Originally posted by cats_five I suspect that when ISO, f-stops and so on are meaningless so is the manual. I like the shot auto plan best. Shot auto, then pass a very critical eye over the images, or at least some of them. Is the right bit in focus? Is enough in focus? Is it too dark or too light? And is it an image that other people would want to look at? When you know what the issue you want to sort is, finding an answer is much easier.
It's a little unclear to me from the original post what level of expertise Brianjo has. I accept responsibility for being too dumb to understand the exact nature of the assistance he is requesting. That is why I worded my recommendation the way I did. I don't know for sure if ISO, aperture, etc are meaningless to Brianjo. They might be, hence my recommendation to read
Understanding Exposure or a similar general photography resource.
OTOH, he may have a general understanding of basic photographic principles, but is maybe confused on how to use a DSLR, specifically his KR. If that is the case, reading the manual is, I think, a good first step, followed by posting questions if he needs additional clarification on anything.
You are free, of course, to disagree with my recommendations and offer Brianjo your own recommendations.