Advice?

[pgriz]

Find a mentor. Doing on your own (as most of us have done) means repeating the same mistakes over and over again until you finally understand why it's not working. A good mentor will point out the obvious stuff within the first five minutes. A good mentor will take you to places (photographically speaking, of course) that you may never have even known existed. A good mentor will redirect the focus from equipment (the quick fix) to learning skills (slower, harder, but ultimately, much more reliable and satisfying). That said, a good mentor is hard to find. There are good photographers who are poor teachers, good teachers who are limited in the skill they can teach (again, photographically speaking), and great photograhers who have ego issues and want groupies and syncopants, not students. Sigh. Just like the rest of life. But if you get lucky and find such an individual, be prepared to grow like a weed in a manure patch. If that doesn't work for you, it's "soar like an eagle".

 

[kundalini]

Remove the lens cap.

 

[JadynH]

Take lots of PICTURES!

 

[KmH]

Second best advise I ever got:

"Don't take pictures. Make images."

 

[Infidel]

" f/5.6 at 1/500 at ISO 400 "

...and be there?

 

[shan35mm]

The best advice I ever received was: "look at what everyone else is doing... Then do something completely different". It applies to so much more than just photography.

 

[rainking]

Once you're close enough, go two steps closer.