Using Manual Mode - Photo Review
How and When to Use Manual Mode (M)
Most of the time with nature photography Aperture Priority Mode (Av) will be typical unless you have a subject moving across a changing background. During this situation you will have to use Manual Mode (M). During Aperture Priority Mode, the camera’s senor is using matrix metering (you will see a box a dot in the middle [.] . On this setting the camera will take reading based on an average of the whole picture and determine the best shutter speed. With Av you decide the ISO and the F-Stop for the depth of field (DOF). As a result on the Av setting the Snowy Owl is overexposed.
Photograph #2 of a Snowy Owl taken on The Snowy Owl and Birds-in-Flight Photography Workshop is a great example of being on the wrong mode.
Aperture Priority (Av) Mode with following settings: ISO 400, F. 7.1.
As you can see the owl is overexposed and showing as a white undefined bird against a greyish brown group of trees. The reason for this is because the camera has not been able to select the correct shutter speed for this particular moving subject against the changing background due to the average matrix metering. Hence, the wrong mode. To resolve this problem, you need to use Manual Mode (M).
Use the Manual Mode (M) on your camera when your subject is moving infront of a changing background from dark to light. For example dark trees, bright blue sky, and a broken tree line background. A bird flying in the sky with clouds and bright blue, very inconstant and very light and very dark. Think of your subject flying across this tree line in front of the dark and light flying left to right. Each frame may have a different reading. With Manual Mode, we want to expose for the bird and tell the camera what to do.
Photographing on Manual Mode does take a bit of time for planning ahead.
How to Photograph Subjects Using Metering Mode (M)
You control all settings – ISO, F-Stop and *Shutter Speed
Move your mode button to Manual (M)
Select Spot Metering – shown as a small dot.
ISO-400 should be suitable for most nature photo settings unless there is very little light. At this point if no other option, then you would increase your ISO as a last resort.
Select your F-Stop: Depth of field (DOF). In this image F-7.1
Get a Sample Reading: Find another object with similar exposure to your subject. Point the camera and take a reading with your finger pressing the shutter release half way to initiate the metering. In this case the Snowy Owl is our subject. A reading could be taken from a lump of snow because they are both similar shades of white. If it was a Great Grey Owl then we could use tree bark. It should be close enough so the metering can take a reading without confusion.
As you look into the view finder and pointing at your test subject, you will see the Exposure Graph or in some cases a number will appear. It will be located to the right (Canon) or at the bottom (Nikon) as you look into your camera. Using the dial move the small bar to read zero or the middle point. When you zero the exposure value the middle of the graph this means your subject will be exposed for a neutral grey. This will ensure you are not overexposed.
Adjust for the Correct Exposure of the Subject: Now your Snowy Owl will be exposed for the neutral grey our starting point. Now you need to add a bit of light to your subject to brighten the whites and let in more light. Move your dial to the right will move the small bar up, allowing for more light on the subject and giving the end result of a brighter white in the case of the Snowy Owl. With Nikon you may see a number rather than the bar. Adjust accordingly.
Just think of the Exposure Graph adjustments to zero and you increasing/decreasing for subject exposure similar to the Exposure Compensation buttons (+) / (-) when you have the camera on Aperture (Av) mode.
Want to learn more? We recommend David Hemmings e-Book Photography 101.