Hi and welcome to Episode 108 of the Photography Explained podcast.
I’m your host Rick, and in each episode I will try to explain one photographic thing to you in plain English in less than 10 minutes (ish) without the irrelevant details. What I tell you is based on my lifetime of photographic experience. And not Google.
Before I go on I need your help. I need your questions to answer. More on this at the end.
Here is the answery bit
The Creative Zone modes in photography give the photographer creative control over the photos that they take. The Creative Zone modes are aperture priority, shutter priority, manual mode, and program. Each of the Creative Zone modes can help photographers take photos in different situations with different subject matters. In the Creative Zone modes, the user sets some or all of the camera settings to achieve the look and exposure that they want for a photo.
OK, so that is the answer. The Creative Zone modes are more advanced modes than the basic zone modes. I will talk about the basic zone modes in the next episode. I know that I have sort of got these the wrong way around but it will all makes sense honest. I’ll make sure of it…..
You can listen to the episode here
Or keep on reading. Or do both. Entirely up to you!
Where am I coming from?
Well, I am writing this as the user of a Canon 6D, which is fairly representative of the Creative Zone modes for the Canon ecosystem. Apologies if you use a different camera system but I teach what I do and know, rather than just research something in Google and tell you stuff that you could have found out by doing the same.
My podcast is, like I say, based on what I do, and what I know, ok?
OK – let’s remind ourselves what the Creative Zone camera modes are on the Canon 6D.
- Program, or P
- Aperture Value, Av, or aperture priority
- Time Value, Tv, or shutter priority
- Manual
Right – these are the four, and you will find something pretty similar on most camera systems. Well, you would expect so considering the exposure triangle is the exposure triangle, as in the relationship between aperture, shutter, and ISO.
How do you use Creative Zones to help you take photos? I am going to tell you that right now.
Program, or P
The camera sets the aperture and shutter speed.
I use this when I am out and about taking photos for pleasure, personal stuff, stuff when I am not working for a client.
The camera chooses the aperture and shutter speed to give the correct ISO for the exposure of the composition that I am photographing.
This is effortless photography, and doing this gives me a sense of freedom. I enjoy using program mode.
And on the Canon 6D, there is a thing called program shift, where you rotate a dial, and the aperture and shutter speed combination change, allowing you to quickly choose the camera settings that you want.
Program Mode does not choose the ISO for you – you have to do that. And if the camera cannot give you the correct exposure it will tell you.
If the longest shutter speed with the largest aperture is giving an underexposed image, or if the fastest shutter speed and smallest aperture are giving an overexposed image, the camera will tell you by flashing lights that you need to change the ISO.
And yes I had to check these to make sure I got them the right way round.
That is pretty much it. I will compare program to full auto in the next episode.
Aperture Value, Av, or aperture priority
You set the aperture the camera sets the shutter speed.
I use this all the time in my commercial work. How can this help?
Well, there are two key things that you can dial in here.
First is the amount of depth of field. What is depth of field? Well, it is a misleading term and one that I will explain in a future episode. Depth of field is the amount of a photo that is sharp, or the amount of a photo that is not sharp.
This of course depends on the focal length used, and where you are pointing the camera in a scene. But the point here is that in Av mode you select the aperture which determines the depth of field.
The other thing that is determined by the aperture is the quality of the image capture. All camera lenses have a sweet spot, a sharp aperture, and there is a loss of quality at maximum and minimum apertures. This is optical stuff that happens with pretty much every lens.
So if you want the highest quality image you have to select the aperture that gives you this.
Who uses this? Well, I do, so architectural photographers, landscape photographers, and portrait photographers. Anyone for whom depth of field is the priority along with quality of image capture.
Time Value, Tv, or shutter priority
You set the shutter speed and the camera sets the aperture.
A fast shutter speed to freeze the action, a slow shutter speed to blur stuff. This is what shutter priority is for. It is using the shutter speed and subject to create the photo you are after.
And the camera sets the aperture that gives the correct exposure.
Who uses this? Well anyone can, although an architectural photographer like me is much less likely to use it than a sports photographer.
But a wedding photographer might use it to shoot handheld in low light to get sharp images.
Manual
You set the aperture and the shutter speed
In my opinion, everyone should learn how to use manual mode, but who uses it? Well anyone who wants to have full control of the camera settings.
That is what many people say, more on that in the talky bit.
Talking of which, here is
The talky bit
Why are there so many different modes? I asked this question last time. Well there are so many variables with cameras, and then chuck into the mix the variables called what you are taking a photo of, and the light and other stuff at the time, and the variables become, it seems, endless.
The exposure triangle is three elements, aperture, shutter, and ISO, and the Creative Zone modes have been created to help photographers take photos. Let’s not forget that.
As to what they are called. Av, Aperture value, aperture priority – they all mean the same. I tend to use the term aperture priority, which is the more universally recognised term.
But they are all the same, it does not really matter, just don’t get confused by all these terms.
There is no need to pigeonhole here, as a photographer you need to be aware of these different modes and use the one that helps you get the best photos at that time of that subject.
I don’t use shutter priority much, as I tend to photograph buildings with my camera on a tripod. My priorities are quality and depth of field.
But if I were shooting a building with a river running by it that I might want to blur out, I could go to shutter priority. But then again I can use aperture priority to get a slower shutter speed.
And as for manual mode, sure it is important to understand how to use it, as we all may come across difficult lighting conditions where we need manual mode. And understanding manual mode properly means that we understand the exposure triangle.
But I want to say this – if you use manual mode and just use the aperture/ shutter combination that the camera tells you to give the correct exposure, you are not that far from aperture or shutter priority, or even program mode.
So manual mode is not the absolute be-all and end-all – it is merely a tool to be used when needed. And the other modes are equally valid.
If someone says you have to use manual mode to be a proper photographer tell them what I have told you just now, ok?
What do I do?
For my commercial work, I use aperture priority. I choose the aperture (having already set the ISO) and the camera selects the correct shutter speed.
F8 gives me the highest quality images, and also the amount of depth of field that I need for my go-to focal length of 17mm.
And for my personal work, I may use Program Mode, I may stick with aperture priority, or I might use manual mode. It just depends on how I feel.
But all these modes are equally valid.
Big takeaway
Use the creative mode that works for you. And no, you do not have to use manual mode to be a real photographer.
Related episodes
Plenty of good stuff that you can catch up on if you missed it. Episodes 100 – 107 are all about camera settings. Blimey – so much good stuff!
Episode 100 – Why Are There So Many Camera Settings? I Am Confused – Help Me?
Episode 101 – Camera Settings 1 – Things That You Can Set And Forget
Episode 102 – Camera Settings 2 – Things That You Might Change When Out Taking Photos
Episode 103 – Camera Settings 3 – The Things That You Set For Each Photo You Take
Episode 104 – 10 Camera Settings For Beginners – Lets Keep Things Nice And Simple
Episode 105 – Do You Want To Know The 20 Camera Settings That I Use?
Episode 106 – Program Mode – What Is It? Is It Ok For Me To Use It?
Episode 107 – What Are Creative Modes In Photography – And What Are The Other Modes?
Next episode
Shout out
Shout out to me – well why not?
Get your question answered.
This is what my podcast is all about, answering your photography questions. So please get in touch with your question, and not only will I answer your question, but I will give a shout-out on that episode, which is nice. And better than me giving me a shout-out!! Just head over to photographyexplainedpodcast.com/start.
OK – I’m done
Thanks for listening to my small but perfectly formed podcast. To find out more about my podcast and do stuff to help me check out the podcast website, which is photographyexplainedpodcast.com/
Brought to you by
This episode was brought to you by me. Ha.
I’ve been Rick McEvoy, thanks again very much for listening to me and for giving 10 (ish) minutes of your valuable time, and I will see you on the next episode.
Cheers from me Rick
OK – that was the podcast episode.
Want to know more?
Head over to the Start page on the Photography Explained Podcast website to find out more.
And here is the list of episodes published to date – you can listen to any episode straight from this page which is nice.
Let me know if there is a photography thing that you want me to explain and I will add it to my list. Just head over to the This is my list of things to explain page of this website to see what is on there already.
Let me send you stuff
I send out a weekly email to my subscribers. It is my take on one photography thing, plus what I have been writing and talking about. Just fill in the box and you can get my weekly photographic musings straight to your inbox. Which is nice.
And finally a little bit about me
Finally, yes this paragraph is all about me – check out my Rick McEvoy Photography website to find out more about me and my architectural, construction, real estate and travel photography work. I also write about general photography stuff, all in plain English without the irrelevant detail.
Thank you
Thanks for listening to my podcast (if you did) and reading this blog post (which I assume you have done as you are reading this).
Cheers from me Rick
