What is YOUR definition of a Professional Photographer?

[Actor]

A professional is

• anyone who can legitimately justify his expenditures on equipment and supplies as a business expense. To put it another way, he files Schedule C (in the U.S.). Note that this does not require him to make a living at it or to even make a profit.
• anyone whose job title or job description includes the word "photographer" or "photography."
• anyone who puts "photographer" on his 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ.

BTW are astronomers photographers? Does the 200 inch Mt Polomar instrument count as a camera?

How about U2 pilots and SR-21 pilots?

 

[manaheim]

Seriously, guys, this is a total waste of time. Go look up professional in a dictionary and move on. It's not nearly as complicated as many of you are making it out to be and all it eventually results in is people barking at each other.

Don't believe me? Go do a search on it here and see the other 8,000 threads on this topic that occurred last year alone.

 

[Mulewings~]

Professional Definition | Definition of Professional at Dictionary.com

"–noun
10. a person who belongs to one of the professions, esp. one of the learned professions.

11. a person who earns a living in a sport or other occupation frequently engaged in by amateurs: a golf professional.

12. an expert player, as of golf or tennis, serving as a teacher, consultant, performer, or contestant; pro.

13. a person who is expert at his or her work: You can tell by her comments that this editor is a real professional."

Well I could've answered my own question. According to several dictionaries this word being debated is not very cut and dry.
It is open to a lot of debate.

This question will probably be debated forever.
Thanks for your responses, they were very interesting to read.
Yes, I did ask...so I did read.

 

[NateWagner]

@Manaheim: Exactly, I agree completely.

@ Mulewings~: I think that typically people will choose one of those 4 definitions, and then argue with the others who choose one of those other 4 definitions.

 

[inTempus]

It's all about the gear. If you shoot a 1D or a D3, you're a pro. If you shoot something less like a 5D, D700, 7D or D300, you're a semi-pro. If you shoot anything under that, you're a soccer mom or a hobbyist.

If you shoot anything other than Canon or Nikon, you're a novice.

What did I win?

 

[NateWagner]

a chocolate chip cookie, 3 oreo's and a slim jim.

 

[craig]

It's all about the gear. If you shoot a 1D or a D3, you're a pro. If you shoot something less like a 5D, D700, 7D or D300, you're a semi-pro. If you shoot anything under that, you're a soccer mom or a hobbyist.

If you shoot anything other than Canon or Nikon, you're a novice.

What did I win?

The rubber chicken award!!!!!!!!

At any rate thoughtful post Tempus. I would also add that quite simply; if your email address ends in @yahoo.com or whatever you are a hobbyist. No one will take you seriously. If your email ends in @___photo.com you are a pro and deserving of a rubber chicken.

Love & Bass

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Probably will not end the argument but here's my stab at it:

If you're a Pro, you know it. If you have to ask, you most probably are not.

Now, send me that rubber chicken. Does it make good rubber soup?

 

[Josh66]

Don't forget the inflatable toast to go with the rubber chicken soup...

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Don't forget the inflatable toast to go with the rubber chicken soup...

:thumbup:

 

[manaheim]

*Manaheim envisions a new craze of pro photographers running around at weddings and sporting events with rubber chickens hanging out of their pants.*

 

[usayit]

So that's all that I needed to look more professional?? A rubber chicken? Damn.. I thought a big camera and a lens the size of my leg was good enough.

Do you think BH carries them?

 

[usayit]

If you shoot anything other than Canon or Nikon, you're a novice.
What did I win?

Man.. you described me just perfectly... I shoot with Leica.

Its so much easier to pretend to be a novice than it is to pretend to be professional.

 

[manaheim]

Does my D100 detract from the status that my D300 grants me? Like is there some sort of cumulative effect? Or perhaps a least worst multiplier of some kind? I'm trying to figure out my score.

ooo... actually a scoring system here would totally rock.

 

[DennyCrane]

Very few forums run in the black. Most are paid for by the site owner who rarely breaks even. Those are purely for the discussion of their hobby, sport, profession, etc. That said, I'm sure this one is making cash. And a way to keep an influx of new forum visitors is to have more width than depth. This means more threads with less posts than a few posts that are hundreds of pages long. This helps the odds of the site coming up on any particular Google search. And more site traffic means more advertisers clicked, more Ad Sense Google ads clicked, more paid memberships, etc.