Glad that helped. So, a couple different things here. First is just getting something that works for you, second is covering some basics of photography as it’ll make you a better photographer in the end.
First off: switch to Av mode, and select F8. That should fix your problem. Once comfortable there explore different apertures and Tv mode. At least this will get you started by getting some pics.
Now, onto the lesson:
I FULLY support you exploring the semi-auto modes (Av and Tv). They are excellent places to start, and I personally think that every SLR owner should understand these modes, and spend a lot of time shooting in them. That said, I usually recommend people start out in Av mode. It has more flexibility, and in general more use.
Tv has very specific uses, you’re usually either trying to keep the shutter speed high (either to freeze motion, or make sure it’s high enough to hand hold the camera in dark situations)… or you’re purposely trying to lengthen the shutter speed to show motion blur. But, in general, people usually want the motion frozen in photographs. And if there’s enough light you don’t need to worry about the shutter speed. Hence, I recommend Av mode.
Av mode allows you to set the aperture and takes care of the rest for you. The wider the aperture (smaller F number), the smaller the Depth of Field. That is the amount of the photo that is in focus. Small f numbers are used in portraits where your subject is in focus and everything in the background is fuzzy. Larger f numbers are used in things like landscape where you want everything to be in focus. When I compose a shot I usually have an idea of how much DoF I want, which is why I am so fond of Av mode. It lets me select my aperture, hence DoF, and takes care of the rest for me. It’s essentially an auto mode, but you get to tell the camera how much DoF you want. I rarely use Tv, because even if I need to tell the camera what speed I need, I still want to select my DoF… so I’m in manual mode. Make sense?
ISO is the sensitivity of the sensor. The higher the number the more sensitive it is to light. This comes with a drawback of course – more noise. In general, you want to keep your ISO low, and with your camera I pretty much keep my camera at ISO 100 or 200 unless the situation requires that I do otherwise.
There’s a ton more information on this kinda stuff online. I realize not everybody finds it interesting. Personally I do. And I believe it makes you a much better photographer.
