There’s quite a mystique about shooting in Manual mode, and if this works for you there’s no reason to stop. But as you’ll see in the video below, this “advanced” approach isn’t always the most efficient way to shoot in the field.

Instructor Are Ole is an experienced Norwegian pro who posts weekly tutorials featuring straightforward tips, techniques, and inspiration designed to help unleash your creativity. In today’s four-minute episode he explains why “Aperture Priority is my go-to mode for capturing dynamic scenes without wasting time.”

His notion is that switching the camera’s mode dial to “A” (or “AV) simplifies the shooting process while maintaining correct exposure. He also insists that this technique enables you to quickly adapt when faster shutter speeds are required for certain situations, or when lighting changes rapidly due to passing clouds.

The overarching point is that by using Aperture Priority you have complete control over depth of field while the camera handles the rest—allowing you to concentrate on framing up a scene for maximum impact. He further insists that what you’ll learn today is “a game changer” for beginners and Manual mode advocates alike.

Ole briefly discusses several drawbacks to Manual mode, and then he describes his typical approach to landscape photography which goes like this: He keeps ISO low and lets the camera set shutter speed, while manipulating his f/stop in a way that delivers the zone of focus he desires for the specific scene at hand.

As he says, “This helps me keep my photos clean and noise-free”—especially when his camera is mounted atop a sturdy tripod. In some situations he wants the entire scene to appear critically sharp, while other times selective focus is the name of the game—like when isolating a key element against a softer background with pleasing blur and no distractions.

So how does he increase the shutter speed to deal with birds in flight or other fast-moving subjects? No, he doesn’t switch to Manual mode or Shutter Priority; rather, he does so by gradually modifying the ISO setting until it provides the exact shutter speed he wants.

The goal is to “fiddle as little as possible with the settings so you can react quickly to changing light and other things happening around you.” There’s a bit more to taking advantage of Aperture Priority mode and Ole pulls up a few images to demonstrate the finer points of this effective technique.

Be sure to pay a visit to Ole’s instruction YouTube channel, where you’ll find more helpful lessons that will elevate you outdoor photography.

And don’t miss the earlier tutorial we featured with another accomplished pro who demonstrates a simple technique for eliminating motion blur in photographs that are unsharp.

Outdoor photographers often confront a frustrating issue when forced to point the camera up or down because their vantage point doesn’t enable them to shoot head on. The result is an image with unwanted converging lines.

But never fear because this quick-and-easy tutorial demonstrates how to align vertical objects and fix other distorted photos with off-kilter angles. This very helpful lesson comes to us from the Amateur TV channel—the world’s oldest consumer photo magazine that’s been published continuously since 1884.

Distracting vertical lines occur most commonly in urban photos with tall buildings that appear to tilt inwards toward the top. But landscapes images are not immune to this vexing concern, like in forest scenes with tall tree which will also converge.

Instructor Rod Lawton is a post-post-processing expert and he demonstrates a straightforward procedure in barely five minutes that that will bring perfect balance to skewed photographs for a more realistic look. His weapons of choice are the powerful tools located within Lightroom’s Transform panel.

Lawton illustrates all this with architectural images, but the technique he provides work equally well with other types of photos with odd perspective issues. Before jumping into the necessary steps, he offers this important note: “Be sure to check Lightroom’s Lens Correction panel to make sure it has applied the appropriate Profile.”

He notes further that if you’re working with a Jpeg file, “chances are that lens corrections were automatically applied in-camera.” With these preliminary suggestions out of the way, Lawton pulls up Lightroom’s Transform panel, describes the various a perspective control options available, and explains how they workwith different types of images. Then he walks you through the simple steps required to apply these tools in practical ways.

The typical problem occurs in scenes with converging vertical lines, and these are super easy to straighten. But what about photos in in which both horizontal and vertical elements are skewed. No problem here either.

After the lesson concludes and you update your Photoshop workflow accordingly, take a look at Lawton’s instructional YouTube channel to learn the other tricks he has up his sleeve.

And on a related composition note, don’t miss an earlier tutorial we featured with another pro who says to “avoid the Rules of Thirds because it’s bad advice.” And then he demonstrates better methods that you should employ instead.