The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS/1000D Companion

Using Scene Modes

Now you've seen how the XS's Full Auto mode works. Since Full Auto mode takes care of all the critical decisions regarding camera settings, it's an ideal mode for snapshot shooting and for getting used to the camera. Before you go off shooting, though, let's take a quick look at some other auto features that you might find useful while getting started.

On the Mode dial, you'll see a bunch of little icons underneath the Full Auto option. These are the XS's scene modes.

Figure 1-11. These options on the Mode dial are scene modes, which bias the camera's decisions under specific conditions so that it calculates more appropriate exposures.

Scene modes are also fully automatic, but each one biases some of its decisions in a certain way to make it more appropriate to particular types of shooting.

Portrait mode

Portrait mode is ideal for shooting—you guessed it!—portraits. What makes a portrait different from any other type of shot? Typically, in a portrait you want the background blurred out to bring more attention to your subject. Portrait mode biases its exposure decisions to attempt to blur the background.

Figure 1-12. In the upper image, I shot with deeper depth of field to reveal details in the background. In the lower image, I shot with shallow depth of field to blur the background out and bring more focus to the subject.

If you want a really soft background, try to position your subject away from the background as much as possible.

Landscape mode

Landscape mode can help your landscape shots because it will choose settings that attempt to maximize the amount of your scene that will be in focus. It's basically the opposite of Portrait mode.

Close-up mode

Close-up shots of flowers or small objects (what is traditionally referred to as macro photography) are made easier with Close-up mode.

Sports mode

When shooting fast-moving subject matter such as moving wildlife or a sporting event, opt for Sports mode. Sports mode biases the camera's exposure so that fast-moving objects will be sharp and clear.

When using Sports mode, make sure the center focus point is on your subject when you press the shutter button halfway. Unlike other modes, you won't hear a beep when the camera has locked focus. Instead, the camera will begin beeping continuously to indicate that it is now tracking your subject! Yes, Sports mode uses the Rebel XS's Servo focus feature to track a moving object and keep it in focus.

Press the shutter to take a shot. If you keep the shutter button held down, the camera will continue to shoot.

Night Portrait mode

One of the biggest mistakes people make when shooting with flash is that they assume a flash can light up an entire scene, just as if it were daylight. But the flash on any camera has a limited range. It's usually enough to light up your subject but not your background, leaving you with a subject that appears to be standing in the middle of a dark limbo.

REMINDER: Night Portraits Require Still Subjects

When shooting with Night Portrait mode, the flash will fire, but the camera's shutter will stay open for a bit. So, it's important to tell your subject not to move until after you say so.

Figure 1-13. At night, if you take a flash picture, you'll usually end up with a well-exposed subject on a background of complete black. This is because the range of the flash is only about 10 feet. Objects beyond that will not be illuminated by the flash.

Figure 1-14. Night Portrait mode uses the flash and a longer shutter speed so that both your subject and background are well-exposed.

When shooting without the flash, you may find that some of the numbers inside the viewfinder blink. When this happens, the camera is informing you that light is low, so you need to be extra careful to hold the camera steady. Also, be aware that when the numbers are flashing, there's a good chance that your resulting image will be too dark.