I've been taking pictures for a while, but I've mainly stuck to Aperture priority. I'll also shoot Shutter priority when the occasion calls for this mode. But never had I shot manual mode.
Let's give manual mode a try
I had decided to try the manual mode because I am now trying my hand at portrait photography. When taking portrait shots, try as I might, I was having a lot of trouble getting a good image. The camera is always trying to expose for 18% gray, so the camera was always using a long shutter speed to make up for how dark my subject was and has a result, the images were out of focus and blurry because of the long shutter speed.So, I flipped my camera and my focus to manual mode. After setting my aperture, shutter speed and ISO I was ready to go. I pushed half way down on the shutter release and to my surprise, the +/- exposure indicator went all the way down to -2 and I was the proud owner of a almost black picture. I was at a loss for what was happening. Did I change a setting in my camera to make the camera switch to a -2 exposure every time I tried to take a picture in manual mode?
After trying for several shots to get the manual mode to work "properly" and going through all the camera settings, I gave up. It wasn't working right and I was tired of trying to make manual mode work for me. But, as always, I couldn't let it go. I had to figure out what was "wrong" with my camera so I started searching online for an answer.
Problem solved!
Now, many of you reading this already know the answer to my problem, but let's not spoil the surprise for everyone else.I googled "canon manual mode exposure problem". I clicked on the first link that Google had provided and there, lo and behold, was my answer. Manual mode means everything is manual and you can't set the exposure using the exposure adjustment. Exposure is set through the combination of aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Something that I'm sure anyone who has ever shot film in the past knows like the back of their hand. The camera, in moving the exposure indicator all the way to -2 was trying to tell me, "hey, dummy, your aperture, shutter and ISO settings are going to produce a really black picture and you need to correct this".
So, I had my answer. I've always refused to take any formal photography classes or training and this is what happens. I'm zipping along thinking I know photography and yet the most basic beginner rule is stopping my portrait photography.
I guess it's time to get out that Adult Course Catalog and look for some classes.
