Ditch Auto - Start Shooting in Manual
Stop letting your camera make decisions for you. This course teaches you to shoot in manual mode with confidence—covering exposure fundamentals, composition techniques, and a basic editing workflow so your photos finally match what you see in your head.
Why Manual Mode Matters
Your camera’s automatic settings are guessing. Sometimes it guesses right, sometimes it doesn’t. Manual mode puts you in control of every exposure decision, which means your photos start reflecting your creative intent instead of your camera’s best guess.
This course breaks down everything you need to confidently shoot in manual—no prior experience required.
What You’ll Learn
The exposure triangle: how shutter speed, aperture, and ISO work together to create a properly exposed image. You’ll understand not just what each setting does, but when and why to adjust them.
Beyond exposure, you’ll learn how to read your camera’s meter and histogram, apply composition techniques that strengthen your images, and develop a basic Lightroom editing workflow to polish your final shots.
The course also covers more advanced techniques like filters, long exposure, and HDR photography once you’ve nailed the fundamentals.
Built for Modern Cameras
Originally launched in 2012, this course has been completely updated with current content covering both mirrorless cameras and DSLRs. The principles are timeless, but the examples and explanations reflect how photographers actually shoot today.
Learn by Doing
This isn’t just theory. You’ll work through hands-on exercises and real-world assignments that reinforce each concept. The goal is simple: get you shooting in manual as quickly as possible, then refine your skills from there.