Hey y'all! I'm Teresa and I blog over at Crafty Wife, a creative lifestyle blog that focuses on inspiring others to find their innovative side through photography, craft projects, and easy-to-follow tutorials. I am so excited to be guest blogging here with Penny today and talking about a subject I'm very passionate about: photography.

Last year, my husband bought me my very first SLR, my Nikon D3200. It has been a great investment for blogging and documenting our Disney adventures, and I have loved learning how to shoot in Manual mode over the last twelve months. While I still consider myself an amateur, I love passing on the lessons I've learned throughout the photography journey thus far.

1. You choose the focal point.

In photography, the focal point is the origin of the story. When in auto the camera chooses the focus of your photo for you, and it may not be exactly what you want. In Manual you can choose the tiny feet of a newborn baby, the words on a bench, or the petals on the flower. The options are infinite!

2. No harsh flash.

Shooting in auto means that your camera will choose all your settings for you. If you are in a place with low lighting that means your camera's flash will pop up to illuminate your subject. The camera's flash is often unflattering and leaves your subjects with washed out skin and red or closed eyes. Auto mode with flash In this case, the flash reflected off of my husband's glasses leaving large white dots on his face. It also completely blacked out the background so you have no idea that Cinderella's Castle is behind us.

3. Achieve the coveted blurred backgrounds

Photographers love bokeh and blurred backgrounds, especially for portraits. They isolate and draw your attention to the subject of your photo. You can achieve these effects easily with a low aperture (more on that next week).

4. Have complete control over the amount of light in your pictures

I took a photography class back in March where the teacher said that light was not important in photography, If you have someone tell you that, walk away from them. They obviously have no idea what they're talking about because light is the most important part of photography! In Manual, you have complete control over how much light enter through your lens. It's one of the best things about photography because there are so many options! In this particular photo I chose to focus on the sunset which underexposed Cinderella's Castle. By doing this, I was able to get a beautiful silhouette of the parks icon.

5. Capture amazing nighttime photos

Probably my favorite type of photography is capturing landscape photos at night. Using Auto, it is not even possible to capture a good night photo because the flash will pop up and completely wash out whatever is in the background. And even if you turn off the flash while in Auto your entire picture will be so dark you won't even be able to see what you were taking a photo of in the first place. Personally, I love using a tripod along with Manual mode to capture colorful and evenly lit photographs.

So, have I convinced you to switch to Manual yet? If you're ready to learn how to take control of your camera, make sure to stop by next week for a lesson on Aperture! I hope to see you there!