Digital cameras: Going beyond auto mode

Whether you're shopping for a new digital camera, expect one as a gift, or are relying on your trusty old point-and-shoot to capture this holiday season, chances are you'll be using it in auto mode most of the time. In a survey of subscribers we took earlier this year, nearly nine out of ten users of point-and-shoot digital cameras said they did just that. In part, this is a testament to the fact that auto modes have improved over the years. For instance, they're more flexible than they used to be, letting you shoot accurately in most bright- or low-light situations.

But in some situations using auto mode falls short of the mark. Here's a list of a few, along with a recommendation of what mode you should use in each case:

Night portraits: If you use auto mode at night when taking a candid or portrait, you can get what's often called the "black curtain" effect: Your subject appears to be standing in front of a black backdrop. If you want to get the ambiance of the background into your shot during an evening or in a dimly lit setting, switch to a night-portrait scene mode. This leaves the shutter open after the flash is fired and lets you capture more background detail. One caveat: Try to make sure your subject remains still, since your camera will catch any movement while the shutter is open.

Shooting in a museum: Since the staff at most museums and art galleries are apt to get upset if you fire off flash shots at their Renoir or Rembrandt paintings, you should switch to a museum mode. This suppresses the flash and raises the camera's ISO in order to reduce hand shake for sharper photos.

Capture the fireworks: If you're shooting on the Fourth of July, or other festive occasions when there are fireworks, use the fireworks scene mode to slow down the shutter speed. This will capture the light trails of any rockets bursting in air.

Panoramas: Most cameras come with one of two types of panorama mode. The first stitches a series of images (usually three) together inside the camera. This is convenient when shooting landscapes or large groups of people. The downside is that you don't have much control over how the images get stitched together. Some new cameras feature a variation on this stitching mode called panorama sweep.

The second kind of panorama mode doesn't combine them in the camera at all. In this case, you're expected to stitch them together in an image-editing program on your computer. What's important, though, is that when you set your camera in this particular mode, the camera will lock the exposure settings so that all the photos you shoot in the series will have a consistent exposure. This helps avoid having any images that are significantly lighter or darker than the others.

These are just four of the many scene modes that you might consider using. What type of scene mode or shooting mode do you find most useful?—Terry Sullivan