In my previous post, I talked about my gear, and how I like (and need), things to be simple and intuitive.
This post is Part I of an epic four part trilogy1, The Path of the Photographer.
For this step on the path I am sharing my Best Camera Settings for Any Situation, basically my simple ‘set and forget’ camera settings, which give me consistent results, and mean I need to do a minimal amount of fiddling / thinking when I am caught up in the moment of capturing the mood. Or the “exit stage left” Puffin.
These settings may not be for you, but if they give you some ideas on how to set up, or think about setting up, to suit your style and way you like to shoot, then my work here is done.
The remaining three parts of the Path of the Photographer cover all the settings covered in this post in more detail. In Part II we journey through the Holy Trilogy of Light (Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO), to rest in Part III The Disciplines of the Faithful (Other key settings, like White Balance, Focus Mode, Exposure Mode, RAW vs JPEG), to finally reach our destination, Part IV The Art of Perspective (Focal Lengths)
Contents
Headlines
Shot in RAW at the highest quality. Spot focus. Spot exposure metering. Auto-White Balance.
This worked at 1/500s due to the Puffin gliding, not flapping
Landscapes / City Scapes
Aperture Priority
f/3.5 (low light) or f/22 (good light)
ISO 100 (manually set)
EV -1 (minus one)
16 to 50mm focal length
Birds / Wildlife
Shutter Priority
1/500s (slow movement) 1/1000s flight
ISO automatic, but check to limit to 400
EV none
90 to 280mm focal length
Night Settings
Aperture priority, on a tripod. Unless there is a lot of light, a handheld shot is going to be unfeasible, so I get it on f/22, ISO 100, on a tripod and watch and wait.
Flowers / Tiny Things
Aperture Priority
Lowest (widest) aperture I have, f/1.4
ISO 100 (manually set)
EV-1 as flowers really reflect light
People / Portraiture
Aperture Priority
f/1.4 (single subject) to f/5 (group)
ISO 100 (manually set)
EV -1 (minus one)
50mm or 90mm focal length
TL;DR
I really like to keep things simple and use the camera whenever I can, without making it do all of the work. So I mainly use two modes, Aperture priority and Shutter Priority, more on this below. I never use fully automated, but that is a personal choice. I sometimes use fully manual if I have time to think and set up for what I want. Most of my pictures are unplanned. I will see something, stop, grab the camera, compose and snap, and I do not want to miss the light or the opportunity.
One of the best pieces of advice I give myself if I am rushing or tired is “if you see it, take it”. You never know whether you’ll get another opportunity with that light or that cloud formation or whatever else it is that has caught your eye. Even coming back 15 minutes later could mean what was compelling quarter of an hour ago is gone and it’s flat and boring now.
Outside of camera settings, the biggest factor is light quality / light direction. I try for golden hour with the light behind me, shining on my subject, but all that is really required is to think about the shot you want to take and where the light needs to be for that shot to come out. if you don’t have the light on your side, think about how to use what you have.
Global Camera Settings
These are the global settings I use, regardless of what I am trying to take photos of. More on these in Part III on the Path of the Photographer.
RAW, highest quality. I shoot RAW always. It captures all the information the camera “saw” for the image. It’s the digital equivalent of the film negative, packed with information. It gives more flexibility in post processing (Lightroom, Photoshop etc.). If you shoot in JPEG, then the camera will make a decision on the colours and saturation to apply, the finished image from the developed negative, so you lose some of your personality here.
Spot Focus. Even if I am photographing birds, I use this. it gives me total control. As I am using shutter priority, the light conditions could mean a low aperture and shallow depth of field, so being able to control where the camera is focusing, with precision, is important for me. I focus on the eye(s) of the ‘main’ bird, and on the point of interest in any landscape.
Spot Exposure: I also want to meter exposure for my main subject. I find this helps me to have the subject stand out’.
Auto-White Balance: Some cameras can be a bit ‘off’ with their White Balance, but I love mine. I have never had to think about changing / altering White Balance. I am not sure if the Spot exposure metering helps, but I get the right warmth from the automatic setting.
Subject Specific Settings
Landscapes / Cityscapes | Aperture Priority
ISO : Manually set to 100
Aperture : f/22, good light. f/3.5 low light
EV : -1 stop
Shutter Speed: Let the camera set it based on your chosen aperture and light conditions
A note on Aperture: I had some quite disappointing, kind of “mushy’ results from mid-range apertures, like f/8. I researched (i.e. googled), this and read that a lens works best within three stops from the minimum and max, i.e. for a lens with the range f/2.8 to f/22, it will work best at f/2.8, f/4 and f/5.6, and f/11, f/16 and f/22. Whilst I have not been scientific about trying this out, I try and keep at the extremes of this range, so f/3.5 for low light and f/22 for good light. F/3.5 is a shallow depth of field, but gives solid results for a landscape when I need the extra light the wider aperture will give me.
A note on Exposure Compensation (EV): I think that even with spot exposure, the camera will expose for more light than is strictly necessary. And greenery will reflect more light than you think. So I will always under-expose my images by one stop. If I am shooting into the sun, I might take this down to -2 stops.
Wildlife | Shutter Priority
ISO : Floating / Automatic
Shutter Speed : 1/500s to 1/1000s
1/500s for normal movement. 1/1000s for flight or small fidgety birds.
EV : None
Aperture : Let the camera set it based on your chosen shutter speed and light conditions.
A note on Shutter Speed: Puffins are, when they are wondering around by their burrows, relatively slow moving, so a shutter speed of 1/500s is about right to freeze their movement. Puffins, in Iceland at least, are also in low light, bad weather locations, so it is a balancing act with ISO, shutter speed and aperture.
A note on ISO: I will keep an eye on the ISO, as the noise in the image will start to take over as the ISO creeps up. If it gets over 400, I will look and see if there is anything I can do to reduce shutter speed to bring the ISO down. You can see the impact on the two photos below. In the one where I had the shutter speed set far higher than I needed, all of the feather detail has blown out from the noise.
Night Shot | Aperture Priority
Aperture Priority
ISO: I keep it at 100. This lengthens the shutter speed, but the camera needs to be on a tripod anyway.
Aperture: f/22
This results in a shutter speed of around 60 seconds.
EV -1, as there is still more light than you think.
People / Portraiture | Aperture Priority
I don’t take that many pictures of people, but when I do, I use:
Aperture Priority
f/1.4 to f/3.5, focused on the eyes of the subject
ISO 100 (manually set)
50mm focal length, though 90 mm is also a good choice
And I try to have the light behind me so the subject is lit. If I want to create shadows / mood, I try for a side lit shot. Shooting with the sun behind the subject will result in them being silhouetted.
The sun / light is behind me
Aperture Priority
f/1.4 focused on the eyes of the guard looking at the camera.
ISO 100 (manually set)
50mm focal length
These two are slightly backlit, but there was not a lot of choice, given the time of day and the route these two walked. But focusing on their eyes, and using spot exposure metering makes sure that they are not silhouetted.
Because of that exposure choice, some of the lighter areas of the image are blown out (over-exposed) behind, but as these two fill the frame, it’s not the end of the world.
- Just like the Matrix. A trilogy in four parts.
Contact me: If something here has resonated and you’d like to share your settings or your experience. Or if you have questions on how I tackle different situations.
A note about my kit: I am not important enough to be sponsored or paid to recommend anything. I share what works for me in case it’s helpful, and everything I use has been chosen and bought by me.