Richard and friends,
I am new here, this is the first topic I read. And I'm happy to see a healthy exchange of information, experience and opinions. This kindness is not common in forums, specially when about photography. I read all postings, and was ready to start mine, when I read Richard's. We have a few things in common, I'll talk about briefly later.
I fully agree with most if not all postings here. Sometimes adding light will change the general "mood" intended by the photographer. As nomadr says, making a pic flat and dull can be the result of messing with low light situations.
The elbow positioning - in fact, not only the elbow counts - is crucial. As Richard, I was a marksman, and a trick I use in photography is to control breathing. I usually inhale and exhale three times. Calm and steady. The third exhale is not full, I do a "half exhale", stop, and take the shot. Try this a couple times, and you will feel the difference.
Another military-to-photography trick: Tucking elbows are mandatory. But try this: if standing, turn 90 degrees to your right. Hold the camera from beneath with left hand, as said here. BUT when you twist your upper body to frame the pic, rest your shoulder on your hip bone. It's a bit uncomfortable, but you will get used to it. Practice. A lot. And you may see results soon.
Richard says not to punch the shutter. In the military we are taught to "let the shoot happen", not to pull triggers. Those shots are very effective, specially when combined with other tricks.
Buy a monopod, it's cheap. Think about buying faster lenses. They are not cheap. As a member here said, it's easier and better to fix grainy than shaky pics.
And practice, practice, practice.
Tank you all for the great deal of information you post here.