Ok, what I have so far observed through the years in photography about the many kinds of photographers, are as follows:
>> Pros: these photographers either makes their living shooting weddings and all other events and or purposes, and are REALLY very good in what they do... most of the pros I came across are like that... really pros and you don't even know that they are pro-photographers outside of the studio! Why? Because they use very simple cameras, and carry very little gear... amazing!
>> Pro-wananbe: these are those who in appearance look damn fierce with all the jacket, branded cam-bags or backpacks, huge mean branded tripods/monopods, wear sunglasses (hehehe..shooting with sunglasses!), and generally only LOOK LIKE pro... but man... not lah..
just only have a lot of money to spend on gears..but shoot like koteh..
>> The Serious Enthusiast: now in this category, you will indeed find, some really skillful and very creative and resourceful photographers.. whether in Singapore, or abroad. And yes, PASSION is the keyword under this group. Here any kind or level of cameras will do, and the pictures from this group, often requires more than a second look...
>> The Starters: this category is hard to spot at first, until they start shooting. They can carry any kind of gears or bags or cameras, depending on their financial standing, and some in appearance can look really pro-like... but when they start shooting, their image straight away koyak...
>> The Old Birds: This one, must be careful! Mostly middle aged uncles and aunties! They can be seen using very simple manual Nikon cameras. But don't look down on them, their eyes can beat your several thousand dollars DSLR metering system ah!! They may take longer to focus compose and shoot, but the pictures they produce are largely the kinds that can hang on the wall....
>> The Collector: alamak.. this one hard to describe. There are both really good photogs and really bad ones as well in this category. But key thing to note in photogs in this cat.; they will ALWAYS be seen with the LATEST model of any camera make! Cannot tahan...
Basically they will buy new camera bodies, then go around shooting to test and try it out. After that, it will be consigned into their cavernous dry cabinets.... or sometimes, sold...
And they are more technical than creative in photography.
Well, that's about all I observed with regards to the word "Pro". In my opinion, Pro simply means you are making a living doing what you do. Nothing else.