Why are photographers who use Auto modes so mocked by others?

Woolburr wrote in post #14302192
Shortcomings in their shorts?

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #14302193
Or between their ears...

the "cochlea"??:p

I would think the folks that mock the full auto shooters are a minority. Maybe a vocal one? Although I haven't heard too much of it here. I think most people get out of those modes because its quite limiting to what the camera can do for you. Personally, if I could get he same results in full auto that I can with AV or M, you would find me shooting P more.

fotoworx wrote in post #14301706
Why are photographers who use Auto modes so mocked by others? You see it on every photography forum.

It's used as an insult "I bet you've never had your camera off Program" etc etc

Yet Auto Focus is such a big deal to just about everyone? Everyone worries so much about a bodies AF capabilities and they have no qualms about letting the "computer" in the body handle AF for them.

Why are people so contempuous towards P shooters, yet use AF to their advantage?

If people are so purist, why not use manual focus all the time?

AV & TV mode the body is doing 1/2 the thought process for you and the vast majority of people seem to use AV & TV a lot of the time.

The short answer is" "Because people can truly be asses".

There are a lot of replies in this thread which explain why people use other modes, but spare few which actually address the question you asked.

For years, the majority of the photos I shot were in "P" mode. I even had the audacity to not be shooting in RAW. You know what? I took (and sold) some damn killer images over that period of time.

If you're a hobbiest, use whatever capabilities the camera has which will provide images pleasing to your eye. If you're a "pro", use whatever capabilities the camera has which will provide images pleasing to your client's eye...

fotoworx wrote in post #14301706
Why are photographers who use Auto modes so mocked by others? You see it on every photography forum....

I'd say that the mockers are mocking in hopes of giving themselves the appearance of superiority.

Foodguy wrote in post #14301909
How is shooting in manual mode and using the built in meter any different than shooting in one of the semi-auto modes and using exposure compensation?

No difference in final result!

But the real issue of 'green box' or 'P' vs. manual mode is that simply it implies a probable lack of understanding on the operation of the camera, much like the modern driver in failing in ability to shift gears intelligently and use the clutch. Mindlessly put the car in 'D' even when it makes much more sense to put the car in '2' instead of hastening the wear out of the brakes by going down mile after mile of downward slope riding the brakes.

I use M or Av or Tv to best advantage to the situation at hand. Understanding means using equipment and automation (or the lack thereof) to best advantage. P and Green box don't mean using to 'best advantage' but merely getting a snapshot. Not everyone needs to do more than 'get a snapshot', but someone professing to be a hobbyist should be able to do more...hence the disdain that is often expressed (but should not be). Photographer/driver in control of the situation (or not).

fotoworx wrote in post #14301706
Yet Auto Focus is such a big deal to just about everyone? Everyone worries so much about a bodies AF capabilities and they have no qualms about letting the "computer" in the body handle AF for them. Why are people so contempuous towards P shooters, yet use AF to their advantage?

AF is a aid for those whose eyes have become handicapped at reading at close distances without reading glasses (a.k.a 'middle age'...and we all eventually get there!), not because one has a lack of understanding about focus. AF also gets in the way at times, leading to the need to understand how to choose the focus point manually ( or to manually focus), to overcome the shortcomings of AF. Photographer in control of the situation.

BreitlingFan wrote in post #14302633
The short answer is" "Because people can truly be asses".

There are a lot of replies in this thread which explain why people use other modes, but spare few which actually address the question you asked.

For years, the majority of the photos I shot were in "P" mode. I even had the audacity to not be shooting in RAW. You know what? I took (and sold) some damn killer images over that period of time.

If you're a hobbiest, use whatever capabilities the camera has which will provide images pleasing to your eye. If you're a "pro", use whatever capabilities the camera has which will provide images pleasing to your client's eye...

Great reply and I was going to post the fact that people tend to tell us why they use the mode they do but not answering the asked question but you beat me to that.

I spent many years shooting with nothing more than a full manual camera and a hand held light meter. So when technology came along and integrated those two into the camera body I was thrilled and I for one embrace technology. It doesn't mean that I use auto all the time but I have shot enough images in my years that I can tell if the camera is getting it real close. For purposes of clarity, I use whatever mode suits the situation and that includes M, TV, AV and even P sometimes. I never go into the creative zones.

So many times on here I have seen those persons that mock persons that use anything except M and I just shake my head. There seems to be some sort of "rite of passage" in saying that use M and only M. You have become a photographer when you say this, whether or not in actual practice this is what you do. People are so enthralled with what the other guy does. Why they must belittle others for shooting in their chosen mode I can only assume that they like portraying an air of superiority by saying they only use M. I use M and I have arrived at the photography pinnacle and I am now one with the camera and subject. That is what I read so often when it could be turned into a coaching session human nature takes over and as someone else above said, some people just like to be asses.

Foodguy wrote in post #14301909
How is shooting in manual mode and using the built in meter any different than shooting in one of the semi-auto modes and using exposure compensation?

Exactly. Using semi-auto + EC, you at least don't have to needle hunt to get your exposure. I'd rather the camera place my exposure at "0", and then I can adjust EC from there. This method is much faster -- seems smart to let the camera do this.

mike_d wrote in post #14301931
Manual lets you set your exposure once and keep it that way regardless of subject tonality.

My style of shooting, at least, never calls for this (consistent exposure settings despite changes in light conditions).

NavyShrink wrote in post #14305071
My style of shooting, at least, never calls for this (consistent exposure settings despite changes in light conditions).

There's a big difference between our two statements.

NavyShrink wrote in post #14305071
My style of shooting, at least, never calls for this (consistent exposure settings despite changes in light conditions).

Ironically enough, your camera doesn't know the difference between "subject tonality" and "lighting conditions" either. It's no wonder then that you don't understand why manual mode would be useful.

NavyShrink wrote in post #14305071
My style of shooting, at least, never calls for this (consistent exposure settings despite changes in light conditions).

Actually that post was not referring to changing light conditions but rather shooting a scene with consistent lighting but where different "subjects" could throw off the meter/exposure because they have different tones which reflect different levels of light back to the sensor.

A classic example is shooting a sport where you have one team wearing bright/white uniforms and the other team wearing dark/black uniforms.

In a auto or semi-auto mode, the meter will react to the prevailing tones in your scene and try to set your exposure to "medium". Now that's okay if everyone is all mixed up and you are not doing Spot metering and the camera does manage to "average" things in its metering, but now suppose three "whites" loom large in your frame -- well, the camera will try to make them "medium", meaning gray. The same if three "blacks" dominate the frame, it will "overexpose" them (and the rest of the scene).

Yes, you can use Exposure Compensation to correct, although you have to be "quick on the draw" to keep up with sports action!

This is why you hear about people shooting Manual if the lighting is consistent -- you pick a method of metering for the whole scene, expose accordingly, then you are good until the light changes. Black jersey, white jersey, both getting the same light and a "proper" exposure.

But that doesn't mean that Manual shooters should hold people who shoot in other modes in disdain/contempt, or vice-versa! I think it's good to learn to use as many of our cameras' features as you can!

tonylong wrote in post #14305191
I think it's good to learn to use as many of our cameras' features as you can!

This is the thing that seems to have been overlooked. I cannot recall having ever seen a person mocked for not using M mode. What I have seen is people mocked for not knowing -how- to use M mode. Choosing Av because you understand how it works and know that it is the best for your specific situation is good. Choosing Av because you don't know how to use M? Not so much.

BreitlingFan wrote in post #14302633
The short answer is" "Because people can truly be asses".

There are a lot of replies in this thread which explain why people use other modes, but spare few which actually address the question you asked.

For years, the majority of the photos I shot were in "P" mode. I even had the audacity to not be shooting in RAW. You know what? I took (and sold) some damn killer images over that period of time.

If you're a hobbiest, use whatever capabilities the camera has which will provide images pleasing to your eye. If you're a "pro", use whatever capabilities the camera has which will provide images pleasing to your client's eye...

ssim wrote in post #14304845
Great reply and I was going to post the fact that people tend to tell us why they use the mode they do but not answering the asked question but you beat me to that.

I spent many years shooting with nothing more than a full manual camera and a hand held light meter. So when technology came along and integrated those two into the camera body I was thrilled and I for one embrace technology. It doesn't mean that I use auto all the time but I have shot enough images in my years that I can tell if the camera is getting it real close. For purposes of clarity, I use whatever mode suits the situation and that includes M, TV, AV and even P sometimes. I never go into the creative zones.

So many times on here I have seen those persons that mock persons that use anything except M and I just shake my head. There seems to be some sort of "rite of passage" in saying that use M and only M. You have become a photographer when you say this, whether or not in actual practice this is what you do. People are so enthralled with what the other guy does. Why they must belittle others for shooting in their chosen mode I can only assume that they like portraying an air of superiority by saying they only use M. I use M and I have arrived at the photography pinnacle and I am now one with the camera and subject. That is what I read so often when it could be turned into a coaching session human nature takes over and as someone else above said, some people just like to be asses.

Thanks.


It's always alluded me this one upmanship concerning the use of modes on ones cameras in forums.

The zeal that overcomes some people to point out that they only ever use their cameras on M and anyone who would even dream to use anything less than M, is in their eyes a less superior photographer.....and they're told this openly in a thread as an insult "I bet you've never had your camera off Program" or more often it's in the form of "Probably a Craigs list wedding shooter thats never moved away from P mode".

If anyone has spent even a year on photography forums....you've seen it and know where I'm coming from.....zealotry for the use of M somehow infers the manual shooter being not only a better photographer, but a superior being.

krb wrote in post #14305252
This is the thing that seems to have been overlooked. I cannot recall having ever seen a person mocked for not using M mode. What I have seen is people mocked for not knowing -how- to use M mode.

But why should people be mocked for not knowing how to use M mode? People take up photography, get immersed in the hobby and have a learning period.

You see them ask a benign question about such and such and they're jumped on by the M zeolots with comments like "What? You've gone and bought a DSLR and you don't know how to shoot off the P mode....what a joke".

No wonder we so many people join photography forums, post a few times and then you never see them again!

Having made my living as a photographer for 25+ years, I can't recall ever being asked what mode I was shooting in. My primary camera only has one 'mode' and it doesn't even have a meter.