Did anyone here go to Photography class?

If not, how did some of you become so good at this? trial and error?

I see some of the pictures posted here and some of you guys are better than Pro's haha. Ive been shooting for about 3 months, and its quite frustrating sometimes when you dont get the results you want.

Just like anything else, practice makes perfect. Keep practicing and shooting!

And I didn't go to photography school till late in my career. They gave me a wealth of education with lighting and how to shape light, as well as the digital side and business side of the job.

Practice your butt off and be smart about it. When you make mistakes, learn from them. When you're successful, learn from the things you did that made it work. Ask lots of questions, digest information, read books, blogs, watch videos, and keep plugging away.

Use the forum to your advantage. Search for answers, ask for help, and keep asking until you understand a topic. Don't let morons intimidate you.

I honestly learned most of what I know by reading things online and then relating what I read to what my experiences were. Keep practicing and then actually apply what you read about. Look at photos of things you'd like to shoot and try to emulate it. Eventually you'll learn how create a certain image and you'll form your knowledge into a style.

FWIW I've had two photo classes. The first was a basic class where I learned to develop film and the second was a digital class where I learned to manipulate photos in PP. I guess I took the classes kind of late in the game because I never actually felt I learned as much as I did when I was just out shooting on my own. So I guess I really have to emphasize that it all comes down to practice.

Four years studying commercial photography in the late 1980s at college level..

Mine was all trial and error. I think I learn best that way.

I was military school trained(DINFO-Defense Information) in photography. This is what got my formal training started. I continued my education and got an Associate Degree of Applied Science in Commercial Photography from College of Southern Nevada.

I've been doing this for 40 years....still ain't no good at it ! Maybe I shoulda gone to skool, huh ? :p
And Rob, if I didn't already have a sig line I like, I'd take your comment above as a great one:
Don't let morons intimidate you.

The best thing about learning something like photography in school is that it gives you a shortcut to knowledge and it forces you to DO something.

That said, you can learn everything you need online these days. It's not 1986 anymore.

Self tought thru trial and error .. and I grew up on film SLRs.
Digital makes it so much easier, cheaper, and quicker to learn from your mistakes.

I read the manual.

I find taking in workshops helpful and good to get you excited and motivated again.

DerekW wrote in post #9107904
I find taking in workshops helpful and good to get you excited and motivated again.

I just have to pick up a camera for that feeling

DerekW wrote in post #9107904
I find taking in workshops helpful and good to get you excited and motivated again.

I agree. I find that workshops and good videos get me motivated. Then I grab the camera and start applying the techniques and concepts so they really make sense and sink in a bit.

I have found that I get more out of videos than workshops. Most of the workshops/classes I've attended have had a heavy focus ( oh...bad pun..) on the idea of just shooting photos that can be sold. I'm not against making money, but personally, I'm looking more for info on how to get better at the creative side, and not how to snap cookie cutter shots that folks buy just to pass out to their relatives. They can get those shots at JCPenney.
A video series I get in the mail is from photovision. I'm getting a lot out of it, and it was $40 for one year ( 6 DVD's). Multiple videos on each DVD with different photographers.