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10/16/2007 11:28:49 AM · #1 |
Opinion needed, or if anyone has the correct answer would be great too. If one calls them self a professional photographer and has no degree or certification to say so is it a problem? I had an artical in our local newspaper that stated I juggle two careers, one as an insurance agent and the other as a professional photographer. Any help is appreciated.
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10/16/2007 11:31:11 AM · #2 |
| Have you done photography and been paid for it? If yes, I would say you are ok. If not and it is just a hobby, then... |
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10/16/2007 11:31:42 AM · #3 |
A pro is someone who earns money doing photography. A good pro is someone who is knowledgable and can produce the desired results. A degree is not necessary. A bad pro is someone who just bought a DSLR and decides to charge money w/ no real skillset.
JM |
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10/16/2007 11:33:32 AM · #4 |
| I have done photography and have been paid for it for about 2 years now...someone just asked my mother in law if i had been certified, turns our that persons mom is a "professional photographer" that has been certified. I just hope that i didnt cause myself a problem. Any other thoughts are appreciated |
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10/16/2007 11:39:04 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by ecameron:
I have done photography and have been paid for it for about 2 years now...someone just asked my mother in law if i had been certified, turns our that persons mom is a "professional photographer" that has been certified. I just hope that i didnt cause myself a problem. Any other thoughts are appreciated |
PPoA, Professional Photographers of America, have an established program for "certifying" their members; but nearly all of them, as far as I know, are portrait and wedding-type photographers. By contrast, I spent my entire working career as a professional architectural photographer, and even TAUGHT photography at the University of California, and I NEVER studied photography at any level.
There's no state licensing board that establishes standards for photographers or anything like that; if you want to call yourself a professional photographer, you are welcome to do so. It denotes somebody who pursues photography as a profession, basically.
R.
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10/16/2007 11:41:06 AM · #6 |
When I was rooting around trying to find a good definition of "Professional Photographer" what I found was: A Professional Photographer must make the majority of his income from photography.
Received info from several different sources, one was canon. When
I tried to get accepted to canon's elite professionals because I have 2 canon bodies and L lenses I was told to qualify I must make the majority of my living from photography.
In Ohio, if you collect any monies at all you're required to report your income and collect and pay sales tax to the state.
(I'll try to find my sources and report back.) |
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10/16/2007 12:58:03 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by Marjo:
In Ohio, if you collect any monies at all you're required to report your income and collect and pay sales tax to the state.
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Same in every state. Internal Revenue Service requires you to do so.
I have a friend that is a Canon CPS member - the 'pro' recognition from canon. He makes mabe $2000 a year from photography and maybe $70,000 from building houses. I make 100% of my money from photography but from what I understand I to not qualify for CPS.
You must have 2 or more bodies and at least 2 L lenses...so I've been told. I'll find out more in a few weeks as I can ask a canon rep what the deal is.
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10/16/2007 01:28:27 PM · #8 |
There is no real answer to what defines a professional.
Do you make money at it?
Do you have a style?
How do you handle customer service?
What are your goals?
Do you pay taxes?
You may ask "what determines a professional photographer"? But you may want to ask "what defines a great photographer"?
Because you can be a professional photographer and suck.
Or you could be a great photographer and a bad professional.
But who can define a good photographer? It is totally opion based.
So I think it is a relative question to the famous "if a tree falls in the woods, and no one is around to hear it" question.
Travis |
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10/16/2007 02:21:46 PM · #9 |
You can take one of the many photo correspondence courses and get a certificate after you have paid all the money and finish the lessons... some you just have to pay the money and the certificate is in the jacket ready for your signature.
Even taking a 4 year college course and getting a degree in photography doesn't make someone a professional photographer. You can have a dozen of the most expensive cameras and your office wall papered in certificates and that doesn't make you a professional photographer. There are a lot of things that makes a person a professional and a certificate isn't really one of them... or it's so far down the list it doesn't mean that much.
Mike
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10/16/2007 02:45:07 PM · #10 |
I've always considered a protog to be someone whose primary source of income is their photography. If you're making money on the side but its not your "day job" you're an amateur, and someone just doing it for the sake of taking photos would be a hobbyist.
There are some absolutely brutal photographers out there that make a good living selling photos, just like there are remarkable talents that just want to share their artistic vision with the world. |
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10/16/2007 06:05:10 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by option:
I've always considered a protog to be someone whose primary source of income is their photography. If you're making money on the side but its not your "day job" you're an amateur, and someone just doing it for the sake of taking photos would be a hobbyist.
There are some absolutely brutal photographers out there that make a good living selling photos, just like there are remarkable talents that just want to share their artistic vision with the world. |
I've always considered myself a professional photographer and I've never made the majority of my income from it... well, when I was in the Air Force I came pretty close, but when I was in it didn't take much to make more than what they were paying us.
But a person can be a professional photographer even if they never take a dime from a paying customer. Maybe not in the eye of the IRS (and certainly not to people that only judge another person by how much money they make), but certainly to the people they take pictures of and to other photographers. I have known a large number of true professional photographers over the years that either were not interested in making money or only made enough to cover their toys, if that much. But when they delt with people, they were true professionals all the way.
Amature is someone that is still learning... and there are a ton of professional photographers that are still learning... some have a long way to go.
Mike
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