[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Learned.

"Good" photography is as much perceptual as it is social. I have learned a lot by picking up photography books and making an effort to "read" them. Understanding a picture is not innate. You have to know how to look at an image, and what to look for. That's just the comprehension competence. To be able to actually produce something worth its interpretative salt is an even tougher skill to develop.

But the thing you have to bear in mind is that while everyone CAN learn it, not everyone WILL do so successfully. That's where the proverbial line between nature and nurture has to be thrown away and stamped upon violently. There are many reasons why some people achieve greater vision than others, while many others hit a wall, and circumstances play as much a role as fundamental cognitive abilities.

So there is hope: everyone can grow artistically. Just not to the same level.