Making The Switch From Automatic to Manual Photography

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson

I am frequently asked by photography lovers using point and shoot cameras how to make the move from automatic to manual exposure.

Even point and shoot cameras have become so sophisticated that most are producing great quality photos. Being able to use the manual function will give you even greater flexibility and more control over the type of images you want to take. And that is fundamentally what photography is about.

But what is the first step to understanding manual photography?

In my opinion it is understanding how light works and how the camera sees the light. Because the way our eye sees light is vastly different to the way the camera sees light and this has a big effect on the way the camera will expose your photos in automatic.

Let me give you an example. If you are taking a photo in mixed light (some sun and some shade) your automatic camera will probably expose for the brightest part of the scene which means anything in the shade will be almost black and difficult to read. If you were using manual exposure you can choose how you want to expose the photo. Maybe you want to expose for the shade?

Light falls in many ways, there are many kinds of lighting from early morning light to late afternoon, winter, summer, window light and the list goes on and on. Light gives a photo mood.

If you really want to starting moving towards manual photography my advice is to understand light and how your camera reads it and I think Undestanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson is one of the best books on the market that explains this.

Once you understand light then you are well and truly on your way to making great photos..

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson

Carla xx

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