Originally posted by SunnyG. once I'm happy I change to manual mode. Lock in the settings, that's iso, aperture and shutter speed!
Now you really have me confused. If you are getting the exposure using the aperture priority auto setting then why change to manual? Seems counter-intuitive.
My method starts similar to yours. I always use aperture priority, set the aperture I want to use, check the indicated shutter speed and adjust ISO to get a shutter speed that will work for the subject. Take a test shot and look at the histogram. Then use the exposure compensation button to adjust. Repeat the adjustment until I am happy, then take the photo. I think we arrive at the same place except you get to manually set the camera based on the settings the camera was already set at. And I can see the fun in that, it just seems extra work for the same result.