Professional vs. Amateur

Posted on 8/3/2011 by Jim Pickerell | Printable Version | Comments (4)

In May Peter Phun published an article on BlackStar Rising entitled “It’s Time for Pro Photographers and Hobbyists to Call a Truce.” The article has received a lot of comments. I would like to weigh in with my thoughts on the difference between professionals and non-professionals.

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Comments

Ellen Boughn Posted Aug 3, 2011
In stock photography it is the image that is either professional or amateurish. Buyers of stock rarely care who took the photo or what they or anyone else calls themselves or how they make their living.

In assignment photography, it's the professionals that pull away from the pack.

Bill Bachmann Posted Aug 4, 2011
PRO PHOTOGRAPHER = Values his work so charges a fair price!

AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER = Willing to give his work away because it is not his real profession, thinks of it as beer money!

www.billbachmann.com

Justin Black Posted Aug 6, 2011
As always, Jim, a well-reasoned perspective! Great piece.

Bryan Alexander Posted Aug 6, 2011
An Image needs to 'win' on the lightbox in order to earn a place in a publication and it doesn't matter who took it. I suspect that one of the reasons for the falloff in travel stock sales revenue is the amount of tourists who are happy to give their work to the company they travelled with. It doesn't matter how low you cut your fee structure, you can't compete with good & free!

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