Some people are just so experienced at taking photos on Manual mode that they can just do it. They set their aperture, set their shutter speed and go.
Not me . . . well not yet that is.
Step one: I knew when I went to an indoor rodeo that I would not have good lighting. So I knew I would have to open my aperture as far as I could and set the ISO really high. So I did. Then I took a test shot.
Okay, so that is a little blurry. That means I need to increase my shutter speed even though my light meter says that it is at a good place. The problem is that I didn’t use a tripod and a human just can’t hold that still. Also, I knew that with all the rodeo action, I needed a high shutter speed to catch it all.
Better, but a little dark. That means that the ISO isn’t set high enough. I had my aperture set as wide as I could get it.
Got it! It was a little blurry, but I wasn’t too concerned about that just yet.
Now to test it on some cowboys.
Whoa! Still blurry. So I upped the shutter speed again. These people were actually moving – unlike the rodeo banner.
Got it! Perfect and away we go!
So, for me, I know that I can shoot on Manual. But that means that I need to do a few (or five) test shots first. It was definitely worth it. That is, after all, why I got a DSLR. I wanted to control the shot.
