What is YOUR definition of a Professional Photographer?

[boogschd]

:/

offtopicness

 

[Mulewings~]

I'd like to see what separates the Professional from all others in their own terms.

Is is because you [Professional Photographer] make your entire living off from it?
Or is a Professional one who makes limited income or is published?

Give a very clear answer.
Please?
Thanks.

I guess I was asking for just simple short answers and mostly I did get what I felt was good info.
Pro means your derive your income from it.

This works for me. I then am a seriously fun photographer who does it for enjoyment and an occasional publication.

Simply put?
I am not a Pro.

Thanks.
:hugs:

 

[Actor]

With the exception of "C&C Please" threads, one could do an exhaustive search on any topic presented and, in 90% of cases, find another thread with a similar subject.

1. I sometimes have trouble finding my own posts with the TPF search engine.

Really? This is a piece-of-cake:

1. Click on "Search"

Etc., etc., etc.

Beside the point. If I may be allowed a metaphor, I'm telling you the car does not run very fast and your response is to point out where the accelerator pedal is. I say the car does not perform and you assume I need driving lessons. Well I know where the accelerator is and I do not need driving lessons. I'm saying the car will not win the Indy 500.

You're also misunderstanding what I meant by "finding my own posts." I'm saying that I know for a fact I posted a comment with the word "discombobulated" in it but I can't find it. The SE returns no hits.

Also, the fact that it's a "piece-of-cake" only reinforces what I'm saying. For all its "advanced" features the search engine is not very sophisticated. It's a simple word finder with no capability for logical searches, regular expressions or AI searches. Probably took some programmer less than a day to write and debug it, assuming he did not simply copy it out of a textbook.

I submit that the primary purpose of this or any other forum is to foster a sense of camaraderie, rather than to slowly compile an exhaustive and non-redundant encyclopedia (that's the Wiki's job).

I submit that the primary purpose of this or any other forum that has advertising is to make money for the forum owners.

Right. And the primary purpose of a TV station or cable network is also to make money for their owners. But the TV station's customers are the advertisers, not the viewers. I don't watch TV for the commercials any more than I drive down the highway to read the billboards. I watch TV to be entertained and to get me to watch their shows (and maybe their commercials) the TV station/network has to offer me the service for free or at a nominal price. In the same vein I don't come here to read the ads; I come for the forum.

Visitors see all the advertisements and out number members about 5 to 1 so the Forum owners actually make money off those of us that generate their main content.

And I say we should be paid for that content. :lmao:

The only reason I mentioned it though was because this sort of thread tends to get heavily debated and there is no reason for it to get started again.

By that logic there's no need for Hollywood to make sequels, but they do. Why? To make money. But nobody forces you to go see Godfather II or Rambo IV.

If "this sort of thread tends to get heavily debated" it's because members are interested. If they are interested then they read, they post, maybe read the ads and the interests of the forum owners are served.

So let the individual forum member decide for himself whether he wants to read (and post) on a subject that's already been discussed. That's called freedom of choice. A rule that says you can't start a new thread on a subject that's already been discussed is called censorship.

 

[Josh66]

MY definition of 'Professional Photographer' is someone who earns most of their income with photography.


That doesn't necessarily mean that they're a good photographer though..., and I think that's what causes a lot of confusion on this topic. There's nothing bad about not being a 'pro'.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

As O|||||||O says pro does not equal good. Pro and quality have nothing to do with each other.

Pro just means you get paid for your work. However little or much you get paid is irrelevant in my book but it can and will be debated forever...

 

[chip]

I will start by saying that I am an amateur photographer. I take pictures for fun as a hobby and I don't make any money taking pictures. I always find it fascinating that so many folks find being a "professional photographer" as something glamorous, high paying, easy, and fun profession. There seems to be some mystique about this particular profession that are far for actuality. Some may have unrealistic concepts or expectations of what is truly a "professional photographer". Many people think that by being a "professional photographer", you must make a lot of money, you set your own hours and choose your work locations (think Hawaii), you take pictures of beautiful models, and you get to use the latest camera equipment. Wow what a dream job! Talk to people who are truly professional photographers you will get an entirely different picture. You may then wonder if you still wish to be a "professional photographer". When reality hits, most people probably would rather keep their day jobs than becoming a "professional photographer" making 25K a year working 60 hours a week using beat up old cameras.

 

[Iron Flatline]

Someone who makes the majority of the living income from photography.

 

[craig]

I judge photographers by their book.

Labels such as Professional, Hobbyist etc are lame and restrictive. Who cares? If you need to validate your professionalism join a professional organization.

Love & Bass

 

[CW Jones]

I wouldn't say a professional is someone who makes money from it... I have made money from my photography... but I am NOT a professional.... there is a fine line to it because I don't think a professional is only someone who makes there ENTIRE living off of their photography... Its actually a tough question haha

 

[Joves]

I wouldn't say a professional is someone who makes money from it... I have made money from my photography... but I am NOT a professional.... there is a fine line to it because I don't think a professional is only someone who makes there ENTIRE living off of their photography... Its actually a tough question haha

The ones who make only part of their income from photography would be semi-pro as where a pro makes all of their income from it. There can be different levels in professionalism.

 

[usayit]

"What do you do for a living?"
"What is your profession?"

Are essentially the same question.

Therefore, profession == "do for a living".

 

[JLEphoto]

One who makes the majority of their living taking photos. Some pros still love what they do and some wish they had a different job.... It is all in how you look at what you do. The deal is that being a proffesional anything is not easy and you can bet on some really bad days. I still want to be a pro photographer but I know it has its ups and downs. My issue is I am 36. Time is running out on career changes. Either way I will always be a photographer and that's all that matters to me.

 

[manaheim]

Since we seem to have this thread pop up a lot and since it really doesn't matter what anyone says in response (Craig's response was very nice, IMO), I have decided that I'm going to change my answer every time it comes up from this point on.

So, today my opinion is that...

A true professional uses only Nikon equipment, shoots everything with a 50mm 1.8 and is never caught without a rubber chicken hanging out of his crotch.

 

[Garbz]

What is a professional?

- A photographer who is being paid for the work they do?
- A photographer who has received formal training and has a diploma or degree in the art?
- How about a photographer who runs his business or is am amateur who treats other people with respect?

For me it's any of the above, depending on the situation, and I have used the word in every case.

It's strange to see threads popping up about the "definition" of a professional. That's something that would probably best left to the Oxford English Dictionary, and not really to be determined by a bunch of random strangers on the internet.

 

[manaheim]

Come on, man... you know it's all about the rubber chicken.