Its a bit of trial and error. SRP members give good advice and the SRP wiki gives solid advice. Short repeating strokes and never force the action.

You don't necessary need to go ATG, you can always do a near ATG stroke and get great results. Eventually, you will find out what your face will tolerate. Although I achieved BBS results early on as a newbie, my shaving techique still evolved as the time and the amount of strokes to get a BBS shave decreased until I became efficient.

Keep up the effort!

Pabster