Camera Modes

Automatic Mode

A mode that relies on the camera itself to choose shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focus, and flash. The mode can give nice results, but you're not telling your camera any extra information, making your camera guess what you want from the picture.

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Portrait Mode

The camera will automatically select a large aperture to set a narrow depth of field to ensure the subject of the picture is the one in focus. Portrait mode works best when photographing a single subject and focused on the head and shoulders of the person.

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Macro Mode

Macro Mode is a good mode for closeups, especially for insects, flowers, and other small objects. Focusing is more difficult since the depth of view is more narrow, and flash is inherently useless. Keep the camera and the object parallel if possible, or else most of it will be out of focus.

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Landscape Mode

This mode sets the camera up with a small aperture to make sure most of the scene being photographed will be in focus as much as possible. It's good for wide scenes, and is best with a slower shutter speed to compensate for the small aperture, so a tripod is recommended.

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Sports Mode

This mode is also known as "action mode," in some cameras, since it is commonly used to capture pictures of fast-moving objects. This mode attempts to freeze the action by increasing shutter speed, and you can increase your chances by panning your camera along with the subject or pre-focusing your camera on a spot where the subject will be.

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Night Mode

This mode deals with a longer shutter speed and flash, which is used in low-light situations. A tripod is recommended if you do not want your background to be blurred, which can look good for parties and dance floors with colored lights.

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Movie Mode

This mode captures video, and sometimes audio. The quality of the video and audio is not up to video camera standards, but is well for capturing images that can't be frozen.

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Aperture Priority Mode

A semi-automatic mode that lets you choose the aperture, and the camera will choose things like shutter speed, white balance, and ISO. This mode is useful when you want to control the depth of field in a shot, which is most common for a stationary object. If the aperture is large, then the depth of field will be small, and the camera's shutter speed will be faster.

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Shutter Priority Mode

A semi-automatic mode that lets you choose the shutter speed, and the camera will choose the other options automatically. This mode is useful when you want to take pictures of moving objects, and the fast shutter speed will help with freezing the motion. However, a slow shutter speed would be good at capturing a waterfall and/or pictures in lower light situations.

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Program Mode

An automatic mode with more creative liberty for the photographer. Program mode lets you have more control over flash, white balance, ISO, and more.

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Manual Mode

A mode where you have full control over the camera, and need to balance things like flash, balance, etc. It lets the photographer set up shots the way they want it set up.