Beginner photography tips- very basic camera?

Learn your camera! Read the manual so you know everything it can do and all of its settings and scene options it has. Most cameras have pre-set settings for certain scenes, like nighttime, motion, outdoor, etc so that the pictures look best when you take them there. Some camera's have it where you can manually adjust settings like ISO and exposure and stuff though so just read your manual for help with that! Also I really hate the use of flash. I think natural lighting always looks best, but that's just my own opinion. :)