PART 1

Initial setup

You only do this once. It gets the camera ready for learning, instead of letting full auto do everything for you.

Settings in the MENU 10 MIN · ONCE

Press MENU and go through this list in order. The names are the ones in the camera's English menus.

Setting	Value	Why
Quality	RAW & JPEG	The JPEG to look at right away; the RAW to edit once you've learned how
Grid Line	Rule of 3rds Grid	Trains the rule of thirds without thinking about it
DISP Button → Histogram	Checked	Learn to read the light instead of trusting the screen
ISO	ISO AUTO	One less thing to worry about at the start
Focus Mode	AF-A	The camera decides between locking focus and tracking
SteadyShot	ON	Fewer shaky handheld shots
Auto Review	2 sec	See the result right after you shoot

The mode dial: live in A STARTING MODE

Mode A (aperture priority) is the best school: you choose the aperture and the camera works out the rest. You control the most creative part — the background blur — without stressing over shutter speed.

Turn the dial to A. The rear wheel now changes the f-number. Mental rule: small f-number = blurry background · big f-number = everything sharp.

If the photo comes out dark or blown out, press the bottom-right side of the wheel (±) and correct: towards + brightens, towards − darkens. It's the control real photographers use the most.

PART 2

Five exercises to find your feet

One per week. Each one teaches a single concept: that's how you learn without frustration. At the end of each exercise, pick the 3 best photos and delete the rest — selecting is photography too.

Exercise 1 · The blurry background WEEK 1 · APERTURE

The most coveted effect of a "real" camera versus a phone. It teaches what the aperture does.

Mode A, zoom to 50 mm. Place an object (a mug, a toy) 1 metre away with the background 3-4 metres behind it. Take the same photo at f/5.6 and at f/16 and compare them.

Mission: take a portrait of someone in the family with the background so blurry you can't tell where they are. Hint: maximum zoom, minimum f-number and plenty of distance between the person and the background.

Done when you can predict whether the background will come out blurry before pressing the shutter.

Exercise 2 · Freeze and melt WEEK 2 · SHUTTER SPEED

Teaches shutter speed: time is the other half of exposure.

Dial on S: the wheel now picks the shutter speed. Find some moving water (a tap will do). One photo at 1/1000 (droplets frozen in mid-air) and one at 1/15 (silky motion — rest the camera on something).

Mission: photograph someone jumping, frozen in mid-air with both feet off the ground and perfectly sharp.

Done when you understand why handheld night shots come out blurry.

Exercise 3 · The rule of thirds WEEK 3 · COMPOSITION

With the basic technique under control, it's time to train the eye. The 3x3 grid we turned on is already waiting.

Mode A. For one week, centring the subject is forbidden: always place it on a grid line or a crossing. In portraits, the eyes go on the top line.

Mission: shoot the same scene twice — subject centred and subject on a third — and ask someone at home which one they prefer, without telling them why.

Done when you place the subject off-centre without looking at the grid.

Exercise 4 · The 36-shot roll WEEK 4 · DISCIPLINE

The classic photo-school exercise: shoot as if the card were a roll of film. It stops the machine-gunning and forces you to think before pressing.

A one-hour walk around the neighbourhood with a strict limit: 36 shots, not one more, and no deleting during the walk. Any subject: lights, textures, people, details.

Mission: out of the 36, pick the 5 best at home and explain in one sentence why each one works.

Done when you look at the scene for 5 seconds before raising the camera.

Exercise 5 · Chasing the light WEEK 5 · LIGHT

The final lesson: photography isn't about cameras, it's about light. The same scene changes completely depending on the hour.

Pick a place nearby (a park, a street with character) and photograph it three times on the same day: midday, one hour before sunset (golden hour) and just after the sun goes down (blue hour).

Mission: put the three photos side by side and decide which one has the best light and why. Spoiler: midday almost never wins.

Done when you start suggesting going out to shoot "because the light is good right now". At that moment, you're a photographer.

What next? NEXT LEVEL

Once the five exercises are mastered, these are the natural next steps — no rush:

Full manual mode: you already know aperture and shutter speed separately; putting them together is the natural step. · Edit the RAW files you've been saving since day 1 (Darktable is free). · And if you crave more background blur, the Sony 35 mm f/1.8 or the Sigma 30 mm f/1.4 lens is the best second purchase, way ahead of changing camera.