But I'm not a pro?

[Destin]

IMO: No, they probably had an agreement with some professional photographer to share in the sales revenue from the pro, which is why the gate person was evaluating your equipment. They don't want you to offer your shots for sale. The pro wanted to make sure you understood you were subservient to his efforts.

I find it difficult to believe there'd be any significant sales revenue from a high-school concert.

Agreed. I tried to make money selling high school sports photos for a few years: it isn’t worth the time in most cases.

 

[SquarePeg]

Being a "profesional photographer" is EASILY faked if you take the time, and have the correct lack of morals and an insufficient charecter.

I have seen quite a few "up coming professional photographers" from EUROPE who have done the simple route and faked their way into photography as a professional. This is what they did.

1. got camera gear, took some photos. Got prints developed.

2. rented a small store front and hung prints up on the wall

3. advertised the small "photo exhibit". opened it for a few weekends. And then following month relocated to a different spot in town.

4. Get on instagram and twitter. post some photos. Mention their successful exhibits.

5. Have friends, or create fake accounts, and give praise of the wonderful work in those exhibits.

6. befriend various people on twitter and instagram that have 10,000+ followers and start application of their lips to those peoples "bottoms".

6.a after a time those people with freshly suctioned "bottoms" will usually give nice comments on that persons instagram photos.

7. kick back, youve become a professional photographer.

Although selling a self published photo book REALLY does increase the speed fo becoming a professional.

Being a "profesional photographer" is EASILY faked if you take the time, and have the correct lack of morals and an insufficient charecter.

I have seen quite a few "up coming professional photographers" from EUROPE who have done the simple route and faked their way into photography as a professional. This is what they did.

1. got camera gear, took some photos. Got prints developed.

2. rented a small store front and hung prints up on the wall

3. advertised the small "photo exhibit". opened it for a few weekends. And then following month relocated to a different spot in town.

4. Get on instagram and twitter. post some photos. Mention their successful exhibits.

5. Have friends, or create fake accounts, and give praise of the wonderful work in those exhibits.

6. befriend various people on twitter and instagram that have 10,000+ followers and start application of their lips to those peoples "bottoms".

6.a after a time those people with freshly suctioned "bottoms" will usually give nice comments on that persons instagram photos.

7. kick back, youve become a professional photographer.

Although selling a self published photo book REALLY does increase the speed fo becoming a professional.

LoL, LoL , LoL...., Tball, I can't laugh loud enough!!!
You're kidding right??? PLEASE tell me your making all of that up?! LoL
And you've seen, "quite a few"...., I''m STILL laughing!
I will say, anybody who goes through THAT much expense and effort should automatically be a pro!
It doesn't really matter because on a Forum(the internet), anybody can be anything they want to be.
Just have really nice cards made up and hand them out. Eventually someone is gonna ask to hire ya..., just tell them you're fully booked for ten years out to keep your cover intact!!! LoL
SS

Sadly I am NOT making that up. I have left out SOME steps, such as joining in various anti male political groups, or joining the drug culture in major cities, or becoming a member of the gay/oddball movements in major cities.

Those are the realities i discovered this winter when i came across
lomography.com and its "magazine" of free self advertisement.

I was looking for several things when that site popped up, i was trying to see what i was missing when it came to finding models that did not flake out, or models that turned out to be prostitutes with a photo twist.

After the shock of seeing so many BAD photographic images, i started looking at the websites of these "up and coming photographic super stars" and "trending photographers of the new age" that I saw all of those hall marks popping up in those peoples biographies.

The suggestion to simply print up fancy business cars to hand out like a politician handing out promises on November 1st, is more honest, moral, and ethical then what the majority of them have done.

I dare any of you to spend 5 hours, and go through their magazine and try to find more then one image per "article" that is properly exposed at bare minimum. Or even in proper focus....

One could make an interesting drinking game for a college frat..

You seem overly concerned about what other people are doing. Who cares if someone who is untalented (in your opinion) calls themselves a pro? There’s really no big payoff in the title. If they open a gallery and have a show and you don’t like their work, don’t go. It’s easy to criticize. I give anyone who puts their work out there for people to see a lot of credit. Especially with all the negativity that’s out there.

You are overlooking the fact that doing a few fake gallery showings, sucking up to someones retail website (lomography.com), using a few of their products, and partaking in some political group will make you an instant PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER, regardless of how good or bad your photographs are.

Seriously on that website, in their little magazine, MOST of the photos they show as being carefully selected to show the best use of their film, are what photographic books used to show as "things to avoid", "this means you took a bad photo" "you used bad film" you need to learn how to develop film or find a company that can do it correctly"

I’m not overlooking it, I just don’t care about that. Not sure who the “they” or “their” is in your post or what you’re even talking about. What did this person do to negatively impact you? Really I don’t see the point of worrying about what someone else is doing, or whether they call themselves a pro or what butt they kiss. Did they beat you out of a shoot because they’re a “pro” and you’re not? What gives?

 

[mrca]

Tball, if someone doesn't have skills at a level required to produce professional work, he may fool some people but not someone who has a mastery of the craft. The fake will not produce consistent work that is exceptional. To be exceptional takes more than buying some expensive gear, some business cards and a website. An exceptional image is like the golf swing, looks simple but there are a hundred things that you can do wrong and fake will be lucky if he can think of 50. Yes, there are mediocre photographers making good money and starving incredible photographers. A professional is a business man and if the incredible photographer doesn't understand business, he may not do well. I know of a couple of guys who were the best in a medium city. They made 18 grand one year. Can make more that that at McDonalds. Yet there are mediocre photographers who understand the business and do very well. I have won and judged pro competitions and can tell at a glance if someone is an accomplished photographer. That old adage it takes 10,000 hours to master a craft easily applies to photography. Oh, and why do you want to shoot "models?" In most cases, it is some scrawny chick that thinks she is hot and thinks she should get paid for just standing around, often scantily clad. No clue on how to pose or work to camera/light. When I teach, I always warn aspiring photographers, models don't sleep with photographers, they think they should have a rich guy and a struggling photographer is far below their radar. Are you limiting your subjects to attractive young ladies? Why not shoot people who are far from perfect? It will teach you facial analysis, corrective lighting, posing, camera controls. A blind monkey can photo a perfect model. What do you care if someone is a fake. If your work and business skills dust his, he is inconsequential.

 

[Tballphoto]

aspergers sucks?

Seriously look at it from the viewpoint of a person who is trying to get into photography that involves interacting with a model or other people. Wether its having some sitting on a chair while you take a picture, or someone who brings a dog to the park to have you take a photo of it.

To simplify lets look at instagram. All a person has to do is post about 100 photos of their lunch/breakfast/dinner/snack at some restaurant, and they are considered to be a professional photographer, as well as a professional food reviewer, and product photographer in one.

Or worse yet, look at the little photo videos popping up on instagram. If you dont have the studio setup of the "teacher" no one will work with you because professionals will ALWAYS have about 20,000$ in studio equipment for a shoot

 

[mrca]

Asbergers sucks? What does that mean? I think Cartman called it assburgers and sold them. If someone has no skills and posts 100 crap photos, why would someone hire them if they could photo the same crappy images? Who "considers" someone like that a professional? I was at a professional competition and a guy that won the class with a food photo said his problem was getting the food to look "wet." He had used a large soft box with soft shadow edge transitions. It was sharp and well exposed. I had to bite my tongue because I wanted to say if you want to see some photos where the food looks wet, a photographic term of which I am not familiar, I would say glossy, go 2 doors down and look at the sushi restaurant menu where glossy foods look that way ... because I included a specular highlight when I shot it and the specular edge transitions tells the surface efficincy to the viewer. The chef added cornstarch to the sauce to not only thicken but to add the visual gloss. Does your photographer know the principle to reveal it and even what surface efficiency is? If your photographer doesnt know that, he is missing revealing an important characteristic of the product yet is "considered" a pro? By whom? Folks don't know what they don't know. And pro studio gear is the same as pro cameras, having it doesn't automatically create professional photos. The guy I mentioned had a complete studio but was a portrait guy where speculars are primarily managed with makeup and he was trying his hand at product. Folks won't work with you if you don't have lots of gear? I have never had a client ask what gear I used? Have you? If you want clients, first create a body of work that is excellent. Then learn to market and run a business. Forget the "models" and take great photos of normal folks. And you just might be able to get hired by them, then get referrals and off you go. If you show great work to "models" they just might work with you and give you photos of attractive people for your website. What gets me work beside my handsome countenance and sparkling personality, is I just show my work. It gets me hired. I joke about the personality thing but, if someone don't come across as competent and confident, would you hire that person? But I have decades of experience, professional awards I can discuss and an extensive porfolio I can show. Showed some of my work to a booking agent recently who said, you took that photo? that He said when it came out, the bookings took off. The image was so powerful he remembered it. Bingo. Would you hire someone who "aspires" to be a photographer who was at ordinary work or someone with tons of experience and a track record with killer images? How do you get that? A TV sports guy, Tred Barta, used to say Do the work. In this day and age, everyone has a cell phone camera with them all the time. If you want to be hired, you need to be able to offer something they can't do. With skill, that can be done with minimal gear.

 

[Tballphoto]

Well dont take this the wrong way, seriously dont.

I have met a good number of "professional photographers" who have set themselves up as wedding and portrait photographers who do not have basic concepts of photography down such as:

an ability to use a camera BEYOND turning the dial to Automatic Mode
the ability to use a lens hood on a sunny day
the ability to use lens filters to control light, reflections, etc

I have even had discussions with a "professional automotive photographer" who had no idea what APERTURE is.

 

[mrca]

Yes, the turn and burners have been around for years. And they aren't insured. Before I left CA, 2 had screwed up wedding shoots, you know, not repeatable shoots, and were each hit with $40,000 judgments. Wait til they try to buy a car or sell their house. Sure, they try to shoot a wedding in a church with low light with a kit lens, don't know how or even have a flash and when everything is under exposed or has camera shake, there is no do overs. Have to shoot a lot of $500 weddings to make that up. Like I said everyone with a camera calls themselves a photographer but that doesn't make them provide professional quality images. But why does that bother you if you have skills they don't. They will be out of business in less than 2 years even if they don't get sued. And that hardly used expensive gear will be on ebay for half price. Besides, the people that are satisfied with their work and want cheap aren't my clients.