What's one piece of advice that you'd like to pass along to intermediate amatures?

Once you've mastered your own cheesy cliche, you're halfway there.

Don't beleive anything that anyone tells you.

Try it out for yourself and see what happens.

95% of effective learning is by doing, not beleiving.

What stands between you and greatness sits between your ears... not in your camera bag.

In other words, don't get wrapped up in equipment. Cartier-Bresson exclusively used Leica 35 mm rangefinder cameras equipped with normal 50 mm lenses - occasionally a wide angle for landscapes.

The most useful revelation I had from a photography point of view was quite simple, actually: do you know what separates the work of the top photographers from that of the rest? Simple: the amount of effort that they put into the photo.

An average snapshotter goes, takes a shot and moves on.

A hobbyist goes, spends some time searching for the right composition - and if he is serious about his photography, he may also wait for the right light.

A top-notch photographer is willing to put in a *lot* of effort to get the shot "just right" -coming back at another time, making multiple efforts, etc. Each shot is visualized in advance and then all stops are pulled out just to get that -ONE- shot. Most of us do not make that extra effort just for a single shot.

That is what sets apart the top photographer from the rest (not ability, not creative vision, not technical skills & most certainly not L lenses).

Vandit

Take up photography after you have won the lottery

camera wrote in post #3762033
Take up photography after you have won the lottery

LOL, good advice!

You are known by what you show not by what you take.

beefykoala wrote in post #3760570
Once you've mastered your own cheesy cliche, you're halfway there.

Lmao, I was half thinking the same thing.

On the business side, don't give negatives until payment is made.

Ignore critiques that use the word "distracting."

turbo212003 wrote in post #3765393
On the business side, don't give negatives until payment is made.

You suck.


Oops I jumped the gun.


*Takes your money*
You suck.

Ahh much better. I like that method!

cdifoto wrote in post #3765419
Ignore critiques that use the word "distracting."

Preach it brutha
Take this thread for example http://75.126.234.18/f​orum/showthread.php?t=​344020
and posts 4, 11, & 17...they are completely missing the point of the photo for God's sake!!!!

"distracting" BAHHHhahahaha.

Read this somewhere:
Amateurs think about equipment
Professionals think about money
Masters think about light

Don't forget to take your lens cap off.. before shooting...
Gets me every time..