Camera Modes for Product Photography

Which camera mode do you use for product photography? This post talks about when to shoot in manual, aperture priority or shutter priority mode.

Many new DSLR camera owners shoot in ‘auto’ mode thinking that because it is a more expensive camera, your images will be better than what you get with a point and shoot? Unfortunately, that is usually not the case.

To understand the different modes, first know what aperture and shutter speed are. Once you know what these settings do, read on…

Camera modes explained

Here are the different camera modes and a short description of each.

1. Aperture priority mode lets you control aperture and auto-adjusts shutter speed accordingly i.e. the camera decides the optimal shutter speed based on your aperture setting.
2. Shutter priority mode lets you control shutter speed and auto-adjusts aperture. Similarly, here the camera decides the aperture based on your desired shutter speed setting. This mode is rarely used in product photography.
3. Manual mode lets you control both the aperture and shutter speed and is the most flexible option, which is why most photographers use it so that they can use custom settings for each image.
4. Auto mode doesn’t let you control any of the settings – all settings are automatically set by the camera. It’s the same as a point and shoot so you don’t get the advantages that a DSLR gives you – that control is part of what you pay for in a DSLR or mirrorless camera. However, if you are shooting for casual purposes, auto works well because you don’t have to think about settings and you get good enough images. It’s convenient.
5. Programmed-Auto is the mode that is usually denoted with a P in most cameras. This is similar to auto in that the camera controls the aperture and shutter speed settings. But here, you can select different combinations of auto settings by turning the settings dial. So it’s an auto mode with different preset options. Note: There are other modes like Portrait, Macro, etc. and these are versions of a programmed auto mode because they each have their own aperture and shutter speed settings pre-configured.

Here is more detail on how to set DSLR camera settings when using manual mode.

Which mode do you typically use?