Professional versus Amateur

[catchlights]

there are good Professionals and lousy Professionals, so are the Amateurs.

If he/she is good, will be promoted or stay in the business for many years.

If he/she is not, soon will be history.

 

[vince123123]

Yep, so there's no such thing as "go to a professional instead of an amateur if you want reliablity" as what many full time photographers try to say. The correct adage should be "Go to a Good professional or a Good Amateur if you want reliabliity" - hence removing the distinction between professional and amateur, and replacing it with good and lousy.

Im sure however that there are lousy professionals who are still in the market, either serving customers with lower expectations, or content with disposable customers (ie con once and then byebye, then look for fresh meat).

there are good Professionals and lousy Professionals, so are the Amateurs.

If he/she is good, will be promoted or stay in the business for many years.

If he/she is not, soon will be history.

 

[lsisaxon]

Views anyone? Btw, I am not a pro....just a voice in the wilderness

Professional = do it for money.
Amateur = do it for passion.

 

[jeanie]

Professional = do it for money.
Amateur = do it for passion.

what if one has both agendas?

promateur?
or amassional?:bsmilie:

 

[lsisaxon]

what if one has both agendas?

promateur?
or amassional?:bsmilie:

Semi-Pro. Maybe "Pro with a Passion", "Amateur with an Agenda"?

 

[catchlights]

Yep, so there's no such thing as "go to a professional instead of an amateur if you want reliablity" as what many full time photographers try to say. The correct adage should be "Go to a Good professional or a Good Amateur if you want reliabliity" - hence removing the distinction between professional and amateur, and replacing it with good and lousy.

Im sure however that there are lousy professionals who are still in the market, either serving customers with lower expectations, or content with disposable customers (ie con once and then byebye, then look for fresh meat).

perhaps they are very good in marketing and PR?

 

[Winsonapm]

Semi-Pro. Maybe "Pro with a Passion", "Amateur with an Agenda"?

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Amateur - 10% or less out of 100 shots, spends 90% of time on Photoshop.
Most do it for fun, few do it for fund.
Nobody expect trouble untill money is used as a measurement or value.

Pro - 50% to 90% out of 100 shots, spends 10% (or nothing) of effort with Photoshop.
Few do it for fun, all do it for fund.
None expect trouble untill a demanding client demands value for money.

Money is the evil.:devil:

 

[vince123123]

The bolded statements seem to be bare assertions and a broad brush approach without either empirical or statistical evidence to support them.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Amateur - 10% or less out of 100 shots, spends 90% of time on Photoshop.
Most do it for fun, few do it for fund.
Nobody expect trouble untill money is used as a measurement or value.

Pro - 50% to 90% out of 100 shots, spends 10% (or nothing) of effort with Photoshop.
Few do it for fun, all do it for fund.
None expect trouble untill a demanding client demands value for money.

Money is the evil.:devil:

 

[jeanie]

The bolded statements seem to be bare assertions and a broad brush approach without either empirical or statistical evidence to support them.

agree.

ironical thing is...sometimes i see amateurs' pics are much better than those by pro's...

 

[reedcat1965]

Read this article, exactly fits to this discussion.

Maybe after this opinion you will prefer to stay amateurs

 

[lsisaxon]

agree.

ironical thing is...sometimes i see amateurs' pics are much better than those by pro's...

Because they are fuelled by passion.

 

[Winsonapm]

The term “Professional Photographer” had been loosely used to describe an individual in the photography profession.
Lots of points are essential for a professional, but are generally based on,
1) quality/standard,
2) service and ethic,
3) main source of income or solely depended on it for a living, etc.

Class 1 is all of the above,
Class 2 is pt 2 & 3 of the above, ok quality,
Class 3 may only have pt 3, probably ok quality, no exceptional service and ok ethic,
No Class or Low Class, no frill, questionable quality and ethic.

Racehorses are categorized into divisions and classes, div1 class 1 to Amateur classes.
Some started in the lower div and rose to the top, some started at the top and ended at lower div.
All can run, few winners. Best of the best, “no horse run” but still have losers.

Day rate ranged from $500 to $50,000, minimum or no screw-up is expected.
It’s generally perceived that the higher the price, the better the “professionalism”, not necessarily true but an expectation.
Money is used as a yardstick to measure or qualify all of the above.

 

[vince123123]

Well as mentioned by another poster, it could be because the amateur has the luxury to spend the time and effort to wait for a good shot, or post process a good shot, since economies are irrelevant to him.

For the professional, he has no choice but to make sure that he gets fair value for his shots.

By way of example, if a shot is worth S$500 for example. The amateur may choose to spend even S$2,000 worth of time and resources to get that shot, simply because of his passion and drive. The professional on the other hand, cannot spend more than S$500 of time and resources simply because it is no longer profitable to do so.

agree.

ironical thing is...sometimes i see amateurs' pics are much better than those by pro's...

 

[highfive]

so much debate over a profession....next time just call them full time, part time or casual photogs can liao la :sweatsm: