New T3i not happy with first shots

Here are a couple of good places to start:
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=414088
http://www.cambridgein​colour.com/tutorials.h​tm

denbeau wrote in post #15004230
Could I be letting in light from the view finder? I ware glasses and my face doesnt press into the view finder cup and if I had them off...I'll test that!
Dark Knight, I cannot change cameras now, as I just got this T3i last week. And to me it was a good sized investment. I'll learn how to use it....

Trust what you have been told. Theres nothing whatever wrong with the shots you have taken given that you let the camera meter have complete control. These things have no brains, they rely on the photographer to evaluate the scene and tweak the exposure accordingly. Its part of photography, think of it as an opportunity to play and learn, not as a problem.

What the meter is trying to do is average all the tones to mid gray. So if there are darkish green shadows in the background, it balances that against the foreground, making that too light, so you as the photographer adjust the exposure to darken it a touch. Its actually very simple once you've got the hang of it.

Good tips, Thankyou