It’s happened to many of us: you want to capture the cozy mood of a candlelit apartment in the evening, but your camera’s automatic mode brightens the image and ruins the atmosphere. Or maybe you’re trying to photograph children playing, but a slow shutter speed leaves you with a blurry shot. This is where manual mode comes in.  

Learn how to set your aperture, shutter speed, and ISO for a variety of shooting situations—from landscapes and portraits to sports and macro. You’ll gain confidence in handling your camera’s settings so you’re ready for just about anything. Manual mode gives photographers the most control. It’s not the easiest option, but it helps you understand the rules of photography so you can better decide when it makes sense to use manual mode and when another mode might serve you better.     

A camera’s exposure modes determine how the camera works with the light data it measures and decides what settings it uses for the three exposure parameters: aperture, shutter, and ISO.

Shutter Priority and Aperture Priority. Take a look at which mode to use when, how to work with them, and when it pays to choose manual mode.