Amateur or not?

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Stephens on June 9, 2010 at 1:09pm

I believe the answer lies in the purpose of this very community: if you make the majority of your living from the money you earn from your work, then you're a professional. Anything less than that and you're amateur. That's my two cents.

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Permalink Reply by Snapper on June 10, 2010 at 12:39pm

From my perspective, it's less about how much money you make than the level of commitment you bring.

If you view yourself as an amateur, that means you're not willing to be held entirely accountable for the work you do. It's "just for fun." Nothing wrong with that, by the way.

A professional, on the other hand, is always looking for ways to do things better, to get better results, regardless of how much -- or how little -- a job brings in.

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Permalink Reply by aydin kirkewoog on June 14, 2010 at 9:14am

So is it possible for an amateur to become a famous, acclaimed photographer? Or can only a professional reach that status?

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Stephens on June 14, 2010 at 9:35am

@snapper Good point, that's a great way to look at it. And I would argue that if you devote that level of commitment, then ultimately you will hit the quantitative measure of "professional" as well (the money part).

@aydin I would think that it's definitely possible to become an acclaimed photographer as an amateur...but if you achieve that you will likely turn into a professional as a result of your successes.

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Permalink Reply by aydin kirkewoog on June 14, 2010 at 9:53am

good point.... some hope for amateurs like me!

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