What makes a professional a professional?

[Cinka]

Yesterday I was at a coffee house and noticed their apple tree was in bloom. I whipped out my camera and took a quick shot. I probably won't use it for anything, just a nice picture of apple blossoms. About 5 minutes later, a grandma with a point and shoot grabbed her camera out of her purse and took pictures of the same apple blossoms.

In this day and age, where EVERYONE has a camera and easy access to the web, printing, and book making, what sets the professionals apart? I'm sure Grandma took a nice picture and most point and shoots are decent quality - at least 6 megapixels. Let's say she wanted to sell that shot. Am I now in competition with every old lady and kid with a digital camera?

How do you rise above and set yourself apart?

 

[shorty6049]

When i got hired for the newspaper here at my school, the advisor told everyone that the difference between an amature and a pro is one dollar. Its kind of true , becasue how many old ladies and kids with point-and-shoots are selling their images? On the other hand, the pay for newspaper was $250 a semester so i quit. One thing that will set you apart though may be image quality. Everyone says that a dSLR wont make you a better photographer, because "its the photographer, not the camera" and sure, thats probably true, but nobody said anything about lenses. I couldnt get most of the shots i have now with a point and shoot. You dont get the soft out of focus areas and super wide angles among other things, using a p&s. But yeah, everyone is competing these days, thats why i'm not majoring in photography.

 

[Big Mike]

I've heard this discussion before...and there doesn't seem to be a firm answer.

Some say that if you get paid, you are technically professional. Some say that one must earn most of their income from photography to be considered a professional photographer.

Someone might say that it doesn't have to do with money but more in the way that you act and present yourself.

Some will say that it's the equipment that you use...I don't agree with that, but the general public seems to think that if you have professional looking equipment, that's all it takes (some 'photographers think this too...which is sad & funny).

 

[Chris of Arabia]

I'd say that the difference between an amateur and a professional is getting paid 1$ repeatedly...

 

[shorty6049]

just to make sure you arent talking about me , i'll clear this up a bit- Its not using professional LOOKING eqipment, but using eqipment that gives you professional results. But thats definately not ALL there is to being a pro. I'm not one, and i have some good gear.

 

[Cinka]

I guess it's sort of scary to think that everyone has a camera and often intimidating when I see excellent photography done by some guy on vacation and not for professional reasons.

Someone once told me that you can't be a professional until you're willing to call yourself so.

I think equipment has a lot to do with it. I once shot a major live band with a point and shoot and the photographer next to me had a big fat lens and Canon 5D. She actually laughed at me. It was then I decided to save up and get a better camera. I didn't get good shots either. LOL.

 

[Big Mike]

No, not talking about you.

Yes, part of being a pro 'should' be knowing to use good equipment (or at least the right tool for the job).

But if someone take photos with a Holga or a cell phone cam and sells them for $100,000...does that make them less of a professional?

In many ways, photography is an art...and 'professional artist' could really mean anything.

 

[twocolor]

My husband says that knowledge and information is the key to setting yourself apart from the others. I am CONSTANTLY trying to learn more about being a better photographer. My head is usually burried in books, magazines and websites that give me ideas, info, know how, etc, etc. Everyday I try to do something that sets me apart from EVERYONE, even other professionals, that's what drives me and my business.

 

[Iron Flatline]

A professional is someone who gets paid for the work she does, while pursuing it as a substantial part of her livelihood (not an ancillary hobby and/or minor additional income augmentation).

 

[Dioboleque]

I'd like to start off by saying that I don't know anything about anything...

With that said, I'd say that 'being a professional' is solely about career status and is not a judgement of quality. I wouldn't say that I'm a photographer but rather that I am someone who enjoys taking photos, and someone who enjoys taking photos is just as capable of producing the same quality photos as a 'professional' but has no intention of selling their work. I would think that being a professional is just as much about selling yourself as it is about selling your photos, and the selling yourself part is what will set you apart from others.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

This whole question revolves around what you mean by 'professional'.
The straightforward definition of a professional is 'someone who makes their living by doing something'. So a professional photographer is a person who does photography for a living.
However, 'professional' does not always mean 'good'.
There are professional photographers who's pictures are dire because they don't really know that much about what they are doing - it's just done by the numbers.
And I've known professionals who were truly original and creative because they lived, ate and slept photography.
Some people become professionals because they think it is easy money and glamorous - and in some respects they are right.
Others become professionals because they have to. Doing anything else is not an option.
By the same token there are amateurs who can take better pictures than a lot of professionals because they take it seriously.
In the end 'professional' is just a word, nothing more. It's the images produced which count.

 

[keith204]

I thought Google knew everything...but I searched for the answer to this and proved my theory wrong.

 

[panocho]

A professional, first, gets paid and, second, knows about his profession (that's why he gets paid) so that they can decently do whatever you ask them to do (granted it falls under the area of the profession, this case photography).

So I wouldn't consider someone a professional, no matter how good their pictures are, if they don't make a living out of it. And also I wouldn't consider a professional someone who cannot take a decent picture that you ask and pay for, no matter how much they charge you.

 

[sabbath999]

Honestly, I don't see the importance of figuring out if somebody is a "professional" or an "amateur" photographer... what matters is the quality of the actual pictures they produce.

I am better than some "professional" photographers, but I don't get paid for my work. Most "professional" photographers are better than me, as are most serious amateurs as well...

I think the whole idea of being a "professional" is all about making money. Many "professional" photographers go to work every day at Wal-Mart and Sears and many other big-box stores, shooting children in a pre-set pose with pre-set cameras and pre-set lights... all of which were pre-set by somebody else. Many of these folks wouldn't have a clue what to do if you handed them an SLR and an assignment to go out into the field and shoot street, or sports, or a concert or anything else.

Basically, being a "professional" only equates to quality in the way that you have to be at least decent to get people to continue paying you money for your pictures.

Many advanced amateurs are actually much better photographers than a LOT of "professionals" when you get those "pros" out of their own little niche.

Many "professional" photographers around here do nothing but take the same exact senior pictures time and again, using the same templates and the same props, the same poses and the same locations. Does this make the pictures bad? No, not at all... technically, many are outstanding. But it becomes craft, not art to them...

Most "amateur" photography is facebook "crap" style snapshots. Some of it borders on the levels of "professional" quality (i.e. the quality you would expect from somebody who makes their living taking pictures) and some blows most of the "pro" stuff out of the water.

Rather than focusing on whether a person gets paid for their pictures, I think it is more important to focus on whether the pictures themselves are any good... and what we can do to make our own pictures better.

 

[shorty6049]

how about we end this right here-

M-W.com (mirriam webster) says -

Main Entry: 1pro·fes·sion·al Pronunciation: \pr&#601;-&#712;fesh-n&#601;l, -&#712;fe-sh&#601;-n&#601;l\ Function: adjective Date: 1606 1 a: of, relating to, or characteristic of a profession b: engaged in one of the learned professions c (1): characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession (2): exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace2 a: participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs <a professional golfer> b: having a particular profession as a permanent career <a professional soldier> c: engaged in by persons receiving financial return <professional football>3: following a line of conduct as though it were a profession <a professional patriot>