Australian_Photography__Digital_-_July_2015_vk...

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t happens fast – too fast – and then it’s gone. All you’re left

with is a photo of an empty branch where a fraction of a

second earlier there was perched a spectacular bird. We’ve

all missed shots because we’ve been too busy scrolling in

the right camera settings – at least I used to, until I learned about

using ‘Custom Modes’ or ‘User Modes’ which enable you to jump

directly to pre-saved settings! Many cameras can save everything

from the camera mode (such as aperture or shutter priority), focus

mode, focus points, exposure compensation, drive mode and even

default ISO and shutter speeds all into a whole new camera mode.

It’s the perfect secret weapon for the next time you’re shooting

birds in f light or any other scenario which you know the basic

settings for, but which take a while to set up. With custom

shooting modes, you’ll (almost) never miss these shots again!

Not all cameras have custom/user modes, and you shouldn’t

confuse them with ‘Custom Functions’ (which are for altering

defaults and configuring details of your camera’s operation),

but most DSLRs do have ‘Custom Shooting Modes’ or ‘User

Settings’ (or something similar). Different brands call them

different things. Sometimes they’re saved in different ways, and

some let you save more than one – but if you do indeed have

access to such a feature in your camera, then read on, and you’ll

soon be nailing those tricky shots almost every time. It’s a trick we

often show our photo safari guests, and they absolutely love it.

Useful Custom Modes

There were many scenarios where I and my safari guests used to

find ourselves having to dial-in the same bunch of settings every

time. For example, trying to capture birds in f light, dolphins and

breeching whales, particularly slow photos for panning, or fast ones

to avoid shake when shooting from a vibrating, doors-off plane or

helicopter. It saves a whole lot of effort and – crucially - time, to

pre-save these into their own custom modes. Of course you’re free

to save whichever set up you use most often, but for what it’s worth,

here are the settings I often use for my custom modes.

‘Bird Mode’

Whether our safari guests are trying to track and snap an

African Fish Eagle in f light as it swoops down to snatch a fish

from the lake, a hummingbird buzzing around a f lower in the

cold forests of the Andes, or waiting for a perched lilac-breasted

roller to launch itself into the air for that spectacularly colourful

‘wings-out’ shot, the camera settings are essentially the same.

58 AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Custom

Made

HOW TO Use Custom Modes

There are a range of camera

modes which most shooters

seldom use, but photo safari

expert Chris Bray says that

custom shooting modes can

offer some great alternatives

for making creative images.

AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY + DIGITAL JULY 2015

RIGHT
A Greater Flamingo
scampers across
the surface of
Kenya’s saline Lake
Bogoria, leaving
behind a trail of
splashes like those
of a skipped stone.
My tripod was being
used elsewhere,
so I resorted to
handholding my
hefty 600mm f/4
lens! Canon EOS-
1D Mk IV, 600mm
lens, 1/3200s
@ f/6.3, ISO 800,
hand held. Curves,
levels & vignetting
adjustment in
Lightroom 4.