Gird up your loins and photograph in manual mode

It's the fear of difficulty that turns people away from shooting in manual mode. Many people I have had an opportunity to explain what to do have enjoyed shooting manual mode and rarely switch their camera out of manual mode.

The trick is
1 - Use the Spot Metering and focusing settings.
2 - Understand what your camera is telling you when you are shooting in manual mode.

Using the "SPOT" metering and focusing settings will give you tremendous control of the image you are trying to shoot. In spot metering you get to read and lock in on an exposure for a spot on the frame of your choice. The same with spot focusing, you get to choose the sharpest spot on the frame. Usually, when you switch to this configuration, the camera viewfinder displays a square or circle in the center of the frame (let's call this our spot). In some cameras you get to move this spot around in the frame by using the wheel in the back of the camera. This helps you preset your composition. If your camera does not allow you to move the spot around, Lock the focus and exposure with the subject in the center and while the shutter is half-way down then reposition the subject in your viewfinder based on your composition needs.

Understanding what your camera is telling you is easy - simply read the manual to clearly identify the information your camera displays through the viewfinder when you press the shutter release button half-way down. In most of the recent digital cameras you will have the Shutter speed, aperture number, Flash info, Exposure value (or meter), Number of images you are left to shoot, ISO, WB, metering, focus, etc. All of them are useful, you need to get to know them eventually to master your camera. One display that will dictate you the most when shooting in manual mode is the Exposure Value (EV) meter/scale.

This EV meter/scale will tell you if your exposure is balanced, under or over. If the EV meter shows the exposure to be dead center (@ zero) then it means you have a balanced exposure based on the spot. Under and over does not always mean it's bad, some images may need to either be over or under exposed to give it a real punch based on your creativity. To move the EV to zero, plus or negative the most common changes you may want to make are to the aperture number and shutter speed. So play with it, spin the dials and learn how the results differ.

If you are still sitting on that seat, you are not going to get any images. Get up, pick up your camera and shoot some pictures.