Get out and shoot, but shoot with specific goals in mind.

If it doesn’t look the way you want it out of camera, you’re not going to get it that way in Post.

Look at other photographers for inspiration and study, but DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO THEM!!

College can be helpful for many people, but it is by NO means the only way to learn photography.

Your gear DOES NOT make you a better photographer. Understanding your gear does.

Don’t spend money on upgrading your gear unless you actually see the limitations your current gear is putting on you.

When it is time to upgrade gear, get the best you can afford, but do your research first. Often times the second best in a line is all you will ever need.

Take the time early on to learn how to light with OCF. Even if you want to shoot ambient light, it will make it MUCH easier to understand how to get flattering light if you understand how to manipulate it.

Learn manual as opposed to TTL

This is frustrating and hard sometimes. There are days that even the top professionals will feel like things aren’t coming out well.

Your money is often times much better spent on education than gear. This can be through any number of platforms and can look like a lot of things. Sure, you may be able to learn everything for free eventually, but paying for educational materials/workshops/mentorships often times provides higher quality results and much more rapid learning experiences.

Stop saying you’re self taught. You were likely taught by the industry’s top professionals.

Study Business and marketing.

Stop taking advice of people that know better than you half heartedly and feeling like you know better. You probably don’t.