Best settings depend upon , subject, distance , lighting and lens... and if you're on a tripod. The process of photography revolves around making the long string of decisions , both before and after shutter actuation, which will give you results that you like.. right?
If he wants to learn , then he needs to see what he does wrong, and so he needs to make the decisions for himself in manual. If he is just goofing around, then there's a secret button on the bottom of the camera ,which you push, so all the pictures come out great.