Shooting urban

[brycimus]

So I'm in Boston on vacation with my family, and I'd love to be able to take my time and stroll around the city, but we're always trying to get somewhere. So this kind of spurred the question of what mode do most people shoot in for urban scenes? Manual seems to slow, especially if you're trying to capture a fleeting scene. A photography book I have reccomended program for urban so that you can be ready for something surprising. But I was thinking that maybe Av mode would be a compromise, giving you depth of field control, but helping you out a bit as well and making it quicker. I'll admit that I'm not experienced enough to shoot manual in the city while my parents are speed walking to get to the next thing. I'm also finding urban photography a bit harder than nature/landscape photography. There's so much there, but sometimes its too much stuff. Also, its been overcast everyday this week, that has affected my photos a lot I feel.

Thanks,
Bryce

[airfrogusmc]

I always shoot in manual.

[Jim G]

I tend to use Av most of the time and manual sometimes if the lighting's steady. I generally combine Av with partial/spot metering and a little bit of exposure compensation.

I stick with Av for urban stuff mostly because of the unexpected things that crop up; being at 1/100 f/2 ISO 800 for shooting into a shady area and then having something interesting happen right nearby in bright sunlight for a second or two means I can just spin, meter, shoot rather than having to dial in a new exposure.

[PhotosGuy]

Manual seems to slow, especially if you're trying to capture a fleeting scene. You learn to anticipate. This shows how the subject can affect the exposure & why manual keeps me worry free:
Post #47 (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=5191658&postcount=47)

First set the f-stop & shutter speed you need. Then adjust the ISO.
Need an exposure crutch? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=89123)