What makes professional photography difficult? What differentiates a professional from an amateur?
In: Other
Besides simply deriving income from photography, the largest difference between a professional and an advanced amateur is consistency and the ability to deliver good/great images every time. It doesn’t matter if the situation isn’t ideal, you don’t feel up to it or you have equipment malfunctions. Amateurs don’t usually have the knowledge and/or experience to do this.
Also, it has so much less to do with equipment than most people think. Camera bodies and lenses are just tools and can make the job easier but the talent lies in the person using them. You really only unlock your true potential when using your gear becomes second-nature and you’re able to concentrate more on the images you create.
Hello. I am making a living as a professional photographer for several years now. The comparison of professional vs. amateur basically boils down to amount of information and practice you have backing up your claims of quality.
There are surface level distinctions, like skills in post-process editor of your choice, the fact you get paid for it, or basic knowledge of physics. But in the end, it is ultimately your knowledge of the craft that lends you the ability to take good pictures on demand, which in turn makes you the authority on the subject.
I think it’s hard now days and especially with digital. I disagree that the professional is much better. I’ve seen some shitty pro photogs and some incredible amateurs. I think the difference is that professionals advertise themselves as such.
Short answer is Lighting. If the lighting is bad, I assume the photographer didn’t know what they were doing. Separates the amateurs from the professionals.
Literally the professional has sold pictures. Maybe he photographed some Chinese food plates. Doesn’t matter. He got paid.
An amateur has never been paid.
The same thing that makes one an artist…Talent.
I went to college for commercial art, which required courses in photography. I enjoyed it because I was a pretty good photographer. I had a nice Minolta X-frame camera with multiple lenses, films, filters and accessories. I had darkroom experience amd worked at it and was pretty good.
Along comes my Neice..who at 10 was taking photo’s on a POS Nokia phone that put mine to shame. I take good pictures. She had ‘the eye’ and creates art with her camera.
Anyone can be a photographer, or an artist. But very few will become Ansel Adams. You can always work and Improve and become great at it. Others will pick up a cheap camera amd just know what to do. This is true with pretty much every art, talent or skill.
There’s so many different forms of professional and amateur. After doing a couple weddings I realized I did not want to be a professional photographer, reason was I’m not the kind of person that is good at directing people, nor do I understand how to pose a person.
Really enjoy the science and art of photography there’s so much to it there’s always something to learn, focus, fstops, framing, editing, light levels, white balance, shutter speeds, depth of field, and that’s just a short list of the technical stuff. Then there’s understanding the artistic part of it like golden ratio and complementary colors, all those things that just make a photo pleasing.
You can be a professional stock photographer, if you have a extremely good understanding of the technical aspects of it. You can make a pretty good living just taking pictures of mundane things, if you are capable of capturing perfect pictures.
A lot of great answers, but I’ll answer it this way. In this digital age, anyone can get lucky if they take enough photos. Amateurs take a lot of photos and find the good ones after the fact. The professional sees the picture BEFORE taking photos and doesn’t rely so much on luck. Do pros get lucky? Sure. Do pros make mistakes. Absolutely. As others have mentioned, it’s that eye. Im not a good photographer… In fact I consider myself a delusional amateur because I know I rely on luck. And I have fun with it. 😊
I know everyone is immediately jumping to quality and composition but honestly the real difficulty of being a professional photography is that they’re running a business.
Anyone can occasionally take outstanding photos. A professional has to do it every time, and consistently.
A professional photographer understands how to deliver a product their customer wants while an amateur can photograph whatever they like without obligation.
A master amateur photographer will produce just as good work as a master professional photographer. If you’re looking for a comparison of skilled vs. unskilled really it’s master vs. novice.
To put it short:
Everyone can take an amazing picture.
But, can you take an amazing picture next Thursday at 12 o’clock?
Latest Answers