Professional photography is a challenging career choice, taking a wide range of skills and tough skin. If that is something you are considering, check out this fantastic video essay that features an experienced professional photographer discussing what it takes to be a professional and the chances of finding success.
Coming to you from Scott Choucino of Tin House Studio, this insightful video discusses the chances of making it as a professional photographer. Without a doubt, photography can be a very rewarding career; after all, the chance to make a living doing something you love is a special thing. Nonetheless, there is an appreciable amount of risk, and it can be extraordinarily difficult to make it to the upper levels of the industry. It is particularly difficult nowadays, as the quality of camera equipment and its relatively lowered cost have inundated the industry with a huge amount of photographers. I think, for a lot of people, it is worth considering the middle ground. Making money from photography is not an all or nothing proposition; it is certainly possible to keep it as a side or weekend job that you can make money from without the pressure of deriving all your income from it. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Choucino.
I was so influenced by your words, that I had to set-up an account, so that I could post a comment. I was given a camera when I was 13 and have been a want-to-be photographer since...I will be 65 in September.
Thank you for your honesty and the words of encouragement. I look forward to what I can learn from the Fstopper community.
In my youth, I tried to be a professional photographer. But I was disappointed in my work and in the quality of customers that I was serving. So I went into computers, the customers were just as bad, I think but the money was better, so it worked for me..
I am comfortable with my choice and status as an amateur. I shoot what I want, and process it the way I want. I think I am now a better photographer than I was back then.
All right, I look at it this way: what do a professional driver, photographer, butcher, carpenter etc. have in common? They do it for money! It doesn't matter what they can do. As long as the customer pays for the service, they are professionals. Why the customer pays one more and the other less often has less to do with skill and more to do with ability. Namely, being able to deal with the customer. If you can't do that, you won't be able to make a living in the long run. And yes, they exist, the beautiful ones, the quite famous ones, the top of the top. Here it is usually worthwhile to study their biography. Why did these people become so famous?
Somewhere there was a point for most of them when they changed tracks. If you don't go off the track, you fall by the wayside! And that didn't always have to do with a certain talent for the thing. Often it was the coincidence of an acquaintance ... but well, that's legitimate.
The opposite of the professional is the amateur. They do it out of passion (amare means to love something). An amateur is not dependent on money from this passionate love. He usually invests much more time and money than the professional. And in the vast majority of cases, amateurs produce better performances/results.
And then there is the consumer. They do it because it is practical. They don't put any passion into what they do. They don't want money for what they do. They just do it because it suits them. Whether it's taking a selfie with a mobile phone or quickly programming a Marco ... he is not a (professional) photographer or a (professional) software developer.
Now everyone just has to decide for themselves which category they belong to and then just be happy :-)
So well said! Not once mentioning this stupid "creatives" statement. Finally after numerous "professional photographer" arguments somebody managed to tell the truth about it. Congratulation.
Your description of the amateur and consumer are also right on the money.