Easy Settings

Should I use my camera’s Portrait mode when shooting Portraits or would I be better off manually setting my camera up?

Unless you have a high end DSLR, most digital cameras these days come with an array of shooting modes (including portrait mode) for a photographer to choose from when out using their camera. These shooting modes are designed to help camera owners to quickly tell their camera what type of shot they are taking to give the camera a hint at what type of effect you want.

The results that your digital camera will give you in these modes is often quite good – however they do take the chance to be a little creative with your photography away and if you’re someone wanting to improve your photography you’re less likely to learn how to use your camera effectively by sticking to them.

So how do you set up your camera to get great Portrait shots without having to use Portrait Mode?

 this one will have a variety of answers depending upon your photographic style, the camera that you’re using and the type of portraits that you’re hoping to achieve – however let me share a few starting points that will hopefully give you some good results so that you can then start experimenting (note: it might be helpful to have read my previous post on Exposure if you’re a beginner – hopefully this will help you get some of the concepts I’m explaining below a little quicker).

Switch to Aperture Priority Mode

When I’m photographing portraits I generally switch my camera away from any of the Auto modes into Aperture Priority Mode. This enables the photographer to choose the aperture that they want to shoot at while still allowing the camera to make decisions about shutter speed (to ensure well exposed images). If you’re a more experienced photographer you might want to try out full manual mode – but Aperture Priority mode will probably do for most of us.

Choose a Large Aperture for Nice Blurry Backgrounds

The actual aperture setting that you choose when in Aperture Priority Mode will vary from situation to situation and between camera/lens setups – but in most cases you’ll probably want to start with a fairly large aperture as this will decrease the depth of field in your shots (this is what portrait mode generally does). This will help to ensure you have a nice blurry background. The beauty of this type of setting is that it leaves your subject as the only element in focus – highlighting them as the main focal point and removing any other distracting elements.

Keep in mind that if you have a very fast lens that choosing the maximum aperture available can decrease the depth of field to a point where some parts of the face of your subject are in focus while others are not. Also the very maximum aperture might mean you are not shooting in your lenses sweet spot. Pull it back a stop or two and you might get a slightly sharper image – the key is to do some experimenting if you have the time to do so.