I went to her web site and blog, in which she also sells her graphic design work, and noticed numerous misspelled words, as well as apologies for her inability to take on additional work, as well as apologies for recent computer problems as well as apologies for the lack of photos due to ongoing web site updates. Her web site has lots of frilly graphics, plus graphics and Photoshop actions or backgrounds for sale. She also sells web design services. From the web site and blog, it is clear that she is a single proprietor with limited resources. I would guess, by looking at her style and web site that she is no more than 32-35 years old, if that.
Not wanting to sound harsh, I usually try and overlook spelling and grammatical errors, but on one's "professional" web site, errors in spelling, like the word "Cleints" in a headline, followed within a few words by body copy with the word clients spelled correctly, shows a real lack of attention to detail. Even the best editors can sometimes miss the spelling on a word in body copy, but headline errors scream out. I understand that computer resources can be limited,and that any site can have computer problems, but the impression the words on the page give is: I am a single proprietor and I am undercapitalized.
The whole MWAC or MWC issue is one that has become a reality in the family photography business. What constitutes a "professional" is a subject open for debate, but I would argue that there are different levels of professional, and varying levels of professionalism; the level of professionalism is where many younger professionals fall flat, in my opinion. The ability to handle mixed lighting situations, the ability to pose subjects and the skill-training-knowledge to photograph refined, complete poses, and the ability to avoid basic photographic boo-boos are some of the areas where young, new,self-taught professionals often fall flat compared with the final RESULTS that more-experienced, and better-trained professionals consistently can produce.
There are many pretty well-known aspects to the craft of photography; things like background control, reflection control, and the proper orientation of the camera in relation to the pose and background/location. I looked through the site linked to above, and what I see is a young professional,and one who is rough around the edges, and who uses heavy post-processing,and who is still learning how to use location lighting. My pet peeve would be the use of horizontal camera orientation and butchering traditional poses like half-body standing by composing the shot as a sort-of-halfway head and shoulders shot, with the subject often square-on to the camera, thus turning what should ostensibly be a half-body standing pose into a poorly-composed head and shoulders shot. The lack of training or even familiarity with basic posing ideas refined over literally centuries of painting, sculpture, and photography is pretty evident in the work of many beginning shooters--whether they call themselves professionals, MWC's, part-timers, semi-pros, or beginning professionals.
It's easy for some people to take offense when others negatively evaluate work they consider to be good or even excellent, but the standards of "professional photography" are pretty high, and frankly I see more and more people who do not know the first thing about posing shooting God-awful poses with the camera held the wrong way, and post processing the daylights out of the results, and then selling the work to young families who themselves are not sophisticated consumers of photography. Among family and portrait photographers (and other specializations like wedding-commercial product-outdoor-sports-PJ,etc. ad infinitum) there are Master, Journeyman,and Apprentice level photographers. There are those with 40 years, 30 years,20 years, and two years or as little as six months in the business; the vast majority of "professional photographers" in the family photography business these days are what I think of as apprentice-level professionals, whose time on the job and whose level of knowledge,training,and understanding does not qualify them for the journeyman level. And yet, these apprentice-level shooters make most of their money off of photographic work that they produce,and yet that earning status does not guarantee that they are highly-skilled photographers,nor that their work is really what "used to be" called fully professional work.
It's a different world today,and there are many new shooters with web sites, business cards, and price sheets. Some are very talented, while most others have a long way to go to be considered even medium-level in skill.
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/34/34483-f862f99992bbdd79e95d390a65e59f6e.jpg?1734165377)
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/36/36601-26ec0a53712c5470af53be9652811a6e.jpg?1734169054)
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/34/34691-2fa9779b0e77f698b193a633b9242553.jpg?1734165697)
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/36/36603-a830ccec573081105d6aafcccc650605.jpg?1734169056)
