This definition of a real photographer: “full time PRO with a real brick and mortar studio who makes 100% of his income taking pictures not selling crap to other photogs“was a response to a tweet about my fellow Photofocus contributor Nicole Young.
First, here’s some context. Nicole wrote a very thorough and useful “how to” for Lightroom Mobile on Photofocus. Read Nicole’s post here. It was recommended by @Lightroom. That garnered the derogatory tweet that Lightroom Mobile was the “stupidest damn s**t i have ever heard of ask a REAL photographer if they will use this to MAKE money/living“.
This got me to thinking. A lot. Several thoughts happened as questions. Do the tools used make a photographer REAL? Is REAL a new way of saying professional? Are multiple income streams a “bad” thing? Do having them automatically demote a REAL photographer to being unREAL? Is a studio in a fixed location the determining factor of REALness? When something new, Lightroom Mobile for instance, comes along does it threaten REALity? And now the one that really burns me: What about female photographers like Nicole or Annie Leibowitz for for that matter? The tweeted definition says “100% of his income…” What about her income?
I’ve gotta say, right here right now, that my income producing (i.e.: paying) clients love it when, during a meeting to discuss the next step in their project, I pull out my iPad in the coffee shop and we review, flag and tweak their photographs on (yep) Lightroom Mobile and with Mosaic as well. So to answer the question “does a REAL photographer use them to make money and a living?” I say: “Yes I do.”
REAListically the tweeter quoted above doesn’t make his entire income “taking pictures” either unless he just hands over the card directly from the camera to his client.
So it looks like I am not a REAL photographer.
I am a professional one who keeps it real.
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Well done Mr Ames. Thanks for speaking out for all of us “unreal” photographers. By the way Nicole photographs food and then eats it. Now there is a conundrum if there ever was one.
I’ve been taking pictures most of my life.. Ten years ago, I started getting paid to take pictures. From shooting for a tattoo magazine, then a music mag then into the adult world.. Shooting so much that I sold my trucking business and now shoot full time.. After 40 years, I still consider myself just a guy with a camera.. A very lucky guy.. @industrybyrick on twitter..
LOVE LOVE LOVE your post!!! I am so tired of seeing VERY negative comments everywhere you look. People sit behind a computer with a fake name and judge everything. Photography is just a hobby for me because I am disabled. BUT it gives me nothing but joy so I will take the title of unReal and wear it with pride!
Im an amateur/hobbyist/enthusiast club photographer “many awards” and i know a lot of professional photographers, the majority of whom produce what I would consider crap. I know an awful lot of amateur/hobbyist/enthusiast club photographer who produce stuning and wonderful images on a regualer basis and SHARE their knowledege either freely or by way of contribution. However the professional gets paid for it while the amateur/hobbyist/enthusiast club photographer normally does not. I also know wonderful pro-photographers who produce stuning and wonderful images regularly and often do lectures/courses/blogs and other mediums to supplement their income, this does not devalue their work or… Read more »
Many folks now call themselves “professional photographers” when in reality they are tour guides who carry a camera or authors who pen photo instruction ebooks.
So anyone who writs a book is not a professional photographer?
Nice response. Now we get down to brass tacks or maybe it is just traditional vs non traditional. Religion has cut the divides between traditional and different so badly that it is not worth following that type of thinking. The point is, if a person takes a picture, he is a photographer and if he makes a single cent he is professional. However if he makes his living doing so, then he is a working professional. In photography these days, part of the profession is in ‘developing’ the shot. If this means using chemicals to fix an exposure and then… Read more »
Part of being a Photographer is improving yourself and getting better at the craft – professional or otherwise.
I have learnt a great deal from Nicole, and my photography has improved with that knowledge.
The tweet person might not be aware of it ,but Nicole provides presets and ebooks FREE
By the way,I did my first paid gig in 1980 – and any information that is offered to me I’ll take.
I’m a travel photographer, so I guess I can’t be a real photographer because I don’t have a studio.
Oh well….
A real professional photographer is someone who can on demand make a required image without resorting to guesswork, spray and pray or luck. They can so it with what ever tools they have at hand and repeat it on demand. It had nothing to do with studio or mortar or even money. It has to do with knowing your craft.
No offense to Mr Ames but doesn’t he have anything better to do with his time than respond to ignorant tweets from disconnected internet trolls. I read two sentences and realized the article was nothing but a regurgitation of what should be obvious to any right thinking person. How about you guys stick to tips to help us become REAL photographers?
WELL SAID AND AGREE