Good advice from previous posts.
I'll start by saying that Photography is all about understanding the light and how to manipulate it to achieve the desire results. Everything else are just tools.
So first, you need to learn what is the “Aperture”, “Speed”, “ISO” and what effect has each one a picture. Next will be the relation between them and how to change them to get the desired effect while keeping a proper exposure. Now, especially for taking pictures under actinic lighting, you need to understand the “White Balance”. Next will be the “Perspective” and how is affected by the focal length of a lens. Also a very important part is the “Composition” (where to place your subject in a picture and how to draw attention to the most important thing in your picture). The theory is not too hard to learn but applying it successfully is a different story. Nevertheless, it will reward you with better and better pictures in the future. Practice, practice, practice.
I hope I’m not offending the most experienced photographers here with this post and please chime in if I forgot something. It was intended to help the people who want to start learning about photography beyond "point and shoot".
Any specific questions, please ask. I’ll try to help as much as I can if I’m not too busy and if I know the answer, or I’m sure, there are more advanced photographers here who are willing to help.
Disclaimer
: I’m not a professional photographer... just another hobby...
