Summarize the following:
Your camera's manual will assist you in moving beyond the auto settings, and as you learn more about photography, you'll need to know where things are. As you learn, don't be afraid to play around with the settings. All it will cost you is time, and it will teach you what each setting does. Exposure affects how light or dark your picture is, and it is dependent on aperture, ISO speed, and shutter speed. Aperture is how much light your camera lets in, while shutter speed is how long the shutter is open, exposing light to your photograph. To blur the background in photography, use a low f-stop for your aperture, while a high f-stop creates a crisp photo. Use a short shutter speed to capture an image quickly, creating a sharp, still photo even when your subject's moving. However, if you want to show how your subject is moving, use a slower shutter speed. In the first situation, the shutter will open and shut quickly, while in the second, the shutter will open and close more slowly. With a long shutter speed, you must keep the camera as still as possible. ISO speed tells your camera how much light to use for a photo. A lower ISO speed tells it to not detect as much light. Use a low speed when it's bright out so you don't overexpose the picture, and do the opposite when it's dark. However, too high an ISO speed will make your photo grainy, not sharp, so set it at the lowest setting for the light. Composition is how you arrange a picture and where you take the shot. Do you zoom in on someone's eyes, or pan out to the whole woods with the person small in the corner? It depends on what you're trying to do with the photo. Taking a picture of eyes creates intimacy, while a small person in a large, empty space can create a lonely, surreal feel. One important rule of composition is the rule of thirds, where you mentally divide the image into thirds both horizontally and vertically. The best place to situate your subject is where the lines creating these divisions intersect. Essentially, you want the subject to be off center, both horizontally and vertically, because it creates a more interesting photograph. Pay attention to visual lines, as it can pull the viewer in to different parts of the photograph. You don't want to pull a viewer away from the focus. You can find fairly cheap classes at your local art museum or community college. In a class, you'll receive feedback on your photograph and learn new skills. You'll learn skills from other photographers, and you can post your photographs for review.
Read your camera's manual. Play around with the settings. Pay attention to exposure. Learn composition. Take a photography class. Join a photography forum online.