SCENES

Between the two cameras I use, the scene modes are so different, I’m going to assume you will need to get out your camera and possibly your manual and do a little exploring.  For example, on my Panasonic, I just turn a dial; on my Canon, I need to go into a menu.  Check yours out, if for no other reason than to get familiar with what scene modes you have available. 

Scene modes can be very helpful in shooting photos in difficult situations.  The modes are basically some preset settings for specific conditions.  Some examples are Portrait, Night, Indoor, Sunset, Beach, Snow, Fireworks.  If you have your manual, you should be able to read a little bit about what that specific setting does. 

For example, on my Canon using the Portrait setting, it says, “Produces a soft effect when shooting people.”  You may or may not want this specific effect, depending upon the person you are photographing.  You might want a nice, crisp shot instead.  If you’re shooting me, or the bride, or your grandma, however, you might want to go for the softer effect!  Then again, there are some wonderfully interesting photos of older people where the lines in their faces really tell the story of where they’ve been in life.  Your decision…

And I have to tell you about a big, big boo-boo I made once when I had a new camera, a little Nikon.  Nice little camera, I just didn’t understand what all the settings meant.  We were out of town at a nephew’s wedding, and all my DH’s brothers were there (there are five of them total) and his two sisters as well.  Photo opportunities galore.  We were in a hall with low ceilings and lots and lots of rope lighting.  Now that I’ve set the scene for you,

on to the boo-boo.  I knew my brand-new camera had these “scene” settings.  I chose ”Party”.  After all, it was indoors, some weird lighting, lots of people.  The display screen on that camera was very small, and I couldn’t tell for sure, but it didn’t look like the pictures were right.  I tried again and again.  Hmmm, surely they were coming out better than they appeared.

No, they weren’t.  “Party” meant the camera would keep the shutter open longer and blur all those little bitty lights in those light ropes into wild streaks.  “Party”, as in, “Where’s the party, Dude?”  Couldn’t salvage anything.

So my lesson for today:  the scene settings can be extremely helpful, but take the time to learn what they actually do by reading your manual or experimenting with them before using them in an important setting.

Bonus lesson:  Don’t buy a new camera and think you’re going to take fabulous pictures right of the box.  Allow some experimenting time before that big vacation or your nephew’s wedding when all the family is together at last.

And have fun!

Sue