Day 1: Forcing Myself on Manual Mode

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I leave for Italy in 45 days, and I am determined to finally learn how to shoot with my camera on manual.

One of my favorite parts of the day is a midday walk with my dog Milo and my husband before he heads to work. For a while now, I've enjoyed capturing photos with my iPhone Pro as we walk along. It's been a meditative practice for me, and I find our old East Coast town inspiring.

That led to a curiosity about composition, which was an instant upgrade to just centering whatever caught my eye. A love of editing followed, and that's when...

I pixel peeped. 🫥

When I zoomed in, I was horrified! So many pixels, so much blur! I knew it was time for the DSLR I'd been neglecting to come out of retirement. I started snapping on auto with it, but the shutter would go too slow, and the image would be too dark or too blurry. At times, the grain was worse than the dreaded pixels I had once peeped. I couldn't get things in frame. I bought a new lens, but juggling those was overstimulating.

I had a good camera, so why didn't my pictures look good? The iPhone was so easy!

I almost "rage-quit." I even got a respectable offer from MPB and had my shipping box picked out. But I decided to give it one more try. Today is the first day of that earnest try. I have a dream (as an artist) to capture photos and turn them into digital painting/photo hybrids that would make good posters. That requires the decent MP rate of my camera (that trumps my phone).

So the first step, I've decided, is to keep my camera on manual and just figure it out. I've decided to fiddle with aperture and ISO first.

Here are a couple of results from today. I think I got too crazy (and a little excited) with the aperture once I realized I could make the background blurry. And yet, this background (to me) looks a bit warped. I think I got overzealous.

What do you think? Any tips? Feel free to follow along for ... can Ginger get good with a DSLR before Italy 2026? (Working title.)

15 comentários

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Courtney Langmorehá 3d

Taking that leap to embrace manual mode and sticking with it even when it feels overwhelming shows such amazing dedication to your creative dream! Milo’s midday walks sound like the perfect inspiration to keep you grounded as you explore new horizons with your camera.

GinStaffhá 2d

He's a huge inspiration!

Indra CastilloStaffhá 5d

Rooting for you Gin!!

I'm no expert, but when I pick up someone else's camera (usually my sister since she's the only photographer whou wouldn't murder me for changing all her settings), I like to play with exposure, movement, and light and shadows. I think you're finding your style, and it's looking sleek.

GinStaffhá 5d

Thank you! Here's hoping. I really love street photography and cities.

Scott WurzelHuman-Made Arthá 5d

All well exposed, so I'd say you are off to a good start. I expect it'll become second-nature quick (it did for me) and you won't go back.

The only advice I could give is be bolder with the camera settings than the program mode is. Manual mode gives you so much latitude to shoot hand-held. With a modern camera, you can really push the ISO without too much worry and get sub 1/100s in a lot of conditions the other modes wouldn't let you, or would make bad guesses. Also, explore bracketing modes which gives you some cushion. It's a life-saver in "gotta get this shot" moments.

It really teaches you about how the exposure triangle works and when you mess up, you know it's your fault and not your cameras 🙂

GinStaffhá 5d

My understanding is it's always better to be under exposed and fix it in edit than over exposed. Not sure if that's correct! I don't even know what an exposure triangle is, but you've given me something to Google!

Scott WurzelHuman-Made Arthá 5d

True. And a good way to think about that is to meter on the brightest thing in the image.

April Art StorefrontsStaffhá 5d

Lovely shots 📸

GinStaffhá 5d

Thank you!

Nikola BozilovicStaffhá 6d

These are so pretty!! 😍

GinStaffhá 5d

Thank you!

Anna.JohanssonHuman-Made Arthá 5d

Unfortunately I don’t know anything about photography but I believe you will be able to to figure out enough much to take great photos. I guess it depends on how much time you spend with it before leaving.

Italy, that sounds interesting. So many different things to discover and lots of opportunities to get some amazing shots. My daughter in law lives outside Rome but I have never been to there. Have you ever been to Europe before?

GinStaffhá 5d

Oh my goodness! You should visit her, @Anna.Johansson !

I have been! This will be my third time, I believe and second time to Italy. Last time I only stayed in Florence, which I really love, but this time I wanted to see more of the country. I moved to the East Coast in part so I could travel overseas more frequently.

Anna.JohanssonHuman-Made Arthá 1d

If I go to Europe my destination is almost always Sweden. Friends and Family was hard to leave when I was sitting on an airplane to come to the US 26 years ago. To visit them is my priority. I went to Sweden every year the first 15 years. Now I don't even know if I will go there again. Travelling is such a hassle, and it is expensive with car rental and someplace to stay. I'm more inclined to "inner" journeys nowadays. There is a lot to discover there. Florida also has many beautiful natural springs to explore. Me and my husband have only been to a few of them. To take a kajak trip down Icchetuchney river is one of the most amazing nature experiences in my view.

GinStaffhá 1d

Ah, that makes sense. I used to spend thousands visiting my family in Texas when I lived across the country in Minneapolis, but it got to be a lot financially and physically. A kajak trip sounds beautiful.