Sure you’re a photographer

Today, while burning DVDs for a couple of clients, I was wandering around on a few social media sites. I came upon a discussion in a group about what makes you a “photographer”. The people participating where very arrogant and obviously didn’t understand the meaning of the word. One person argued you had to make your living thru photography and another said that as long as you earn and money from your photography that you can call yourself a photographer.

First of all, obviously these guys are knuckleheads. Next, I think they were trying lump everyone into the category of “Professional Photographer”. I discussed my feelings about that a few years ago in my blog. If your interested it should be still on here, though I don’t remember when I wrote it. You’ll have search for it if you really care.

A photographer, in my book, is someone that creates photos with a camera. That’s it. There’s no other qualifications.

However, being a photographer doesn’t mean you are talented, skilled, or in any way good at it.

At one time if you said you were photographer, it was implied that you had some skill. Why? Because there was a time when you had to understand film speed, parallax, lens aperture, shutter speeds and how to use a light meter. If you didn’t have a working knowledge of these things, you couldn’t take a photo, pure and simple. With the invention of smarter and smarter cameras, it got easier for everyone to take photos. Now almost everyone can take a photo that is somewhat in focus and of the correct exposure.

Maybe we need a new word to denote someone who is skilled with camera? Any ideas?

If you have thoughts on the matter, email me or find me on Facebook.

Thanks for reading and be sure to wander my website.

-Ken