When trying out new equipment, or photographing under difficult circumstances, it can be worthwhile taking some test photos. Occasionally you'll get one of them that's a good one, and doesn't need re-taking as a non-test photo. Apart from getting to know you gear better, so that you can take good photos, later on, without so much fiddling around, there are some shots that you might only get through trial and error (e.g. when it's too dark, or too contrasty, for the camera's metering to give good readings). Some things you might test out, could be:
Altering the exposure, above and below what the meter suggests.
Adjusting the light sources (e.g. changing the amount of light, it's distance, or its direction).
Playing with exposure time versus aperture settings, to change the depth of field.
Changing the position that you take the photo from (close up, or from further away), and/or whether to use a wide-angle or telephoto lens. You get a different effect from changing the distance versus changing the lens, most noticeably with the background, or the perspective (if you get really close).
Changing the angle that you shoot at (e.g. front-on, side-on, from above, from below, etc.). When photographing people you should, generally, have the camera at the same height as them, unless trying to achieve some effect by doing it differently. Remember the sayings, “looking down at someone one,” and “looking up to someone,” when photographing them, the visual effect is generally the same.