boxes somewhere around here). I also have some of his emulsion-coated glass slides from his early B&W film days. He'd be blown away by some of today's camera technology.
 
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