re: OT Photographers - Shooting Manual

Pretty good info in this thread. Honestly once you have a couple of good shots it would be worth it to jump over to manual and play with the settings...or try taking some pics before you get there around the same time of day that way you'll know around what shutter speed/ISO/aperture to use. You'll have better control over exposure than letting the camera decide for you a good rule of thumb I've always practiced is underexposing my shot by 1/3rd-1/2 a stop. Looking through the viewfinder aim your focus point at your subject and you'll notice the light meter at the bottom move left (underexposed) or right (overexposed) depending on your settings.
Another thing with composition, look at your frame and divide it into three parts vertically and horizontally like a tic tac toe board. Placing the subject in the intersecting lines coupled with a good background makes for very good images that have good depth to them .