Pro photographers only?

[Kat77]

I wanted to congratulate you on that AMAZING shot! I would hang that on my wall...

I used a Fuji digital camera set on automatic , with focus on macro. Not much skill there, I'm afraid. The photo wasn't edited, or even cropped, for that matter (thought I probably should have cropped it). Just resized. But I did spend 4 different nights taking photos, throughout the month, and probably took about 100 photos, before settling on that one. My subject got so bored he fell asleep .

 

[dandes]

I am a professional photographer by trade so this thread is very interesting to me and has raised a few smiles for me. I do agree that the type of camera can seriously effect the quality of picture being taken, however the skill of the photographer and knowing how to use a camera is much more importnant than the type of camera.
for example i use the Canon EOS 5D and also a 1D series camera for work but if i did not know how to use these cameras and have a sound understanding of exposure and shutter speeds, composition and light my pictures would look rubbish regardless of camera.
Point and shoot cameras actually make taking good pictures much easier than using a DSLR as they do most of the exposure and speed calculations internally and add saturation and sharpness in camera meaning that the end result is a pretty good picture for the average user. DSLR's on the other hand need a lot more input from the user to get a good result as exposure,shutter speed etc need to be calculated by the user to get a good picture. (if auto mode is not used).
Photography is all about understanding light and composition and how to use it,once you have mastered this then the photos you take will be much better.

This pic was taken on a 2mp point and shoot fuji camera so it goes to show that point and shoots are very capable.

This photo was taken with a 6mp DSLR

This with a 14mp DSLR

As you can see there is not really that much difference between the 3 photos in quality and the point and shoot keeps up with the pro cameras no problems!

My point in all this is its the hands and skill of the camera holder that make the picture and not the camera. I'm happy to see a separate comp for professional photographers but please dont assume that if someone uses a DSLR camera it makes them a pro! the industry is being ruined by people buying DSLR's and suddenly labelling themselves as pro...

Sorry for the rant but i felt that some of the posts left here seem to be left by people who dont understand how cameras work and what goes into taking a good photograph.
I think Bullsnake hit the nail on the head about people raising thier game. think the comp would be a great oppertunity for people to practice their skills and improve on their photography. I'm more than happy to help out with any questions people may have on taking good pics and it might even be a good idea to have a tips section and a photography how to somewhere on the comp forums.
Looking forward to having Mr Bullfrog eating my dust in the comps too
If i do win any photo comps, as a pro i'd donate any winnings into the upkeep of the forums anyway as its gotta be the best info source for chams on the net!!
Happy snapping people