Quote Originally Posted by xjken99
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new camera. My advice is to learn how to use your camera, read your manual cover to cover and then read it again. I would start in Auto or Program just to get the feel of how the camera works. One thing you can do is take a shot in Program mode to see what kind of setting the camera made for the shot. Then switch to manual and adjust the setting up or down and see how it effects the pictures. You can always put the camera in manual, shutter or aperture modes later and experiment more extensively. Even though I am in my fifties and I have been shooting off and on for almost thirty years I still consider myself to be a newb especially when it comes to digital. You have come to the right place, there are many experienced shooters here.

Other than that all I can say is get out there and shoot, using the camera is the best way to get better. Keep in mind most people will take many many photos and come away with just a few that are really nice, don't get discouraged. This past Thursday I took my 35mm Nikon to the zoo and shot a 24 exp roll and came away with only five shots that I liked. That's OK because I still like the challenge of film, not knowing what you got until they are processed. To me the biggest advantage of digital over film is the ability to erase the shots you do not like. It's a great hobby, best of luck to you.
Thanks for the tips. I started reading the manual and taking pictures at the same time.