How can I be less scared of my AE-1 out of my collection my AE-1 is my least used becuase I always fuck up or all the photos come out too stiff.

Let me explain I shoot point and shoot candid photo diary Nan Golden type stuff and the AE-1 doesn't seem to fit into that but I always see everyone using it and just popping it off like it's nothing. So how can I be less scared of it or is it just that it simply doesn't fit into my style?