Damien Demolder
Tharg the Mighty
Reged: 22/08/2001
Posts: 1055
Loc: Essex born and badly-bred
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This week's poll is about how much control you have over your pictures, and whether it is you or the camera that determines the outcome. You might shoot with everything set to manual, or shoot in raw to deal with control later. If you shoot in auto anything, is it because you don't know how to do it yourself, or you trust the camera to make the right choices or so you can free your mind for more creative matters?
I wonder if it is important to have control, and whether having control gives you more ownership of the resultant picture. Maybe nothing matters except for the look of the final image, rather than how it came about.
Let us know what you think, and tell us who wears the trousers in your photography. Go to the Amateur Photographer home page to vote.
Thanks
Damien
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See my photographs at www.wordsonpictures.com
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daft_biker
Action Man!
Reged: 11/10/2006
Posts: 7966
Loc: Doon the glen
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It's a joint effort  
I use manual on the camera most of the time. Flash is usually in auto mode as auto with flash exposure compensation seems to allow finer control of flash output than manual.
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Andrew (BSRIPN) ... Pics.
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Rhys
Sasquatch
Reged: 15/01/2004
Posts: 3372
Loc: York (home of the speedbump)
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The camera is just the beginning as far as I'm concerned. Always set to RAW, usually Aperture Priority but maybe with Some degree of exposure control set in. White balance is usually left to auto but I try to include a white balance card in my initial pic and use that in Capture One to dial in what I want afterwards. Otherwise I might set a custom white balance beforehand.
I always tend to crop most of my pics to 5x4 format so I'm not bothered about framing 100%. My camera is just a tool at the end of the day.
When I was using film then sometimes framing was an issue as I often printed full frame using a filed out neg carrier so as to get a natural border. With digi that's not necessary (as well as not available lol).
There are times I get really frustrated with my dSLR - when I press the shutter button and the camera decides it doesn't want to release as there is a focus issue. No idea why - pain having to stick it in manual and maybe miss a pic opportunity. Suppose it is an oldie digi so I guess I have to give an take.
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NRIPN (Officially Nuts..)
RGMP.co.uk (My Website.. getting there at last.)
Benchinistas.org.uk The home of Benchism
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El Sid
Going potty
Reged: 14/04/2003
Posts: 9541
Loc: Sussex-by-the-Sea
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I've gone with joint effort...
When all my cameras were manual and film I'd say I thought I was in control (self delusion, theres nowt like it.... ) but now I have automated and digital I do find myself letting the camera get on with it more than is probably sensible - though I still manfully wrest control back from time to time....... 
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Nigel
Completely BSRIPN 
ElSid Gallery
A camera in the hand is more fun than one in the cupboard........
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beejaybee
Marvin
Reged: 18/07/2007
Posts: 5268
Loc: Really Here In Name Only
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Quote:
or you trust the camera to make the right choices
Nope, I trust automatics to make wrong choices. They make things more difficult for me because I end up thinking about fooling the automatics into getting the effect I want instead of just taking the picture. I understand manual settings and it's much easier to me to set the camera in such a way that when it doesn't work it's my fault and I can do something about it.
Quite a lot of the images I make, I'm so far outside the design parameters of the camera that the automatics stand no chance at all anyway.
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Hotblack
Dead Horse Flogger
Reged: 07/03/2006
Posts: 7463
Loc: Upstairs in the spare room.
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I feel that I have control over the camera. It may make the initial reading of a scene but I set the aperture I want and any compensation I feel is required. I shoot in raw. I then have control through to the finished result.
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Cheers
David
David J White Photography
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Roger_Provins
Made-it Man
Reged: 22/10/2005
Posts: 3222
Loc: Gloucester, UK
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I use program mode (sometimes aperture priority) and always raw. Unless you guess or use another meter for the exposure calculation then you are using the camera metering anyway so why not use all the camera's computing power?
Anyway my camera knows what sort of lens I have on so in program mode it chooses very appropriate shutter or aperture settings. For example with a macro lens it’ll always try to give as small an aperture as feasible and conversely with a telephoto it’ll try for short shutter speeds as far as possible. Not much point in me trying to better it - most of the time. 
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Rog
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Nod
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 08/04/2006
Posts: 4406
Loc: Devon, UK.
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I'm generally happy for the camera to make most of the decisions. I'll check mthe results (via histogram) on the display just to make sure it's getting it about right and most of the time it does. Most of the time, I stay in P mode and adjust to get the shutter speed or aperture I'm after if I disagree with the camera's idea.
However, I'm equally happy turning the dial or pressing the buttons to get as much control as possible back, although with digital, so many of the decisions are beyond user control anyway!
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MATWSIJ.....
To avoid being offended, please insert apropriate smiley.
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john_g
Pooh-bah Hoo-ha
Reged: 09/05/2007
Posts: 2540
Loc: Surrey
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I choose when to get the camera out. I choose what's in the frame and what's not. I choose the point of focus and the depth of field. I choose either the aperture or the shutter speed. The camera chooses the exposure. It generally gets it right but, if not, I dial in some exposure compensation. I think that makes it 6-1 to me being in charge.
With film I generally shot in manual mode but, with digital, the aim is no longer correct exposure, it's optimum exposure, so I think it makes sense to let the camera have its say about this - after all, with multi-segment metering, it's usually pretty good at picking out the highlights and putting them on the right-hand side of the histogram.
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John
Who could suppose that angels move the stars, or be so superstitious as to suppose that because one cannot see one's soul at the end of a microscope, it does not exist?
R.D.Laing The Politics Of Experience
http://www.flickr.com/photos/john_gass
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FujiSigmaNolta
I can pan!
Reged: 21/06/2005
Posts: 1536
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Manual man here.I very rarely use automatic modes. Including when using my flashguns.
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Regards,
Luis
My Flickr mess
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ermintrude
Hinkypuff
Reged: 30/06/2003
Posts: 12747
Loc: London, UK
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Mmmm I'd say 75% of the time I use Av. The rest if the time if it doesnt look right (or if Im aiming for something non-standard eg twilight) I switch to manual and do it myself. I always use the cameras metering and adapt myself from there.
I always choose my own ISO and I dont remember the last time I used auto.
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RogerMac
Hotshoe Shuffler
Reged: 25/03/2007
Posts: 542
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As always it depends what type of photography I am doing.
When using a tripod I will almost always shoot manually, carefully framing the image in live view and repeating the shot till I am satisfied with the result
Off tripod I normally use one of the auto settings, occasionally dialing in exposure compensation.
I always shoot raw + JPG, taking the JPG into photoshop, but falling back onto the raw version if I think I can improve the auto conversion result. That gives me the best of both worlds.
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OneTen
'Two Breakfasts'
Reged: 23/06/2003
Posts: 2661
Loc: Devon
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For years I used manual film cameras with a hand-held incident/spot meter but since January I've been using a dSLR with a good built-in meter. Most of the time I used it on evaluative metering in Av and can trust the meter to give me a good starting exposure and decide whether I need any compensation.
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Richard .......... My Website - My Flickr
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gollum
enthusiast
Reged: 18/12/2007
Posts: 387
Loc: Kent
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Thanka to the SPI course im on, and excellent advice ive been given by Gary, I am quickly learning to take control. Auto every thing dosen't always cut it!
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People too weak to follow their own dreams, will always find a way to discourage yours
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22119200@N08/page1/
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Terrywoodenpic
A whiff of silicon...
Reged: 21/01/2006
Posts: 418
Loc: Saddleworth UK
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Much the way I do it.
AV is my walk about setting. If I think there may be a problem or special consideration to take into account, I take charge.
as I use raw all the time, I have some further options in post processing.
I am always in charge... My camera is simply my intelligent slave, that can do a lot on its own but needs to be directed at times.
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63 happy photo years from amateur to professional and back to amateur
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Wheelu
member
Reged: 31/10/2007
Posts: 186
Loc: UK, up North
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I shoot in RAW with the camera set to aperture priority 95% of the time, so there is a bit of both I guess. I occasionally get lazy with the auto focus and pay the price by having an in focus background with the subject not really sharp - must get back in control
I actually enjoy photography more using my old film cameras which don't have auto focus, although I prefer using the semi automatic exposure on my Pentax ME Super to the fully manual Pentax MX.
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My Flickr Photos
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numanoid
I'm 'Special'...
Reged: 27/01/2002
Posts: 10426
Loc: Co.Durham
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I'm in control cos i'm the one who puts the camera in auto mode
Well with the quality of today,s digis and the fact that i never print stuff out who needs manual?
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An artist must have the freedom to express himself - Edward Weston
~Larry~
BSRIPN
http://www.members.lycos.co.uk/numanoid27/
Edited by numanoid (14/07/2008 14:13)
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Mojo_66
Rain Kat
Reged: 25/05/2006
Posts: 3416
Loc: Lancs
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When using an SLR/DSLR I'll always shoot manual in raw with manual white balance. That way I can decide if I need to give a scene more or less exposure than the meter suggests. Using a compact I'll usually set it to AV as I've found manual controls on compacts more fiddly. If using the Holga I just point it in the general direction and hope for the best
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/mojo_black/
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numanoid
I'm 'Special'...
Reged: 27/01/2002
Posts: 10426
Loc: Co.Durham
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Quote:
If using the Holga I just point it in the general direction and hope for the best
Lol that made my laugh. All this technology to get a perfect exposure and you get acceptable results with a Holga! Love it! I should use my zenith like that,if i could get it to work.
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An artist must have the freedom to express himself - Edward Weston
~Larry~
BSRIPN
http://www.members.lycos.co.uk/numanoid27/
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topoxforddoc
newbie
Reged: 27/07/2007
Posts: 34
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Always manual!
RAW if I'm shooting digital. If I'm shooting BW film, then sunny 16 or standard presets that I use for shooting particular subjects eg concerts/shows. There's plenty of latitude in BW film emulsions. I just worry about framing and timing.
Charlie
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