Manual Exposure

Part of being an experienced photographer comes from knowing when to rely on your Sony Alpha NEX’s automation (including Auto, P mode, and Scene mode settings), when to go semi-automatic (with Shutter Priority or Aperture Priority), and when to set exposure manually (using M). Some photographers actually prefer to set their exposure manually, as the Alpha will be happy to provide an indication of when its metering system judges your manual settings provide the proper exposure, using a numerical indicator of any exposure difference at the bottom of the LCD.

Manual exposure can come in handy in some situations. You might be taking a silhouette photo and find that none of the exposure modes or EV correction features gives you exactly the effect you want. For example, when I shot the windmill in Figure 4.13, there was no way any of my Sony Alpha’s exposure modes would be able to interpret the scene the way I wanted to shoot it. So, I took a couple test exposures, and set the exposure manually to use the exact shutter speed and f/stop I needed. You might be working in a studio environment using multiple flash units. The additional flash units are triggered by slave devices (gadgets that set off the flash when they sense the light from another flash, or, perhaps from a radio or infrared remote control). Your camera’s exposure meter doesn’t compensate for the extra illumination, and can’t interpret the flash exposure at all, so you need to set the aperture manually.