by John & Barbara Gerlach
Digital cameras are technological marvels and each new model is more capable than the one it replaces. The setting choices available on the camera buttons and the custom functions offer a variety of ways to make the camera work most efficiently for you. But, the combination of possible settings can be difficult to determine which is best for your style of shooting. I have the advantage of traveling the world and using my cameras almost every day. I love finding and shooting images. I work hard to find ways to make my camera help me shoot the images I want.
I would like to share with you the shooting strategies I currently use to photograph landscapes and wildlife. Using the various camera controls in the way I do works well and successfully for me. It does not mean they will be perfect for you and your camera equipment, but perhaps this discussion will shed some light on possible ways for you to change your shooting strategies to help you shoot better images consistently.
RAW Images
Some camera settings I use all of the time (or nearly all), no matter what the subject is so let’s cover those first. I only shoot RAW files for my nature photography. I tend to shoot a lot, but edit them very fast and tightly with PhotoMechanic (
www.camerabits.com) so I don’t end up with many images once my edit is finished. If I was photographing people or sports, then I would use a high quality JPEG to save time.
White Balance
The white balance setting is critical when shooting JPEGs. Do your best to match the white balance as closely as possible. While you do have some white balance adjustment control with software, it is always best to get it right before the camera turns the Raw data into a JPEG and throws out some of the information. By the way, all digital images begin as a Raw file. A JPEG is just a Raw file that is processed by the camera and converted into a JPEG image.
White balance isn’t critical when shooting only RAW images because the color can easily be adjusted later with the raw converter in PhotoShop CS 2 without losing any quality. Since I tend to like warm images and find the image rendered on my camera monitor is usually better to view if slightly yellow, I leave the white balance set on my camera to cloudy, no matter what color the light. This eliminates having to remember to set the white balance control when the shooting is fast and changing. I always adjust the blue-yellow and green-magenta color slider in the Raw converter anyway and don’t lose any quality
Histogram
I began my digital career by using the luminance histogram which averages the three color channels into a single histogram. This seemed to work fine at first, but I found it was possible to clip one or two color channels without it showing up on the averaged histogram. I now set my Canon cameras to show the RGB histogram which displays three separate histograms for the red, green, and blue channels. In most cases, I consider the best exposure is one where one of the color channels nearly touches the right side of the histogram chart without actually climbing up the right side which would indicate clipping or overexposure in that color channel.
Highlight Alert
Another aid to help you achieve the best exposure is the highlight alert. When this is turned on, pixels that have received too much light flash on and off when viewed on the cameras monitor. Some cameras even offer a shadow alert too to indicate underexposure. The highlight alert is the most useful however, because it helps you avoid overexposing parts of the image. It is easier to pull up detail in underexposed areas (though you may have to deal with noise) than overexposed ones. However, if only one channel is clipped on the overexposure side, it is quite easy to get detail and decent color values from the adjacent pixels that represent other colors that are not clipped.
Stop Intervals
I loved using 1/3 stop intervals when shooting slide film, but not with digital. I find that 1/3 stop intervals for shutter speeds and f-stops aren’t all that necessary. Digital clearly has more exposure latitude than slide film, but not as much as print film currently. Until I find a clear need to use tiny 1/3 stop exposure increments, I have used my custom function to set my camera to ½ stop intervals. However, my strategy is constantly being tested. Now that I use the RGB Histogram that shows separate color channels, it does make some sense to use 1/3 stop intervals because it helps you to precisely get one of the color channels close to the right side without clipping. When using ½ stop intervals, you might have to settle for the color channel closest to the right side of the histogram being a little more left of it that necessary. The difference between ½ stop and 1/3 stop is tiny, only 1/6 of a stop, but perhaps I can make a case that every little bit helps. I am a bit undecided at this point now about what increment is best. I can make a case for both.
Color Space
Most cameras offer a choice of the color space you want to use. My Canon cameras offer sRGB and Adobe RGB 1998. Both color spaces work well. Most output devices actually use sRGB such as computer monitors, digital projectors, and most labs that make prints like sRGB too. Never-the-less, I use Adobe RGB 1998 as do most pros who plan to make prints. Adobe RGB 1998 offers a wider color gamut than sRGB which can be important when making the best possible print from your digital file. If you need the file in sRGB for projection or other uses, it is a simple matter to change color spaces. Neither selection is wrong. It really depends on you and the way you want to use the images.
Matrix or Evaluative Metering
I never used matrix or evaluative metering when I shot slide film, instead preferring to use spot metering. Matrix metering works most effectively with digital though since you have the histogram and highlight alert tools to help you shoot the best possible exposure. I use matrix metering whenever I can now, but do use spot metering in many situations that I will discuss later.
Safety Shift
Since I often use shutter priority, I find it useful to set my safety shift custom function to on. When the safety shift is activated, the camera adjusts the shutter downward if there isn’t a large enough f/stop to maintain the exposure. For example, suppose you are using shutter priority and the camera is set at 1/500 second. You are using a 300mm f/4 lens to photograph a brown pelican gliding by with a dark ocean backdrop. You are shooting at 1/500 second at f/5.6. The sun drops into a darker cloud causing the ambient light to drop by two stops. Since you have shutter priority set, the camera tries to maintain the exposure by adjusting the aperture. The aperture changes to f/4 which is opening up one more stop. But, the cloud reduced the ambient light by two stops of light. Since the lens doesn’t have f/2.8 to go to, the only way the camera can add another stop of light is to change the shutter speed. When the safety shift is activated, the camera will then change the shutter speed if it has no other choice. Some cameras actually have the ability to change the ISO speed so the shutter speed can remain at 1/500 second. Unfortunately, my top of the line Canon 1DS Mark 2 cannot do this so perhaps future models will be able to.
If the safety shift isn’t on, the camera will not change the shutter speed and will indicate that it cannot maintain the best exposure. You will have to notice whatever the indicator is so you can manually adjust the shutter speed or the ISO speed. When using aperture priority, the camera seldom runs into a situation where it can’t somehow keep the exposure looking good. This is because the stop range of shutter speeds is far greater than the stop range found in the aperture scale. To illustrate this, let’s suppose you are using a typical camera that has a shutter speed range from ½000 second to 30 seconds with a lens that has an aperture range of f/2.8 to f/22. The number of stops between f/2.8 and f/22 is 6 stops. The range of stops between ½000 second and 30 seconds is 16 stops which is ten stops more than is available with f/numbers.
Landscapes & Closeups
I tend to use a combination of settings for photographing these subjects. In no way do I want to imply that these settings are the only way to photograph these subjects, but they work for me most of the time. Of course, there are exceptions which I have highlighted.
ISO Speed
The sensor of the digital camera has a native speed. Usually it is ISO 100, but it could be ISO 200 or perhaps some other speed. All cameras offer a range of ISO speeds though, typically beginning at ISO 100 and going up to ISO 1600. Some cameras even offer ISO 50 and ISO 3200 too. The camera uses sophisticated electronics that can be varied to provide a range of ISO speeds. However, the native ISO speed is always the best one to use for achieving the finest quality. Boosting the ISO speed well above the native speed of the sensor is sure to increase the digital noise problem so there is no point in doing that unless absolutely necessary.
When I am photographing landscapes and closeups, I normally set the ISO on my Canon cameras to ISO 100, it’s native and highest quality speed.
Single Frame Shooting
Even though landscapes don’t normally get up and fly off, I still use the continuous shooting mode for both landscapes and closeups. If you use high speed shooting though, be careful when using a cable release because they often get locked some how to full on so the camera shoots one image after another until the buffer is full or you unlock the release. Of course, if you use a self-timer to trip the camera, you won’t encounter the problem.
The main reason I tend to avoid single frame shooting is many cameras won’t fire the shot if the activated autofocus sensor isn’t on a part of the scene that is in focus. This can be annoying. I haven’t seen this problem when the camera is set on continuous shooting.
There are times to use high speed shooting where you might shoot four or more images per second on landscapes though. I enjoy photographing waves crashing into rocks or breaking up on the beach. While it is certainly a landscape image, the crashing waves are action photography where high speed shooting is most effective.
Use a Polarizing Filter
I find using a polarizing filter greatly improves nearly all landscape and closeup images. While everyone knows the polarizing filter works tremendously well for darkening a blue sky, especially when shooting at right angles to the sun, it is equally effective for removing unwanted glare. Anything wet such as autumn leaves, the rocks adjacent to a waterfalls, the wet skin of frogs, and shiny objects such as flowers often have glare which hides the true colors of the subject. The polarizing filter when carefully used is effective for removing or at least greatly reducing glare. I use it far more often for removing glare than darkening skies. It needs to be used properly. Always rotate the filter in the direction you used to put it on the lens. All too often people try to adjust the polarizing filter the other way. It will work this way, but frequently my students accidently unscrew the filter and drop it causing severe damage. Good polarizing filters such as the B & W filters I use aren’t cheap. Take care of them and keep them clean for best results. Be aware that if you have the polarizing filter rotated just right to remove glare for a horizontal shot, it needs to be readjusted again when you switch to a vertical composition. The polarizing filter is easily the most useful filter any digital photographer can use. You need one for all of your lenses, with the possible exception of huge telephotos. Even image processing software program can’t really duplicate the results delivered by a properly used polarizer.
Backfocus or Rear Focusing
I nearly always use custom function #4 (choice #1) to remove the autofocus control from the shutter button to a button on the back of the camera that is located to the right of the viewfinder. This solves a host of problems that I wrote about in detail in an earlier column. When photographing a landscape such as a waterfall, I point the middle autofocus sensor at the area of the waterfall where I want the camera to focus and push the button on the back of the camera. The camera immediately focuses on that spot. I pick a spot such as a point where black rocks meet the white water and focus on that. The contrast between the white water and the black rock is easy for the camera to focus the lens on. As soon as I focus the lens, I let off the back button focus control which locks the focus and recompose the waterfall. Pressing the shutter button or using a cable release to trip the camera will not cause the camera to refocus which may send the image way out of focus if the activated autofocus sensor is now pointed at a point in the near foreground or more likely, the background.
Continuous Autofocus
My camera is always set on continuous autofocus. I have found no need for single focusing. Using the backfocus control button gives me the choice of single focus or continuous focus at the press of a button. By holding the backfocus button in, I have immediate continuous focus which is great for tracking action. Letting up on the button locks focus immediately.
I use the backfocus control for nearly all of my landscapes with excellent results. However, for closeup images, I find using back focusing and recomposing is not the best way to achieve sharp focus. When shooting at such close lens to subject distances, the best focusing technique is to manually focus the lens precisely on the spot where you want the sharpest focus to fall while the camera is already properly composed for best effect. With my Canon 180mm macro lens, I just turn the AF switch on the lens to off and manually focus the lens. Nikon generally has a switch on the camera body that can be turned to switch to manual focus.
F/16 Depth of Field
For both closeups and landscapes, I tend to want plenty of depth of field so I usually start with f/16. This f/stop offers a lot of depth of field, but maintains excellent sharpness. I tend to avoid f/22 which delivers even more depth of field, unless absolutely necessary. While you get more depth of field at f/22, you do lose image sharpness due to diffraction. As the physical size of the aperture gets smaller, a higher proportion of the light rays passing through the hole strike the edge of the hole which causes them to slow down and diffract, which causes unsharp images. This problem is especially problematic with short focal lengths. Why? By pressing in the depth of field preview button on your camera, you can actually see the aperture when you look in the front of the lens. Set f/22 on a 24mm lens and f/22 on a 200mm lens and press in the depth of field preview button. Are the apertures the same size or not? F/22 on the 24mm lens is much smaller than f/22 on the 200mm lens so diffraction is much worse on the 24mm lens. Indeed, if depth of field isn’t critical, the sharpest apertures on most lenses fall in the f/8 to f/11 range.
I find f/16 is a good compromise between maximum depth of field and excellent image sharpness so I use that most of the time.
Self-timer on 2 second delay
I normally trip my tripod mounted camera by using the self-timer set on two-second delay. This is a very effective way to fire the camera. By gently and I do mean to stress gently, press the shutter button and move your hand away from the camera. Any tiny vibration caused by pressing the shutter button disappears soon and is completely gone by the time two seconds count down and the camera takes the image. This technique is quick and easy and eliminates the need to attach the cable release which seems to always be hanging in the way anyway.
Although I prefer to use the self-timer to trip the camera, the cable release is necessary if you are waiting for a flower to stop swaying in a slight breeze. When the flower stops moving, you can fire the camera almost instantly with the cable release. You have no way of knowing if the flower will be still or resume its swaying two seconds later when you push the shutter button and use the self-timer. The cable release is also best for catching the peak of the action such as a wave crashing into a rock along the shoreline.
Mirror Lockup
I routinely use mirror lockup for both landscapes and closeups. The action of the mirror can cause a loss of sharpness, especially at shutter speeds in the 1/8 to 1/30 second range. Faster shutter speeds or slower speeds below 1/8 second suffer little from the mirror slap problem. If you don’t have mirror lockup, just avoid shutter speeds in the 1/8 to 1/30 second range. Most Canon digital cameras use custom function #12 to set the mirror lock capability. Some Nikon cameras have a switch for locking up the mirror. Unfortunately, the Nikon D2x for example has mirror lock and the self-timer on the same switch so you can’t use both at the same time. Hopefully, this problem will be solved in future models.
Wind Technique
While I prefer to use mirror lockup and a self-timer or cable release to trip the camera when mounted on a tripod, there are exceptions. A tripod setting in the fast water of a stream or used in the wind does shake causing unsharp images. The moving water is fairly easy to solve. Set the tripod up so all of the legs are on something solid so running water won’t vibrate the tripod. Usually, this is possible by using rocks or perhaps a nearby log. If you have to, you might even put a rock in front of the leg to block the current momentarily while you shoot the image. Always return the rock to the place where it was originally. Rather than moving rocks, I sometimes plant my foot in front of the tripod leg to block the water so the offending tripod leg is now in a temporary quite pool behind my foot.
Wind is notoriously prone to vibrating tripods causing unsharp images. I avoid shooting in wind, but sometimes it is unavoidable. Therefore, if I have to shoot with the tripod in fast water or buffeted by wind, I switch to another technique. It does no good to use the mirror lock, cable release, or self-timer in these situations so I turn it all off. Instead, I find it is better to reduce vibration from the wind or moving water by hanging onto the camera that is mounted on the tripod to absorb most of the vibration. Since I can’t get sharp results by shooting at long shutter speeds if I am gripping the camera, I make adjustments that allow me to use faster shutter speeds. The two obvious adjustments that permit faster shutter speeds are to boost the ISO higher to perhaps ISO 400 or even ISO 800 if necessary. You could also open up the lens a bit too. Changing the aperture from f/16 to f/8 provides two more shutter speeds. Using ISO and aperture adjustments together makes shooting sharp images in tough situations quite feasible. Suppose your camera is set at ISO 100 and f/16. You want to photograph the huge waves that crash into the colorful rocks of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore when the north wind howls. Using a polarizing filter to remove glare off the wet rocks, the exposure is 1/8 second at f/16. Since the North wind is howling at 30 mph, how can you get a sharp image. Changing the ISO from ISO 100 to ISO 800 is a three stop adjustment to more light. Opening the aperture from f/16 to f/8 is a two stop adjustment to more light. You now have five stops of additional light to work with which permits you to change the shutter speed from 1/8 second to ½50 second. By bracing the camera with the tripod and hanging on to it, it easy quite possible to shoot sharp images in what seems like an impossible situation. If you have an IS or VR lens, so much the better. This technology reduces the problems of camera shake, but has no effect on subject movement.
Aperture Priority and Matrix Metering
I once preferred to use matrix (Nikon) or evaluative (Canon terminology) metering for both landscapes and closeups. Since depth of field is critical for both subjects, it makes sense to use aperture priority, usually set on f/16. Using the RGB histogram and the highlight alert, it is rather easy to use the exposure compensation control for natural light to adjust the exposure so one color channel is close to the right side of the histogram chart without clipping. This prevents overexposing important light areas in the image while moving the dark values to the right to reduce the problem of noise. However, due to the enormous problem described in the next paragraph, I have gone back to spot metering and manual exposure.
Be Aware of this Autoexposure Problem
Although I have been a professional nature photographer for more than three decades, I continue to learn new tricks and discover new problems that I hadn’t noticed before. During my film career, I only used spotmetering and manual exposure. I never used any autoexposure mode such as shutter or aperture priority so perhaps I can be forgiven to only recently discover this serious problem with autoexposure. During my summer workshops in Michigan, I attempted to photograph the single leaf of a sundew full frame with my new Canon 65mm macro lens. This lens is made to begin at life size magnification. By focusing the lens out, the lens can go all the way to five times life size. If you need to fill the frame with a tiny subject, this lens will do it. Using a focusing rail to carefully focus the lens on the minute leaf, I set the lens on f/11 and expected aperture priority to get the exposure close since the subject was fairly middle tone when average out. However, the exposure data was stacked up on the left side of the histogram indicating severe underexposure. I didn’t think the shiny dew drops would cause such severe underexposure, but apparently it did. I set the exposure compensation to plus one and tried another shot. The exposure data was still jammed up against the left side of the histogram. I tried a compensation of plus two and even plus three stops of exposure compensation and got the same result. I didn’t know what the problem was and thought perhaps I was using this new lens improperly in some way so I thought I would come back to the problem at another time.
I put the lens away and forgot about the problem while I led a wildlife photo tour to Kenya and then another to Yellowstone National Park. Then, during a Michigan fall color workshop, I noticed this problem of underexposure again and not being able to increase the exposure with the exposure compensation control when I was demonstrating to my group of workshop participants how to photograph a waterfall that was surrounded by black rocks with a polarizer filter. Finally, it dawned on me that in certain situations where the camera is pointed at dim light scenes and the light is further reduced by the use of the polarizer, enough light passes through the viewfinder to affect the exposure meter. In the case of the 65mm macro, just shooting at three times life size cost me a few stops of light too. If a bright sky is overhead, enough light finds its way through the uncovered viewfinder to radically change the exposure.
You might at first think that light passing through the viewfinder on the back of the camera might cause overexposure. Actually, the light passing through the viewfinder doesn’t get recorded by the digital sensor at all. Instead, the light is measured by the meter along with the light that passes through the lens. Since the light that enters through the viewfinder and is measured by the light meter doesn’t find its way to the sensor, underexposure is the result, not overexposure. You don’t see this problem when you are shooting the camera with your eye up to the viewfinder because it blocks most of the light, but shooting the camera on a tripod without blocking the viewfinder quickly becomes a problem when using autoexposure. That is why many advanced cameras provide a way to block the viewfinder when using autoexposure. For example, my Canon 1Ds Mark 2 has a switch so the viewfinder can be easily closed or opened. Closing the viewfinder before taking the shot eliminates this problem completely.
If you want to test your camera to see the problem, just put your camera on aperture priority, attach a polarizing filter on the lens to reduce light, and point the camera at a dark area. Be sure the viewfinder is pointed at a brighter light source such as sun or a cloudy sky. With the camera mounted on a tripod, don’t block the viewfinder and note the exposure that the camera would use. Perhaps your camera says f/16 at 1 second. Now slowly cover the viewfinder with your hand. If the camera changes the exposure to f/16 at 4 seconds when the viewfinder is shielded from the ambient light, it means the exposure would be two stops underexposed because the shutter really needed to stay open for four seconds, not one second The ambient light passing through the viewfinder reduced the exposure by two whole stops in this example..
Light passing through the viewfinder is a huge problem anytime you use autoexposure and don’t cover up the viewfinder. Fortunately, there are a few ways to solve the problem once you know it occurs. If your camera provides a curtain to cover up the viewfinder, use that. But, some devices such as a little plastic cover that attaches to the viewfinder isn’t convenient or easy to do. If you have a switch that closes a curtain, that works much better, but it still is a nuisance to have to do that all of the time. You can also hold your hand in front of the viewfinder without touching the camera. This seems to work fairly well, but you have to remember to do it each time.
I use another solution altogether. I still use autoexposure when shooting wildlife where I have my eye up to the viewfinder. However, when shooting on a tripod where I don’t have my eye to the viewfinder, I have gone back to metering on manual which eliminates the problem immediately. It needs to be clear to you why metering manually eliminates the problem. Suppose you spotmeter a yellow leaf while using manual exposure. Since the yellow leaf is brighter than middle tone, the meter will zero out or balance to make the leaf middle tone which is too dark and the exposure data will be pushed to the left of the histogram. If I selected f/16 for depth of field, I would manually rotate the shutter speed dial so the meter scale in the camera indicated a plus one stop compensation. When I take the shot, I immediately check the histogram to be sure one of the color channels is very close to the right side of the histogram. Light coming through the viewfinder can’t change the exposure when shooting on manual because the shutter speed and aperture can’t change unless you manually move the dial. Autoexposure means the camera can change one of the settings without any input from you-even if you don’t wish it too. Many cameras do have autoexposure lock buttons, but they seem to be just as cumbersome as covering up the viewfinder so I don’t think that is a good solution for me.
Wildlife
My college degree is wildlife biology, so it is no surprise that I spend a lot of time photographing wildlife. I have been quite fortunate to be able to travel extensively around the world photographing exotic wildlife from the Arctic to Antarctica and many points in-between. I don’t photograph wildlife subjects always using the same settings, but there is a combination I use most of the time.
ISO 200
Wildlife is normally photographed with long lenses in the 400mm to 600mm range. Even on a tripod or sturdy bean bag, it is best to favor higher shutter speeds to produce sharp images consistently. Therefore, even in bright sun, I tend to use ISO 200, rather than ISO 100. This gives me one more shutter speed or another stop of depth of field. If the light is dim enough to require it, I don’t hesitate to bump the ISO up to ISO 400 and even ISO 800 if I absolutely have no other choice. The quality of ISO 400 with the digital camera is easily better than any ISO 400 slide film I ever saw. It is quite good and permits shooting in low light that just wasn’t feasible with film. Even ISO 800 is surprisingly good if you properly expose the image.
Use Shutter speeds of ½00 second and Up
Using higher ISO values makes it easier to favor higher shutter speeds to photograph wildlife with long lenses. Even with a tripod mounted camera or one used on a bean bag, I prefer shutter speeds of ½00 second or faster to consistently make sharp images. The longer the focal length, the more shutter speed I like. With a 300mm lens, I am pretty confident that I will get sharp images at ½00 second. With a 500mm lens, I like ½50 second or more if possible.
Seldom Use a Polarizer
Since shutter speed is so critical with long lenses for making sharp images, I seldom use a polarizing filter because I just can’t give up two shutter speeds due to the filter factor, especially with really long lenses. I have used a polarizing filter with my 300mm lens on wildlife with good results, but normally I photograph wildlife in soft or golden light at dawn and dusk when the polarizing filter doesn’t have as much impact. I do plan to try using a polarizing filter more with wildlife and will let you know if things change. I do know that noise will be controlled better in future cameras so ISO 800 and even ISO 1600 produces acceptable images, then using a polarizing filter will be much easier to use since high shutter speeds can be maintained.
Tripping the Camera
Since I nearly always photograph wildlife with the camera on a tripod and my eye to the viewfinder, I favor higher shutter speeds to achieve sharp images. This makes it unnecessary to use a cable release or self-timer to trip the camera. I use my finger and steady the camera with my left hand. By focusing carefully on the eyes or face of the animal and using high shutter speeds, making sharp images is fairly easy.
Rear Focusing and Continuous Focusing
Once again, I use custom function #4 (choice #1) to move the focus control to the rear of my Canon cameras. Not every camera can do this and some cameras may use a different custom function. Many Nikons can do this too, but they have different ways to do this so you need to consult your camera manual carefully to find out how to do it.
I always use continuous autofocusing, rather than single focusing, so the camera can track moving animals. Since I separate the focusing control from the shutter button and have the camera set on continuous autofocus, effectively photographing an animal that is standing still and then sudden begins to move is quite easy. If a male lion is quietly looking at me, I place the middle autofocus sensor right between the eyes and push the rear button to make the lens focus on that spot. Then I let up on the button, recompose, and take the photo. If the lion begins to walk toward me, holding the rear button in without letting up on it and keeping the activated autofocus sensor on the face of the lion instantly tracks the animal so I continue to get sharp images. Using rear focusing is enormously effective for both wildlife and landscape subjects. It is fast and precise once you get used to it. I teach this method in my field classes and most of the students like it. It does take a while to get used to it though. In the beginning, most students forget what button initiates autofocusing, but usually they can reprogram their brains so they don’t keep going to the shutter button to make the camera focus after awhile.
There is a time when I do prefer having autofocus on the shutter button. If I know I will only be photographing action, then I do have my camera set on continuous autofocus and controlled by the shutter button. Photographing flying birds such as snow geese leaving a refuge at dawn is easier if you track the bird with the autofocus activated by the shutter button. Once sharp focus is achieved, it is a simple matter to press the shutter button all the way down to take a series of images. If the camera is set on rear focusing, you have to hold both the back button in while pressing the shutter button all the way down at the same time. It is no big deal to do it this way, but it is easier to photograph action if you only have the shutter button to control everything, rather than pressing two buttons at the same time.
Shutter Priority
While reviewing my digital images of Kenya wildlife that I shot in 2005, I noticed I often was using more shutter speed that I really needed. Frequently, the metadata with my digital image showed my shutter speed had drifted upward to 1/500 second and faster as the ambient light levels rose in the morning. I used aperture priority in 2005 which maintained the aperture setting by allowing the shutter speed to vary. It seems pointless to shoot my 300mm/f4 lens with an exposure combination of 1/500 second at f/5.6 at a giraffe that is not moving at all when the lens is solidly nestled in a firm bean bag and the IS is turned on. I could easy get by with 1/125 second so why not use a bit more depth of field that is available at f/11 to fully cover the subject. I tried to keep an eye on the shutter speed to stop down more if the shutter speed became faster than necessary, but often failed to notice excessively high shutter speeds in the excitement of photographing the wonderful wildlife of Kenya.
I tried a completely different tactic on my 2006 safari. Rather than use aperture priority, I switched to shutter priority. I am confident I can get sharp images when using lenses in the 200mm to 400mm range with a shutter speed of ½50 second, especially when the lens in supported by a bean bag. Therefore, I set the camera to ½50 second and shutter priority at ISO 200 and was willing to go to ISO 400 if necessary. When the ambient light became brighter, the camera automatically adjusted the aperture by stopping down to maintain proper exposure. This method worked tremendously well and I continue to use it for wildlife photography. Of course, it is important to notice when the light levels fall so proper exposure can be maintained or you would have serious underexposure problems. For example, suppose proper exposure is ½50 second at f/8 when using ISO 200. The lens is a 300mm/f4 lens. If a dark cloud obscures the sun, the ambient light could easily drop by three stops or more. A three stop drop is a problem here because the lens can only open up to f/4, a two stop increase in light. The picture would be one stop underexposed. I kept an eye on the exposure and made adjustments when ambient light levels dropped out of the lenses f/stop range. I could solve the problem by choosing 1/125 second as the shutter speed or boosting the ISO up one speed to ISO 400. Some cameras have a feature as mind does that is called by Canon the safety shift (custom function #16 on the Canon IDS Mark II). By enabling this feature, the camera automatically lowers the shutter speed when proper exposure can no longer be maintained.
When photographing wildlife, I always set my camera to shoot images as fast as possible. With my Canon 1DS Mark 2, that means 4 shots per second. I wish this camera could shoot faster at times. Hopefully, when the new top of the line Canon body comes out, it will be able to shoot faster. I could use eight or even twelve images per second during fast action sequences.
Action Only Wildlife Photography
I use a different strategy when I know I will be photographing only action such as flying birds or swimming ducks. To freeze action, I like to use 1/1000 second or slightly faster if possible. This speed will freeze most wildlife action, but not hummingbirds of course. The main difference in the way I use my camera is I set the focus on the shutter button and take it off backfocus. If I know I will only be photographing action, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to use backfocus since you would have to hold the back focus button in while tracking the subject and tripping the camera with the shutter button. This means you have to deal with two buttons simultaneously. It is easier to track the action with the camera and make the camera autofocus by just holding the shutter button down half way. To make the exposure, push the shutter down all of the way. Continuous action is the only time I ever keep the focus on the shutter button. For every else, I use back focusing.
If I need the shutter speed, I don’t hesitate to push the camera to ISO 400 and would use ISO 800 if I really needed to. As long as the histograms data is where it should be, touching the right edge of the histogram without clipping, noise problems are easy to live with. I want to stress that it isn’t always desirable to make sharp images. I also like impressionistic images of birds in flight where the birds are fairly, but not completely sharp, against totally blurred backgrounds. This is possible by panning with the bird while using shutter speeds in the 1/8 to 1/60 second range.
By the way, I normally use shutter priority for wildlife photography and dynamic or matrix metering when I am able to look through the viewfinder. However, I find using automatic modes for action where the subject moves against different backgrounds leads to plenty of bad exposures. Especially for flying birds, I always use manual metering. Here is the problem! Suppose you want to photograph white gulls or pelicans that are flying past a rocky point. The background could be dark rocks along the edge of the surf, the ocean itself, blue sky, or white clouds. All four backgrounds have different reflectance values. If you are shooting on automatic exposure and have the camera set to properly expose the bird against the blue sky, you will do fine anytime the background is the blue sky. However, if a large area of white clouds appear in the picture, the camera detects the brighter area and reduces the exposure which underexposes the bird. If the background is the dark sea water or the black rocks, you’ll have the opposite problem. The camera averages out all of these new tones and you overexpose the subject. If you use the camera on manual and properly set the exposure, no matter what the background is, the camera maintains proper exposure as long as the ambient light falling on the bird doesn’t change.
If you are wondering how you have time to meter a flying bird, it is rather easy if plenty of birds are flying. When the first gull flies by, give it you best guess and take a shot. Now check the histogram to make sure some data is close to the right side without clipping. If it isn’t, manually adjust the shutter speed or aperture and try another shot. When you get the histogram you are looking for, you are in business. Now continue to use that exposure combination for all the other birds, but do check the histogram and highlight alert from time to time.
While it seems that digital cameras can do everything that you want them to do, they are not perfect and some new features would be most useful. I think my Canon cameras are terrific, but here’s something I would like to see in future Canon bodies.
I wish I could set a series of buttons and custom functions that could be grouped together so selecting a single function would immediately set up the camera for the situation. While it is possible to do a custom function group registration, it is not comprehensive enough. Many of the settings I need to change such as ISO, Metering Mode, AF Mode, and Drive Mode are set with buttons on the camera body, not custom functions. While I normally like having these settings on the camera body because they are quick and easy to find, it would be enormously helpful to me to have custom functions that can also set these values. If everything could be controlled by a single custom group registration for various shooting situations, it would save me a lot of time and button pressing when I go from one type of shooting to another. Once the group registration was invoked, then it would be best to still be able to change an individual setting with the buttons on the camera. For example, while ISO 200 might be my normal ISO speed for wildlife, at times I might want to go to ISO 400 or perhaps something else.
Here are the group settings I would like to set for various types of photography.
Landscapes and Closeups
File Format: Raw
ISO Speed: 100
White Balance: Cloudy
Histogram: RGB
Highlight Alert: On
Color Space: Adobe RGB 1998
Stop Intervals: ½ stop
Metering Mode: Spot
Metering Method: Manual
Focusing: Continuous
Drive Mode: Continuous shooting
Rear Focusing set
Aperture: F/16
Mirror Lockup: On
Self-timer: Activated and on two-second delay
Wildlife
File Format: Raw
ISO Speed: 200
White Balance: Cloudy
Histogram: RGB
Highlight Alert: On
Color Space: Adobe RGB 1998
Stop Intervals: ½ stop
Metering Mode: Evaluative
Metering Method: Shutter Priority
Focusing: Continuous
Drive Mode: Continuous shooting
Rear Focusing set
Aperture: F/5.6
Mirror Lockup: Off
Self-timer: Not-Activated
Action Only Wildlife
File Format: Raw
ISO Speed: 400
White Balance: Cloudy
Histogram: RGB
Highlight Alert: On
Color Space: Adobe RGB 1998
Stop Intervals: ½ stop
Metering Mode: Spot
Metering Method: Manual
Focusing: Continuous
Drive Mode: Continuous shooting
Rear Focusing set
Aperture: F/5.6
Mirror Lockup: Off
Self-timer: Not-Activated
Please consider my choices as a guide to setting up your camera for different types of subjects. Most cameras are capable of doing far more than you might think. Be sure to learn what every button and dial does on your camera. If your camera has custom functions, examine each one carefully to see if it can help you make the images you want. Custom functions are important. I use several all of the time. Be aware that the default settings on your camera when you first get it is designed to help someone who knows little about photography and plans to shoot hand-held. If you know the basics of photography and use a tripod, you need to change many of the default settings to obtain the best results from your camera.
