Tomfl101 Loc: Mount Airy, MD

I too am a Time-Life series fan. I know of no better set of books about photography. Even though they are dated and revolve around film photography they are incredibly detailed and helpful in understanding all aspects of the craft. Highly recommend to anyone wanting to learn.

JJS Loc: SE Michigan & SW Florida

I purchased my first SLR in the mid 70's..an Olympus OM-1. An advanced camera for the time but it was ALL manual except for metering. You had a mechanical aperture ring on the lens and a mechanical shutter ring on the camera. You simply set one and moved the other until the exposure needle in the view finder was horizontal. Very effective and, IMO, easier to use than today's manual mode which is all digital. Without an auto mode, it FORCED you to learn the fundamentals of advanced photography. So I agree. The best way to learn is to fully understand manual mode and move on from there to take advantage of modern DSLR advanced features.

ngrea Loc: Sandy Spring, Maryland

Because I take wild life photo (mainly in my backyard) I don’t always have time to do any settings. Therefore I keep my camera out on a table and set on auto and ready to go. If I have time I shoot manual, but always end with a last shot in auto to be sure I have on the camera set back to auto. But it is also interesting and educational to compare my manual photos with the auto one.

Canyoncreek Loc: Lincoln, CA

There are some great suggestions here... For me, to help learn manual mode, I took trips to familiar places, places that I go and have shot frequently, put the camera on manual only and experimented. No auto, av or tv, If you miss the shot, or get the settings all wrong, chances are you already have pictures of the same scene from previous trips. But, here's the big one, keep a shot diary. Write down your scene and the setting you used and the results, what works and doesn't work. Sounds difficult, but only takes a minute and really helps when you review and evaluate. For example, two shots of Bodega sunset, I blew one out, ISO 100, 28mm, f/4, 1/640. Over exposed and not the effect I was looking for. Second one ISO 100, f/3.5, 18mm, 1/4000 gave me the effect I was trying to achieve. As you document your successes and your failures, you'll see more and more success based on your successful past history.

mgoldfield

After over 60 years of Photography experience, my suggestion is for newcomers to learn the meaning and significance of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Only then can the various Creative Modes, Manual, Aperture priority, and Shutter priority, have any meaning.

There is a plethora of YouTube videos by real experts which explain these concepts in easy-to-understand language. There are many books explaining digital photography for novices; there are also countless books which address the use of particular dLSRs.

Even with my experience, I found a book on using my EOS 77D to be a priceless addition to Canon's user manual.

Michael

dave.m

Getting ready to be flamed:
this topic always makes me smile. Its like blood sports, religion, and politics. The various 'camps' never seem to compromise (mostly :)

I bet the 'dyed-in-the-wool' manual photographers also insist on buying a stick shift, rear wheel drive car because an automatic front wheel drive is not for 'real drivers' (see older BMW ads.) Yea right. Good automation relieves the tedium and allows the un-distracted user to concentrate on the bit they really enjoy. If you enjoy manual in anything then great, but not everyone does.


There are 3 components to a great picture - composition, sharpness (in the right places), and exposure. For a colour image, colour balance also has great potential to make or break.

When our and about, I always leave my camera on standby, with a 24-105 lens, image stabilisation on, in Av at f8, auto focus, auto white balance, auto ISO (thats ISO not 'eye-ess-oh' by the way), and RAW+JPEG. That way, the fleeting moment when a sudden great shot appears, I have a fighting chance of getting something. Only if I have time to consider after getting the initial shot/s, will I set the camera to what I think is best to get the very best image I can. And yes, I do fully understand the obscure exposure triangle (I say obscure because it does show there is a relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and sensor sensitivity, but doesn't show what it is or in which direction it works.)

In years past while I fiddled with exposure meter, setting the shutter speed and aperture I missed more shots than I care to remember, or got the back end of something rather than the front :)

For me the composition is the art of photography, and by composition I think arrangement and lighting - its why I've got a camera. For me it is also the most difficult and elusive, and the fact that most of what I shoot ends up a shapshot doesn't stop me trying. Also, from my perspective, a great composition is when someone else say 'wow'. I find the practical mechanics both very interesting, and satisfying when I get a difficult exposure right manually. But that's the point - I use my manual expertise when I have time and the auto doesn't work too well.

To the novice today I would suggest:

Start with auto. When you choose to, or find you need to improve exposure of your preferred subject matter, try Aperture priority for general/ landscape photography, or shutter priority if your subject interest is highly mobile. Stick with auto ISO unless there is a good reason not to. When you choose to move from auto read up on good starting points (ie f/8 for portraiture, f/16 for landscapes, 1/500s for sports if you want to 'stop' the action or whatever.

If the technical component of photography really interests you, you can expand your knowledge and practical skill almost ad-infinitum but always remember a perfectly exposed, pin sharp, immaculately colour balanced image of a boring subject is still a boring photo.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

I agree 100%, it really is simple and cost nothing but time.

BebuLamar

It does cost some time and some muscle but it's easier on the brain as it's easier to understand than any of the auto mode.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

Didn't read the entire thread, and don't know if this was brought up. BUT, I don't think there is a manual mode on most entry level cameras. If there is they make you climb through the menu ladder to get to the settings which discourages use.

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

I have always thought the best thing a person new to photography can do is read and understand how the human eye works. Once you do that you can start to understand what a camera is and how it works relative to your eye. Then find yourself a photographer who is willing to explain things to you about your camera and help you understand the concepts of aperture, depth of field, ISO etc, and/or spend a lot of time on the Internet reading and watching. To use a tool effectively and have it perform what you want it to do, you must understand what you want and how the tool works to help you obtain what is desired.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

Let me repeat. You can't effectively use a tool or master basics if the settings are hidden as in the entry level cameras.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

The Canon SX530, new at $249, has M, Av, Tv and more right on the knob on top.

Raises a question that could be interesting to research: what is the most "entry level" camera out there these days?

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

The Canon SX530, new at $249, has M, Av, Tv and more right on the knob on top.

Raises a question that could be interesting to research: what is the most "entry level" camera out there these days?

brooklyn-camera I Loc: Brooklyn, NY

Practice....shoot....shoot...shoot, set camera to 'M' manual. If need be check out YouTube for helpful hints.... I say just get out there and shoot everyday, shoot anything and everything that you can. Nothing better than hands on practice. You can read all you want but nothing like real life shooting. Good luck to all..... May not work for all, but it worked for me.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

So do I! There are at least four distinct human learning styles, and many different academic models of learning behaviors. Whatever way or ways work best for you, and whatever you want to come first for you, is the right way for you. It might be a HUGE challenge for someone else.

One approach — the one that works best for me, is to read, then do, then re-read, then re-do. Classroom learning has always held me back, because it is usually geared to the slowest students or those slower than I am. In my case, reading the *fine* camera manual (and books and magazines) was enough to get me started. I learned first by reading, then by doing, then repeating that process, over and over. And yes, I learned about exposure first, and in the 1960s and '70s, it was ALL manual. But the only reason I learned manual methods first was... 50 years ago, everything WAS manual — THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE! If I could have time-traveled forward from age 13 to see my world at age 63 for a few days, I would not have believed the changes in technology — or much else.

These days, though, most students do not learn the way I did. The pace is MUCH faster, attention spans are MUCH shorter, emphasis is on collaborative experiences through social networks... Kinetic and visual and auditory styles are prevalent. Students want to be all hands on, and interact with others while learning. Read 110 pages a night in college? Whaaaat? Let's watch a YouTube video, read a blog article, try something, get 20 other opinions... (anything to avoid rigor and discipline!).

I've seen photographers learn composition without ever caring about exposure or reading anything. They picked up a smartphone and loaded the Instagram app, looked at thousands of photos, and did their best to emulate what they liked. They learned experientially. That's what got a few of them interested in committing to deeper learning about the technology. The ability to make decent images with their smartphones has spoiled most. They learn composition because it's possible to do so with little thought about technology! That alone satisfies most.

SOME of these folks will migrate from their smartphones to more capable equipment. Most won't. Their eyes glaze over at "inverse-square law". But the ones who "get it" know that there is a process, a technology based on science, behind that magic human interface of the smartphone. They're the ones an instructor can steer through the maze of learning curves related to light and lighting, the exposure triangle, PASM and other modes, and all the other features of modern digital cameras.

I've heard instructors insist that their students learn film photography first. That's pure bunk. Photography is photography! The principles apply equally to film and digital media. Either can be learned in the same exact manner as the other. Even the most sophisticated dSLR or MILC can be "dumbed down" to act like a late 1960s Nikon FTn or a Pentax Spotmatic or a Canon FTb. Just ask rmalarz, here. He leads us to believe he works that way much or most of the time. I've taught newbies both film and digital, using the exact same disable-the-automation approach, and it works equally well either way.

Many people are put off by the learning curve of digital photography. There is so much to know to get beyond the "Big Green 'A' " of a dSLR with a full Auto mode, OR a smartphone. But those auto modes are useful in learning, because they get certain people interested in creative expression and visual communication. Some become willing to exploit the deeper powers of their devices.

Early in my career, I noticed that the way most people become engaged in learning something new is to find something in it for themselves. If you provide some context and lead with WHY, while stressing what is in it for them, then move to the specifics of WHAT to do to get it, they will be more receptive, no matter what the sequence of presentation or their learning styles. "You want this to happen... this result. Here's why you need to know what I'm about to explain... NOW, here's how to do it.