Exposure & Shooting Priority modes..

[kurtisdiff]

In the quest to become better I've been reading some wildlife photography books. Despite the books age it has been quite insightful, but has also raised a few questions. The author mentions that he shoots in manual mode exclusively and never shoots in shutter or aperture priority mode. I am now wondering if this is a habit I need to change as I always shoot wildlife & birds in shutter or aperture priority modes if needed just adjust my exposure using the initial photo or experience.

Here are my questions:
1. Do you use manual exposure or semi-auto mode (shutter & aperture priority) when shoot wildlife and birds?
2. If you do shoot manual, how does one prepare their exposure for fast moving objects (such as a flying bird or a mammal running)? Do you first set your exposure on a middle tone and then just fine tune it based on the animal's color?

Thank you

[hollis_f]

I use Av or manual, depending on the situation. I find manual is best for birds in flight, otherwise the poor camera gets horribly confused trying to get the exposure correct for the bird, the background or the sky.

To get the correct manual settings I just stick the camera into Av mode with my desired aperture, point it at a neutral bit of background (grass, beach, etc.) and read what shutter speed it recommends. Then I'll dial that aperture and shutter speed (maybe a bit slower, to compensate for the fact that the bird's underside may not be well lit) into the manual settings.

Of course, that'll only work if the light is fairly unchanging (quite common in our overcast British skies).

[kurtisdiff]

thank you for the input ;-)

[BradM]

I shoot almost exclusively in AV because I am mainly concerned with the DOF and it's relationship with the subject. If I need to be stopped down and would need more shutter speed I am usually just pumping up the ISO and would deal with any noise in post instead of costing some area of focus on the subject. In the Winter I am usually at ISO 800 on the 40D and 400 on the 1D mk2.

For subjects like BIF it can be advantageous to seperate the focus function from metering by the custom function IV if the body you have supports it. I believe most Canon bodies from the 20D on does.

By using the * button to focus and the shutter button to lock in metering one can easily capture images of the subject as the lighting or metering changes as it passes from light to a darker background for example. Just a pause and quick release of the shutter button & then back on it will adjust the metering while one continues to hold down the * button to keep the subject in focus.

I am usually using the partial metering and occasionally the spot mode as I am most interested in the subject in the center of the frame, to hell with the areas on the edges of the frame is my motto ;) but one must be aware of the light and prepared to dial in +/- EC to get the subject exposed just right.

As one is usually cropping at least slightly in these shots having the entire frame exposed perfectly at the cost of a perfect subjects exposure is not a winning technique IMO.

With enough experience one can usually just see the scene and know what kind of EC will bring the subject to proper exposure, my girlfriend is always asking what I think we need to shoot at. Shoot a lot and it becomes almost instinctive, experience will certainly cut back on the chimping and keep the lens on the subject.

[kurtisdiff]

Brad this is interesting, my shooting style sounds similar to yours and I like your photos. One thing I've noticed from your photos is that you appear to use a fairly slower shutter speed than I do most of the time. Is there a certain shutter speed you aim for? How do you get such sharp photos at that shutter speed, do you use a tripod or monopod?
For example this photo: http://bradmanchas.zenfolio.com/p652264718/h370e1374#h370e1374

Hope I'm not being to nosey?

[BradM]

Brad this is interesting, my shooting style sounds similar to yours and I like your photos. One thing I've noticed from your photos is that you appear to use a fairly slower shutter speed than I do most of the time. Is there a certain shutter speed you aim for? How do you get such sharp photos at that shutter speed, do you use a tripod or monopod?
For example this photo: http://bradmanchas.zenfolio.com/p652264718/h370e1374#h370e1374

Hope I'm not being to nosey?

Using a slower shutter speed isn't certainly a choice I would make if I had the choice, with the image you linked to exif is 1/160th, f/7.1 (+1/3rd), ISO 800. If I had the light to shot faster I would certainly have done so.

I could have opened up the lens 2/3rd's of a stop but with my copy of the 100-400mm I found I wasn't happy with the results below f/7.1. The lens performed the best between f/7.1 to f/9 and I made every effort to shoot within this range to get the best results.

With that lens I would rarely shoot with a mono-pod and only mounted it on a tripod a couple times. I would use techniques I picked up from shooting handguns in competetion to keep as stable as possible. Those hummingbird shots were shot in my backyard while sitting at my picnic table with both elbows braced on the table, prefocused on the point I wanted to capture the bird and just stroked off a few shots as the bird entered the point. I will usually shoot 3 to 4 shots in a burst, expecting the 1st and last will not be worth keeping due to shutter press and poor follow through respectively. Doingthis in a single shot manner is a sure method to fail in my case. And I get lucky sometimes.

Sharp shots at slower shutter speeds are a matter luck in wildlife of course, I can be as stable as a rock or mounted on a big Gitzo and my new Jubo Black Widow gimbal locked down but if your subject moves, breathes or the wind shifts the subjects placement it all goes to heck. With the hummer shots, I may have had a 10% keeper rate.

I hope this helps, and you certainly aren't being nosey. :)

[kurtisdiff]

yeah, this definitely helps, thank you!

[hTr]

I find There is No one setting that will take in all situations, I Shoot Primarily in Manual and will Generally Have a Second Setting in AV as I may shoot with Different Light Condition. Setting up in Manual Mode I set F8 aperture (Depending on DOF needed) but That works Pretty well with My Lens, Set SS a 1/1250 will Reduce any Motion Blur and Then I set ISO to get Exposure at 0 with BG. In Av I setup with F8 aperture, Exposure 0 and Set ISO to Reach SS I want normally better than 1/1000.

You will need to Try some Shots with your Setup and Review Histogram to Optimize for your Equipment!!

I hope This Helps