Understanding Exposure

Throughout the course of this photography quest I've been on for the last six months, I've struggled a lot with trying to figure out how to shoot in full manual mode. Or at least what is considered full manual mode on a DSLR. I'm fairly certain that I would earn a big FAIL if I tried shooting with a film SLR.

Depending on who you talk to, some photographers say that shooting in M really isn't that big of a deal and others say it's the only way to go. Regardless of who's right, I still couldn't completely understand it. As a major anal retentive learner, I had to figure it out whether or not I would ever use it. I understood the concept of it - needing to set the ISO, shutter speed and aperture to all create perfection together - but I was hopeless at actually making it happen. I've been shooting in A and P for the last four months, ignoring the M.

But then, the clouds parted, I heard the angels sing, and the hand of God blessed me with the knowledge I was missing. AKA, I finally read this book: Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition).

I read it and I couldn't believe how utterly freaking easy it was to figure out! For the love!!! Everyone who wants to learn how to use a DSLR should read this book. It goes on to explain a lot more than just manual shooting too. So far it's the most valuable resource I've found for demystifying the magic of digital photography.