The Paradox of the Professional Photographer
Entry posted by yellowperil
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Today, outrage over the quality (or lack thereof) of a portfolio representing the US Olympic team has come timed perfectly for my blog. You can read more about this here.
This topic of professional versus amateur photographers has been raised many times on PP. After many years in the field, I’m still none the wiser what these terms really mean. It is a very thick and murky grey area that parallels the debate about whether “high class” (expensive) escorts provide a better service than not-so-high-class (not as expensive). There is no doubt that in both cases that expectations are higher when you are paying more, particularly if the service provider labels themselves as ‘elite’ or ‘professional’. However there is no guarantee that things will work out well. There are many variables and it is not an exact science.
At a minimum, these are some of my expectations of a professional photographer
- Marketing
- Gets paid for his photos (hopefully). Strictly speaking, a pro is supposed to make most of his yearly wage from photography. On the other hand amateur doesn’t mean ‘free’ either. There are many who earn a nice packet working weekends by shooting weddings for example.
- Has appropriate equipment to get the job done. But don’t judge a photographer by his gear. I’ve seen many beginners whose equipment would put a pro to shame but can’t make heads or tails of the instruction manuals
- Knows how to make well focused, correctly exposed photos
The fact that there are many talented amateurs who produce excellent work and pros who who take terrible photos makes hiring a photographer a bit like punting. The only difference is that unlike escorts, you can get to sample the goods before laying down the cash. Nowadays, I base my assessment of photographers purely on what work they can show me. If I’m interviewing someone and the first thing I hear about is what qualifications they have achieved or which courses they have attended I know that it’s going to be all down hill from there. A photographer who produces good work will immediately take out their portfolio.
Following on my last blog regarding gear, I’ll let you in on what I bring to a shoot for an escort profile. Firstly, I have the luxury of using two Canon 5DMkII bodies. I personally think that if you are doing a professional job that a back-up body and lens is necessary. If a piece of gear packs up, what are you going to do? I have two prime lenses with stay on each body for pretty much the whole shoot - a 50mm f1.4 for full body shots and an 85mm f1.2. These are pretty much the best glass you can use for the purpose. I also have a few zoom lenses that don’t get a lot of use which I bring along : 16-35mm f2.8, 24-105mm f4 and 70-200 f2.8. That’s about 20K worth of equipment already so unless you guys are getting free gear, software and retouching services, I think it is foolish to give away pictures to ladies if they are going to be used for advertisements and profiles. For the majority of people that only have one camera body, I would recommend a single zoom lens such as the 24-70mm 2.8L ideally or the 24-105mm 4L whether or not your camera is full frame or not. Fiddling with prime lenses with only one body is a big pain in the arse for everyone concerned.
On a final note, I’m often bemused by the assertion that professional photographs are in some way less honest than amateur ones. How are grainy noisy pics taken in semi-darkness that hide more than they reveal an accurate reflection of the model?
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