When did you decide that you were good enough to be a "pro"?

ghache · Sep 2, 2011

Recently, people started to forget that i was working a fulltime job in a totally different field and though i was shooting photos full time. The fact that they see me that way, i think i've accomplished something there. People pay me for my pictures, this is what counts. It doesnt matter if you shoot full time, support yourself with your photography income or whatever, as long people want your stuff, if the quality is there, you can call yourself a photographer. I dont think it comes down to the quantity of photos your shooting, , gigs you have a month or the time you spend at the studio right now... IMO you can call yourself a PRO when you havereached a plateau where people see you as a photographer and you are happy with your work.
You'll probably have to discover yourself first, spend alot of money and spend alot of time shooting. Some people reach that plateau faster than other.

tokameaki · Sep 3, 2011

when mario testino says i'm a pro

......

JWellman · Sep 3, 2011

Great question and I've enjoyed the answers so far! As for me, I don't think I'll ever feel good enough to charge. No matter how hard I try I still see so many errors in what I do. Perhaps if I ever get over that feeling ??

Railphotog · Sep 3, 2011

JWellman said:
Great question and I've enjoyed the answers so far! As for me, I don't think I'll ever feel good enough to charge. No matter how hard I try I still see so many errors in what I do. Perhaps if I ever get over that feeling ??

Photographers and artists seem to be their own worst critics. And there's no accounting for the public's taste in photos and art.

I can still recall getting comments re my photos when I first started "They're so sharp/exposed/whatever". You've got to remember most non photographers at the time used very simple crappy point and shoot film cameras - Instamatics, 110's, etc., and they considered themselves lucky if one or two photos on a roll "turned out" - were more or less sharp, mostly due to camera movements and "jabbing" the shutter button.

They had mostly low expectations, which were often met. When someone like myself showed up with a decent 35mm camera and lens and could make it work right, getting a whole roll of "keepers" was seen as magical!

Where I worked we needed a camera that could be used by field workers to take shots of problem sites and such in the field. I suggested a fairly decent and simple to use rangefinder, a Minolta HiMatic 7 (I think). I'd show the field construction guys how to use it, but most of the time their photos came out poorly. These guys wouldn't think anything of trying a chain saw or any other kind of powered machinery, but a camera was something mysterious to them for some reason. It was just a machine for exposing film.

I'd suggest showing some of your photos to friends, co-workers and such and see what they say. Maybe post them on Facebook. You'll be surprised what people say, and can quickly find out what generic photos work. Around here a photo of a covered bridge, no matter how poor it is, will usually solicit oohs and aahs!