The Concept:
While Today’s Photo Minute is a litte longer than some of our other sessions, Brian Osborne takes the time to explain the four main modes on the camera and how each one works. There are some very important concepts in this session having to do with how the same photographic results (brightness) can be obtained in all four modes. Some modes allow the camera to do much of the work (P, A and S) while other modes demand the user to be very involved in the final result (M). The good news is, our cameras have a lot of technology that we can use to help us in the process and not have to do everything ourselves.
The Assignment:
For today there are actually two exercises I would suggest to become familiar with all four modes on your camera and how they can create the same results
The first exercise we mentioned in the video is to set your ISO at 400 (for outside) and then try taking photos of the same subject in A or AV mode (while varying in the aperture from shot to shot) and then in S or TV mode (while varying the shutter speed from shot to shot). This just confirms that changing the aperture or shutter speed in a semi-program mode (A priority or S priority) does not change the brightness of the photo but simply the resulting combinations of shutter speeds and apertures.
The second exercise is to start in P (Program Mode) and take a photo. Then repeat the process with the same subject in A mode (maybe using the same aperture as P mode did) and then S mode (using the same shutter speed as P mode did) and finally in M (Manual mode). While there are different ways to operate in M mode, if it is your first time I would suggest you use the same aperture and shutter speed as P mode did in M mode. This proves that the same results can be gotten in all four letter modes on your camera. Some are easier (the camera helps control the process) and some are harder (you have to control all parts of the exposure triangle) but the results are the same.