Amateur or pro? State fair entry

Diddy2theJJ

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In the past, I have really enjoyed entering my work in our local state fair. I've received some blue ribbons and a couple of best in class. It's been quite a few years since I've entered anything in there but I was thinking about entering again this year for fun.

I was reading through the rules/guidelines and it says it's open to amateur photographers. I've been charging for photography for several years now, so does that mean that's it's not be right to enter into an amateur contest? The photos I would be entering have been done for fun and not for pay.

But what exactly defines a professional photographer? I've seen many people who call themselves a pro who have photos that seem to be very entry level photography, and I feel like my work is better. On the other hand, and I've seen some that say they are a "hobbiest" that have taken photos that I only dream of taking. So where do you draw the line between amateur and pro?
 
Really, the best thing to do would be to call the convenor/adjudicator and ask their opinion. My feeling is that if you're an amateur in the category you're entering, it's fair. In my case as a portrait photographer, I wouldn't enter an amateur portrait category, but never having made dime one in, say, macro work, and shooting it rarely, and then only for my personal enjoyment, I would feel fine about entering as an amateur.
 
I second contacting the contest officials; there opinion of what constitutes "professional" is - in the end - the only one that matters.
 
The rules should spell it out. My local state fair competition states that an amateur is defined as a person who derives no more than 10% of their income from photography. If the definition is not posted in the rules, contact the person in charge and ask.
 

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