What Makes a Professional Photographer?
Musings from a Hobbyist
Boise is a small city with a lot of potential. I have lived in big cities like Los Angeles, flashy places like Las Vegas and even in mountain surrrounded Denver. I don’t venture too far towards the east coast, but the west I know pretty well. In my time venturing out and about, I have taken quite a few pictures. Most recently, I have been taking them of Boise and working on some editing.
Me? A Professional?
I didn’t go to school for photography. I want even an art major or anything that creative. I have had a camera for as long as I can remember and pictures have always been a form of both creative expression and a crutch for me to be able to manage my social anxiety.
“You live your life behind the lens”, my mother used to tell me. My ex-husband said that I didn’t enjoy life. They didn’t get that I just liked to see the world from as many angles as I could. It is funny to me because at the end of the day it was perspective that I have always been seeking. That didn’t always make for good images.
But I still enjoy the process...
These aren't professional quality or edited though.
I have been told that I take decent pictures and I have even sold a few. But what makes a professional picture and is it true that technology has ruined photography?
I have heard this complaint a number of times and have been told that unless you sell something, you can't call yourself a professional. I have heard people say that without a real or expensive camera that you can't truly consider yourself a photographer.
Expensive Equipment a Photographer Does Not Make
I whole heartedly disagree that an expensive camera is needed. For starters, when I got into photography in 1996 they didn’t have a camera that was technically better than I can get today. The camera in my iPhone 7 or the one I use on our Samsung S6 is better than many I could get if I went out and bought an actual camera.
I wouldn’t do a photo shoot with them specifically, and claim to be a “professional” photographer. I have used it for people shots and the environment as well... generally with positive results.
These were taken a few weeks ago with my iPhone, for example.
I tend to prefer nature and city shots. I have spent a long time watching and learning shadows, direction and things like shutter speed and light control. You can’t just spray and pray, hoping to land a good shot. Especially when the landscape doesn’t change other than the subtle changes caused by wind or loss / increase of lighting that happens over the course of the day.
Ultimately, these kinds of shots rely on angle and knowing what you want to view, then how you want your scene viewed by an audience.
When you consider the angle and the environment, no matter what camera you have, you still have to have an eye for imagery.
In the modern era, editing doesn’t hurt either. Though for the next few, other than taking black and white images, I have not actually processed them at all.
Comparisons Needed
So, I was curious to see what differentiates cameras would see. I have been working on a comparison of cameras. I plan on posting those over the next few days as I explore this topic more.
This post has received a 16.67 % upvote from @sharkbank thanks to: @sammosk.
Thank you :)
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.