Pro/am

Derek Rixon

Derek Rixon

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Just a thought, how many of you are pro and how many amateur ?

I am amateur...
 
They are nonsensical terms propagated by photolabs and who else? It's a form of box-ticking and lacks fine distinction. You can be taken seriously enough to have an Arts Council assisted gallery exhibition without falling within such wooden brackets.



Admitted light (something rich) by Rog Whitfield, on Flickr
 
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droj said:
They are nonsensical terms propagated by photolabs and who else? It's a form of box-ticking and lacks fine distinction. You can be taken seriously enough to have an Arts Council assisted gallery exhibition without falling within such wooden brackets.
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So that's another tick for "amateur" then.

;)
 
I'll plump for semi pro, but what possible use could this be?

If you run a poll and manage to get everyone to respond, you'll find the vast majority here are amateurs, the next largest sector would be part timers, with very few full time professionals as a %.

There are some awful photographers here, and loads of great ones, but that's subjective too. And it bears no relation to their professional status. There are some knowledgeable people here and loads with much less knowledge, and again, this bears no relation to their talent.

Likewise, there are loads of newbies, and loads of old timers, and guess what? That also has no bearing on the quality of their photography or the value of their opinions.

Helpful?

Probably not.
 
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100% amateur here now,but have been 100% pro,also been semi pro.

But still feel the same passion about my photography :)
 
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Phil V said:
I'll plump for semi pro, but what possible use could this be?

If you run a poll and manage to get everyone to respond, you'll find tape vast majority here are amateurs, the next largest sector would be part timers, with very few full time professionals as a %.

There are some awful photographers here, and loads of great ones, but that's subjective too. And it bears no relation to their professional status. There are some knowledgeable people here and loads with much less knowledge, and again, this bears no relation to their talent.

Likewise, there are loads of newbies, and loads of old timers, and guess what? That also has no bearing on the quality of their photography or the value of their opinions.

Helpful?

Probably not.
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Right on the money Phil.
 
antihero said:
i'm semi-amateur, just to be awkward :)
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I like awkward!

There's an aspiration of many amateurs to become pros, which may sometimes be reasonable. But within this, many amateurs want to just style themselves as pros for egocentric purposes without being capable of delivering the goods.

Anyway, commerce! Are you trade, or a gentleman, as they might've said in Victorian times?
 
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Agree with Phil V above.

Someone once insisted on paying me for a print of a picture I took. Does that make me a pro?

I tried to dissuade them from paying me. Even if I was good enough, I have zero business sense. As a pro, I would be very amateur.
 
i'm fortunate enough that folk are prepared to pay me for work, but I also have a full-time job so can't commit myself to my preferred craft as much as i'd like, so I add the "semi" prefix to my circumstances. Trade? sort of. Gentleman...debatable :)
 
I could re-phrase my response to the OP like this - is William Eggleston (for instance) a pro or an am? It's a polarised question that leaves a lot out. The world is bigger than the simplification.
 
The question isn't meaningful, in that there aren't just 2 answers. I've sold prints recently and been commissioned to take pictures in the past, but have always had other income streams too.
 
I don't why one or two are getting their knicker in a twist.

An amateur maybe just enjoy it as an hobby he enjoy photography doesn't want to earn any money simple.
An semi pro much the same,but is able to make some of his living from it.
An pro just means its is his full time job,that's the way he earn his living,same as anybody else who has a full time job.

As i have said now 100% amateur,i don't and try and sell prints or seek commissioned work even if i am asked to i say no,one my health just not up to it theses days.

But it does not mean i don't enjoy or have a passion for photography i love it, its a big thing in my life.

:)
 
There's also plenty of "pro" photographers whose work is inferior to many amateurs.
 
simonblue said:
An amateur maybe just enjoy it as an hobby he enjoy photography doesn't want to earn any money simple.
An pro just means its is his full time job,that's the way he earn his living,same as anybody else who has a full time job.
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pros can enjoy photogrpahy as well tha knows:)
 
Photography to the amateur is recreation, to the professional it is work, and hard work too, no matter how pleasurable it may be.
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Thus spake Edward Weston, and dead right he was too ...
 
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No reason why a professional (generally someone who makes money from their line of work) can't also be an amateur (someone who loves what they do).

Since I love my hobby of photography, I am an amateur. Since I make no money from it, I am not a professional.
 
This was just a light hearted question, but it appears that people are reading too much into it or do not wish to say and are taking it too seriously .
:)
 
I rather think the answers you have here reflect that it's not as simple as one or t'other.
 
Ok, let's put it a different way, do you do photography just for pleasure or do you sell/attempt to sell your work?:)
 
Derek Rixon said:
Ok, let's put it a different way, do you do photography just for pleasure or do you sell/attempt to sell your work?:)
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Both:D

It's still not a simple question (and still not relevant), even if it is just 'fun'

If you want to see how many active 'professionals' are on the board, just trawl the business section for a while.

Like all forums, it's a total cross section, there are plenty of members who rarely step outside their chosen specialist section so won't even see this thread. Indeed there are plenty who never discuss photography and only discuss gear.
 
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As usual, Phil has summed it up well.
 
I'm very amateur.

I used to be both amateur and part time pro. That's not really semi-pro. As my professional work was in a totally different world from my amateur work. Different subjects, equipment, approach, techniques, problems, solutions. Minute overlap.
boyfalldown said:
Does it matter? We're all here (I think) because of an enjoyment of photography
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It matters when threads discuss things that need very different approaches depending whether you do it for fun or for a customer deadline. Sometimes there are conflicts and misunderstandings here because of it. I think it's best to be amateur though. Much more fun.
 
Now what is more interesting is how much does a pro earn each year? In most cases I suspect it is not a great income? :)
 
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kev2010 said:
Now what is more interesting is how much does a pro earn each year. I bet in most cases it's not a great deal? :)
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Last figures I saw had it down as way over the national average, but given how low the national average is...
 
kev2010 said:
Now what is more interesting is how much does a pro earn each year? In most cases I suspect it is not a great income? :)
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I was a pro on the books & freelance,let just say for me it was the love of photographer not the money :D,when on the books i did have a row about my money and did get a paid rise :)
 
kev2010 said:
Now what is more interesting is how much does a pro earn each year? In most cases I suspect it is not a great income? :)
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We shot weddings-only full-time as a double-act, and in our case the answer to your question is enough turnover to have to register for VAT after four years, and enough profit to pay off our mortgage, buy us a new Golf 1.9TD and give us a good enough standard of living until we had to pack up after 10 years.

Remember though that the correct answer to the question "Is it possible to make a small fortune out of photography?" is "Yes. Start with a big one."
 
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I still suspect that in most cases income is not a great deal? :). Not that this is a problem. :)
 
I'm amateur, I don't get paid for taking photos.

The trouble with the words like Professional or Amateur is that there is no clean cut defination to their meaning, they're often being used for one thing or another thing, that being the status of work/hobby or the status of skills.

Pro meaning highly trained and skilled while amateur being not very good at something, yet pro meaning getting paid for doing something while amateur meaning doing something for a hobby only. A lot of people have their own point of view on which ones "pro" and "amateur" is supposed to mean. Then there is a such thing as "semi-pro" which imply part time work, how can you be part time good at something and part time not good at something?

Then there is the fact that when you get paid for doing something, then stopped, and only do that for a hobby or for pleasure, you go from pro to amateur, yet even if you no longer get paid for doing something, you're still called a pro. I think I read somewhere, even thought a pro footballer is too old to play professionally, and now only enjoys playing at local club with friends, just for Sunday afternoon pleasure, they're still called "ex-professional".

Sherlock Holmes (of course while fictional) is supposed to be very highly skilled than the police, yet he's being referred as an amateur detective.
 
Nice clarification.

And then there are professional photographers who are not good at their job. You may have seen it too. Like awful wedding pictures from full time professionals. And I mean really bad where the couple needed a re-shoot.
 
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ianp5a said:
Nice clarification.

And then there are professional photographers who are not good at their job. You may have seen it too. Like awful wedding pictures from full time professionals. And I mean really bad where the couple needed a re-shoot.
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Most of the 'so called' professionals at the heart of these stories are far from professional, often on their first wedding and doing it for pocket money with inadequate training/ preparation.

But the headline 'Couple get wedding photo's they deserve cos they hired their mate who was cheap' doesn't garner much sympathy, so if they've paid a student £150 they've apparently hired a pro;).

And that's not me thoughtlessly defending 'professionals' either; as I said in my first post professional / amateur is no measure of talent.
 
i'm an amateur i have never sold a picture in my life. does it matter? not one jot. i enjoy my photography as an am and love my photos to get a bit of praise now and again. :)
 
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