Lesson 19 of 100
When to use Manual (M) mode
No prior knowledge needed. Keep your camera or phone beside you and try each control or idea as it appears. The aim is understanding, not memorising terminology.
Exposure is the recorded brightness, not a moral judgement
There is no single 'correct' brightness for every creative photograph. The meter gives you a useful starting point based on what it sees, but very bright or dark subjects can fool that assumption.
Three controls interact
Shutter speed, aperture and ISO are the main controls used to manage exposure and image characteristics. Changing one may require another to change if you want similar brightness.
Read the result as well as the meter
Use the image, histogram and highlight warnings where available. A meter reading of zero does not guarantee that important highlights or shadows are recorded the way you want.