Automatic Mode

Photo by Marion West

So you got a new camera. Congratulations! Maybe it’s one of the newer complex mirrorless camera or a simple point-and-shoot but all digital cameras whether complex or simple have an automatic mode.

Should you shoot in automatic mode?

Professional photographers won’t admit to shooting on auto mode but there are times when it’s actually the right mode to use whether you’re a new photographer or an old pro.

So what’s so good about auto mode? First of all it works! Shooting on auto mode means the camera is going to do all of the thinking for you. It will set exposure and ISO (ISO is the sensor speed which can be adjusted to be more or less sensitive. We’ll talk ISO later.)

Auto mode will also turn on your flash automatically if the camera thinks it’s needed. Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes it’s not.

Auto mode will take care of more complicated parameters such as white balance, colour temperature, saturation, contrast and a big bunch of other stuff you could change in a RAW editor. Remember if you’re shooting in JPG mode your ability to change these parameters in software will be impossible or will make minimal differences.

But how will your images look shot in auto mode? They will look great! But you end up with images as shot by the camera and not images as desired (or seen) by the photographer.

So when would you use auto mode? First I’d recommend using it when you first get your camera and you haven’t taken the time to read the manual yet. (When I was teaching for a well-known retailer I taught all my students that sooner or later they’re going to have to take the time to learn all of the menu items and controls on their cameras. This will take a couple of days but once you’ve done this with one camera most of the information will easily translate to any other camera. Plus you’ll be more educated about your camera than 99% of new camera owners.)

I’d also shoot auto a lot on vacations or when taking photos of the kids or when shooting photos on Christmas morning. Let the camera do the work here and I’d also likely shoot in JPG mode to make things even easier. Afterall isn’t that what this is all about? Making shooting easier and just more fun.