help

Read the instruction manual, for starters. It will tell you what all the settings do. Then, experiment. With a digital camera, you have immediate feedback on whether your photo is good or bad, just by looking at the screen. Once you understand what all the buttons on your camera do, go to your library and pick up a basic photography book. I'm partial to John P Schaefer's "An Ansel Adams Guide to Basic Photography". It was written pre-digital, but camera controls haven't changed since the days of Daguerre. It will tell you how to use the camera's settings to achieve the kind of pictures you want.