Day 3

Modern cameras are incredibly clever.

They can track eyes, recognise scenes, balance exposures, and make decisions for us in ways that often get the job done. And yet, one of the most misunderstood settings on the camera is still manual mode.

Manual mode isn’t about making photography harder. It’s about making it simpler.

When you shoot in manual you decide what matters in the scene, and the camera simply does what it’s told. Aperture controls depth and sharpness, shutter speed controls movement and brightness, and ISO controls sensitivity. Once you understand how those three things relate to each other, everything else becomes secondary.

At first, manual mode feels slow and uncomfortable. That’s normal. But like driving a car, with practice, it becomes second nature. Eventually, you stop thinking about the mechanics altogether.

And that’s the point.

When you know your camera well enough, you are free to forget about it. It allows us to focus on light, mood, timing, and emotion instead of settings and guesswork. The technical knowledge fades into the background, and the creative juices take over.

Aperture priority and other automated modes can be helpful, but understanding your tools provides the knowledge to shoot with freedom and confidence. The camera becomes an extension of you as you head out into the world to tell a story.

Today’s tip is accompanied by two videos. The first (click above) is out in the landscape as we conquer the camera settings. The second video bleow is a more tutorial based session explaining the exposure triangle.