If not using your camera's automatic settings...

[Beltaine]

...how would you go about finding the right aperture and shutter speed for a photograph?

My only SLR experience so far has been with a Canon AV-1 which is an aperture-priority camera. If I didn't have the camera to automatically set my shutter speed for the exposure how would I go about figuring it out, and vice versa if I were using a shutter-priority mode?

I already hate not being about to adjust the sutter speed on my camera other than a button I can hold for one stop slower, but I think I would go bonkers trying to figure out a shot on full manual.

Does anyone really USE full manual?

[another view]

I do usually in two situations: Tricky lighting or with on-camera flash.

With tricky lighting (like a backlit subject) a lot of times I'll use manual so that I know what I'll get rather than let the camera choose. Once you get used to this your results will be more consistent. Usually when doing this I'll use a spot meter (the one built into my camera) and take a few readings. With flash, a lot of times I want 1/60 at f5.6 because the flash itself determines the exposure. A slower shutter speed is fine if people aren't moving and it will help bring in some ambient light in the background. The thing with manual is having more control which can give you more consistency.

You'd also use manual if you were using an incident meter.

[Beltaine]

Ah, I gotcha. You still use the camera or a separate meter to give a ballpark number to start at. I just couldn't understand how people could pull the settings out of thin air for a shot, thought maybe I was missing something.

Kind of a silly question now that I think about it, but you never know if you don't ask.

[another view]

No - not a ballpark number, the exact number. Think of the auto meter reading in the camera as a ballpark. A lot of situations it'll be close enough and you'll get what you want - this comes from shooting alot with your equipment, knowing what it will do and won't do.

When I know it's a wierd lighting situation - backlighting or sunlight reflection on water, polar bear in a snow storm, etc then the standard meter reading might get fooled by the situation and it's time to use the in-camera spot meter or a hand-held incident meter. This way I know exactly how much light I'm working with in a certain area of the frame. Takes more time but it's more accurate.

In the case of the polar bear in the snow storm (white on white), cameras will underexpose by about a stop (maybe a little more, maybe a little less). If you don't have the time to separately meter each shot you take, you could always just put in a "+1" compensation on the meter if your camera will do it. That way you're telling the camera to overexpose by one stop from whatever meter reading it comes up with.