Expose on Purpose
The light meter aims for a middle brightness — and most of the time that's right. But it doesn't know what you're feeling. Point it at fresh snow and it'll render it dull grey (it assumes everything averages to mid-tone); aim for a bright, airy portrait and it'll come out heavier than you wanted.
In Manual, you simply overrule it. Want it brighter and lighter? Set your exposure so the needle sits around +1 instead of 0 — that's high-key: clean, airy, optimistic. Want it darker and moodier? Drop it to about −1 — low-key: shadowy, dramatic, intimate. (This is the same idea as the exposure compensation button on the other modes — in Manual you just do it directly.)
The "correct" exposure is the one that matches your intent. Shoot the same scene both ways and you'll feel how much the mood swings with a single stop of light.
Manual mode (M). Find your correct exposure first (meter at 0), then take one frame pushed to about +1 (brighter — open the aperture, slow the shutter, or raise ISO) and one pulled to about −1 (darker). Same scene, same framing — only the brightness changes.
You've got it once the two frames clearly feel different — one light and airy, one moody and dark — and each looks deliberate, not like a mistake. Place both, the brighter and the darker, side by side. (Barely a difference? Push them further apart — try +1.5 and −1.5.)
The assignment
Shoot the same scene two ways in Manual — once brighter than the meter says (light and airy), once darker (moody and dramatic) — to feel that the meter is a suggestion, not a rule.
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