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General Photography
What defines a "professional" photographer
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<blockquote data-quote="LensWork" data-source="post: 5887" data-attributes="member: 1283"><p><strong>Re: What makes a photographer proffesional</strong></p><p></p><p>This question is certain to garner much debate!</p><p></p><p>From the online dictionary of Merriam-Webster:</p><p></p><p><strong>Definition of <em>PROFESSIONAL</em></strong></p><p></p><p>1</p><p><em>a</em> <strong>:</strong> of, relating to, or characteristic of a <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profession" target="_blank">profession</a> <em>b</em> <strong>:</strong> engaged in one of the learned <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/professions" target="_blank">professions</a> <em>c </em> <em>(1)</em> <strong>:</strong> characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profession" target="_blank">profession</a> <em>(2)</em> <strong>:</strong> exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace </p><p></p><p>2</p><p><em>a</em> <strong>:</strong> participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs <a <em>professional</em> golfer> <em>b</em> <strong>:</strong> having a particular <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profession" target="_blank">profession</a> as a permanent career <a <em>professional</em> soldier> <em>c</em> <strong>:</strong> engaged in by persons receiving financial return <<em>professional</em> football> </p><p></p><p>3</p><p> <strong>:</strong> following a line of conduct as though it were a <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profession" target="_blank">profession</a> <a <em>professional</em> patriot></p><p></p><p></p><p>Dictionary definition aside, a professional photographer, in my opinion, is one that earns the majority of their income from taking pictures, AND whose images are a product of their own creativity/vision AND conducts themselves in a manner that reflects positively upon the profession. I have known more than one "professional" photographer that was a horses a _ _ . To me those individuals, while earning 100% of their income from taking pictures, were not true professionals. Also, the individual that shoots predetermined poses, with predetermined lighting, exposure, etc. like most of those at a department store portrait studio, or theme parks, are not in my mind professional photographers. It takes more than just pressing a shutter release button and collecting a paycheck to do so to be considered a professional. I know "amateurs" that can take better photos than many who earn a living doing it, act in a professional manner, and even occasionally shoot a wedding, portrait, etc. for monetary compensation; yet photography is a sideline to their full-time job, so I do not classify these individuals as professionals.</p><p></p><p>One last thought: it is not the camera that makes one a professional; it is the person using the camera, whether it be a D3X, or a Holga, that determines if they are a professional.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="LensWork, post: 5887, member: 1283"] [b]Re: What makes a photographer proffesional[/b] This question is certain to garner much debate! From the online dictionary of Merriam-Webster: [B]Definition of [I]PROFESSIONAL[/I][/B] 1 [I]a[/I] [B]:[/B] of, relating to, or characteristic of a [URL="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profession"]profession[/URL] [I]b[/I] [B]:[/B] engaged in one of the learned [URL="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/professions"]professions[/URL] [I]c [/I] [I](1)[/I] [B]:[/B] characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a [URL="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profession"]profession[/URL] [I](2)[/I] [B]:[/B] exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace 2 [I]a[/I] [B]:[/B] participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs <a [I]professional[/I] golfer> [I]b[/I] [B]:[/B] having a particular [URL="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profession"]profession[/URL] as a permanent career <a [I]professional[/I] soldier> [I]c[/I] [B]:[/B] engaged in by persons receiving financial return <[I]professional[/I] football> 3 [B]:[/B] following a line of conduct as though it were a [URL="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profession"]profession[/URL] <a [I]professional[/I] patriot> Dictionary definition aside, a professional photographer, in my opinion, is one that earns the majority of their income from taking pictures, AND whose images are a product of their own creativity/vision AND conducts themselves in a manner that reflects positively upon the profession. I have known more than one "professional" photographer that was a horses a _ _ . To me those individuals, while earning 100% of their income from taking pictures, were not true professionals. Also, the individual that shoots predetermined poses, with predetermined lighting, exposure, etc. like most of those at a department store portrait studio, or theme parks, are not in my mind professional photographers. It takes more than just pressing a shutter release button and collecting a paycheck to do so to be considered a professional. I know "amateurs" that can take better photos than many who earn a living doing it, act in a professional manner, and even occasionally shoot a wedding, portrait, etc. for monetary compensation; yet photography is a sideline to their full-time job, so I do not classify these individuals as professionals. One last thought: it is not the camera that makes one a professional; it is the person using the camera, whether it be a D3X, or a Holga, that determines if they are a professional. [/QUOTE]
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