Photography Tip # 4: "Don't Get Stuck On Auto"

I'm not normally a control freak. In fact, if there is a way for something to make my life easier and takes less input from me, then so be it. I think that is why I work with computers. I love efficiency. Taking photos can be the same way. Every camera on the market today has that wonderful "green" setting called "Auto", where you simple point the camera at the subject and push the shutter button down, and "tada!", the picture is done. With great advances in technology we now have the ability to give it all up to the camera to take the photos for us, while all we need to do is find something to take a picture of.

This is where I bail out though. From all of my experiences with photography and cameras, Auto mode is kind of a let down. Now, don't get me wrong, you can get some really great shots in automatic mode on your camera, no doubt. But the problem is that you let the camera assume too much. When you take a picture in your house and the lights aren't that bright, the camera has too assume that you want the flash to go off, and that you want everything in the scene in sharp focus. Chance are, you're not going to get that beautiful blurred background that you've been admiring in other people's photos, because your camera has no idea that you want that in Automatic. The camera may also not know that you hate flash photography where everyone has that "deer in headlights" look.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that deep down, you really want to control your photos. You really want the photo to come out according to your wishes, not the camera. The question is, are you willing to learn something? Are you willing to figure out how to control the settings on your camera to get what you want? Will you read the manual to learn how to do this? If so, then you've come to the right place! In the next several posts, I'm going to begin talking about the various aspects of the cameras controls and how you too can manage these to get the kinds of photos you see the pros get. Really, its not as hard as you think. The first step is the process though is that you need to be willing to take that camera off of Automatic mode. Trust me. You can do this. I believe in you!