The 50mm was my new toy as a Christmas gift this year (I used to use a 35mm prime or kit lens for cars and 70-300 w/ teleconverter for wildlife), so I'm still learning how to use it effectively.
Haha it's ok. I usually shoot in AV/Aperture Priority too. I have had a 50mm prime before, however a sudden accident made it cease to work, which was a shame, as the lens is brilliant in my opinion. It's good that you have started out in photography with something other than cars, as you tend to shoot a subject with composition in mind a lot more.
Also I shoot in 'Faithful' or 'Neutral' on the camera in AV meaning it is easy to slightly fiddle with levels in Photoshop (I'm pretty sure your 1100D can do the samre thing but I've never owned one...)
Also manual focus is essential to adding DOF to the photo!!!!!
(That may have been a longer answer than you expected... sorry.)
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