I think we’ve all heard it – whether you’re a photographer or not. The phrase you never want to hear but you just may after you take an amazing picture. Someone speaks those 5 dreaded, cringe-worthy words – “Wow, that’s an awesome camera!” Yikes. Why yes, yes it is! It is actually quite an amazing piece of gear, but it didn’t make the photo, the person controlling the settings on the camera did.

Let me just take you back to 2010-2011 quickly when I started tinkering with my old Rebel camera. Before the thought of starting my own business ever entered my noggin. I would shoot on Automatic. You know, I would have the dial turned to the little green rectangle that is like a little safe haven for amateur photographers who just want to take a pretty picture? I shot on automatic for several months. All of the other icons on the dial were just like jibberish to me & I didn’t pay any mind to them. After a while, I just couldn’t understand why my photos weren’t looking like how I envisioned them in my head!? They were darker than how I saw it in my little viewfinder, they were flat, and lacked the creamy blurry background and color I had been longing for. After doing some research, I knew I had to start shooting in Manual mode if I wanted my photos to look exactly how I wanted them to. Automatic tells the camera to choose what it thinks the photo should look like, Manual lets you create the photo exactly how you want it to be.

After shooting on Auto for several months & taking pictures just for fun with no thought of the settings behind it – the thought of trying to learn Manual Mode was honestly, kind of daunting. Learning Manual was HARD! I’m not going to sit here & sugar coat it for you and tell you it was a breeze in the park for me & I picked it up like a pro, because I didn’t at all. I’m 100% self-taught. I never went to school for photography or took any sort of training. I didn’t have any friends who were into photography at the time to help teach me along the way or give me any sort of advice in the beginning – so it was like learning something foreign with no teacher.

I learned by reading books, blog posts online & most of all, practicing. Practicing all the time. It was so hard for me to wrap my brain around all of the settings you had to think of JUST to get a decent picture…especially with the lighting changing CONSTANTLY. It was tough. When I was just starting out with my business, I wouldn’t DARE show any of my clients the back of my camera. No way, Jose. Nope, zilch, never. Although the picture looked decent on the back of my camera, it really wasn’t anything I would be extremely proud of until I edited it in post-processing. Before I was a wedding photographer, I was solely shooting portraits. It was the perfect scenario as a newbie photographer – I would choose the time of day to shoot, the location & etc. So, after a while, I was getting better & better. It wasn’t until I started shooting weddings that it really pushed me to master my craft in shooting in Manual mode.

Weddings – they were a game changer for me and forced me to learn the ins & outs of my gear to a tee. The lighting is changing CONSTANTLY on a wedding day. And when I say constantly, I mean constantly. Which in turn, means you are having to change your camera settings constantly in order to adapt to the new lighting, situation & etc. Thankfully, I was second shooting before I started taking on my own weddings – so I really got to practice & perfect my craft during that time. Sometimes, it was frustrating & I felt like putting my camera down and just pouting for a few seconds because I couldn’t figure out what in the heck I was doing wrong. But, I knew that wouldn’t do me any good. I knew I had to stay persistent and consistent to get better & not give up until I figured it out.

Thankfully, like any hard work in life, it pays off! Now, when I shoot Manual, it just comes naturally – like second nature. I can turn my camera around to a client at any given time and be proud of the image they see! It took a lot of work to get to that point though.

So, moral of the story is – it’s NOT the camera. Yes, a great piece of gear is a stepping stone in the right direction to creating a beautiful image, but it doesn’t make the image, that’s the photographers job. 🙂

So, to any aspiring photographers out there who may be reading this who are struggling with transitioning into Manual mode right now, just know that it will pay off & you CAN do it! Eventually, it will be like second nature to you too & you will look back and think – wow, I’m so glad I didn’t give up on that. I hope you all have an amazing Friday! xoxo, Chandy