Using the nikon d5000?

Hi guys just bought a nikon d5000 and was really excited upon the purchasing.got it home and thought i'm just a press of a button away to making a career out of selling photos and then realised that although i ca take a really good photo i just can't get lighting, aperture and shutter speed all working for me.

Wow… Just wow… You need to learn before do real photography. You can't drive a stick without learning how to drive stick. You can't ride a bike without learning how to ride a bike, etc etc etc.

I highly suggest you take a workshop or classes. In three days you should be able to set aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc to conform to what you are shooting and where you are shooting at.

photography is not just pressing a button and expecting it to turn out awesome. You need to learn how to control your camera, and on top of that compose pictures correctly.

here is a picture I took with my Nikon D40 with the 18-55mm lens

It took me literally 10 tries to get this picture to turn out well. I did it completely manual, everything, including focus.

You need to do what everyone in the world does to get good at a new skill… Take a class.

Don't worry, we all needed weeks/months to understand.

Here's a site with loads of tutorials, tips, reviews, buying guides and stuff for beginners in the DSLR world. For example, here's a link to Tutorials - http://www.the-dslr-photographer.com/2009/11/tutorials.html

Well you've just completed the first lesson… Buying a DSLR doesn't guarantee great photos!

Aperture, shutter speed & ISO are the 3 cornerstones of exposure and you need to know & understand the relationship between these 3 if you're going to get the bes out of your camera (ie using it in manual, rather than auto modes).

Metering is another area where beginners tend to leave the camera on matrix metering (ie meters whole frame) rather than the more selective spot or centre metering.

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson is highly recommended for beginners;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/...817439390/

You might also want to see if there's a local camera club or group in your area. It really helps to meet other photographers & to be able to pick their brains about the basics when needed.