Problem in Photography (Manual Mode)?

You need to get the correct amount of light onto the sensor to give a correct exposure. When it is very bright then a fast shutter speed and small aperture can be used. When there is not much light around you need a wider aperture to let in more light and a slower shutter speed to give it more time to expose. In addition you can change the ISO setting to do the same thing.

If you set everything yourself in manual then you need to know how to meter the light and set appropriate shutter speed, aperture and ISO to get a good exposure. You can't just set a small aperture and a fast shutter and hope for the best.

So you are massively under-exposing because you don't understand about light and exposure. That is not surprising. Really you need to start with auto modes and work up to full manual, unless you have somebody very experienced to teach you.

To start with try switching from fully auto to "P" for "Program" mode. That will still work automatically, but you will be able to adjust the aperture or shutter speeds to get the effects that you want and the camera will take care of making sure that the exposure is correct by adjusting the rest. That way you can start to experiment with the effects and the light without getting too many badly exposed pictures. Over time you can learn how to use your camera in full manual mode.

Many photographers use auto or semi-auto modes all of the time. That does not stop them from under-exposing or over-exposing if they want. You can do that with over-rides.

You don't actually need to go fully manual to control your camera. There are some photo snobs who insist that full manual is the only proper way of getting it right. That's pure nonsense of course. Great images come from the eye and mind of the photographer and knowing enough about your equipment to get the result you want. Using the camera's auto-intelligence is no bad thing as long as you learn when and how to over-ride it when it's not going to give you the result that you want.

You need a very good understanding of 'exposure' as well as your gear (camera) to venture into "Manual exposure"

That you wish to get off 'Auto' mode is encouraging indeed

Stick to Aperture priority for now

That way your camera light meter does the calculation for shutter speed

Set your camera to the widest aperture it offers

Set your lens to the widest possible, as it allows for the widest aperture. Zoom in and your aperture shrinks

(There are the rare breed which offer fixed aperture through out their focal range, like the Lumix FZ200)

Next up set your ISO to 1600 or so

If the shots are too grainy go up to 800 maybe. Even try ISO 3200 & see the results

You are ready to go, only that you need to put the camera on a solid support - like a wall or something & use your self timer to fire the shutter

In case you own a tripod - use it. If you dont have one - get one

Good luck with your endeavour

Do some reading about the exposure triangle

& last but not the least keep clicking, till you know what is what and are ready for the Manual mode

Another thing, you need to be familiar with the EXIF stamp, so you can read the settings at the end of the day, as well as for a later date & learn from them

In low light you need a long exposure time. In manual mode it is up to you to set that. If you don't turn down the shutter speed (increase the exposure time) you get underexposure.

The camera has a meter, and the display can guide you to the right exposure, but it is up to you to turn the dial to adjust it.

When you do set the exposure correctly, you will have a blur from camera shake unless you use a tripod. Get a good tripod, not a cheapo. For tripod shots use the self timer to let the camera settle down from vibrations caused by pushing the shutter button.

In manual mode YOU have to set the camera to allow sufficient light to create a photo.

In low light a camera in auto mode doesn't set a long shutter speed to be awkward or because it is stupid, it does so because it is absolutely essential.

In low light:

use wide aperture and/or slow shutter and/or high ISO and/or flash. At long exposure you need a tripod but that only stops camera shake - it doesn't freeze a moving subject.

simple!

You do not have enough light and the images are under exposed. Check your camera light meter before taking the shot.

You will either have to open the aperture or use a slower shutter speed or increase the ISO.

Perhaps a mixture of all three.

Photography is the act of recording light. Then low light to you may as well be pitch-black darkness to the camera already. No light, no picture. Got it?

The flash can be forced to fire if you want to. Read the manual on how to do it.

1

what does your manual say about manual low light conditions?