Stop copying other photographers’ camera settings.

Camera setting videos are often the most popular type of photography videos.

There’s nothing wrong with them, but many beginners click on these videos and copy those settings to their cameras thinking if they use the same settings they’ll get the same photos.

That’s only half true.

Because photography is a very nuanced craft:

Meaning that just because you and some other photographer use the same settings, have the same environment, or even shoot with the exact same camera and lens, it doesn’t mean you’ll get the same photos.

Therefore, settings only tell part of the story and are better studied, not copied.

Understanding this, I’ve learned to approach camera settings in a different but more effective way.

Today I’m going to share this with you.

Let’s begin.

The Problem w/Recommending Settings

The obsession with camera settings is almost as dangerous as the obsession with camera gear.

The common story is:

We look at a photographer we like.

We look at the camera or lens they use.

We look at the settings they shoot at.

And we look at the presets they use or the way they edit their photos.

And we copy that thinking it’ll give us the same or similar result.

Now there’s nothing wrong with “copying” if you’re a beginner.

I’ve said this before but it can actually be beneficial to copy others because that’s how you learn.

And there are real benefits to seeing and understanding how other artists do things.

But the real problem here is it doesn’t necessarily teach us photography.

We learn that this guy shoots wide open here, and does a reverse s-curve here, and uses this prime lens in these scenarios, but we don’t know why.

It’s surface level knowledge whereas true understanding has a depth to it.

The way settings work in the real world is: you have to be flexible.

If you rely on specific settings or recommendations for your photography, your photography becomes fragile.

Because you’ll think your camera has to be at this specific setting every single time.

And you don’t understand the limitations of each setting and what to do to adapt.

You are a unique individual, meaning what works for them might not necessarily work for you and the art you are trying to create.

Some photographers try to curb this by giving a “recommended setting range”.

They’ll tell you to shoot at a range of 0-3200 ISO or something like that.

But that doesn’t work either.

Because what’s the difference between telling someone to shoot at 0-3200, and not giving a range to begin with?

It’s not that far off from saying, “Shoot at whatever ISO works for your situation”.

Which in those cases, you might as well say the latter.

So that’s the problem with focusing too much on the settings other photographers use.

It’ll have us focused on what they said we should do, rather than thinking, “What should I do?”

And it’ll keep us thinking in a fixed manner, rather than a flexible one.

The antidote to this is simple.

Let’s learn to be flexible in our photography.

Settings Second

The reason why many photographers can’t be flexible in their settings is because they’ve got it backwards.

They think of settings as something that will get them this look, when in actuality, it’s the opposite.

Let me ask you a question that’ll help you understand:

“What is the purpose of camera settings?”

Is it to get you the desired look you want?

Is it to properly expose your photographs?

Is it to do this because that guy did it and it worked for him?

Sure, it’s some of that.

But the real purpose of settings is to match the world around us.

We’re not always going to be shooting in perfect, ideal, or same conditions as that other guy was.

And it’s often that things will be too bright or too dark or too flat to get the shot we want.

Therefore, we must use settings to adapt and be flexible as photographers.

Because we can’t control what’s out there.

So the relationship is backwards.

Don’t start with the settings, start with the day.

You see, many people think of camera settings like this:

“If I shoot at this setting, my photo will look this way.”

And therefore they’ll start with the ideal settings to get the look they want.

And then they’ll go out and take photos, many of them not looking how they wanted it to.

And then, because they don’t know why, they’ll change a certain setting to auto to compensate and just shoot that way.

That might work for controlled environments like studio or product photography, but for everyday, candid, street, and landscape photography, the mindset has to shift.

It’s not settings first, it’s settings second.

Don’t start your photography session with the ideal settings in mind.

Instead, start with the situation, the time of day, the lighting conditions, and work your way backwards to determine which settings you should shoot at.

Because most shooting conditions are not going to be ideal for the specific settings you had in mind or some other photographer recommended you.

So if you go out and all these variables are not the same as the photographer’s was when he took that shot, you will get a different photo.

But if you want to be flexible with your settings, you have to think of them differently.

Learn to get good at evaluating what settings you need at any given time and you will get your desired end result.

And if you didn’t, it doesn’t necessarily mean you got your settings wrong.

It means you evaluated the type of day wrong.

And if you evaluated it right, you would’ve gotten the settings right to match that.

Does that make sense?

This process of learning how to evaluate and match your settings can be a bit difficult.

It’s going to mean a lot of badly exposed photos.

But if you stick with the process, you’ll come out the other side better, because you’ll know what to do in any situation, you won’t get scared of any lighting conditions, and you’ll know how to get “good photos” no matter what.

Let’s talk about that.

Workshopping Exposure

Some people are surprised when I tell them I shoot fully manual.

They think it’s obsolete, there’s no reason to if you’re not shooting film, and it’s a slower more difficult process.

I disagree.

The reason I shoot fully manual is because it allows me to be flexible in my settings.

Every time I go out and take photos I learn something new.

I learn what setting affected what and I learn what I need to do the next time to nail that shot.

In that process I can fine tune my photography to match my settings to any given situation, giving me the general or exact shot I want.

That’s the level of understanding and depth about camera settings we talked about earlier.

That understanding comes from my experience with shooting fully manual.

Now if you’ve found what works for you, you like to shoot in aperture priority or whatever, do your thing.

I just want to share with you my process.

If you want to dive deeper into the specifics, I’ve got a full chapter on the exposure triangle and manual exposure in Photography Essentials.

The link is here - it’s free by the way.

So, if you want to truly understand settings and the exposure triangle, try shooting fully manual for a period of time.

Say, at least a week.

Go out every day and take photos at different times of day.

Morning or midday, golden hour and blue hour, and nighttime.

Experiment with your settings and don’t be hesitant about raising or lowering any single one.

Remember, they’re guidelines, not rules.

In general you want things like ISO to be at the lowest setting possible, but you’ll quickly realize that that’s not realistic.

In some situations you’ll have to bump your iso, raise your aperture, and even lower your shutter speed.

And you quickly find yourself breaking these “fixed” camera settings you once thought you had.

This process as a whole might be a bit painful, because as we mentioned earlier, you’ll get a bunch of poorly exposed photos.

But that’s okay.

Since the purpose of this exercise isn’t to get great photos.

It’s get more comfortable and flexible with our settings.

If you keep shooting like this, you’ll begin to understand what I mean.

You’ll learn that to get the shots you want you have to observe the lighting conditions first, and change your settings second.

And you’ll begin to understand that candid photography is about adapting yourself to the opportunities around you.

It’s not about you and your preferences, it’s about the world and the moments you are trying to capture.

If you can get a grasp of this, you’ll start noticing little narrows where you can insert your preferences.

A slightly wider aperture here, a lower iso there, a faster shutter speed here.

And then little by little you’ll fine tune your settings within the range that works for the condition you’re in.

That’s how you’ll get the looks you want.

And then, people may come to you asking what settings you used.

But you’ll know it wasn’t the settings that got you that shot.

It was your observation and understanding of the world around you.

Make sense?

So a quick recap.

Copying settings from other photographers doesn’t work.

Why?

Because there are a lot of variables that come into play when we’re out taking photos.

And thinking we need to shoot at a certain or specific setting or setting range will limit us in moments where we have to be flexible and expose differently.

Instead, we should aim for flexible settings and understand that it’s not settings first, it’s settings second.

Meaning the type of day and lighting conditions dictate the settings we’ll shoot at.

And our job isn’t to stick to this specific setting, but rather to observe, understand, and adapt.

If we can do that, it won’t matter what lighting conditions we’re in; we’ll know what to do to get a well exposed photo.

Learning this can be a bit of a challenge - it takes a lot of time and experience.

My recommendation is to treat it like a workshop.

Go out and take photos fully manual with the purpose of deepening your understanding of exposure, not to get good shots.

Learn what compensates for what, what you need to do in any given situation, and how you can always somehow make it work.

This will strengthen your confidence such that you wont care about the settings other photographers use - because it doesn’t matter.

And then, settings won’t seem like such a myth anymore, but rather a tool to help you accomplish what you’re going for.

So I hope you enjoyed this, if you have a friend who seems to be hung up on settings, send them this - maybe it’ll help.

Again, if you want to learn more about how to master each exposure setting, go to Photography Essentials - it’s free.

If you want to help support me, add to the travel fund or grab a copy of my latest photography zine “The Sinking Sun”.

We’ve also got limited edition shirts available here.

Thanks for reading, happy shooting.