Your first Manual-enabled mode photos

nate_s91

nate_s91

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Looking through some of my old photos I came across this photo from New York. This was actually my first ever photo taken in Manual Mode; I had no idea what I was doing and had done no prior research (foolish me haha), and literally just put it in mode, changed a few settings and saw what came out.

It was nice to look back at this and see how far I'd come since then.

Thought it would be interesting for people to show their first images to give a sense of perspective of how far you've come :)

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All my first few years images were shot in manual, as it's all i had then, there aren't too many of them knocking about still.
 
Like Phil my first 50 years worth of photos were all in manual. As I did not have any other option Not even an on camera meter until I went digital about 10 years ago.
 
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Me too. I had to shoot in manual for decades until they invented auto. Started digital before digital editors had been invented so had to write my own. Kids these days think they're having a hard day if they have to read a page in the camera manual :-)
 
was shooting B&W all of 60years ago ----- AGFA Sillette maybe

i would have to scan something from the family albums now

those small ones with crinkly edges - stuck in with 'lick and stick' corner thingys
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er ------ .what was the question again....?...........:thinking:
 
I'm not that old (under 40 thank you) but all my first photographs were taken on film in manual.

This was taken around 2002 when I was still using a Praktica MTL5 SLR.


Lake District Sunset by Alistair Beavis, on Flickr

Shortly after getting my first Digital SLR I started using Aperture Priority mode (I never bothered with Program or scene modes) and then a couple of years after that I started using Manual mode because it made sense to be able to interpret a scene and be able to pick your own settings based on your knowledge of the exposure triangle. Auto modes might be clever, but they don't always give you the outcome you want.
So, I never went from full auto to full manual, rather auto (on a bridge camera) to aperture or shutter priority then to full manual.
Is that what you mean @nate_s91 ?
 
Av and Tv (or S and A) are as automatic as P.

Like earlier posters, I spent many years with full manual as the only option. I can remember the excitement around when the Canon A1 was released with its fully programmable modes.
 
Nod said:
Av and Tv (or S and A) are as automatic as P.

Like earlier posters, I spent many years with full manual as the only option. I can remember the excitement around when the Canon A1 was released with its fully programmable modes.
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So is Auto ISO. But if you dial in exposure compensation. They become more like manual.
 
P also lets you dial in any necessary EC. The only benefit A and S offer over P is that the camera remembers the set parameter when turned off.
 
I don't understand this thread. Sorry. Surely the photographer makes the photo, not the camera mode? If you asked for first photos I'd show a cornucopia of embarrassment
 
I used the little piece of paper that came with the film. It had a picture of bright sun, hazy sun, cloudy and shade. With suggested aperture and shutter values next to each one.
 
Ianp5a
Reminds me of watching a TV program (1960s ? of Terry Donovan (of whose work I have good memories but I was sad to hear the end of) shooting fashion with a Rollei TLR sitting in a wheelchair and being pulled backwards as the model walked towards him.Never tried that myself.
His first action after loading the film was to look at the film manufacturer's 'instruction' slip in the box and using that to set the exposure, with the comment something like " they should know what to use". Something I've never forgotten. If in doubt I always recall that, on the basis that if it was good enough for him it should be OK for me.
 
If the result is what you desired, then it matters not if it's taken in TV, AB, P or M.
 
As others have said.. was shooting manual for years before I used anything automatic.. not through choice, but because my camera was manual only.

Manual is not the big deal you think it is. I use aperture priority or shutter priority as much, if not more now.
 
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I can see that from a teaching point of view it might be a good idea to make the students use manual, because that forces them to confront what's now called "the exposure triangle". But once you understand that, there's no special virtue to shooting in manual. It's often quicker to get to the settings you want by employing one of the semi-auto modes plus exposure compensation. Sad to say, just making the students use full manual doesn't always succeed in making them learn the exposure triangle stuff. I sometimes meet photographers who've been struggling with full manual on their DSLR for more than a year, and think that the problem is just that they're not spending enough time practising.

There are many slight but sometimes important differences in the way different cameras implement these, options of control wheels, etc., so it's not possible to make definite rules about which mode will be easier or faster in what circumstances. If I find myself using exposure lock a lot I'll consider switching to full manual. I always use full manual and usually a light meter when using multiple flashes, but that's quite a different kind of exposure setting problem. Excepting multiple flashes I use full manual exposure setting less than 0.5% of the time. I'd use it a bit more often if my camera permitted auto ISO in manual. Having only recently discovered what ISOless means, and that my camera's sensor is almost ISOless, I shall experimentally start using full manual exposure a bit more and may end up using it maybe as much as 2% of the time.
 
Pookeyhead said:
As others have said.. was shooting manual for years before I used anything automatic.. not through choice, but because my camera was manual only.

Manual is not the big deal you think it is. I use aperture priority or shutter priority as much, if not more now.
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Ditto - assuming I'm actually using a camera that has any form of metering or electronics onboard... probably still 50-50 as to frames exposed with manual settings though - but that's due to my choice to use film cameras more again...

As to the whole "what exposure mode to use" debate. It's simple. The Appropriate one for the outcome you require. Trick is knowing what's appropriate of course ;)
 
chris malcolm said:
I can see that from a teaching point of view it might be a good idea to make the students use manual, because that forces them to confront what's now called "the exposure triangle". But once you understand that, there's no special virtue to shooting in manual. It's often quicker to get to the settings you want by employing one of the semi-auto modes plus exposure compensation. Sad to say, just making the students use full manual doesn't always succeed in making them learn the exposure triangle stuff. I sometimes meet photographers who've been struggling with full manual on their DSLR for more than a year, and think that the problem is just that they're not spending enough time practising.

There are many slight but sometimes important differences in the way different cameras implement these, options of control wheels, etc., so it's not possible to make definite rules about which mode will be easier or faster in what circumstances. If I find myself using exposure lock a lot I'll consider switching to full manual. I always use full manual and usually a light meter when using multiple flashes, but that's quite a different kind of exposure setting problem. Excepting multiple flashes I use full manual exposure setting less than 0.5% of the time. I'd use it a bit more often if my camera permitted auto ISO in manual. Having only recently discovered what ISOless means, and that my camera's sensor is almost ISOless, I shall experimentally start using full manual exposure a bit more and may end up using it maybe as much as 2% of the time.
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Understanding your camera is vital. It is a tool, and without that understanding how can the tool be utilised to best advantage?

I recently did a night shoot and understanding the exposure triangle and full manual mode was essential. It made shooting so much quicker and easier. Plus having shot at night for many years, the length of exposure in such circumstances was relatively easy to estimate. Not every situation demands manual mode and in some circumstances and conditions it can be a hinderance, but having the knowledge is a precursor to being ready for any situation. (students who cant get their head around the three simple elements of exposure after a year of trying either have a poor tutor or really shouldnt be following a course on photography and should try something completely different).

Regretably, photography courses draw students like 'media studies' courses as they think it will be an easy option.
 
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All my early photos were taken in manual on a Voightlander Vito B (which my dad still has) no light meter (tended to use the setting suggested on the film box with some intervention when light was trickier) but did have a manual rangefinder that slotted into the hot shoe- life was so much simpler!!
 
The 2 most important decisions you make to create a photograph:
  • Where you stand
  • When to press the button
Why photographers get obsessed with the shutter dial and mode dial and megapixels and editing techniques baffles me. Images are created before any camera controls get involved, but exposure theory and technical guidance is both easier to write about and easier to understand. Let's face it, the technical aspects of photography are quite straightforward nowadays.

Thanks @Pookeyhead i finally got round to starting the book ;)
 
If you are using manual mode and also using the camera's inbuilt light meter to tell you the exposure, that is no different to using automatic exposure. You end up with the same results as using Program mode and program shift to get the aperture/shutter speed you want but with unnecessary effort.

As with many here, I only had manual exposure for the first 40 years of my photographic career and now that I don't have to worry about it I don't.
 
I mostly use aperture priority until the shutter speed drops to what I think is an unacceptable level and then I switch to manual and dial in settings which I'm more happy with and let the auto ISO float as appropriate. I choose manual mode rather than shutter priority as in a situation in which the camera will choose what I think is too low a shutter speed it'll probably choose to shoot wide open in shutter priority whereas I may rather choose to stop down and live with the higher ISO.

There may be instances in which I'd actively choose manual mode rather than just as a means by which to override the cameras choice of shutter speed or aperture but those occasions are few and far between.

IMO auto modes with auto ISO and the ability to dial in exposure compensation are great and using a purely manual camera doesn't really interest me all that much.
 
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john.margetts said:
If you are using manual mode and also using the camera's inbuilt light meter to tell you the exposure, that is no different to using automatic exposure. You end up with the same results as using Program mode and program shift to get the aperture/shutter speed you want but with unnecessary effort.

As with many here, I only had manual exposure for the first 40 years of my photographic career and now that I don't have to worry about it I don't.
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Cannot agree with that.

In many cases even now, only manual will get you the correct result. If you don't care too much about the results or using the camera in challenging conditions, go ahead use the auto modes, but they are not a panacea, otherwise we would not be still having this debate thirty or so years after Canon introduced the A1.
 
shreds said:
Cannot agree with that.

In many cases even now, only manual will get you the correct result. If you don't care too much about the results or using the camera in challenging conditions, go ahead use the auto modes, but they are not a panacea, otherwise we would not be still having this debate thirty or so years after Canon introduced the A1.
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So what exactly are the conditions where only Manual will get the correct result?

I'm generally an AV user, and id like to know what the camera will force me to do that I can't override?
 
Panorama stitching where the changing mix of light will adjust the exposure and you want all the exposures to match?
 
StephenM said:
[When will only manual get the results you want?] Panorama stitching where the changing mix of light will adjust the exposure and you want all the exposures to match?
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All my cameras have had an exposure lock button. Doesn't yours?
 
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john.margetts said:
If you are using manual mode and also using the camera's inbuilt light meter to tell you the exposure, that is no different to using automatic exposure. You end up with the same results as using Program mode and program shift to get the aperture/shutter speed you want but with unnecessary effort.
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Are there DSLRs which either don't let you use the inbuilt meter in manual exposure mode, or in which you have to do something esoteric to see it? I ask because I've met photographers struggling with manual mode on their DSLRs whose problem was they were guessing exposure and then having to review the shot to see whether it was over or under-exposed. Then they had to guess how much adjustment was needed. They were convinced beyond argument that the skill they were supposed to develop was being able to guess the correct exposure.
 
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chris malcolm said:
All my cameras have had an exposure lock button. Doesn't yours?
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All the cameras that I currently use are manual only film cameras - so, no, they don't :D

Edit to add: I can't recall an exposure lock button on my OM2 and OM4 which are my auto exposure cameras - but I haven't used either of them for years, as I moved into medium and large format cameras a long time ago.
 
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chris malcolm said:
Are there DSLRs which either don't let you use the inbuilt meter in manual exposure mode, or in which you have to do something esoteric to see it? I ask because I've met photographers struggling with manual mode on their DSLRs whose problem was they were guessing exposure and then having to review the shot to see whether it was over or under-exposed. Then they had to guess how much adjustment was needed. They were convinced beyond argument that the skill they were supposed to develop was being able to guess the correct exposure.
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Surely "guessing" isn't the same as knowing.
 
StephenM said:
All the cameras that I currently use are manual only film cameras - so, no, they don't :D

Edit to add: I can't recall an exposure lock button on my OM2 and OM4 which are my auto exposure cameras - but I haven't used either of them for years, as I moved into medium and large format cameras a long time ago.
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Don't forget the spot, hi and low buttons of the OM 4.
 
ianp5a said:
Don't forget the spot, hi and low buttons of the OM 4.
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Not quite the same thing - they will adjust the metering accordingly, but as far as I can recall they won't lock the setting in for subsequent exposures.
 
Right. It's been a long time since I used mine. But surely, first press on the shutter locked exposure?
 
chris malcolm said:
They were convinced beyond argument that the skill they were supposed to develop was being able to guess the correct exposure.
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Looking at advice given on these photographic forums it is clear that a lot of people need things to be difficult for the sake of being difficult. If I am in a situation where the camera gets exposures wrong (inside mediaeval churches in my case) I use exposure compensation to get the exposure I want, or bracketing if I can't decide on the EC required.
 
ianp5a said:
Right. It's been a long time since I used mine. But surely, first press on the shutter locked exposure?
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Interesting. I realise that I don't actually know what an "exposure lock" button does when a camera has one. If all it does is lock the exposure setting for that one exposure only (which is what I'd assumed) then it's not going to help in the case where you want to make a series of photographs with identical exposure settings as in my panoramic scenario. On the other hand, if by holding it down continually you can achieve this, then fine - although I think it would take more manual dexterity than I possess to make it simpler than just setting things manually in the first place (for me, at any rate).

Back on topic - I will see if I can find a really early photo of mine anywhere, although I don't think that my first ever (from the mid 1950s) survives. All my photographs were taken with manual exposure until I bought an OM2 in 1977.
 
john.margetts said:
If you are using manual mode and also using the camera's inbuilt light meter to tell you the exposure, that is no different to using automatic exposure. You end up with the same results as using Program mode and program shift to get the aperture/shutter speed you want but with unnecessary effort.

As with many here, I only had manual exposure for the first 40 years of my photographic career and now that I don't have to worry about it I don't.
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I would also disagree, back in the days of no inbuilt light meters we used hand held light meters or ones affixed to the hot shoe of the camera, also the meter should be just used as a guide, where your skill as a photographer comes in is in applying the appropriate compensation to get the exposure you want, i.e. the meter is a guide, not god.

Also exposure compensation in manual mode doesn't need an EC dial, just dial it in using the shutter speed or aperture value, its easy to do and after practise becomes second nature.
nb: if you want to keep the shutter speed and aperture as set then just change the ISO to compensate ( must be using a fixed ISO)

chris malcolm said:
Are there DSLRs which either don't let you use the inbuilt meter in manual exposure mode, or in which you have to do something esoteric to see it? I ask because I've met photographers struggling with manual mode on their DSLRs whose problem was they were guessing exposure and then having to review the shot to see whether it was over or under-exposed. Then they had to guess how much adjustment was needed. They were convinced beyond argument that the skill they were supposed to develop was being able to guess the correct exposure.
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Are you sure they aren't shooting with manual flash? as if you don't have a flash meter chomping and adjusting the flashes power is the only way you can do it really.

Like the rest here I grew up with no light meter and manual only, oh the old glory days when an esoteric camera had aperture priority and a built in meter and ones with that magic P on the dial where futuristic kit.
If you think about it we had a lot to do back then, focus, compose and set the exposure then the wait for you to process it in the dark room and see how many, if any where keepers out of the roll.

when you look back to then and compare it to now where all someone has to do really is compose the shot (if they choose full automation) and bobs your uncle its all done
 
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I think what John means in post 23 (apologies John if I am wrong) is -

if you set the camera to manual and choose, for example, the aperture you want and then adjust the shutter speed to get the exposure scale in the viewfinder to read '0' then the result will be the same as if you had put the camera in aperture priority mode and let the camera decide on the shutter speed.


As said above there are times when manual mode should be used but there is nothing in about setting a camera manually that will somehow automatically give you better results.


I know some of us on here are old enough the remember the debate about the Olympus OM2 that was released in the mid 1970s. It was an aperture priority camera (though it could be switched to manual) and there were comments that aperture priority was taking control away from the photographer.

As for a lot of the time many photographers want to set the aperture (to control the DoF) or set the shutter speed (to control the effect of subject movement) why not let the camera take care of the other one?

Dave
 
You are dead right, Dave. I use manual exposure a great deal - I get no choice with my Bronica ETRS - and always carry a hand-held light meter but it is not a virtue and using manual exposure will not get me into photographic Valhalla. In those situations where the camera's on-board computer knows as well is I do (very nearly all the time) then I do things the sensible way.
 
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