thx. i have already enjoyed reading so many posts from others who have the same interests as myself. looking forward to many hours spent here.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Janet and I am a newbie to this site. Ever since I can remember, I have loved to snap pictures of any and every thing. I have never understood the point of going somewhere different or being in an exciting atmosphere and NOT photographing it.
I am completely self taught, but I have a long way to go because there is still SO very much more to learn and discover. My husband recently bought me a Canon Digital Rebel from a co-worker. I have previously used a point and shoot digital, sooooo there are SO many techniques and skills that I have yet to master.
I have a passion for enhancing and editing photos that may be of interest to my friends and family. I have never entered a photographic competition except for our local county fair.
I am hoping to gain friends from this site that will not only approve or dislike my photos but will will be supportive and critique my shots to help me improve my hobby.

I have a (new to me) camera. . . canon rebel. Only been used to a point and shoot. I took these shots of my niece and her bf at St Augustine Beach. I'm thinking the looks of these were caused by too much back lighting from the sun and wrong settings used? Tell me what I did wrong and if anyone can play with the pix and correct them please feel free to do so.