Quote Originally Posted by Pyzik View Post
You already stated the first thing to learn, so you're well on your way. "Lighting is everything". Almost as a rule, more light = better.

Others may disagree but depending on what your subject is, I would say rather than jumping right into manual, try other priority modes such as "aperture priority" and "shutter priority". I use shutter priority when shooting birds and aperture priority when taking most pics that don't require flashes or strobes.
You can set the ISO to "auto" as well. Then you can take photos and observe what the camera is doing as far as adjustments to get a feel for what the camera things you should be doing. Let it teach you. Then take more control as you start to get your "style". Maybe you like your images darker or lighter than the camera thinks is "right".

My $0.02, and worth what you paid.
My old Sony does “bracketed” shooting, which I love. 3 variations of the original with processing chosen by the software based on conditions. I don’t want to have a crutch like that, but it was a nice fallback when my choices weren’t working (which was most of the time I attempted manual mode). I had kind of an AHA moment when I saw the “Exposure Triangle”. That bit of graphic presentation jumped the gap for me and I plan to do lots of experimenting my next free day.

Good stuff, fellas! You are EXACTLY the people I was hoping to hear back from! Thank you all so much! If life has taught me anything, it’s that humility and pragmatism will attract more/better help than trying to sound like I know anything about this, or any other subject I could improve upon.