Hi Stephen,
Couple of questions first: Do you have a tripod? Do you have any lighting other than the pop-up flash?
Yes, I have a tripod and wish to use indirect daylight. I wish to know the settings for quality photos and how to set the camera up.
Thanks
Stephen
I have the same camera you own ....
Your camera is a programmable camera ,,,,, the only way to walk you through what you need to know is to re-write the manual .
You don't have a choice ,, if you wish to ever switch the camera from auto to manual mode you are going to have to study the operators manual....
When I shoot in manual mode
I set my white balance first
Then my ISO
The my F stops or Apature
Then my shutter speed
Your white balance will be the sunny day .
Your ISO will be set at 100
your f stop at f 9 to f 11.
try 1/160th and above on the shutter speed .
don't know why you got the thought the manual is to complex for you to understand , but in the photography world its sink or swim .
Without the knowledge of knowing how to set your camera your chances of producing a good photo of a pen is low .....
There is tons of videos on line teaching people how to set their cameras .
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+set+white+balance+on+a+t3i+you+tube&FORM=VDRE