Working my D90...

My current camera of choice is the Nikon D90 DLSR.  I have owned this camera for about two years and am still getting familiar with the shutter speeds, aperture settings, and using the exposure measuring tool in the viewfinder.  The lens I ordered for my D90 measures 18mm-105mm which is a nice distance and good for shooting close ups indoors, which is how I usually capture photographs.  In my current position I take a lot of pictures of preschoolers who are always on the go and hardly ever stop to pose.  It can be a tad difficult at times and I have to remember which speeds to shoot at while I have teachers and students running around me, laughing, yelling, and talking.  It took me awhile to figure out how manipulate the camera in order to capture the perfect shot.  I normally use the aperture setting so the shutter is automatic.  Sometimes I get confused or mixed up as I am trying to configure ISO speeds and aperture settings.  I know what they mean but am still not confident when using them.  Action shots have always been a challenge for me.  I learned how to pan last semester where the background is blurry and the subject is in focus.  I use the automatic focus setting and push my button half way down till it gets in focus and the box inside turns green.  Sometimes when I shoot video I take the automatic focus off in order to get a specific shot.  I have used all but two settings on the mode dial.  I have yet to use the M (manual) and the P (program mode).  May be after this course I will be more efficient in all the settings my camera has to offer.  For white balance, I use the automatic setting all the time.  Last semester I took the Photographic Vision and learned to read the meter that measures exposure within my camera which has helped my shots tremendously.  Now I know the correct exposure when I am shooting and get less underexposed shots, which was one of my issues.  I rarely have to use my flash as much, which helps because the children are more timid when a big light is flashing towards them.  This lets me capture more natural shots because they are not aware that I am photographing them.  I do not know how to use the bracketing feature on my camera properly, which is something I hope to learn this semester.  I have also done a few videos on my camera, which was a little different as first since, I was taught on the bigger models with DV tapes.  The SD card is much more convenient than having to import the video directly from a camera while it rendered, this saves a lot of time.  I always look through the lens rather than use the view finder.  It makes me focus on the shot more than if I was looking at a screen.  I really enjoy working with this camera but it is the only DSLR I’ve become acquainted with.  I have used a Cannon during training in Nashville but I favor my Nikon.