I've been sifting some, but I thought I'd ask.

What techniques did you find were best for developing your skills? Practice is obvious, but what path did you take to guide your practice? Shooting in low light from a tripod to learn the effects of settings without shake? Shooting in daylight aimed at clouds/trees/various distance backgrounds? Joined a club? Took a class? Online OK, or local college better?

I'm getting there, and getting some results, but I'd like to take a more structured path until my schedule settles some and I can think about lessons.

TIA.

You are in the right place.
Shoot a lot, show pictures a lot, ask questions a lot, but make sure to read the answers..

I joined a Camera Club* last October and it has expanded my vision in ways I would have never guessed.

It has made me invest in some gear that I might otherwise have not considered (some extra lighting, lighting modifiers, etc...) but it has also made me have to really, really think about how to shoot even simple outdoor subjects.

Some of our recent themes:
- Silverware
- Round Things
- All Things Green
- Rust
- Gates

Some themes have been pretty easy to cover but some really have bent my mind...

(*In this case, "Camera Club" is a very loose term. We don't have club officers or read the minutes every month or have dues. We're just a bunch of folk who get really jazzed on photography...)

I do a lot of reading. When I wanted to learn more about composition, I bought books on it. The same goes for Lighting,Ladscapes,Pro​rtraits... and the list goes on.
POTN is another good place for advice. A couple of years ago, I paid for a "pro critique" at http://www.betterphoto​.com/home.asp it was well worth the money. They also offer on line classes but I cannot comment on them since I never took any.
The forum here is superior to theirs.

SKnight,
Another suggestion is to try to participate in WORLD WIDE PHOTO WEEK Which gives practice to keep you on a time line and a topic for your photos with a little fun thrown in.
A new topic is made every Monday

Thanks guys, keep it coming.

Shoot Shoot Shoot....

If you get a shot that comes out awful, post it here along with as much info as possible on the settings (shutter speed/ISO/f-stop, lens used, mode on camera, etc...) and we'll be able to diagnose what happened and prepare you for next time so you get a shot that isn't so awful

Great advice and I'll add " Be thick skinned" - not everyone will like pictures you love. If the feedback is negative but helpful, take it. Don't take a negative impression of your images as a negative impression of you, the photographer. I see lots of people who equate "you're picture is bad" with "you stink as a photographer" when they're mutually exclusive.

polarbare wrote in post #6174278
Great advice and I'll add " Be thick skinned" - not everyone will like pictures you love. If the feedback is negative but helpful, take it. Don't take a negative impression of your images as a negative impression of you, the photographer. I see lots of people who equate "you're picture is bad" with "you stink as a photographer" when they're mutually exclusive.

One thing I have noticed is that the criticism usually contains why they didn't like it, something you can't fault. I don't care what you say so long as you explain yourself. Also this forum seems to be pretty docile re. the dogpile effect. A smartass remark doen't breed five more. I'm active on five or so forums, so far this one is the best in that regard.

I review my shots and figure out what I did right and what I did wrong and keep them in mind next time around...

Also looking at other people's images and figuring out why you like it will go a long way.

That's about it for me...

Don't be afraid to experiment. I sometimes shoot familiar things from not-so-conventional perspectives just to see how they turn out.

The greatest technique to sucess is persistance and practice. One year ago this coming weekend I had my first media covered event where I was offically a photographer, I took some amazing shots I still to this day have to work had to replicate, however most of them were shocking, witha low success rate compared to my current average sucess rate.

It is most important to get these skills more than knowing the effect of such other things such aas filters, pods & other accessories ect. These are very simple things and can easily be picked up later, Practice shouldn't be overlooked. I never started using photoshop till recently, and I'm still not a fan of it for sales purposes, but personal use and portrait shots it's wonderful.

Browsing photos online who specialise in the category of photos you enjoy taking can give you amazing ideas and could inspire your next perfect shoot. For now, don't concern yourself with lenses or bodies.

Here's what I do:

Take pictures. I try to do at least one "shoot" per week, even if that means setting up some weird still life in the living room. Constantly changing settings and lighting, chimping, adjusting.

Review my own shots. Post-process. Get feedback from family.

Post my best shots on POTN. Usually you will get honest, helpful feedback. I review the CnC and try to take the best of the critiques with me when I do my next shoot. I have fixed some major flaws in my photography over the past few years using advice from critique posts on POTN.

It doesn't always feel good having what you considered one of your best pictures ripped apart, but if you pay attention you can make exponential gains in your photography skill via critiques.

I consider today's photographers to be very lucky. It is so easy to get expert advice from a multitude of pro and amateur photogs within a few minutes. Think about how hard is what to share this kind of insight 20 years ago.