What Makes a Photographer a Professional?

By GEORGE TROUP!!!

What Makes a Photographer a Professional?

 the above picture is by me-philameh!

 When times are tough, those with pickup trucks start a landscaping business and those with cameras become wedding photographers. Yet when the first drought hits, those new landscapers quickly realize landscaping is not just about mowing lawns and just as quickly leave the business. There is so much more to consider. The same is true with wedding photography but, we don’t have droughts to weed out the unqualified photographers. Unfortunately, it is the consumer who ends up paying the price. What you first thought was a great deal, turns out to be tremendous heartbreak.

Sure all of us can play miniature golf and occasionally get a hole-in-one. But very few can play golf well enough to earn a living at the game. Photography is much the same way. Anybody can take a good picture once in a while. Some people become better than average. Fewer people are able to make a living as a Professional Photographer. What separates the true Professional Photographer from the Amateur?

First the professional is able to provide a repeatable, expected result upon demand. The pro golfer will hit the ball 250 yards down the fairway most of the time. They depend on skill and not luck to make the shot. It should be the same with your wedding photographer. The biggest difference between a professional and an amateur is that a professional can be told to take a photo and is able to create a good predictable image. An amateur trusts it to luck. After all, you only get one chance to photograph the first kiss! Your photographer must be able to capture all of those special moments from your wedding day without leaving anything to chance.

Next a professional is prepared for the unexpected. When the pro golfer hits a shot into a bunker or sand trap, they know what to do to recover. A professional photographer knows what to do when a piece of equipment fails. They know what to do when the sky suddenly clouds over and then become sunny again. Just like a golfer trains for those difficult situations and makes them look easy, so does the professional photographer. After all, the professional photographer knows “P” on the camera does not stand for “Professional” but rather “Pretend” or “Phony.”

Just as a professional golfer continues to train, so does the true professional photographer. The true professional photographer is not looking for the quick buck. They are passionate about the product they want to deliver and will continue to learn. They attend seminars, conferences and are members of professional associations. This allows the professional photographer to stay abreast of the most current trends in the photography industry.

Plumbers, Doctors, Electricians and many other professions are licensed. Unfortunately, professional photographers are not. Anybody can walk into the store, buy a professional looking camera and say they are a professional photographer. Just as there are full-time photographers who pretend to be professional photographers there are also part-time photographers who are truly professional photographers. It is up to you, the consumer, to make sure the photographer you hire for your special day is in fact really a professional photographer and not just pretending to be one. That great price you pay up front could cause you a lot of heartache after your wedding.

UNVELING a SENIOR ADVOCATE of NIGERIA-mr Oyedipo.

i spent time with the SAN both at home and in the office.it was a revelation of what the SAN could be like when he is NOT in the COURT of LAW winning cases for clients!

freshest fishermen of the CHRISTIAN COTTAGE are here at last!!!

last sunday,april 10th,2011,i had the opportunity of covering the ordination of new pastors and deacons of the CHRISTIAN COTTAGE and i had a wonderful experience.the atmosphere was heavenly!!!here are some of the shots: