Your Photography Tips Please!

[BigAlReturns]

As of today I am the proud new owner of a film SLR camera (Canon EOS 3000V with 28-90mm lens), but am relatively clueless as yet as to how best to use it. I have a basic understanding of some of the terms, but correct me if I'm wrong:
Aperture - diameter of the hole the light comes through. Measure in f stops?
Exposure - how long the aperture is opened for
ISO - the sensitivity of the film?

So as I understand it, the ISO is pretty set by the film you have, so leave that alone for now. Then Brightness of shot ~= Aperture/Exposure. So to keep the same brightness, I could do a narrower aperture but for a longer exposure, and vice versa.
So before I get outside and start wasting film, do you have any advice as to what settings to use? I know it comes with experience to a certain extent, but some starting values to experiment from would be good. What about websites with good tips?

PS The camera does have an auto setting, but this is cheating a bit really - if I wanted to use this I'd just stick with my digicam!

[ryanhellyer]

My advice is completely useless to you since you've already bought a film camera, but ... get a digital one.

With a digital camera you don't need to worry about wasting film, you can just mess around with your camera until you get a decent picture without having to worry about wasting precious film. Then once you've mastered the digital camera, you could move onto film if that floated your boat.

The fundamental thing which would annoy me about film cameras (other than the non-instant picture fix) is that you usually can't easily switch between ISO modes. I regularly switch ISO's depending on lighting conditions.

[BigAlReturns]

Well I already have a digital camera (not SLR, but quasi-SLR so I can mess with settings if I want - generally I just use it on auto though). This is what I use if just want quick snapshots, or if it's imperative I get a good shot. The film camera was a bargain buy (~33% RRP) and it's a toy really. Film and developing costs are pretty low in the UK (£2 in total per film), so it's not really a worry.
Anyway I'm waiting for film for the new camera to arrive, so when it does I think the best thing to do is get out there and take some shots, and see how they come out - nothing like good old trial and error!

[famousartguy]

The best option i would suggest is to see if you can search for some older photography textbooks. They should offer the most knowledge and understanding--as they were made for students. Of course, I'd offer a suggestion, but I can't remember the photography books I used in school. I just remember it had a black and white "swish" cover. I still remember how to develop film--somewhat. The chemicals always smelled awful to me. thank goodness for digital in that regard!