New and more expensive equipment won't make you a better photographer. But it will make it easier to capture the exceptional image and for some better/more expensive will increase their "keeper" rate.

The best way to better one's photographic skills is by shooting. Shooting everyday in all different lighting and environmental conditions. When you're done shooting for the day ... shoot some more. Not random images, but photos with some thought behind the image.

On top of shooting, add to be constructively self-critical of your photos. Always look at your images for different ways to improve them, then shoot to those ways. Implement your self-criticism(s) next time you shoot.

You can lower the steepness of the learning curve by taking classes, joining a local photo group, finding a mentor.

In the beginning, KISS it, Keep It Simple until the basics of exposure and composition are somewhat second nature. Shoot the hell out of the equipment you have until it becomes an extension of your body. Until the actually release of the shutter is almost boring, because you already know, beyond a doubt, what the final image will look like, in your mind. It is a slow and tedious process to go from a person with a camera to a photographer, one who has the skills and experience to see and capture the exceptional image day-in and day-out.

It isn't nearly as much fun as the acquisition of new hardware, testing this ... trying out that ... but all that new gear will just dilute and fragment the learning process. The new gear will make your stuff look different, but not necessarily better.

Gary

__________________
"Everywhere you look there are photographs, it is up to us photogs to see them."- Gary Ayala
My Snaps are Here: Unsharp At Any Speed
Critiquing my images is welcomed and greatly appreciated.

Well said!

__________________
My Flickr...


Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing. — Macbeth

While it's true that the body configuration of a DSLR is good for this reason, it is completely false to imply that this configuration is an attribute of the camera being an SLR, digital or not. It's the eyelevel finder allowing you to hold the camera against your face that is the benifit. That characteristic is common with mirrorless digital cameras having eyelevel EVFs (e.g. OM-D, Pany G and GH series, ...) and with optical rangefinder bodies (e.g. Leica M series).

The original post wanted to know if a SLR would help, and this would help him, if you choose to read more into the post, thats fine, but I stick to what I said which is correct in the context of the question asked, and if you continued to read my post you would see where I suggested he gets a viewfinder to get the benefit of positioning the camera in a better grip option and then I further pointed out the example of my son who uses a pen, which changed when he added the viewfinder.

Cheers.

__________________
My Flickr...


Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing. — Macbeth