Why can't I get the hang of my XTi??

The lab in the second picture looks great...The first one, from what you said was set with way too high of an ISO...thats why it looks all grainy. Messing with your F stop and shutter speed can really clear things up, but remember with long shutter speeds, the subject cant move.

Super-Nicko wrote in post #2527640
hope you dont mind me editing your pic... by the way maybe enable IMAGE EDITING OK in your preferences so ppl can show you techniques.

I would have posted the image I messed around with last night as well, but didn't because "IMAGE EDITING OK" wasn't enabled. So, this is good advice if you don't mind people fiddling with your pics.

Accentor wrote in post #2528250
Don't think so - focus point seems to be the dog's forehead or top of its head. If the eyes (which is where we automatically look first at a human or animal) had been the focus point then this would have been a fairly reasonable shot under the conditions.

Nice dog, by the way.

Colin

Since the EXIF is not preserved in original photo, it is hard to tell exactly.
However, judging by the sharpness of dog’s ears, top of its head and the armrest in the background, I’d agree that focus point (central) was probably right between the dog’s eyes, but the DoF was deep enough to include both eyes.

I could be wrong, though..

Assuming that both photos were taken with the kit lens, hand shake on the first photo?

What was the shutter speed on that pic? You would need a shutter speed at least 1/ (FL x 1.6) handheld.

The second one looks better.

I think you need to watch the shutter speed. The kit lens isn't the most ideal lens for that lighting situation.

ISO 1600 on that camera will be a bit noisy, but can be improved with noise reduction software.

Flash will vastly improve these shots.
You can also try an Tripod.

If you have some extra cash, get the 50mm 1.8 MKII, aka Nifty Fifty.

WOW! I didn't realize there were 3 pages of replies, thank you all so much for the help! I will enable the setting that lets people fix photos, didn't even know that was an option. Thanks again, and I can't wait to learn more from all of you!