rff...for pros or amateurs?

[Scrambler]

I find the term 'semi-professional' photographer quite amusing. I've never met anyone calling himself a semi-professional neurosurgeon.

You never met anyone calling themselves an amateur neurosurgeon either. And therefore you never met anyone who calls themselves a professional neurosurgeon.

It's simply because after two decades of dedicated paid and unpaid pursuit of a craft, whether you are currently being paid or not, you have the necessary skills to claim simply to be a neurosurgeon.

It's probably a pity the same doesn't apply to the word "photographer."

Similarly, I've never heard anyone describe a lawyer doing pro-bono work as an amateur.

 

[raid]

I am a professional professor! Hm. Could I be an amateur professor?

 

[Photog9000]

Seems like a ridiculous poll to me. We are all just photographers whether we make a living at it or not. B. D. Colen did a piece about "pro" vs "consumer" cameras. If you make a living with your $480 Nikon D3200 then it is a professional camera. It is all about the passion we have for this artistic venture.

 

[raid]

There is nothing wrong with having such a poll here. It keeps us "active" and engaged at RFF, for those who want to chat here. A balance in threads is maybe better than having only dead serious articles and postings.

 

[FrankS]

Making art is a bitch.

That needs to be enshrined somewhere! 🙂

 

[f16sunshine]

Making art is a bitch.

That needs to be enshrined somewhere! 🙂

Making art for others consumption can be a bitch...... Making art for yourself rarely is.

 

[f16sunshine]

In my experience you have that reversed. 😎

Well it's possible we both have something to teach each other 🙂

 

[robert blu]

Passionate amateur here, never managed to make a cent with photography🙂
robert
PS: I would be already happy if I could decrease the costs 😀

 

[kbg32]

There is a long tradition in NYC of professionals and hobbyists showing together once a year at the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit.
http://www.wsoae.org/#!about/c1wfv

I and my friends, respectfully, always considered it "amateurish".

 

[robert blu]

Grazie photomoof, robert 🙂

 

[Contarama]

I think of it as a place where you need to know the fundamentals in order to participate. Maybe it is better to say not really a place for beginners but for more advanced photographers? This forum can be intimidating if you ask me but not so much if you are open minded and attentive. One can learn a lot here if you just listen...I would wager one can learn a lot here even if you thought you knew everything. 🙂

 

[kuzano]

Hmmm... lemme think...??

Hmmm... lemme think...??

how do you see rff...more for amateurs or pros?

YES!!!! Absolutely.

 

[YYV_146]

I think of it as a place where you need to know the fundamentals in order to participate. Maybe it is better to say not really a place for beginners but for more advanced photographers? This forum can be intimidating if you ask me but not so much if you are open minded and attentive. One can learn a lot here if you just listen...I would wager one can learn a lot here even if you thought you knew everything. 🙂

Frankly, I thought I did when I came here. Shot film for a decade as a student. Photo enthusiast for a couple more years. Owned camera systems of every major brand before going Leica. There was a time when I could blind-adjust most of the settings on every Canon and Nikon DSLR.

I learned far, far more than I would have ever imagined here. My whole view of photography has changed because of RFF. And looking back I did know a lot. I just learned more here...😀

 

[NicoM]

It's for people that enjoy rangefinders (and some other gear). The percentage of threads about actual photography on RFF looks to be a tiny percentage of the site.

 

[citizen99]

My most bizarre "professional" creative job -- painting Playboy bunnies with body paint before Hefner's appearance on Laugh In. http://ipullprints.blogspot.com/2010/12/get-freakin-haircut-reason-no-19-goldie.html

It's a tough job, but somebody had to do it 😀.

 

[PaulDalex]

So we amateurs are an overwhelming majority.
This should suggest to pros to be kind with us

 

[citizen99]

It's for people that enjoy rangefinders (and some other gear). The percentage of threads about actual photography on RFF looks to be a tiny percentage of the site.

Exactly. The clue is in the name 😉.

I suspect that many, maybe most, full-time professional photographers don't focus over-much on the details of the tools of their profession, once having established what suits their workflow.

I'm an amateur, I don't even consider myself to be a 'photographer' at all, just somebody who enjoys owning, tinkering with, and using, cameras, sometimes getting a 'nice' picture. That said, this is my most-visited forum, where I have enjoyed learning about the technicalities of both the hardware and of the techniques 🙂.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Exactly. The clue is in the name 😉.

I suspect that many, maybe most, full-time professional photographers don't focus over-much on the details of the tools of their profession, once having established what suits their workflow.

I'm an amateur, I don't even consider myself to be a 'photographer' at all, just somebody who enjoys owning, tinkering with, and using, cameras, sometimes getting a 'nice' picture. That said, this is my most-visited forum, where I have enjoyed learning about the technicalities of both the hardware and of the techniques 🙂.

But what does "over-much" mean? In particular, "over"?

Cheers,

R.

 

[charjohncarter]

One thing the RFF has done for me, and this may be a little off subject, is made me realize that amateurs can take profession photos without professional equipment. In fact, I feel that professional equipment is not relevant anymore except for very limited needs. I've seen great (really great) images on this forum from people that use very old, outdated, and really not considered top quality at their time equipment.

 

[back alley]

just an fyi…this poll was set to end in 2 days…i'm not a believer in long polls.