Shooting in Automatic.

My post on the value of shooting in Auto went up today on DPS. I knew I was going out on a limb with a submission of this nature. Before I give you that link I'd like to elaborate on my feelings about Automatic, and it's place along the photography LEARNING CURVE.

First let me tell you all the fantastic reasons to shoot manually. They all boil down to CONTROL!! Once I had my artistic style down pat (though I have to mention that it is constantly evolving and I LOVE THAT), I was thrilled to jump into shooting in manual and finding the control to create EXACTLY what I saw in my mind's eye!

• I want to be in charge of depth of field!
• I want to choose what I'm exposing for.
  
• I hate shooting with the flash. . . I have to say that even when I was shooting in Auto with my starter camera (Nikon d70s) I would hold down the flash when it popped up. . . I know, probably SO bad for my camera. You can't do that with my mother-in-law's Canon 20d. I tried and the camera got really angry with me. Bottom line is that you can turn off the flash in manual.
• I love accuracy. Uploading and NOT NEEDING TO EDIT??? HEAVEN!

BUT I DO NOT shoot in Manual simply to satisfy my ego. I said it in the article and I'll say it again here, a good image is a good image is a good image. Period. I don't care if you shot it in Auto, Manual or with a stinkin' disposable camera for Pete's sake.

I do shoot primarily in Manual and occasionally AP, but Time was I didn't. Time was I was VERY discouraged when I thus ventured. Time was I couldn't straddle the artist and the perfectionist in me. I wanted to do everything just "right", but when I tried to shoot manually etc, I just didn't have the frame of reference to understand why I wasn't successful. I remember those feelings so vividly. I remember asking other photographers for help and being brushed off. I remember visiting sites like DPS etc and just feeling confused, overwhelmed and tremendously discouraged. I had loved photography so much in the beginning when I didn't have any concept of how much I didn't know, but at this point it was just becoming discouraging. I no longer felt inspired and excited. In fact, I wanted to quit. THANKFULLY, I didn't. Instead, I blew it all off and just let myself do what worked. And at that time in my career, that meant I was shooting in Automatic (for you that could mean millions of different things-among which shooting in Auto may not be a part, fine. . . translate the concept accordingly).

When reading this article it is important to understand DPS has a broad range of readers, from those just dappling in photography to those who shoot portraits, weddings and events for pay. I think that there is sufficient attention being paid to the advanced photographer, and often not an adequate amount being paid to the beginner. I wanted to offer encouragement to those who are often forgotten.

There is artistic freedom to be found in not being so hard on yourself. Don't suck the fun out of photography by thinking that there is a right and wrong way to create wonderful images. Do what works for you. That will constantly evolve. You'll constantly increase in knowledge and ability and I'm excited to watch your transformation. . . and continue on with my own! Now, you can check out the article here.