I tried to hijack TroubleAgain’s thread (sorry about that) and it didn’t work so I’ll ask again –
It’s obvious to me that there are quite a few accomplished photographers on this board. I’m delighted and impressed by your work. Every person whose work I’ve seen shows originality, clarity, good composition skills and skilled use of color.
Did you receive any formal training?
Did your training include basic drawing?
(feel free to link again upon reply 
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I took several photography & Design classes in College, but no drawing (although I did have basic drawing in junior high). I’m miserable at drawing, but I think I’m a pretty good photographer, FWIW.
I don’t have any formal training in photography. I’ve read a lot of books, and of course practiced. But I don’t think I’m especially good anyway. I mean, I think most people could take most of the pictures I take. They’re not going to win any prizes, you know what I mean? I think my strength lies in taking crappy-to-average shots and using Photoshop to make them a lot better. Not just manipulating the photo, but cutting out people, putting in people, adding body parts that were blocked off by a person I’ve cut out, fixing mistakes, removing excess junk from the shot, etc.
Well if someone asks, then it’s not mere self-promotion, is it? 
I’ve only had a few ‘classes’ and I’ve read many books but I always consider a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art as instruction.
I received no formal training and don’t know how to draw. Everything was self taught because an opportunity arose for where I could start taking pictures. I started with a point and shoot and graduated to a DSLR. Half of it is learning the technical aspects and the other half is being creative.
No formal training other than your generic “art” classes in high school. I can’t draw or paint to save my life. But I’ve practiced a lot, and read a couple of books…
No art training what so ever. I learned through taking lots and lots of pictures.
I took the original 42 years ago in New Orleans with a Minolta SR-1 with Kodachrome 25 color slide film.
Three years ago I used a Mavica with a floppy disk to take a picture of the projected slide on an old screen I had. I was getting some of my old slide pictures so I could post online in various places. (real high tech copy process)
I have taken about a bazillion pictures in my life with all kinds of cameras, Got about 5 good ones …
Best one I took with a RMK mapping camera at an oblique of the Manhattan skyline from about 1500 feet in 1988 or 89. That 9" X 9" color negative belongs to the company unfortunately.
No formal training, although I had a technical “how to develop and print” type class in HS.
The best training is to shoot hundreds and thousands of frames. I’m quite good now (especially animals, seems to have become my specialty along with missions and other old buildings) but it took lots of practice.
Some of my stuff can be seen here and here and then there’s this guy.
I should put more pics up… got some good ones at the SD Zoo a couple of days ago…
A good way to practice? Take pictures of sleeping people. Really. And whatever you do, try not to line people up and say “Now smile!” Almost always goes badly…
I’m more into photography as “art”, which is to say I’m an artist who uses photography to advance their work. I had one really, really good photography class that only really taught the basics of developing in a darkroom, with the rest of class time a long lecture on the history of photography and art. Most of my training has been taking pictures relentlessly over the past few years.
Incidentally, I have taken drawing courses, but that’s not because of photography necessarily. I consider myself a photographer first and foremost and I’m constantly looking for ways to improve my work, so I’ll take anything I can get. That’s also why I’m taking lots of classes in the history of art, color theory, design, whatever. Everything you know can at some point end up in a photo.
If you mean 5 good pictures? You’re…[hey, mods, can I call someone a liar outside the pit if it’s a compliment???:D]…incorrect. You’ve got SCADS of good pictures in your album online.
eta: Here’re my albums.
I am not a great photographer, but I have taken a few thousand pictures over the last 30 years and I occasionally take a decent one. Some of them are up here. I swear one of these days I will get more pictures from my trips up on my site. I hope. 
I didn’t get any formal school training, but, when getting serious about photography, worked at an Old School camera store, and had to answer questions, which got me on the ball with knowing all the how-to bits. That firmed up my knowledge, as well as having to get all the chem knowledge required at the time to produce my own negs and prints.
I didn’t have formal training with drawing beyond basic college art classes, but,was drawing before I could talk, so, visual bent was natural to me. At the time I was interested in making a visual statement coincided in being in a place I could make a worthwhile statement; documenting Mississippi Blues musicians. So, I was driven to get better technically quick in order to do that well, because it really mattered. And, not many others were doing that then. I wanted to do it better, because the people I had the grace of photographing deserved the best.
So, I’m coming from a documentary tradition, where the image is not just a pretty image, but a meaningful one, with great impact of understanding.
I can go on into that if anyone is interested.
Both of my parents were artists, so I always considered making art to be a very “normal” thing. And I was always very good at it. I always knew how to draw, always knew about composition and color, etc. I took lots of art classes, but didn’t learn much I didn’t already know.
I never studied photography. I developed a lot of my own techniques for various situations (probably re-inventing the wheel). The big quantum leap in my skills came when I started working in Photoshop, using my photos as raw materials, and figuring out how to achieve certain effects.
I don’t know if I’m any good or not, but I’ve always enjoyed photography and, judging by my Flickr account, take an average of 5 keepers a day. Tempermentally, I’m much more of an archivist than an artist.
Anyway,
Did you receive any formal training?
My only formal study of photography was a one-semester course in high school, which laid out some of the basics but was of limited use. Most of the rest of my training was as a news photographer in college. There I learned a great deal about basic darkroom management and essential darkroom techniques (this was back in the film era, when a good photographer could earn two whole mastodon pelts a year), plus hands-on practice in lighting, focus, framing, choosing subjects that will become the focus of a larger story, and dealing with sub-optimal conditions. I didn’t get much exposure to studio photography, and there weren’t many chances for artistic experimentation.
After a long hiatus, I got back into photography again a couple of years ago when I bought a digital SLR to get ready for the birth of my son. I soon rediscovered my love for shooting and was back at it. Now, I’m working in an ad agency, and while my own job is in writing, I work closely with the designers and art staff. From them, I’ve learned a great deal about adjusting my images in Photoshop and working with RAW format.
Did your training include basic drawing?
Not a bit. The joke around the office is how my visual presentations are always either stick figures or Gillliam-style photo cut-outs. In fact, my lack of training in drawing is probably what steered me to choose photography to satisfy my high school art requirements.
Really interesting. Thanks for sharing your stories and links.
I’m related to several photographers and we don’t quite see eye-to-eye; I thought perhaps my experiences in art school were the difference, but apparently not.
I am a student of photography. I like all the technical aspects of the hobby. I read all kinds of books and study webpage after webpage on the subject and I can’t take a decent picture to save my life. My wife on the other hand simply looks at a scene, raises the camera to her eye and creates art.
No on both counts. Most of my photographic colleagues have not received any formal training at all. I started in photojournalism, and still am 90% PJ, but the learning method was generally to go out, shoot, come back, and get critiqued by someone who knows what they’re doing.
edit: I should also add, critically and actively looking at all aspects of visual culture (starting with works of great photographers, of course, but not forgetting cinema, painting, graphic design) is also fundamental to developing. I knew almost nothing about composition when I started photography, but sort of developed an instinct for it after looking at tons of pictures.
Holy cow, UncleRojelio she sure does. Wow.
Art-making (and appreciating) is an interesting ability.
The thought of showing my artwork was really daunting to me, but once I got started, sharing my stuff with the general, art-favoring public was great. Because people are really good at spotting my best stuff and walking past the rest - seeing that helped build my confidence in my ability to evaluate my work. Another form of critique.
Thanks Fessie. Yeah, she never ceases to amaze me.
