Photography classes and more!

So I've wanted to improve on my photography skills for quite some time, but just never seemed to have the time to take a formal class.  I have improved a bit over the years, especially if I look back at some of my first pictures I ever took, but I never really understood my camera or how to get my pictures to look better.  Recently I've found a way to work photography classes into my busy schedule.  Lynda.com  Now this isn't exactly a free website, but the prices are pretty reasonable.  I get a membership through work, so if you just happen to work for a university, you might want to check if they offer free memberships.  But the monthly rates aren't all that bad.  And I can say I've learned more in the last couple days then I have in the last five years reading books and researching online.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm still a huge supporter of doing research and learning through blogs and youtube, but for me, these classes seem to be working better for me.

And there are a lot more then just photography classes on there.  I'm also learning about logo design, photo editing, and drawing vector images.  Plus my queue is filled with a ton more that I want to take.  The individual lessons are pretty short, so they are easy to fit in here and there when I have time.  It really nice.

And just look at what I've learned so far.  Here is an old picture of my sugar skull.

Not bad, but not good either.  It's way to dark and if you look closely, there is a lot of noise in the picture.

And now look at it.  I've redid my lighting and reset my camera for brighter, clearer pictures.  Not bad right? Okay, so I still have a lot more to learn, but I've only started.  I'll get better with practice.  I'm a lot more comfortable with my camera already.  I honestly never thought I would completely understand my DSLR, but I'm starting too.

Here's another photo I took using what I've learned so far.  It's maybe a little over exposed, but not too bad.

Maybe someday my photos will look as amazing as a professional phototgrapher (I highly doubt it, but you never know).  I'm going to keep working on this and try and improve as much as I can.

This is not a paid post, I'm just excited to have found a way to take online classes that work around my schedule.  What skill(s) have you been wanting to/or learning about?