Rick, I agree to a point.
My very first job was teaching very basic math and physics part time,
private support tutoring - just as I entered the university. Met lots of
students, some eager to learn, some uninterested to the point of asking
my name again for weeks. Of course I was paid, of course I did my very
best - not enough for some, unfortunately.
Soon after I got me a Pentax KM, and two years later I was starting to
make money with photography, again part time since I still was in the
university. Shooting family reunions, portraits, artesanal wooden
furniture, refrigerated food expositories, social events... Again, paid
for and giving my very best.
Shortening these years, I did antennae building and maintenance, all
bands to UHF, started fixing computers from loose and budget parts,
designed and built a couple of mirror rooms, taught basic photography to
young models - the very basic facts they should understand to become
more than robots in a studio or location, then gave more advanced
lessons to some interested in getting more of their cameras, started two
travel agencies, one Disney-oriented and the second a full scale job
with a strong offer of (then) radical sports all over the place. Too
many things, since I'm restless and BR is still in the making. Here in
the desert we get some challenges. No, I didn't quit photography at all,
and did from fashion to product, and gave my very best to each and every
click - including some photos of BR "military-politicians" whom I'd like
very much to shoot with other devices instead. The non-violent road is
not easy to follow...
All the things I did for living so far are things I learned to do well,
mostly because I love doing them. I get money from those things because
I do most of them very well indeed, not the other way around. I am first
and foremost a photographer, a professional for some time, and my pain
with the jobs usually was stopping before the click was GREAT because we
had deadlines, tight budgets, poor material, low end models, shabby
locations... and the results WOULD NOT mirror my best. And for the
record, I hated presenting the lousy results with a straight face -
probably I'm remembered as the grumpiest of the photographers around here.
To this day, I just can't understand why anyone would do less than his/
hers best in any kind of performance. When I built a canoe, the result
was very far from a pro job, but my best anyway. The mods I made in my
cars when I was young were the best I could - almost but not quite
comercial grade. Never built an antenna with poor material, my measures
and handcraft precise - comercial grade by BR 80's standarts, cash earned.
Never stopped trying to expand my diving time - achieving a proper
control of my breathing. I paddle for fun, cheap kayak and canoe, but my
shabby gear gets the best maintenance I'm able. Including replacing the
kayak handles with ones easier on my hands - and of course they're well
made and properly fitted. I wouldn't sell hand-made kayak handles - my
best is not commercial grade. I sell photographic images. Right now, I
only sell those I consider proper and fit to sale.
Assuming you ask me to photograph/ teach physics/ build an antenna/
repair or build you a computer/ book and prepare your trip/ tune your
1911 Colt or your Taurus 5-shooter/ change a flat tire/ talk about cause
and effect to a small group/ write a piece on science fiction through
the last 40 years/ burn food/ build a canoe, you get my very best
effort. But I wouldn't even think of charge if it's not comercial grade.
Liking you or not is not part of the issue.
LF
Rick Womer escreveu:
I am not a professional photographer, and I am not a professional choral singer
(I am an enthusiastic amateur at both). I =am= a professional physician.
Professional photographers and professional choral singers make the best of whatever
situation they encounter. Crappy light, bickering families at a wedding, a lousy choir
they're helping out as a "ringer"--they put it aside and turn in a good
performance.
Similarly, I encounter occasional families I don't like, and =lots= of
situations I don't like, but I put my feelings aside and do the best I can.
+That+ is what being a professional is about. It is not just a question of
doing what you're paid for; it's a question of turning in your best even when
everything sucks.
Rick
http://photo.net/photos/RickW
--- On Fri, 4/24/09, William Robb <[email protected]> wrote:
This is what professional photography is about.
The studio owner where I hang out puts it this way:
A professional takes pictures of what he is paid to take
pictures of, an amateur takes pictures of what he wants to
take pictures of, and generally, there is little cross talk
between the two.
William Robb
--
PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
[email protected]
http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link
directly above and follow the directions.
--
PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
[email protected]
http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow
the directions.
--
Luiz Felipe
luiz.felipe at techmit.com.br
http://techmit.com.br/luizfelipe/
--
PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
[email protected]
http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow
the directions.
