Have you recently gotten a new camera? You don’t want to read the manual, so you take it out of the box, charge the battery, and start shooting. Soon after, you upload the photos to your computer, only to find that most of your photos look like your dog took them. Don’t you just hate that? You don’t want to resort to the manual… it’s just a camera – you should be able to figure this out on your own, right? Maybe your camera just wasn’t in the right mood (*mode) to take decent photos. Before cracking open that manual, maybe learning more about the various mood (*mode) swings your camera goes through will help.

These modes I am going to cover should be on most advanced point-and-shoot cameras as well as on all digital SLR cameras. On some cameras they might have them named a little differently, but you should be able to figure it out without having to resort to the manual. The modes that we’ll look at are the four most important modes when shooting: P (Program), A (Aperture Focus), S (Shutter Speed) and M (Manual). On your camera you may also have other modes that are designed for specific situations, such as a portrait mode, etc. as well. We’ll take a quick look at one of these specialty mods as well: Macro Mode.

P (Program Mode)

This is the “auto” mode – giving the camera total automation of the shooting process. When selecting the P mode, the camera will automatically select a good shutter speed and aperture for whatever you’re taking a picture of. On a lot of cameras, you’ll sometimes see something flashing on your display when using this mode – usually it’s red – telling you that it can’t seem to focus on whatever you’re photographing, or there’s not enough light, so you need to turn on the flash, etc. When that happens, it’s just not in the right mood (*mode), so try one of the other modes. For many types of shots, this automatic mode works great and without any trouble. But, if you’re looking for a little more control over how your photograph will turn out, the following three modes might be a better choice.

A (Aperture Focus Mode)

When you use the A mode, the camera will allow you to change the aperture. To help you with making the shots better, the camera will automatically select the shutter speed based on the aperture you set. You’ll usually want to use this mode when you want to focus on one thing in the foreground, making that object in clear focus and the background behind it less focused (you know, those photos of a bug or flower or person, where they’re nice and sharp, and the background is all fuzzy). If your camera judges that your shot will come out over or underexposed with your current settings, it will turn the current aperture value red or make a light flash on the camera (red means bad – time to maybe try a different mood, er, mode).

S (Shutter Speed Mode)

Using the S mode, your camera will let you control the shutter speed so that you can set up how fast you want the photo to be taken after you “click” the shutter release button. The camera will set in the aperture for you (to make sure that you don’t over expose or under expose the photo. The S mode is great when you are shooting on or from a fast moving object (picture a photograph of a race car – it’s as sharp as a tack, but the background is blurred so you can see that it’s moving). Your camera will automatically warn you when your shot will become under- or overexposed by turning your shutter speed value red or make a light flash on the camera (again, red means bad – time to maybe try a different mode).

M (Manual Mode)

All cameras from the more advanced point-and-shoot’s to the digital SLR cameras will allow you to go fully manual by turning to your manual mode. When you use the manual mode you will be in charge of your photo completely and you will be controlling both the shutter speed and aperture. This mode can be used to your advantage in many situations when you want to be in control of what your camera does. However, use this mode with caution (remember all the blurry, dark photos you took when you first got the camera?). Most cameras will try to offer some advice, even in manual mode, letting you know that some of your settings may be off (flashing red lights and symbols, etc).

Macro Mode

When you shoot close-ups (I’m talking coins, bugs or the Apple button on your keyboard, not faces or your new 23” monitor) you should set up on the macro mode. When you switch to macro mode, your camera will set you up to take shots with the subject as close as a couple of inches. If you are shooting with a digital SLR you might have a special macro lens for use when shooting close-ups. If you are using a point-and-shoot you might want to look into lens protection filters if you want to go very close-up to protect your lens from damage (or be careful not to get too close!).

Obviously, depending on which camera model you have, you’ll have a variety of different modes to select from, and honestly, you’ll just have to play around with them to see what works for you in varying situations. But remember, if you’re camera’s just not in the right mood (*mode), all it takes is a click of a button to put it in a better mood. Now go out and use the various moods (*modes) of your new camera to take great photographs, instead of having them look like your dog pressed the shutter.