What do DSLR camera modes mean?

If you look at the mode dial on any DSLR, you're likely to see these symbols. There's green or auto, P, TV/S, Av/A, M and B. So what do they mean and how can you use them to progress as a photographer? In a nutshell, the modes determine who controls the exposure setting, you or the camera.

By exposure settings, I mean the holy trinity of photography. That's ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Allowing the camera to control these settings makes life easy, but it doesn't necessarily make for great photo as you develop as a photographer.

You should be aiming to make all decisions about ISO, shutter speed and aperture yourself. Sneak preview, ultimately you want to be using M or manual mode. It's worth nothing that modes vary a bit between different cameras. Particularly for the more automatic or beginner modes. Experiment to find out what each mode will allow you to do and what it will tell the camera to  do itself.

Green or automatic mode

This is the most basic mode. It will make all the decisions for you. ISO, Shutter speed, apperture and when to use flash. That's fine if you've never picked up a SLR before

P or program mode

This is similiar to the green mode. It decides on shutter speed and apperture but it does give you control over ISO and use of flash.

TV or shutter priority mode

This is useful for situations in which shutter speed will be the dominant consideration. Shutter speed is always important, but when your subject is moving, it becomes crucial. The speed of your shutter determines whether your subject is sharp or blurred.

Quick examples, if you want to take a pic of running dog, required a shutter speed of 1/400 of a second to freeze the dog and to make moving water looks so soft, it required a shutter speed of 1/10 of a second.

So in shutter priority mode, you have control over ISO and flash, but the camera will adjust the aperture as you changes the shutter speed. In order to achieve a correct exposure. In other words, not too bright or not too dark, shutter priority is useful for learning about and experimenting with shutter spped but it does have its limitations especially if you want full control of aperture.

AV or Aperture priority mode

Aperture affects the amount of light you'll out into the camera. So an open or wide aperture will help you shoot low light such as a dusk or indoors. Aperture also has more artistic applications such as depth of field which put simply is how sharp or bluurry you'd like the background to be. In aperture priority mode the camera will adjust the shutter speeds as you change the aperture in order to achieve a correct exposure. AV is great for experimenting with aperture. The danger is that in some cases the camera will select shutter speeds that are to slow for a crisp image.

M or Manual mode

This is what most professional photographers use, 95% of the time. Why? Because it gives you complete control over the holy trinity, that ISO, shutter speed and aperture. As you become more experienced, you'll realize that every image is a balance, Sometimes need compromise between these elements. So the ability to adjust each one of them is crucial.

B or Bulb mode

This is for realy long exposures. Notably for night photography. Most camera have shutter speed settings that allow the shutter to be open for up to 30 seconds, but some night shots might require shutter sppeds of minutes or even hours. Bulb mode allows the shutter to be opened and then closed at the push of the shutter button or a remote switch.

So that's it for DSLR modes. I hope you found it useful. Thanks for reading.