I joined several groups on FB which had active meetings in my area, one of which helped get you out to different places, and the other held critique sessions in a small group.
That helped hone my critical eye. It’s not enough to learn the gear, you need a way to learn how people react to your photos, what they see you don’t, and why they interpret your photo as they do. It’s really quite helpful. It’s way beyond saying: That’s good or bad.
Then decide what directions you are going in: I’m not interested in model work, but many friends are. I follow them… they’re very good. Not my cup of tea. I am interested in landscape, so I’ve gravitated towards that. I’m also interested in fine art. That’s tough. It’s painstaking but worth it.
To return to the model photographers, I’m now able to see why some photographs are ‘better’ than others: some have artistic influence (colors, composition, inspiration) and display a real ‘eye’ for art. Others are just snapped. Sometimes it’s a good one, but sometimes it’s a miss.
Another photographer illustrates to me his approach: he’s chosen his tools – a Canon Full Frame with one decent lens, and an ancient verion of Photoshop. He’s mastered his tools perfectly, he’s not a gear head at all. But with those, he’s created a vision of the artist he wants to be by studying the Great Masters to recreate with photography the ‘light’. He found his muse.
Now by training and education, I’m not an artist. I’ve never studied art… so that’s where I am starting. Oh, and learning PS, though I’m able to achieve quite a lot without PS.