RE: What Makes a Professional Photographer?
By the strictest definition, you are a professional photographer because you have sold photographs. I think most people expect that a "professional" photographer will have taken the time to select, crop and edit photos before making them public; an amateur photographer may take some nice shots but you have to wade through a bunch of crap to see them.
But then you get into the shades of grey - what counts as a nice or professional quality photograph - I know some people would cringe at the (what they would see to be unnecessarily) tilted horizon in your cover image, while I am sure that was intentional on your part given your stated interest in different perspectives and angles.
I think your photography and art is awesome, and always have - it provides a very clear window into you as a person, which is really what I am looking for in art. If art or photography doesn't tell me something about the person creating it, it is a failure. It is not "good" art or photography in my book. And as I have grown to know you through your art and photography, @rumdancer, I just want to say that you rock.
Much love - Carl "Totally Not A Bot" Gnash / @carlgnash
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Awww well that is quite the compliment coming from you and I certainly appreciate it. I think that we are stuck in the past, on most occasions. We tend to think about the definitions that we label things with as they were 20 years ago. That just won't do in this day and age. Much of what we know to be true, including vocabulary and purpose kind of gets thrown out the window with newer technology. For example, taking nice pictures of a professional quality is easier than ever. I tend to agree with you, that the difference is the finished product. I take the time to edit and I know plenty of people that do not. As long as they aren't trying to pass themselves off as professionals, because they have a nice camera, then I don't mind. I think it only bothers me because since I have a nice phone, that doesn't mean that I have a nice camera. I know this, and I try to make up for it with patience and researching photography mechanics. I do edit, for sure. That is more because I like that part and seeing what I can do with the editing process.