Learn the technical aspects of photography, THEN concentrate on the aesthetic and DEVELOP those people skills
All too often, we get so hung up on the technical aspects of something that we lose any aesthetic advantage that the moment allows. The more we become discouraged, the harder it is to proceed any further. By learning the technical, learning the impact of changes in aperture, shutter speed, different ISO settings and the effects of different lighting we develop a taste for what we find aesthetically pleasing to us and improve our ability to reproduce these results more frequently.