[John Reidy]

Kimberly - you don't need to practice on your kids or animals to get to know and be familiar with metering and bracketing. Waiting for them can create all sorts of reasons for putting this off. You can use inanimate objects of various colors. And they don't ever get tired of posing.

It also helps to write down your procedure at first and follow it while making notes that you can review after your pictures are developed (or if you're using a digital camera, downloaded). You may need to go through this process several times or make adjustments before you get the type of results you are looking for.

Once you have figured out your process, write it down and keep it with your camera for reference. It's real easy to forget these new procedures once you are on an actual shoot.

Don't forget Michele's advice about braketing. This is a critical step.

I hope that this helps.