Three Easy Tips to Escape Auto Mode

A Hands-on Approach to Beginner Photography

George Pereira
Photography Reporter

Every digital camera comes with an auto mode and, for better or for worse, many novice photographers get comfortable letting the camera do all the work. Some ‘photographers’ are content just to keep the battery charged and make duck-lipped faces in bathroom mirrors with their girlfriends. But I digress.

The following are three easy ways to get that extra yard out of your ordinary point and shoot camera and maybe stay out of auto mode for a little while.

Most importantly, your camera needs to have a Program mode (or P mode).Program mode works the same way as Auto in that it adjusts aperture and shutter speed on its own but gives the user control over three key settings: ISO, White Balance, and exposure.

ISO represents your camera’s sensitivity to light and the higher you bump the number, the more light your camera will register, at the sacrifice of colour depth and contrast.

Watch out for excessive film grain, as pixels tend to flare up when the ISO is too high. 200 ISO is recommended for sunny days and 1600 to 3200 ISO is for late evenings.

White Balance changes how your camera sees white. Our eyes correct fluorescent lights to white but a camera sometimes needs a bit of help to do that. When white balance is set to Incandescent, the amount of yellow in a photo will be reduced because the camera is adjusting to that type of lighting.

A few other settings are under white balance, including cloudy, fluorescent, and sunlight. Use each one where it applies and the difference will be clear.

Exposure compensation may prove to be a bit too complicated for the novice photographer but it can have the biggest impact on your photo. You can change exposure from -5, which darkens photos, to +5, which brightens them.

Exposure is much more effective than the other two settings but takes a bit of practice to get right. However, overexposing photos has proven to be a very popular form of photography in recent years. Experimenting is always encouraged.

Any potential novice photographers reading this article should certainly go dust off their old point-and-shoot and try out these basic tips. Who knows what great photos will come from a bit of playing around?