The Pros or The Enthusiasts?
- Thread starter Diko
- Start date
I consider myself an amateur/enthusiast
There are two considerations I make when I tip my hat to the professionals and it's something that they earned through an investment of time and application of their expertise.
1. Shooting to a brief in a limited time: Taking those sunset wedding pics or being told you only have 4 hours at a venue. Shooting a venue without the luxury of scouting a location.
Then you still need to hit the shots as briefed by the client.
2. On location lighting: Oh mama!!! 2, 4, 8, 12 strobes on location, getting exposure right? Experience right there. All the YouTube videos one watches cannot make you an expert on this.
I have fairly high standards for my photography. I'm still learning so that benchmark changes as time goes on. But I can sit whole day or even a number of days somewhere and shoot. Then I can decide which images I like and delete the rest.
A pro, who's bread and butter is wholly or partly earned through photography does not have such luxury.
There are two considerations I make when I tip my hat to the professionals and it's something that they earned through an investment of time and application of their expertise.
1. Shooting to a brief in a limited time: Taking those sunset wedding pics or being told you only have 4 hours at a venue. Shooting a venue without the luxury of scouting a location.
Then you still need to hit the shots as briefed by the client.
2. On location lighting: Oh mama!!! 2, 4, 8, 12 strobes on location, getting exposure right? Experience right there. All the YouTube videos one watches cannot make you an expert on this.
I have fairly high standards for my photography. I'm still learning so that benchmark changes as time goes on. But I can sit whole day or even a number of days somewhere and shoot. Then I can decide which images I like and delete the rest.
A pro, who's bread and butter is wholly or partly earned through photography does not have such luxury.
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I question the premise that a Professional and an Enthusiast are mutually exclusive.
Of course any discussion about professionals is worthless unless the term professional is defined. Ask three people what a professional means and you will get five answers.
To some it is simply earning money. To others it is more complex than that.
Me? I am just a frickin hobbyist trying to find time and money, despite real life, to do what I enjoy. ;D
Of course any discussion about professionals is worthless unless the term professional is defined. Ask three people what a professional means and you will get five answers.
To some it is simply earning money. To others it is more complex than that.
Me? I am just a frickin hobbyist trying to find time and money, despite real life, to do what I enjoy. ;D
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"Thus, overall the group [enthusiasts] can almost always find something that their camera maker of choice isn’t serving them with to complain about. "
Based on this. Canonrumors.com is a site for enthusiasts. ;D
Based on this. Canonrumors.com is a site for enthusiasts. ;D
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In some contest rules, I've read a pretty simple way to classify - at least for Americans. If you list "Photographer" as your profession on you 1040 tax form, then you are a pro.AcutancePhotography said:I question the premise that a Professional and an Enthusiast are mutually exclusive.
Of course any discussion about professionals is worthless unless the term professional is defined. Ask three people what a professional means and you will get five answers.
To some it is simply earning money. To others it is more complex than that.
Me? I am just a frickin hobbyist trying to find time and money, despite real life, to do what I enjoy. ;D
...and if you like taking pictures, then you are an enthusiast...or a enthusiastic pro
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More info on the topic
Study Finds that Professionally Captured Photos Are More Memorable Than Amateur Ones
Original Source from NPPA
Please note: Part One in a four-part weekly series
Study Finds that Professionally Captured Photos Are More Memorable Than Amateur Ones
Original Source from NPPA
Please note: Part One in a four-part weekly series
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iaind said:
Same here...I don't feel I have anything to prove vs pros shots. I am not a wannabe.
I'd say that (other than getting paid for it), the biggest differentiator of pro vs most enthusiasts I know is all about the consistency and dependability. We all watch golfers and think, "I can make that putt, . Yeah...but you can't make it 9/10 with millions of people watching. You hire a pro b/c they bring backup bodies, drag along a helper, and will bust their ass deliver you a great product so they can get paid and get referrals.
I have filled in for pros on various occasions and delivered photobooks, prom pictures, etc...that people were thrilled with, and I did it for free b/c we were friends and family, but let's face it-If my camera had broken down, or it was a totally crappy day, or I were too hungover, it wouldn't have happened.
And therein lies the biggest threat to pros I know...enthusiasts that will happily do it for free as long as it's not crucial to get the shots.
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I fall somewhere between consumer and enthusiast on his scale.
I'm not interested in selling photos, nor do I think I'm a pro. I want to document my travels, events, life etc and do it well enough that I can be proud of it. I bought good enough equipment such that I can overcome some of the pitfalls of p/s or camera phone use but I also didn't have to sell a kidney to get it.
If I ever chose to try to sell a photo to be "pro", then I have, at least at a modest level, the right equipment to make that more of a reality than a dream.
I'm not interested in selling photos, nor do I think I'm a pro. I want to document my travels, events, life etc and do it well enough that I can be proud of it. I bought good enough equipment such that I can overcome some of the pitfalls of p/s or camera phone use but I also didn't have to sell a kidney to get it.
If I ever chose to try to sell a photo to be "pro", then I have, at least at a modest level, the right equipment to make that more of a reality than a dream.
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I had a different thought... Similar to Neuro's post.
I am a licensed professional by day... but not in photography. However, I take photos OF my work-products for portfolio and marketing purposes ... so... am I then, by definition a "professional photographer"?
I am a licensed professional by day... but not in photography. However, I take photos OF my work-products for portfolio and marketing purposes ... so... am I then, by definition a "professional photographer"?
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eh. No.
"Are you a professional photographer?"
"I'm a medical doctor who's hobby is photography"
"Ah I'm a photographer who's hobby is surgery.."
"Are you a professional photographer?"
"I'm a medical doctor who's hobby is photography"
"Ah I'm a photographer who's hobby is surgery.."
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No surprises here, another enthusiast on board. Yes, I daydream about going to exotic places to photograph unusual wildlife, or even having extended time to camp locally and photograph ordinary wildlife. If I were to try to do something full time in conservation, I'd inevitably be looking at the science, measuring genetic diversity of local populations or some such (based on past proficiency in biomedical bench research). Photography is a hobby, a tool with which to examine the world around me, and a creative art. I admit I like learning about process and enjoy using gear (hobby), I readily admit to taking "record" shots that are not necessarily aesthetically pleasing but which demonstrate some anatomic or behavioral (or geological or...) feature of the subject, and I enjoy trying to make photos that "feel satisfying", that attempt to preserve a mood that I had while observing a scene. I am an introverted geek, not a great personality profile for running a service business. Professional photography would be a bad fit for me, and I identified at a very young age (high school) that whatever I did, I was likely to become an academic. So I am a medical doctor (pathologist) whose hobby is photography. I do some photography as part of developing a teaching image set - and I promise not to show them to you!
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Tinky said:
Sorry - there was a pun intended... albeit a bad one... but none-the-less. ...shooting photos of professional work...
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I'm very much the enthusiast; 1D-X with lots of glass, not interested in shooting video, travel to shoot landscape, nature, wildlife, and have no intention of trying to sell any of my work. In fact, I don't even have a website. I have no interest whatsoever in shooting weddings, portraits, and the like.
I'm becoming a bit more careful about having to purchase the "latest and the greatest" when the 1D-X is such a great camera for the shooting I do. I'm keen on the new 600mm lens though. Simply fantastic.
Lately I've been experimenting with different papers for my Epson 3880 printer and am becoming more and more interested in printing. I don't print much except when a friend asks for a print of one of my images.
My chances of turning pro? Zero. I'm having too much fun being an enthusiast!
I'm becoming a bit more careful about having to purchase the "latest and the greatest" when the 1D-X is such a great camera for the shooting I do. I'm keen on the new 600mm lens though. Simply fantastic.
Lately I've been experimenting with different papers for my Epson 3880 printer and am becoming more and more interested in printing. I don't print much except when a friend asks for a print of one of my images.
My chances of turning pro? Zero. I'm having too much fun being an enthusiast!
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klickflip said:
+1
I am clearly an enthusiast as I spend more money on photography than I make out of it, but I do payed work when the opportunity arises. My gear is inferior to that of a pro, but all my clients have always been "impressed" by the size of my camera/lenses (which for this audience are small to average). My pictures and post-processing are probably worse than those of a good pro, but they are good enough to usually get a "wow" from people and have my pictures decorate their walls. However, I would not even want to take a job where the client needs drama or needs to minimize drama, I won't promise consistency, I won't bring a backup photographer or gear, and I will certainly not deliver processed pictures in less than a week or two. That's where the pro differs from the amateur, not the artistic ability, but the ability to treat photography as a serious profession rather than a hobby.
And one more note, I don't want to prove that I am "as good as pros", I don't have "plenty of time on my hands" and my income is certainly not disposable. I put my hard earned money into photography because it's the hobby I love, just as other people buy expensive cars, clothes, golf clubs, what have you.
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