i'd like how you explain AMATUER photographer then.

so a person who takes great shots, having great understanding of photography technics and vast knowledge in photography BUT not doing it as a profession (making a living) = Amatuer?

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/professional

from what i see, it's not wrong for you to say a PROfessional is someone making a living balbalblabla out of it but then that doesn't mean others have mis-understood the term either.

your explaination is damn good !

Opt 5 seem fimiliar to me....

somehow i feel most people here is confuse,
with the word professional to artist

coz #5
a photographer that takes great photo, but may and may not sell them

sounds more like an artist to me

This post has been edited by damonlbs: May 5 2007, 05:13 PM

About Option 1: I make a few hundred ringgit from contributing pix to the newspaper every month. But that doesn't make me a pro though.

I'm choose <None of the above, please state your reason> !
In my opinion ,I'm think a "Pro" photographer should be able to take any kind of photo !
(eg ,Photo in World War II ,,China Nanjing case ,China 6-4 case ,Malaysia 513 case ,Taiwan 921 case ,USA 911 case ..tsunami (but not the reporter go and kacao after the event happened :blink:they are not pro! )...and more .. )
These kind of photographer are damn pro ! ,They record the true !
They taken the the true and pass it from generation to generation !!

For those prefer taking race girl ,old man ,flower,landscape---they are normal and simple photograper only!

This post has been edited by yplim: May 28 2007, 03:16 AM

strange. you said.......



and to be followed by.......... your "eg" of a specific range of photography type, looks more like event based.

then to continue with the statement.



so how does that make sense?

These just my opinion ,Hope u won't be angry even u r not in my "Pro" photographer range !
Ya..ya, the "eg" is base on events but doesn't make a specific range of photography type and its not limit the photographer skill !! and i said those prefer taking race girl ,old man ,flower,landscape---they are normal and simple photograper because the photography is very simple and normal for "pro"photographer !
I know that is little bit confused !
So,
In conclusion ,the "Pro" photographer is:
those able to take clear,sharp and true photo under worse condition !


Thanks !!

operative word here is great shots, so it's a professional takes great shots, means sellable. sometimes they take for shiok, don't want to sell, but some photog will sell. basically if great shot dy, means pro la.

what's there to be angry? i'm just asking cos your post is quite odd, contradictory.

preference and skills are 2 seperate matters. one can be a "pro" yet prefer to snap landscape, flower, old man, race girl.

hey guys

"pro" stems from professional which means to have an expertise and skill and thus a profession

profession (plural professions)

1. An occupation that requires expertise or a high level of skill.

basically.. whilst there is a solid dictionary definition, the meaning in common conversation is different for everybody.

pro photographer could mean they take really really good photos,
or they take bad ones and work in a photo booth making money by taking IC photos all day.

its ambiguous... it can mean your reeeeally good at something, or it's your source of income.

thats my 2 sen


This post has been edited by groucho: May 29 2007, 08:49 PM

yes, i'm sure many of us knew that. i know i knew that.

the thing is IF we were to say a PROFESSIONAL photographer is related to PROFESSION, meaning he is a photographer on the job - then let us consider the following

1. ABC is a photographer for a media company, one day he retires - would he still be a PROFESSIONAL photographer?

2. XYZ works in a theme park, snapping photos daily for families with is polaroid. all he knows is to click, pick and leave. no knowledge on how camera interacts with lights and has no interests in photography. - would he be a PROFESSIONAL photographer?

based on the 2 above, i prefer to relate "PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER" to a photographer with skill rather that someone with a profession, which could either end or be one that requires low-level skill.

i think u talking about
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photojournalism

so do i more or less ... if someone says to me "professional photographer" i would immediately think of somebody who photographs for national geographic (for example) i.e. they take a great photo, but also get some cash and it may not be their only source of income (they could also be a graphic designer or a journalist or pretty much anything as well)

and about retirement.. you'd become a "retired photographer" just like you become a retired roti chef or retired soldier.

This post has been edited by groucho: Jun 4 2007, 03:19 PM

but the thing is IF a photographer retires, he still is a photographer. so he would most probably still be doing photography, so "retired photographer" doesn't work well here i find, cos that would mean one that retires from photography for good.

A photographer that takes great photos, but may and may not sell them <---- i don't agree.

Through his work people will notice and he WILL make money out of it. a great photographer will be known and his work will be selling well no matter what.

If a photographer takes pictures, but the people doesnt like it, he can't sell his work can he?he can't be called professional cause he's not successful in doing his job as a photographer.
he will be callled 'syok sendiri' photographer.

jeng jeng jeng....

A pro must be judged by his unedited photos and result may vary between individuals.

called Photojournalism ... search the name Smith Eugene one of the best photojournalism .....

Edit pic start since human create photo, so is nothing wrong with it, just technology make it much easy ......

Quoted from Olympus E-System website.



In my opinion, a professional is when you have most if not all (80% and above) of your annual income from your profession. As an example, I am a professional engineer but an amateur photographer no matter how great the pictures I can take.

i don t understand yeah u r a pro photographer...so..???
unless there is a real title for photographer like DR , IR and etc... a pro photgrapher is always define as a man with a camera and know how to click away at the right time and able to sell his pics.....

eg..
let say i am at the scene on 911 WTC.. just happen i just buy a point n shoot and manage to snap most of the pics before the so call pro photographer came... then i manage to sell to big magazine publication...
it does not matter if the quality or composition is right or not..but just because it is a hot topic my photo is able to sell like hot cake..so am i consider a PRO photographer?

or let say u manage to snap a picture of madona running naked with a phone camera with VGA quality...and sell it to the magazines so am i a PRO..

it is always debatable...

This post has been edited by hellfire8888: Sep 25 2007, 03:54 PM