Stay at home mums (and others) and photography as a profession

[Gunnedah]

Hi All

I am a SAHM and i am interested in taking up photography as a serious hobby and maybe make a little bit on the side, but i know there is ALOT to learn and it is time consuming. I have set my aim to turn Pro in 10 years time, but for now i just want to learn as much as i can and practice as much as i can. I am about to join the local camera club . I take photos of my son (what parent dosnt) but there is so much more to take photos of.

I plan to spend alot more time on this forum and have been frequeting another photo forum for the last few months.

Em

[jev]

I find it difficult to comprehend that for some reason photography has acquired this perception that it's an 'easy' career path. Not only does this make it attractive to people who do not necessarily have the skills/gear/talent to start their own photography business, but it gives a perceived devaluation the work that you, Linda, and others put into their careers.

You hit the nail on the hit right there Rick. It's a combination of skill, gear, talent and, more than anything else, a lot of hard work to earn a living in photography as Linda illustrated so well.

Now, that's what that salesman you mentioned earlier is leaving out from his salespitch - but than again, it's not his job to tell that to customers. One can now buy "professional equipment" for a fraction of what it did cost twenty years ago, the hurdles are taken down, why not buy "pro" equipment and thus become a pro? The pitch of the salesman may not have been something he came up with himself; it's something that has been suggested by camera manufacturers, by customers that want to buy "the same" equipment as a pro and by "friends of...".

In parallel to equipment prices coming down, photography has become simplier. That's what all the marketing says too: taking a good picture doesn't you require to understand photographic concepts anymore, just push the button and the camera will do it all. And looking at what used to be produced by the general public and what is produced by these fully-automatic camera's, that is somewhat true too!

[Bushguide]

I'm only new here but I would have thought regardless of whether it's photography or anything else, calling yourself professional is as much about your attitude and ethics as it is about whether people like your photographs. I would imagine that there are many photographers who take outstanding pictures but never make a cent from it but conduct themselves with ethics and a professional attitude and then there would be photographers who skills just aren't up to scratch and wouldn't know what ethics were who make money from it. Who would you class as the professional?

[kiwi]

professional is an attitude as well as a description as well as having different interpretations depending on various different organisations or bodies.

Example - I am an amateur golfer and win a competition and its the fluke and i'll never do it again but part of the prize was $50 in prizemoney that I accept - am I amateur now or professional ?

[Bushguide]

I don't know Kiwi, I don't play golf

[kiwi]

I don't know Kiwi, I don't play golf

lol, ok

Example - I am an amateur photographer and win a competition and its the fluke and i'll never do it again but part of the prize was $50 in prizemoney that I accept - am I amateur now or professional ?

[Bushguide]

Hmm tricky question I'm a Lawyer, I work for a Professional Law Firm am I a professional and is the firm I work for Professional? I would hope so otherwise there might be a lot of people running around which shouldn't be

I still think it's more about the way you conduct yourself which shows professionalism rather than solely if you make money from it. Now when I think more about it, if it was only about making money then drug dealers would be classed as profesionals

[kiwi]

they are professional drug dealers, are they acting professionally - within the realms of their "career" probably. Are they unethical low-life scum - yes.

[Bushguide]

Very true Kiwi but we are way off topic here and I have some work to do cheers

[eloki]

You call yourself a professional photographer (or any other profession) if you're making a living out of it. Yes?

[ricktas]

You call yourself a professional photographer (or any other profession) if you're making a living out of it. Yes?

Not necessarily! You cannot call yourself a brain surgeon without having the qualifications to do so. Calling yourself professional and being professional in your approach, services, products, with the skill to undertake any work that is required of you within your chosen field, are two very different things.

[Sezzy]

OH MY WORD!!! Finally someone has come out with it (and the owner no less)!!!

I am a wannabeeee....I have been lucky to take a few good images but to be honest it was due to luck over skill. I would love to do 'this' as a profession but I know that I simply cannot produce the goods consistently to make it. I am sick to death of the 'stay at home mums' who think that all it takes to be a successful photographer is to shoot 'Billy" in his favourite sleep suit and bib and that makes it a good photo. To Mum it is a sweet pic and soooo adorable...but you know what, it ain't gonna make you a pro!!!

That said, we see the posts time and again so it is not going to change. The pattern is....get pregnant....have kid...take pics...family member says 'WOW they are so good, you should be a pro".... rest of the world goes 'crap....another idiot into the fray!!'

Sorry for being so blunt but man it does annoy me so.

I'll add to that...and it comes up regularly in my education degree...they start by saying 'Hi, I'm a stay at home mum, and I'm studying childcare, or I'm studying education.' It's not an easy degree by any stretch...but they seem to think it is...and some (unfortunately) believe that having one or two children equates to being good with all children, and understand the psychological concepts behind learning yada yada yada.

It's unfortunate that this is becoming the 'norm'...in the age of digital technology, cameras have the ability now to make people's photographs look 'good'. Note I said 'good', not awesome, not professional, but good. If someone shows you a photo of their baby...I don't know anyone who will say it's an ugly photo, we're all a little bit 'nice' for that honesty that is required sometimes. I think it extends beyond the SAHM and SAHD as well though, it's a psychological thing now, where everyone was taught to be the best they could be, and aspire to achieve more. I guess these people are just aspiring to achieve more, and there's nothing wrong with that.

The problem is they never give themselves any constructive criticism...they're not realists with themselves....

They don't critically judge their work (artistic or otherwise) in the same fashion that a professional (or even semi-professional, semi-serious but not professional) person does. And that's not just SAHM&D, that's becoming the norm...

And when someone 'does' give them constructive criticism, they say 'what would you know?'

I worked in a newspaper taking photo's, I'm by no means a professional, I was simply a work experience student who was good at what she did...I never went and studied about cameras, I was self taught (with some input from Phil Biggs and my dad who taught photography to high school students)...I was out of photography for eight years (I still had my P&S, and some of the photo's were 'good', but nothing that anyone should have to be asked to pay for)...and only now...after twelve months of severe criticism to myself am I getting back to what I used to do...and actually re-learning what I used to know...

[Xenedis]

Hmm tricky question I'm a Lawyer, I work for a Professional Law Firm am I a professional and is the firm I work for Professional?

The crucial difference between what you do for a living, and what a lot of people aspire to do (or actually do) for a living, is that you cannot just go out, buy yourself a wig and silk, call yourself a lawyer and start your own legal firm.

However, you can go out, buy a camera, call yourself a professional photographer and start a photography business.

While there isn't any formal qualification or accreditation one needs to become a professional photographer, there are some people out there who've done it and have been, and continue to be, successful.

However, that situation also means that anyone with a DSLR camera and a 'nice image' (according to Aunty Ethel) can go out and become a self-proclaimed professional photographer, but the unfortunate reality for many of those types is that they need to not only be better photographers than they think (or have been told) they are, but they need to be business people more than photographers.

[Sakhi]

I'm a full time photographer. During the week I shoot real estate, and on weekends I photograph weddings. As far as being a professional, well, I think I'm. On the point of educating the public which was raised earlier, I think we have a big problem. Let me share with you a bit about a situation I'm currently facing.
I did a fair bit of work for a particular community group (60 weddings last year). To this group, video is more important, so it would be the first thing they'd book, and they would ask about photographers. The video guy, which did around 95% of the weddings for this particular community group, decided to buy a 7D and hand it to his brother who worked for him as an editor. They started offering video and photo packages way less than what we can deliver and maintain quality.
The problem is that the brother has no real interest in photography (I know him personally), but the public is happy with the cheap price.
I've been trying to find a way to get the message out that wedding photography is not just about a clear picture.
I agree with Rick, the public needs to know that a professional photographer is not the one with the bigger lens!

[zollo]

Not necessarily! You cannot call yourself a brain surgeon without having the qualifications to do so. Calling yourself professional and being professional in your approach, services, products, with the skill to undertake any work that is required of you within your chosen field, are two very different things.

I think that one probably could lie/hack their way into a brain surgeon's job, but one would quickly find out they cannot make their living out of it this way. By being a hack.
Therefore I still mostly agree with the quote below, if one successfully makes their income from photography and continues to do so, they are professional photographers. Now their work may not be up to a certain standard so they charge less or whatever, but that is a different discussion, due to the fact that photography is unregulated, or it's one's business model, or one is just starting out, whatever.

And lets remember, even in regulated industries, you still get good and bad quality. There are many examples of no good doctors, no good lawyers, politicians I've had electricians (licensed) do very dodgy work before, so its not like just because an industry is regulated it is automatically a warranty that all work will be top notch. you do usually get what you pay for, regulated or unregulated.

You call yourself a professional photographer (or any other profession) if you're making a living out of it

[Pixley]

Sakhi,if photos are of secondary importance and they are happy with a video and a few mediocre pics then what is the problem? Not all peopel want (or expect) the same thing. Some couples don't even employ any type of photoghrapher and are happy with all the happy snaps from their guests - do you want to convince them otherwise as well?

[ricktas]

Sakhi,if photos are of secondary importance and they are happy with a video and a few mediocre pics then what is the problem? Not all peopel want (or expect) the same thing. Some couples don't even employ any type of photoghrapher and are happy with all the happy snaps from their guests - do you want to convince them otherwise as well?

I agree, if people (clients/customers) know what they are getting, its all good.

But this is deviating from the original topics of WHY photography is seen as an easy career choice, when the reality is that to be a professional photographer isn't 'easy'!

[Pixley]

It might also be that all first time Mums (and Dads) get a Pixie photo voucher in their Bounty bag - go and get some photos done - pay way over the odds for some really really cruddy photos and think (on reflection) they could do a better job themselves! And some could (after various lengths of time).

[mechawombat]

I think I take better pics of my son than those shopping centre studios. I have duds we all do, But I actually HATE those run of the mill studio type pics they actually dont capture the innocence and greatness that is childhood.

And yes I am a Part time SAHD!

[Allie]

........What makes the stay at home mum (and others) believe that a course and a DSLR will turn them into a professional photographer? We .... see these introduction posts and then within a week or two, they stop posting and we never hear from them again. Is that because they have succeeded in setting up their business or is it that they have realised that being a professional photographer is not as easy as they thought it would be, and have moved onto another idea?

Is it AP's role to educate people in this regard? Is it a lack of research by the person seeking to take up photography as a career?

......... I find it concerning that photography obviously appeals as an easy career option, when the reality is far removed from that.

As to the why people consider photography as a possible career or money making venture:

• professional quality cameras have become within the reach of many more people simply on price alone;
• digitalisation of images together with enhancing software and the decreasing cost of memory cards has meant that photography is not as cost prohibitive as it was with film;
• the automation of a lot of the processes for taking a photo (or many) mean that the chances of producing images which are in focus and relatively well balanced with regard to light are also increased;
• more information, reviews and “how to”s are readily available on the internet and freely offered on forums such as this as well as by reviewers and blogs.

So is it really any wonder that photography is seen as a possible, maybe even easy, career or money making profession by more people than it once was but .... that also applies erroneously to many other professions.

The ability to become professional in any field is based on much more than simply stating an intention. In that light, I don’t see it as the role of a forum such as this to be the educator or advisor on how difficult it is to become a professional photographer. I thought this place was about helping people become better photographers for themselves – what they do with that knowledge or whatever else they get out of this forum is up to them. It is plenty obvious to anyone actually using this forum for the wonderful resource it is, that there is much more to photography than simply taking a photo whether or not anyone will pay you to do so.