Having just been published myself, that's a hard question to answer. Do I consider myself a professional photographer? NO. Does the magazine consider me one? MAYBE, because they don't know that I do anything else (or maybe I just work for cheap). When I went in and picked up a check from the editor, he said they would be having additional needs and would like to work with me in the future.
It sounds like the photos are more of an afterthought, an accompaniment to the writing. I would think a professional must have some in-depth knowledge of the craft. I would guess that if one were writing an article about a specific casino, as you mention, photos of that specific location may be hard to come by. In todays world "pro" means you get paid for it... But if I helped a work acquaintance install fiber glass installation and he paid me for it, as has happened, that does not make me a professional installer. If I helped him paint his house, and he paid me for it. That does not make me a professional painter. What I am is a professional software consultant. If the majority of one's income comes from making and selling photographs, I would say yes. Otherwise, no. Tom C. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Harris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, January 18, 2002 11:41 AM Subject: OT -- sort of -- What makes a photographer? > I have a brother who is a free-lance writer. He does a regular column > for one magazine and writes articles for others as well. Mostly in > specialized, niche publications, like Poker Digest. He was doing an > article about a casino in Europe for one of them a while back and the > editor said, "Be nice to have some pictures." He said, "No problem." > > He has never owned a camera or, to my knowledge, used one. Doesn't know > an f-stop from a subway stop. So he bought a disposable camera, shot all > the film, got a friend to scan a bunch of images and e-mailed them to > the editor. (He was based in Europe, the mag is published in the Western > USA.) Several of the photos now have been published. > > And he continues to shoot photos to accompany articles, using disposable > cameras -- although he was speaking wistfully last night about how nice > it would be to get a digital camera. > > So he now is a published photographer. And he is paid, so he is a > sort-of pro, too. > > Or is he? > > Bob Harris - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
