Ok the pointing and clicking aside as in theory you could train a monkey to do that....
And the results would be...
Making a photograph is a creative process.
I’ll pretend I’m using aperture priority, I’ll list my conscious decisions and the cameras calculations.
What am I wanting to convey? The character of my subject.
As I want to concentrate the viewers attention, I’ve decided to use a telephoto lens and a wide aperture
What background?
What’s the light like; does it work for my subject?
If not what light can I add, what modifiers will be best? Will I need a reflector?
To keep it simple I’m using window light.
How will I position my subject? Subtle changes to position in relation to the light make a big difference.
Maybe a little fill to lift the eye socket shadow.
Change of wardrobe because the jumper clashes with the background.
I choose to focus on the closest eye, my camera position just above the eyeline, too high and it diminishes him, too low and it’s unattractive.
I check the ‘auto’ exposure the camera has chosen and it’s fine, but then I realise the white shirt is going to throw the metering, so I add a stop of +exp comp.
That was a fairly simple scenario, what did the camera do?
Left to its own devices, it’d have underexposed the image.