Posted by Carol Nichols on December 7, 2010 at 6:38 PM
Another bird season is starting in Florida and I'm determined to make a little more progress in this extremely difficult area of photography. I have always used aperture priority when shooting birds (mostly shorebirds if that matters), but have been told by several people that I should be using manual exposure. Before I set about changing my shooting style this season, I'm wondering how many of you use either manual exposure or aperture priority and your reasoning behind your choice.
Thanks so much for your help!
Posted by Paul DeCesare on December 7, 2010 at 7:08 PM
Carol, I use both. On a tripod I defintely use manual, and take my time setting up. But when I shoot Av mode when walking around, I almost treat Av as if it's manual. To explain: When I shoot in Av mode on my 5D MKII, my thumb auto-drives the wheel on the back to adjust the EV setting to override what the camera's meter wants to do. If I need a little more exposure, up goes the EV setting. I also have to tweak ISO sometimes. Honestly, I could shoot in Manual, set my aperture where I want it, then work shutter speed and ISO to adapt to the changing light, same thing really.
Advantage of Av mode: you at least get a somewhat accurate starting point for exposure once you set aperture, then you can adjust ISO and EV. Plus if light changes a bit, the camera exposure will follow, just not in your control.
Advantage of manual: if you have time to take a shot and get a starting exposure point, you can adjust from there. However, if you were to force yourself to always shoot manual, in time you would greatly understand exposure to a deeper level, and even be able to approach a scene and say "I think I need to start at f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 320 based on the light". Then test shots will show where you need to tweak.
You know what? I think you've just inspired me to drop the crutch and shoot manual 100%!
Posted by Glenn Starr on December 7, 2010 at 7:55 PM
Carol,
I have a totally different approach, and not saying it is right since Paul's pics are better than mine, but I usually go out Apeture Priority. Since I have D700, and other makes models may have this feature, I set my Auto ISO to min 200 max 1600 to 3200 with a min shutter speed of 1/1000s. Being I also live in Florida good light is seldom a problem. The F8 gives me the depth of field I need for the big wading birds, especially if they take off. Also, I set one of my function buttons to center weighted spot meter. So, if I have a white bird against a dark background I know if I have my meter set to 3d matrix I will overexpose the shot. If I center weight the meter on the bird I tend to get the exposure right. I just find that there are so many color variations on the birds in Florida that using exposure compensation for me was too much hassle and by the time I got it right the shot had flown away. Just my 2 cents and what my advice is probably worth.
Posted by Keith Bauer on December 7, 2010 at 8:38 PM
Carol:
For birds in flight, I much prefer to use Manual exposure. Here's a scenario. Shooting at a place like Bosque Del Apache, once the sun comes up, the light is reasonably consistent. Yep, it does change, but still reasonably consistent. The backgrounds for the birds can change dramatically from the corn fields, or ponds, to trees, to mountains to blue skies, or skies with clouds. None of those backgrounds changes the light that is falling on the bird, so I dial in a proper exposure for the bird and then don't care where it flies with respect to the background. If I were to shoot in Aperture priority mode, I would have to be cognizant of the background and make the appropriate exposure compensation choices to still expose properly for the bird. There's enough things to worry about when doing birds in flight without adding that variable. It also forces you to become a student of the light. You become very sensitized to changes in light. If the sun goes behind a slight veil of a cloud, you learn to notice and adjust. You also learn what to meter to get a proper exposure quickly.
Another scenario is shooting perched birds against a consistent background. In that case Aperture priority works fine and you don't need to worry about small changes in the light. When I'm doing this, I'm focusing on small song birds, but not birds in flight.
Your question talked about shore birds. Even with that, your backgrounds will vary from water to sand, etc. If you use Manual Exposure, I believe you'll have more consistent "proper" exposures of your main subject.
Posted by Richard Ditch on December 7, 2010 at 9:38 PM
I think this has a lot to do with camera brand. I've used Nikons since the early 1970's and trust the meter, but I also know when I need to do some exposure compensation. In my unscientific experience I've observed that Canon users go with manual exposure more often than Nikon shooters, and some Canon users even resort to hand held meters to get their basic starting point.
I almost always work in aperture priority. I keep my lens wide open most of the time, or stopped down one stop when the light allows. I control the aperture from one dial, and since the meter always determines the exposure I am controlling the shutter speed as well with the same dial. I've got the second dial set to control exposure compensation so I can adjust that in 1/3rd stops up or down instantly. I keep the meter on matrix with a front-mounted button set to switch to spot metering when depressed by one finger of my right hand.
My style of bird photography seldom involves birds in constant light; I'm more likely to be working a small bird that moves in and out of shadows and I rely on the camera meter to make the necessary adjustments for me as I concentrate on framing and the bird's pose and actions and where I have the focus sensor positioned. I can't imagine being burdened further by needing to guess how much to change aperture or shutter speed to deal with rapidly changing light conditions.
If the birds and the light are more predictable (flight along the same path or a backyard setup for instance) then going manual might be fine.
Posted by Luke Ormand on December 7, 2010 at 9:53 PM
I've always shot Aperture Priority and have been pleased with my results... but I've got to tell you I've missed some shots because of it (especially because on the D300s you can accidentally change your Aperture without really noticing it, resulting in a slower SS).
When I photographed falcons recently with Richard Ettlinger, I realized the importance of Manual Exposure, as the birds are so insanely fast, it's near impossible to "guess" the right aperture and hope the SS is sufficient as the bird darts back and fourth through different lighting scenarios. If you are doing birds in flight, Do Manual.
Posted by Ronnie Gaubert on December 7, 2010 at 10:43 PM
Hi Carol,
Aperture priority for everything; perched birds, birds in flight, bugs, flowers and landscapes.
I guess it's just a matter of what you are more comfortable with using.
Ronnie
Posted by Jeff Loomis on December 8, 2010 at 12:44 PM
Carol - Thanks for posting this. I'm learning a lot from the responses and it is encouraging me to experiment with manual mode myself.
If I understand the comments so far, you can use Manual and still 'think Aperature'. Just set your aperature and then instead of using +/- compensation, you adjust the shutter speed (and/or ISO). Of course there's going to be a learning curve, so maybe the best thing to do would be to try it under fairly static conditions - stationary subject in consistent lighting. That way, you can relax, think it through, take some test shots and examine the histogram. I think the bottom line is to try it. You can always use aperature mode when you need it.
Posted by Richard Teller on December 10, 2010 at 4:45 PM
I shoot aperture priority for almost everything. I shoot Canon equipment. If I have difficult light conditions I always bracket and most of the time the exposure my camera has selected is the best exposure.
Posted by Ron Bielefeld on December 10, 2010 at 11:04 PM
I don't think there is a right or wrong way to go here Carol. Why I say that is, everybody is different and the most important thing is to be able to get the shot correctly exposed. If you are not comfortable doing it a certain way and yet try to do it that way because you were told it was the "correct" way and you miss shots; well then you have a problem. That being said, I prefer shooting manual because it gives me total control. For birds in flight, I do believe it is the best way. When shooting manual you set your exposure for your subject in certain light. As long as your subject stays in that light your exposure will be correct no matter what BG it flys in front of (light, dark, then light again it does not matter).
There is no way to deal with the fast changes in BG you encounter with flying birds if shooting in AV. Your SS will drop when the bird passes in front of dark BGs and you will get soft shots unless you are perfect in your tracking speed. I also believe that shooting in manual does make you a better study of light over time. To tell you the truth, I rarely meter my shots any more.
I have learned based on the light conditions what I need for my initial settings so I set my ISO, Ap, SS and find a natural 18% grey card in the light I will be shooting, they are everywhere in nature, take a shot, look at it, make a small adjustment, and I am set for shooting any medium brown bird that happens into my sites. That is my starting point. If a white bird turns out to be my target I double my SS as a quick rule. No metering. Double SS and shoot. If a black bird flies toward me I halve my medium brown bird SS setting and shoot. No metering, just halve it and shoot. When you are shooting birds in flight and there a lot of different colored birds around there often is not time to meter. One second a brown bird is flying by, the next a white bird. The bird is coming, you either make an adjustment to exposure and shoot, or you miss the shot. Now, what I just stated is a bit oversimplified, but for the most part it is the basis for how I shoot. Depending on angle of light, intensity of the light, etc I will adjust the doubling and halving of SS. I also will change ISO from very early in the morning to late morning and things like that as light intensity changes. But for me, having to react quickly to birds of all colors just showing up all of a sudden and flying by, my system works for me. I rarely miss an exposure any more.
I am sure most people will find my methods wacky, but like I said at the beginning of this, there is no right way, just the way that works for you. If you are missing too many shots because it is taking you too long to change exposures, or because your SS is dropping when in AV mode, then I would suggest changing the way you are doing things. Experiment until you are comfortable not only in how you are setting your exposure, but also with your missed shot rate.
Discussion
9 repliesThanks so much for your help!
Advantage of Av mode: you at least get a somewhat accurate starting point for exposure once you set aperture, then you can adjust ISO and EV. Plus if light changes a bit, the camera exposure will follow, just not in your control.
Advantage of manual: if you have time to take a shot and get a starting exposure point, you can adjust from there. However, if you were to force yourself to always shoot manual, in time you would greatly understand exposure to a deeper level, and even be able to approach a scene and say "I think I need to start at f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 320 based on the light". Then test shots will show where you need to tweak.
You know what? I think you've just inspired me to drop the crutch and shoot manual 100%!
I have a totally different approach, and not saying it is right since Paul's pics are better than mine, but I usually go out Apeture Priority. Since I have D700, and other makes models may have this feature, I set my Auto ISO to min 200 max 1600 to 3200 with a min shutter speed of 1/1000s. Being I also live in Florida good light is seldom a problem. The F8 gives me the depth of field I need for the big wading birds, especially if they take off. Also, I set one of my function buttons to center weighted spot meter. So, if I have a white bird against a dark background I know if I have my meter set to 3d matrix I will overexpose the shot. If I center weight the meter on the bird I tend to get the exposure right. I just find that there are so many color variations on the birds in Florida that using exposure compensation for me was too much hassle and by the time I got it right the shot had flown away. Just my 2 cents and what my advice is probably worth.
For birds in flight, I much prefer to use Manual exposure. Here's a scenario. Shooting at a place like Bosque Del Apache, once the sun comes up, the light is reasonably consistent. Yep, it does change, but still reasonably consistent. The backgrounds for the birds can change dramatically from the corn fields, or ponds, to trees, to mountains to blue skies, or skies with clouds. None of those backgrounds changes the light that is falling on the bird, so I dial in a proper exposure for the bird and then don't care where it flies with respect to the background. If I were to shoot in Aperture priority mode, I would have to be cognizant of the background and make the appropriate exposure compensation choices to still expose properly for the bird. There's enough things to worry about when doing birds in flight without adding that variable. It also forces you to become a student of the light. You become very sensitized to changes in light. If the sun goes behind a slight veil of a cloud, you learn to notice and adjust. You also learn what to meter to get a proper exposure quickly.
Another scenario is shooting perched birds against a consistent background. In that case Aperture priority works fine and you don't need to worry about small changes in the light. When I'm doing this, I'm focusing on small song birds, but not birds in flight.
Your question talked about shore birds. Even with that, your backgrounds will vary from water to sand, etc. If you use Manual Exposure, I believe you'll have more consistent "proper" exposures of your main subject.
I almost always work in aperture priority. I keep my lens wide open most of the time, or stopped down one stop when the light allows. I control the aperture from one dial, and since the meter always determines the exposure I am controlling the shutter speed as well with the same dial. I've got the second dial set to control exposure compensation so I can adjust that in 1/3rd stops up or down instantly. I keep the meter on matrix with a front-mounted button set to switch to spot metering when depressed by one finger of my right hand.
My style of bird photography seldom involves birds in constant light; I'm more likely to be working a small bird that moves in and out of shadows and I rely on the camera meter to make the necessary adjustments for me as I concentrate on framing and the bird's pose and actions and where I have the focus sensor positioned. I can't imagine being burdened further by needing to guess how much to change aperture or shutter speed to deal with rapidly changing light conditions.
If the birds and the light are more predictable (flight along the same path or a backyard setup for instance) then going manual might be fine.
When I photographed falcons recently with Richard Ettlinger, I realized the importance of Manual Exposure, as the birds are so insanely fast, it's near impossible to "guess" the right aperture and hope the SS is sufficient as the bird darts back and fourth through different lighting scenarios. If you are doing birds in flight, Do Manual.
Aperture priority for everything; perched birds, birds in flight, bugs, flowers and landscapes.
I guess it's just a matter of what you are more comfortable with using.
Ronnie
If I understand the comments so far, you can use Manual and still 'think Aperature'. Just set your aperature and then instead of using +/- compensation, you adjust the shutter speed (and/or ISO). Of course there's going to be a learning curve, so maybe the best thing to do would be to try it under fairly static conditions - stationary subject in consistent lighting. That way, you can relax, think it through, take some test shots and examine the histogram. I think the bottom line is to try it. You can always use aperature mode when you need it.
There is no way to deal with the fast changes in BG you encounter with flying birds if shooting in AV. Your SS will drop when the bird passes in front of dark BGs and you will get soft shots unless you are perfect in your tracking speed. I also believe that shooting in manual does make you a better study of light over time. To tell you the truth, I rarely meter my shots any more.
I have learned based on the light conditions what I need for my initial settings so I set my ISO, Ap, SS and find a natural 18% grey card in the light I will be shooting, they are everywhere in nature, take a shot, look at it, make a small adjustment, and I am set for shooting any medium brown bird that happens into my sites. That is my starting point. If a white bird turns out to be my target I double my SS as a quick rule. No metering. Double SS and shoot. If a black bird flies toward me I halve my medium brown bird SS setting and shoot. No metering, just halve it and shoot. When you are shooting birds in flight and there a lot of different colored birds around there often is not time to meter. One second a brown bird is flying by, the next a white bird. The bird is coming, you either make an adjustment to exposure and shoot, or you miss the shot. Now, what I just stated is a bit oversimplified, but for the most part it is the basis for how I shoot. Depending on angle of light, intensity of the light, etc I will adjust the doubling and halving of SS. I also will change ISO from very early in the morning to late morning and things like that as light intensity changes. But for me, having to react quickly to birds of all colors just showing up all of a sudden and flying by, my system works for me. I rarely miss an exposure any more.
I am sure most people will find my methods wacky, but like I said at the beginning of this, there is no right way, just the way that works for you. If you are missing too many shots because it is taking you too long to change exposures, or because your SS is dropping when in AV mode, then I would suggest changing the way you are doing things. Experiment until you are comfortable not only in how you are setting your exposure, but also with your missed shot rate.