"P" is for....

You know, that little "P" on the dial of your camera (Creative control dial).  The one between the square and TV on my Canon 10D. (yeah, I shoot the old stuff....still looks incredible - so that blows the camera theory out of the water)

Back to the letter "P".  Now, I'm not here to bash anyone, I'm here to educate...e d u c a t e.  I recently read that several photographers on a professional page, thought the "P" stood for Portrait mode or Professional mode.  Were they serious?  I don't have a clue, but they appeared to be serious or at the very least, confused.   It came from reading that someone decided it stood for Passion, as in Photography is my Passion.  -  I'm so not going there in this blog post.

Honestly, I forget it exists, probably because my Big Girl camera I use in the studio does not have a letter "P" As a matter of fact it doesn't have a control dial at all. {gasp, but Kelly how can you take pictures without the letter "P"?}

The letter M.









"P" on the creative dial of your camera stands for "Programmable"  It lets you make a couple decisions and change a few things the camera has decided for you based on light and lens choices.  It may let you change  aperture or shutter speed.  But not both at once as in "M", but more than in "A" which gives you no control.  Basically, if you are a professional aspiring professional, charging at all, "P" stands for "Poor Choice"

How did I learn this?  That big fat book that came with 2 of my 3 used cameras.  And a class in digital photography from a real college, not a "workshop" online where you are charged outrageous amounts of money and never even get to raise your hand for q&a.  I paid less to learn the switch to digital than most of you did online through these "workshops" with "professional photographers" who no longer take picture or have been a "photographer" for 6 months.  The big names, I pay for, they count towards continued education for my CPP.  But again, that's another blog.

So, what have we learned?  If you are calling yourself an aspiring professional photographer or professional photographers, there is no room for "P" on your cmaera.   It's like using A (or that little green square on the Canon 10 and 20d).  Take a sharpie and black them out!  I don't care if you are just staring out.  Learn to do it the right way, then you can occasionally use "P" for your children's birthdays "P"arties.  If you are a novice, just take pics of your kids for your own personal use, that "P" can most definitely stand for "P"ersonal.

For  my local readers, I will be teaching a photography class at the AB Graham Center April 28th at 10am.  It will be followed up with a workshop learning to use your digital camera, advanced point and shoot to dslr, sometime in the summer.  If it has a camera with a shutter, I can teach you to use it....and the camera's book will be required. I will also teach you how to use "TV" and "AV".  This class is for people who just want to learn to take better pictures and use all those controls, it is not a professional class and absolutely not geared for those who are aspiring to be professional photographers.  I am not qualified to teach a class like that....yet.   But the rest of you, I do hope you will join me.  The class is $15, the workshop will be more.  The money helps the AB Graham keep it's doors open to the public.

Oh, BTW, If "P" stands for "Poor choice Mode", then "A" stands for "Amateur  Mode".  But "M" stands for Master Mode....kind of like, you are what you eat.