Flowers

[Marko]

Excellent points Travis!

I'd like to add my 2 cents on 1 point in particular and that 1 point does slightly differ from Travis's point #2 ....this may be harsh and sweeping (and I'm not fond of sweeping statements ) but anyway... NEVER shoot in P mode. (On my Canon the P mode is 100% automatic - I am assuming that's what we are talking about here)

It's a waste of money to by an SLR and shoot in P mode...as you learn basically nothing from that mode. The camera makes all the decisions and the camera has NO idea what it is looking at, only you do.

I only use 3 modes 99.9% of the time. Aperture priority, manual, and shutter priority. I as the photographer TELL my camera how to shoot the scene. I never let my camera guess the scene. At the end of the day your main decisions will be lighting, aperture choice and shutter speed choice. Don't let your camera's smaller 'brain' decide the shot for you if you want to learn.

Hope that helps,

marko

[Travis]

Excellent points Travis!

I'd like to add my 2 cents on 1 point in particular and that 1 point does slightly differ from Travis's point #2 ....this may be harsh and sweeping (and I'm not fond of sweeping statements ) but anyway... NEVER shoot in P mode. (On my Canon the P mode is 100% automatic - I am assuming that's what we are talking about here)

It's a waste of money to by an SLR and shoot in P mode...as you learn basically nothing from that mode. The camera makes all the decisions and the camera has NO idea what it is looking at, only you do.

I only use 3 modes 99.9% of the time. Aperture priority, manual, and shutter priority. I as the photographer TELL my camera how to shoot the scene. I never let my camera guess the scene. At the end of the day your main decisions will be lighting, aperture choice and shutter speed choice. Don't let your camera's smaller 'brain' decide the shot for you if you want to learn.

Hope that helps,

marko

Yes I agree... but think I there might be discrepency...

For Nikon -

Auto = Auto.. meaning the user is not able to control any aspect of the image

P (program) Allows users to adjust flash, white balance, exp comp, ISO settings, autofocus servo's, and metering options.... for nikon program mode will select your aperture/shutter settings... but if you don't like the suggestion you can spin the wheel to get other aperture/shutter speeds that will make a correct exposure. The OP advised using full auto so I was merely suggesting P mode in lieu of that.

FYIY - When I turn my camera off I park it in P mode in case I need to fire off a quick shot.... sometimes for informal family gatherings and the like P mode is good too.... obviously ... I don't use P mode for serious work but it's still a handy and useful mode....