One of the most useful camera modes is called aperture priority. To use this mode, all you need to do on most cameras is spin your camera’s PASM dial to the “A” or “Av” setting.
What Is Aperture Priority?
Aperture priority is a camera mode in which you manually set your aperture, while the camera automatically selects a shutter speed.
That’s all there is to it. So, what makes aperture priority mode so valuable?
First, it gives you full control over the single most important setting in all of photography – aperture. (Manual mode is the only other way to get full control over aperture.) Get aperture right, and everything else follows.
Second, aperture priority mode is fast to use. That’s especially true compared to manual mode, which takes more time to set properly when the light is changing.
In short, if used right, aperture priority mode lets you pick the optimal camera settings – just like in manual mode – but more quickly.
How to Use Aperture Priority Mode Optimally
Aperture priority is not hard to use, so long as you understand aperture, ISO, and shutter speed.
First, enter aperture priority mode by turning your PASM dial to “A” (or “Av” on Canon cameras). With some Fuji and Leica cameras, you get the same effect by turning the Shutter Speed dial to Auto.
Second, you must select your aperture manually – the f-stop you plan to use. In aperture priority mode, the camera will never change the aperture you select. So, it’s very important to pick the right one for your desired depth of field (and other factors).
Third, select the proper exposure compensation. Be sure not to overexpose any important highlights in your image. Often, this will necessitate -0.3 or -0.7 exposure compensation. (This setting works by altering which shutter speed your camera selects, shifting the exposure in your desired direction.)
Fourth, pick the right ISO. If your subject isn’t moving, and you’re shooting from a tripod, stick to base ISO. This is ISO 100 on most cameras.
I’ll cover handheld photography in a moment, but hopefully you can see why aperture priority mode is so quick to use. For something like landscape photography, you can pick a good aperture (maybe f/8), a reasonable exposure compensation (say, -0.3 EC), and base ISO – and then you’re done.
No matter how the light changes, your camera is now, essentially, set-it-and-forget-it. Yet your settings are optimal.
Shooting Handheld
For tripod-based photography, aperture priority mode is clearly useful and easy to set. But when you’re shooting handheld or your subject is moving quickly, things are a bit different.
As you know, aperture priority mode requires your camera to select a shutter speed automatically. But in dark conditions, it’s going to select a long shutter speed – say, 2 seconds – which you won’t be able to handhold sharply.
The solution is to increase ISO. As you leave base ISO and jump to ISO 400, 800, 1600, and so on, your camera will use a faster shutter speed to compensate. And you’ll get back into handholding territory.
Although you can increase ISO manually, a quicker way is often to use Auto ISO.
Auto ISO
The genius of Auto ISO is that it has a built-in shutter speed limiter. Rather than worrying about your camera selecting a 2-second shutter speed in aperture priority mode, you can manually limit shutter speed to a safer value. Maybe 1/100 second for regular handholding, or 1/500 if you’re photographing sports.
In fact, you can even limit shutter speed to change as you zoom in and out. (That’s found by changing “Minimum Shutter Speed” to “Auto.”)
By default on most cameras, this lines up with the “1/focal length” rule. With a 24-120mm zoom, the camera would stick to 1/25 second or faster at the wide end, and 1/125 second or faster at the telephoto end. (Many cameras today let you adjust this default behavior to be faster – i.e., 1/50 and 1/250 instead – or slower, if you so choose.)
My final recommendation:
- If you’re shooting handheld, use aperture priority mode with Auto ISO and Auto Minimum Shutter Speed. If you want to be safe, prioritize Auto Minimum Shutter Speed one click “faster” than default.
- If you’re shooting sports, use aperture priority mode with Auto ISO. Use a manual minimum shutter speed of 1/500, 1/1000, or whatever you feel will comfortably eliminate motion blur.
The settings here are optimal, yet it took no extra effort in the field beyond setting f/4. (1/800 was my “Minimum Shutter Speed.”)
This is only a brief explanation of how useful Auto ISO can be. If you want a good primer on Auto ISO, take a look at our complete guide on the subject.
When to Avoid “A” Mode
I use aperture priority about 95% of the time for my own photography – regardless of the genre I’m shooting and whether I’m using a tripod. It’s just that flexible.
But sometimes, aperture priority mode is not ideal. That’s especially true when you need to use the same camera settings across a series of photos. For example, with panoramas or focus stacking, I almost always use Manual mode.
The same is true in conditions when automatic exposure gives you poor results. For example, with Milky Way photography, cameras rarely meter your scene correctly. Even with exposure compensation, you will often get images that are too dark or inconsistently exposed in aperture priority mode. I always use Manual for taking star photos, or other images in very dark conditions.
Aperture priority mode also restricts you to shutter speeds of 30 seconds (on most cameras) or shorter. If you want to use your camera’s bulb or time mode, you will need to be in Manual.
On top of that, I recommend using manual mode if you do flash photography. Otherwise, you won’t have total control over the balance between flash and ambient light. All of my flash-lit macro photography is done in manual mode, for example.
Lastly, some photographers like using manual mode in combination with Auto ISO for shooting sports and wildlife. That’s not a bad method in low light, but in bright conditions, you’ll be in danger of overexposure (because the camera will hit base ISO and not be able to go any darker). With aperture priority mode, you have all the same benefits without the overexposure problem, since the camera simply uses faster shutter speeds once it hits base ISO.
There are a few other cases in which manual mode could be the better choice, but those are the main situations. When you learn how to use it properly, aperture priority is surprisingly flexible.
Aperture Priority FAQs
A few reasons. First, aperture priority mode is faster to use than manual mode. Second, it reacts to changing light automatically, so you are less likely to get a bad exposure. Third, it maintains almost all your control over the camera, so you can still select the optimal settings for almost any shot – as if you had done things manually.
On most cameras, setting aperture priority is as simple as turning the PASM dial to the “A” setting (or “Av” on Canon cameras). Some cameras, like the Nikon D850, have a Mode button instead of a PASM dial, with the identical function. On a few cameras with retro designs – mainly Fuji and Leica – you get the same result by rotating the shutter speed dial to Auto, then selecting your aperture manually on the camera lens.
All the time! However, professional photographers are not a monolith. Some (like me) are big fans of aperture priority mode, while others prefer to stick with manual. Of the four PASM camera modes, aperture priority and manual are by far the most common for professional photographers to use.
Conclusion
Aperture priority mode is a lifesaver for many types of photography. It’s not a crutch for photographers who don’t understand manual mode; it’s a faster way to set optimal manual settings in changing conditions, with less risk of over- or under-exposure.
Of course, aperture priority mode is not always ideal. In cases like panorama and flash photography, manual is almost certainly the way to go. But overall, the benefits of aperture priority are pretty impressive. If you know your stuff, you’ll end up with more keepers and better exposures – with half the time to get there.
I hope you found this article on aperture priority mode to be useful! If you have any questions or recommendations on using aperture priority mode, please let me know in the comments section below.
Useful article for beginners of landscape photography.
Thank you, Ashoke, I’m glad you found it to be valuable!
I have to say I also find aperture mode with auto ISO great when using with some fill flash, maybe -1eV or -2eV flash, just to fill in some shadows.
Simon.
Simon, that’s a good point, thanks for adding this.
If your camera doesn’t change its Auto ISO or aperture priority behavior when using fill flash (some will shift erroneously to compensate), aperture priority remains an excellent choice for flash photography.
I’d stick to manual mode for flash photography when the flash is a major component of the exposure itself / light in the scene.
A note of agreement. I have been using aperture priority since buying a Nikon FE in the late 70’s. It is all that you say it is.
Happy to hear your experiences mimic the information in the article, Rich. It’s hard to beat the speed and accurate settings of aperture priority.
Great article … I use mostly Aperture Priority but one of the times I use speed priority is when shooting prop aircraft at air shows. You need to get a good blur.
Thank you, Steve. For cases when the shutter speed you need is very specific, and there is a fairly wide range of aperture values that could work well for your images, shutter priority is certainly feasible. That isn’t a particularly common situation, just because there aren’t many cases when a wide range of apertures can work equally/similarly well for a shot. But the situation you describe can indeed be an exception, when you have a specific (and non-zero) amount of blur in mind.
Steve, How do you determine the settings needed to get propellor blur? I’ve tried and get to a very slow shutter speed that is not practical or an aperture that is very small. Would appreciate your input. Maybe there is already a PS article that covers this. Also, good article Spencer! Jack
“Aperture priority mode is critically useful, but a lot of photographers, advanced or not, don’t fully understand its potential. I personally use it almost all the time, for everything from wildlife to landscape photography. It usually provides optimal results more quickly than Manual can.”
This excerpt sold me! Gives me the confidence to trust your knowledge & experience & make the switch-Thank you Spencer for such a timely post, I enjoy your work.
Thank you, Kevin! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Best of luck with aperture priority mode, and I hope you find it as useful for your work as I do for mine.
Pretty much all I use except for panning some sports!
Yes indeed! That’s one situation I forgot to mention when manual mode is usually better: when you are trying to capture a very specific amount of motion blur that necessitates one particular shutter speed.
I don’t do a lot of street photography, but when I do, I like panning on the subject for some motion blur with about a 1/15 second shutter speed. Cases like that are not suited to aperture priority very well.
Thanks Spencer, a very informative article, I feel that I understand a lot more of what is happening in the background when I utilise A mode now.
I find it particularly useful when “shooting” birds in flight. In conjunction with auto focus & auto ISO “A” mode allows me to concentrate on tracking & framing the shot. (Though I’m still to get something satisfactory with those mini jet fighters AKA Swallows).
Always look forward to the informative articles in PL.
Derek
Thank you, Derek! That’s the goal – concentrating on nailing the shot, getting the right composition, timing your photo correctly, and so on. Not spending too much time/energy worrying about camera settings.
Aperture priority isn’t entirely set-it-and-forget-it, but it does remove some of that burden and free us to think about more of the creative side in fast-moving situations (while still knowing that our camera settings are optimal, assuming we set up Auto ISO correctly).
I guess I’m old school. I’ve never understood using exposure compensation when I can do it manually in my head and, for beginners, is the best way to understand F-stops and shutter speed.
Jay, if you’re referring to the benefits of manual mode, no doubt there are many. I know plenty of photographers who simply prefer manual and want to know exactly what their settings are 100% of the time. That’s a perfectly reasonable mindset, no doubt, although it does require more care to avoid over- and under-exposure.
With regards to learning aperture and shutter speed by taking pictures in manual mode, I couldn’t agree more. It takes a lot of time and practice to really understand how those two variables, plus ISO, interact. And it’s much, much easier to see and understand the results from changing each camera setting when you are in manual mode.
In short, I do recommend aperture priority mode to most photographers. But I also know that it won’t solve any of the photographer’s fundamental problems until they already have a solid understanding of exposure (and they could work in full-manual mode all day with no concern, if needed).
The abiity to use aperture priority with my digital cameras has made landscape photography using a tripod much easier. At the same time, as Spencer points out, aperture priority when one is photographing hand held must be used with full understanding that the ability to change the iso is key to avoiding camera shake.
Spencer has presented the use of A priority in an excellent and succinct manner. Thanks.
Thank you, Dr. Puritz, and I’m glad you’ve found aperture priority to be useful for your own landscape work. It’s definitely not something I’d be without for mine.
The handheld side of things does get more complicated. You can no longer leave ISO at its base value without concern for shutter speed. But, with practice, I think that most photographers will find this process both intuitive and predictable – raising ISO in order to force the camera’s shutter speed faster. Or, use Auto ISO programmed carefully to avoid blurry shutter speeds in the first place.
Spencer Cox, always useful and informative text. I always use manual mode/auto iso in combination with exposure compensation. Only one button to play with to suit the light changing condition. I’m in old school, i.e nothing better than manual mode. I’ll give an aperture mode a try. Many thx.
Thank you, Hoan!
Your method of using manual mode, auto ISO, and exposure compensation is also feasible, and I wouldn’t try to steer you away from it if it works well for you. The only concern is in brighter environments, when you are at/around base ISO, where you’ll run a clear risk of overexposure.
So it’s not that you need to abandon your method, but if you do work in bright environments, I’d definitely explore the aperture priority + Auto ISO route and see if you like it.
Very, VERY Good even better with added ISO info. But the biggest reason for aperture is getting lens sharpness and keeping it set at the sweet spot Clarity and Sharpness side to side.
Thank you, Edwin! There are plenty of reasons to use different aperture values, and finding the lens’s “sweet spot” is one of the big ones.
Unfortunately, in some cases, the sweet spot just doesn’t line up with the depth of field you need – either for shallow focus images or landscapes with a deep depth of field. That’s why I consider aperture priority mode to be so valuable. You can decide whether you’re after a particular depth of field or simply maximum sharpness, while the camera figures out the shutter speed that will make your chosen aperture into a good exposure.
Spencer,
The advantages and drawbacks are clearly presented. As a Fujifilm user, I’d say that setting shutter speed to A with the aperture not on A *selects* aperture priority, rather than “mimics” it. It’s the real deal, no mimicry involved.
Thanks, Chris
Thank you, Chris, and you’re right – that was an imprecise choice of words. I didn’t want to say that it is aperture priority just because it is not labeled as such on the camera, but, of course, it functions exactly the same way. I’ve edited that sentence to be clearer.
Another very informative article from Photographic Life, and thank you Spencer.
Fairly new to photography, but learnt early the usefulness of AV. I feel if you buy a good camera the camera has better sightsight than mine (and better brain) so why waste that investment – let the camera do the work.
I do use shutter priority and high ISO for sports such as foot ball where things move so quickly.
Thank you,
Now back to more practice. Cheers Derek.
I always enjoy reading photographylife! Thanks for the article and insight. I use aperture priority probably 95% of the time – combined with auto iso and exposure compensation but also often feeling guilty for not being skilled enough to use manual mode. Therefore it is was so great to read your article and to remove my guilt for not using manual mode! I’m curious if you just use exposure compensation when you are photographing something backlit and you need to get the detail. Maybe that is a loaded question as I know it would depend on what the main subject is. Thanks and keep up the great work. Cheers
Thanks for a very informative article. There are so many options I don’t know about my camera
Spencer,
I started with Av (aperture preferred) on film cameras (Fujica and Pentax) in the late 1970s. I used it and the full manual settings. Today I still use Pentax APS-C and FF cameras. I use Av, TAV (Av & Tv), and manual for 98% of my work. Sometimes I want to dictate aperture and shutter speed, but allow Auto ISO to work with a preset range of acceptable ISO, so I use TAV. I do this so that when I go to manual quickly I do not have to remember to turn off Auto ISO.
I enjoy the great majority of your articles. Continued success.
JB
Besides manual mode, My Minolta XGM (still hiding somewhere in a cabinet) offered only aperture-priority auto exposure. This forced the photographer to consider the desired f-stop based on depth of field and effect on shutter speed. Auto ISO was rather slow in those days, as it involved changing rolls of film! With my DSLR I select aperture priority when having the background in or out of focus is important to the composition. When shooting indoors in the evening, I’ll also use M mode to have a large enough depth of field, fast shutter to avoid blur, fixed ISO at 100, and let the flash adjust the exposure. In this case, M mode is not really manual, as there is still automatic exposure.
Spencer,
Thanks for the fine article. I always learn useful stuff from you folks.
I dont get why it is necessary to play with EV. If you have to play with EV, then isnt some other part of the camera not doing its job right? Like the Expeed processor or the light sensor? I get that you might need to adjust it in unusual situations but, to me, it seems like you’re intentionally biasing the exposure process one way or the other and I would think you woildnt want to override the camera’s judgement.
Also, on a mid-level Nikon like a 600, what is the highest you can let the ISO get up to before the noise becomes visible?
Thanks
Phil in California
Spencer
Thanks for your very good article.
I change the setting of my camera Nikon D7200 for wildlife photo with minimum shutter speed + auto ISO.
For wildlife photo with low light , is it better to use Manual mode and how to operate ?
Thanks
Fabrice
A-mode and auto-ISO is how I fly almost all the time. Quick and easy. It lets me focus more on the photo rather than fiddling with settings.
Great Article! Thank you very much, Really helps my wildlife photos. I have been shooting in manual mode n. Now using Aperture priority with the Auto Iso and Min shutter speed makes a huge difference when I am trying to get action shots. Thank you very much!
Hello,
what do you mean prioritize Auto Minimum Shutter Speed one click “faster” than default?