Spot Metering in Manual Mode: Useful for moving subjects such as wildlife and this is my most widely used form of shooting for all types of photography I love the control and benefits it allows. Exposure and F Stop are both locked and set by you. As subject moves in front of different backgrounds exposure stays set. The exposure pointer may move off your setting, but the shutter speed and aperture are locked, so don’t panic if the exposure meter says something different after recomposing! In landscape, waterfall or architecture photography if you zoom or change vertical and horizontal the exposure remains set at same. In auto the tonal values change and would result in exposure variances. I very rarely use auto anything.
I agree. Spot metering with auto modes will lock on the highest contrast area which is where the greatest light transition is. This will help in keeping the exposure more dramatic and not blown out.
I always shoot in manual but now I realize it’s ok to shoot in auto, especially in really challenging conditions, when I don’t have the time get to get my getting my right. Great vid. Thank you
Omg I've been watching this man's videos for couple of months, now And only now did I realise that he has only 400 subs :( This channel needs some advertisment... I'm sharing this on reddit right now
Appreciate that Mihajlo. I just started maybe 6 months ago, and only started really picking up the pace 2-3 months ago with writing and filming content. Glad you like these videos!
@@JerryTLai I staumbled upon your videos after shooting my first soccer match Your really answered a lot of questions that came to my mind after the match Hope to see a lot more content from you :) especially about soccer if possible :D
Great set of videos Jerry, you explain things very clearly and I have often recommended to learning sports photographers that approach us take a look. I don't think you mentioned this but another reason to shoot auto is when you have a variable aperture zoom lens. Otherwise totally agree with all your reasons.
Old timer here, I grew up with Manual, cuz there were no auto exposure back in my film days. So for me, switching to manual is not as intimidating as it is for a newbie who grew up with/learned on auto exposure cameras. Background light, or no light, does indeed have a major effect on exposure. The afternoon sun reflecting off a bright aluminum bleacher will really screw up your exposure and the players get underexposed and go black. And the reverse, with a BLACK background on the field at night, where the players get overexposed and blown out. Matrix metering can't handle that, so I have to go manual. Going back to one of your other lessons. Shooting from an elevated position. When you are shooting DOWN on the field, you are metering the light on the field, around the subject. But, when you are ON the field, you are shooting ACROSS the field. Then you are often/usually metering the BACKGROUND, that is usually nowhere near the subject. And the flatter the shot angle the harder to meter the subject. Thanks
It might be worth mentioning about shooting daylight sports under varying partly cloudy sunny skies, where all manual using fixed ISO, f/stop, and shutter can be "finger twisters" for making quick sun-to-shade adjustments. While aperture priority is okay, for determined f/stop in sunlight allowing the camera to change shutter speeds acordingly. I tend to recommend auto ISO, but insure to use evaulative exposure setting, not spot exposure, to vary under acute changes of lighting. Expsoure compensation (+ / -) might need a bit of a tweek to average out, but shootng in RAW and adjusting the esposure and shadows will be helpful, especially when covering backlit subjects. The new masking features in ACR in PS and LR is now nice quick feature.
"This is the way" in a nutshell! I shoot in Manual, but your approach will improve my settings next time. Meaning regarding the use of Auto when in a new stadium and checking what the 'droid says' inside the camera. Now, instead of being intimidated by the half field shadow, I will take advantage of it!!! Really thrilled on what will be the next video! Loving your approach, comes definitely from profound experience! "I have spoken" ;)
Hi Donald, thanks for watching. There is nothing wrong with auto modes if you know their limitations. Anyways, it's good to sometimes use auto especially when starting out because it gives you a good idea of what starting settings to try, and then when you are ready to make the next step to try to shoot mostly in M, you'll understand what fine adjustments are needed.
I am enjoying your channel, subscribed a month ago. I'm a high school sport photographer with 3 yrs experience so I really listen to what experts say and try to incorporate into my use. The local school gym takes iso of 8000 on my D5 with 2.8 lenses but baseball this time of year game starts at 6pm with nice warm sunlight then quickly goes down hill so I use auto iso in matrix metering. Exposures are mostly OK with a few outliers. What is strange to me is sometimes a frame shot at iso 10,000 will look just fine but another shot at say iso 6000 looks noisy. Typically my settings for baseball under the lights is 1/1250 2.8 auto iso. with a 120-300 2.8. If I fill the frame its fine but high iso frames do not like to be cropped much. Thanks for taking the time to share your years of experience. Ted in Sebastian, Fl.
Hi Ted, thanks for the support! The differences in noise levels at different ISOs can be caused by a number of factors - the amount of shadows in a particular frame, the ambient lighting, jersey colors, how filled your frame is, among others. And yes you are also correct that high ISO frames can't take aggressive crops, and are extra sensitive to needing proper exposures to begin with. Thanks for watching!
Hi Asad! Thanks for watching. Unfortunately basketball is out of season here in the USA, but more videos about basketball or topics relating to it on the way!
Very helpful as always Jerry. For the hobbyist who shoot pictures of our children playing sport, quite often games are held outdoors in the afternoon. Is it better to lock in the shutter and aperture, then let the iso vary according to lighting conditions? Thanks.
Hi AusDoug! Yes locking the shutter and aperture and then setting auto ISO is a good way to go if you are in one of those variable lighting condition days. Hope that helps and thanks for watching!
Some of the auto modes - and in my opinion particularly aperture priority - are useful crutches, but to me, manual is still generally the way to go. Thanks for watching Toby!
@@JerryTLai yes for sure.. Sometimes I set shutterspeed and aperture in manual and use auto ISO if the lighting conditions are changing. Thanks for sharing all your experience here on TH-cam, loving your videos.. They are gold for someone just starting with sports photography this last year, like myself.
Thanks for watching. I have removed all music from my videos since February 2021. Unfortunately for videos older than that, you'll unfortunately have to tolerate that a bit. Thanks again for watching!
Full Manual in controlled environments is fine . Full Manual in dynamic fluid environments is a fools errand . I had a young "photographer" tell me recently that if you don't shoot in full manual you're not a real photographer .. Videos like these are the reason why so many young photographers are misinformed and don't last . Major Camera brands have invested billions of dollars in R&D over the last 20 years to give pro/consumer photographers what they need to efficiently complete tasks only to have photographers like yourself telling people to go back to the dark ages . And let's be clear , your camera is not on " full manual" . AWB ,AI SERVO , HIGH SPEED MULTI SHOT ,AND EVALUATIVE METERING without seeing your autofocus points tells me that you're likely missing more shots in manual than you're getting with that 1dx mii ... And lets not get started on that 70-200 "2.8" portrait lens , can you use it for sports , sure is it ideal ,no, even less so in "full manual" . And if you feel like what im saying is hyperbole and Im a clueless troll come to South Florida or Huston and shoot outdoor high school sports in full manual with a portrait lens .. I dare you .
Spot Metering in Manual Mode: Useful for moving subjects such as wildlife and this is my most widely used form of shooting for all types of photography I love the control and benefits it allows.
Exposure and F Stop are both locked and set by you. As subject moves in front of different backgrounds exposure stays set. The exposure pointer may move off your setting, but the shutter speed and aperture are locked, so don’t panic if the exposure meter says something different after recomposing! In landscape, waterfall or architecture photography if you zoom or change vertical and horizontal the exposure remains set at same. In auto the tonal values change and would result in exposure variances. I very rarely use auto anything.
Great tips as always Forster. Pinning this one to the top.
I agree. Spot metering with auto modes will lock on the highest contrast area which is where the greatest light transition is. This will help in keeping the exposure more dramatic and not blown out.
I always shoot in manual but now I realize it’s ok to shoot in auto, especially in really challenging conditions, when I don’t have the time get to get my getting my right. Great vid. Thank you
I’m a freelancer with USATSI and this video was very insightful. Thanks.
Glad you found the channel. Keep up the nice work in NY! :-)
Gonna give it a try. Wish me luck.
Jerry. This has been one of the TOP learning videos I’ve seen EVER!!! My wife LOVES your presentations
Wow, thanks! That is really high praise as there is a ton of content out there!
Omg I've been watching this man's videos for couple of months, now
And only now did I realise that he has only 400 subs :(
This channel needs some advertisment... I'm sharing this on reddit right now
And I found his videos thanks to you. Thank you. It is a great content!
Appreciate that Mihajlo. I just started maybe 6 months ago, and only started really picking up the pace 2-3 months ago with writing and filming content. Glad you like these videos!
Welcome Michael! Glad you have found this and hopefully other videos helpful. More to come!
@@JerryTLai Yes, I learned some new things for me. I just couldn’t stop watching the videos👍🏻
@@JerryTLai I staumbled upon your videos after shooting my first soccer match
Your really answered a lot of questions that came to my mind after the match
Hope to see a lot more content from you :) especially about soccer if possible :D
Gracias !! Muy bueno, el lo personal siempre he preferido el modo manual siempre tus fotografías son muy buenas felicitaciones ..!!
Great set of videos Jerry, you explain things very clearly and I have often recommended to learning sports photographers that approach us take a look.
I don't think you mentioned this but another reason to shoot auto is when you have a variable aperture zoom lens. Otherwise totally agree with all your reasons.
Old timer here, I grew up with Manual, cuz there were no auto exposure back in my film days.
So for me, switching to manual is not as intimidating as it is for a newbie who grew up with/learned on auto exposure cameras.
Background light, or no light, does indeed have a major effect on exposure.
The afternoon sun reflecting off a bright aluminum bleacher will really screw up your exposure and the players get underexposed and go black.
And the reverse, with a BLACK background on the field at night, where the players get overexposed and blown out.
Matrix metering can't handle that, so I have to go manual.
Going back to one of your other lessons. Shooting from an elevated position.
When you are shooting DOWN on the field, you are metering the light on the field, around the subject.
But, when you are ON the field, you are shooting ACROSS the field. Then you are often/usually metering the BACKGROUND, that is usually nowhere near the subject. And the flatter the shot angle the harder to meter the subject.
Thanks
It might be worth mentioning about shooting daylight sports under varying partly cloudy sunny skies, where all manual using fixed ISO, f/stop, and shutter can be "finger twisters" for making quick sun-to-shade adjustments. While aperture priority is okay, for determined f/stop in sunlight allowing the camera to change shutter speeds acordingly. I tend to recommend auto ISO, but insure to use evaulative exposure setting, not spot exposure, to vary under acute changes of lighting. Expsoure compensation (+ / -) might need a bit of a tweek to average out, but shootng in RAW and adjusting the esposure and shadows will be helpful, especially when covering backlit subjects. The new masking features in ACR in PS and LR is now nice quick feature.
Nice one Jerry well explained.
Thanks Paul, glad it was helpful.
This all makes perfect sense. If outdoors with varying sun and cloud conditions I usually set my shutter and aperture but have my ISO on auto
Yup, that's the way I do it now. Thanks for watching Bill!
"This is the way" in a nutshell! I shoot in Manual, but your approach will improve my settings next time. Meaning regarding the use of Auto when in a new stadium and checking what the 'droid says' inside the camera.
Now, instead of being intimidated by the half field shadow, I will take advantage of it!!! Really thrilled on what will be the next video! Loving your approach, comes definitely from profound experience!
"I have spoken" ;)
I'm glad you like the Mandalorian references :-)
Yup, I too used to dread the half field shadows but you learn to embrace it. Good luck!
Complete ammature but I use manual mode with auto iso in sunny conditions. And use exposure comp as needed.
Hi Donald, thanks for watching. There is nothing wrong with auto modes if you know their limitations. Anyways, it's good to sometimes use auto especially when starting out because it gives you a good idea of what starting settings to try, and then when you are ready to make the next step to try to shoot mostly in M, you'll understand what fine adjustments are needed.
Great advice, Thank you
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching Derrick!
I am enjoying your channel, subscribed a month ago. I'm a high school sport photographer with 3 yrs experience so I really listen to what experts say and try to incorporate into my use. The local school gym takes iso of 8000 on my D5 with 2.8 lenses but baseball this time of year game starts at 6pm with nice warm sunlight then quickly goes down hill so I use auto iso in matrix metering. Exposures are mostly OK with a few outliers. What is strange to me is sometimes a frame shot at iso 10,000 will look just fine but another shot at say iso 6000 looks noisy. Typically my settings for baseball under the lights is 1/1250 2.8 auto iso. with a 120-300 2.8. If I fill the frame its fine but high iso frames do not like to be cropped much. Thanks for taking the time to share your years of experience. Ted in Sebastian, Fl.
Hi Ted, thanks for the support! The differences in noise levels at different ISOs can be caused by a number of factors - the amount of shadows in a particular frame, the ambient lighting, jersey colors, how filled your frame is, among others. And yes you are also correct that high ISO frames can't take aggressive crops, and are extra sensitive to needing proper exposures to begin with. Thanks for watching!
can you do more videos for basketball
Hi Asad! Thanks for watching. Unfortunately basketball is out of season here in the USA, but more videos about basketball or topics relating to it on the way!
Very helpful as always Jerry. For the hobbyist who shoot pictures of our children playing sport, quite often games are held outdoors in the afternoon. Is it better to lock in the shutter and aperture, then let the iso vary according to lighting conditions? Thanks.
Hi AusDoug! Yes locking the shutter and aperture and then setting auto ISO is a good way to go if you are in one of those variable lighting condition days. Hope that helps and thanks for watching!
@@JerryTLai your guidance is really helpful. I’m learning a lot from you. Thanks so much.
Awesome. I shoot manual myself..
Some of the auto modes - and in my opinion particularly aperture priority - are useful crutches, but to me, manual is still generally the way to go. Thanks for watching Toby!
@@JerryTLai yes for sure.. Sometimes I set shutterspeed and aperture in manual and use auto ISO if the lighting conditions are changing. Thanks for sharing all your experience here on TH-cam, loving your videos.. They are gold for someone just starting with sports photography this last year, like myself.
No prob! Last year was a tough year to start depending on where you live. Hope you have many opportunities to get out there and shoot here in 2021!
Many thanks for your lessons! But could you please make a background music quieter. Sometimes it makes difficult to understand your words))
Thanks for watching. I have removed all music from my videos since February 2021. Unfortunately for videos older than that, you'll unfortunately have to tolerate that a bit. Thanks again for watching!
Is Auto ISO an option?
Did anyone notice Vince Vaughn in the celebration photo?
Great eye! I was wondering if anybody spotted him too lol
Full Manual in controlled environments is fine . Full Manual in dynamic fluid environments is a fools errand . I had a young "photographer" tell me recently that if you don't shoot in full manual you're not a real photographer .. Videos like these are the reason why so many young photographers are misinformed and don't last . Major Camera brands have invested billions of dollars in R&D over the last 20 years to give pro/consumer photographers what they need to efficiently complete tasks only to have photographers like yourself telling people to go back to the dark ages . And let's be clear , your camera is not on " full manual" . AWB ,AI SERVO , HIGH SPEED MULTI SHOT ,AND EVALUATIVE METERING without seeing your autofocus points tells me that you're likely missing more shots in manual than you're getting with that 1dx mii ... And lets not get started on that 70-200 "2.8" portrait lens , can you use it for sports , sure is it ideal ,no,
even less so in "full manual" . And if you feel like what im saying is hyperbole and Im a clueless troll come to South Florida or Huston and shoot outdoor high school sports in full manual with a portrait lens .. I dare you .