#25 – Use the “Tv” or “S” setting for more control.

You just think they’re taunting you.

For years, you’ve been taking pictures using the “Auto” setting of your camera, or, on special occasions, the different scene settings light “Nighttime” or “Portrait.”

But you learned a long time ago that those settings are a bit of a scam. They take the control out of your hands and let the camera do way too much thinking for you. Of course there are those other settings – the ones you think are taunting you. There’s P, M, Av and Tv. You know they can make magic. You just don’t know how.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Using these settings is wicked easy and once you get the hang of each, you’ll never want to go back to the “Aquarium” ever again. Earlier this year, we covered off “P,” or “Program.” It’s a sort of luxury version of Auto that lets you play around with a few settings like White Balance for better photos.

And now that you’ve gotten the knack of ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed to let more light into the camera, you actually have some understanding of how to use the rest of those settings. I’ll start with the one I use most when I’m hanging with the family – “Tv” or “S.”

“Tv” stands for “Time Value.” “S” stands for “Shutter.” Most photographers simply call it “shutter priority.” You may have one of these settings, depending on the camera you own. This setting lets you set the minimum shutter speed for your photo. The camera does all the other calculations for you so you can focus on taking the picture.

Why you want to use “shutter priority”– more control.

Using this setting gives you a whole lot more control over your photo – and it can be really helpful indoors. You dial in a number like 1/60 (about the speed of someone walking slowly) and you know that no matter what happens, your subject shouldn’t be blurry because the shutter speed is wrong or too blown out because the flash went a lot crazy. One of my daughter’s is graduating tomorrow (another Tuesday) and it’s the setting I’ll be using. Go ahead and play with it. You’ll feel like a pro and make great memories while you’re at it.

What you can do with “shutter priority.”

·      Set the shutter speed (the camera sets the ISO and aperture).

·      Change the white balance.

·      Shift the exposure compensation.

When to use “shutter priority.”

·      Indoors.

·      When you’re not thinking about aperture.

·      Not using flash.

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