How to Set Your Camera for Everyday Photography

Use These Settings Before You Head Out the Door

Do you always shoot in fully automatic mode?

Or actually worse than that, do you just leave your camera set wherever it was on your last shoot and fix it on the fly?

There’s a better way.

First, I want to say that there is nothing wrong with auto mode. If that gives you the results you want, then fine. Stick with what works. Even if you want to use more advanced modes, perhaps you aren’t comfortable enough to make changes quickly as needed. After all, if a unicorn lands in the field in front of you, you don’t want to be fiddling with apertures and fstops and let it get away.

So, leave it on auto, but maybe once a week, set it up as explained below to begin getting more creative. To be honest, unicorn sightings are pretty rare these days.

Also, if some well-meaning pro has told you that you need to use manual mode all the time, take this piece of advice.

Don’t do that.

You can work up to that if it is important to you, but it’s unnecessary for 90% of the photography you will encounter. I only shoot manual in the studio or if the lighting is very tricky. The rest of the time, I start out in aperture priority.

There was an old saying in photojournalism, f8, and be there. This meant that to get the shot, you had to be there, and if your camera was set to f8, you would probably nail the shot.

So, let’s start with that. It’s where my camera usually is when I begin any day of photography.

Check your manual for your camera and/or lens to determine how to set up aperture priority. In most cameras, it’s merely moving the mode dial to the A setting. On some, it will be a combination of a camera setting and a lens setting. Once you get set up on aperture priority, set the aperture to f8. Now, let’s be there.

For years, as I went out to shoot, I set my camera in aperture priority, set the aperture to f8, and then set the ISO to somewhere between 100 and 800 depending on the general lighting conditions. I have since discovered auto ISO and think it’s the way to go. Again, refer to your camera manual to…

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