Please Give CC New here and to Photography

Ok,

I am a complete newbie here. I received a Canon EOS XSI for my b-day and am taking as many shots as i can and reading as much as i can to learn. Please give me CC on this photo or any of my photos on my flickr account. I just feel my shots are never really that sharp.

Nice gift!

Practice, practice....! Read the manual..back and forward.Don;'t try to get cutesy with shots.get the focus and light and composition going first.
THis photo is good! Blacks are hard to get details in, but you did a great job!

A black dog is a difficult subject! Try to shoot for overexposure so that the details in the dog show a little more. The picture looks decently sharp, so no problems there. I would crop it a little bit tighter: there is a lot of space on top of the dog that is not doing much for me.
Next time try some action shots! Your 55-250 can give you good results if you learn how to use it properly(try to use with good light).
Good luck!

I have a soft spot for big dogs, so I like your shot. Love the expression on her face! Nicely captured.

Great capture on a difficult subject exposure wise.

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments and feedback. I have been taking alot of photos. I just got done watching a video set on the zone system which put a lot of things into perspective for me. I will continue to ready and practice.

Thanks again.