What Makes a You a Pro Photographer?

What makes you a pro photographer?  It’s a question many people ask, and one that I hope to get an answer to since some day, I’d like to call myself a professional photographer in addition to being a psychologist (like Steven Dantzig).  While I know that there isn’t a definitive answer, here are seven possible credentials of a professional:

Make enough money to eat? – Many people say that if you make 80-100% of your living from taking pictures, you are a pro.  It all depends on the person, but overall, if you can make enough to live on your photography salary, this seems to be the number one qualification of being a professional photographer.

Impressive Photoshop skills? – With the right skills, the incredible power of Adobe Photoshop CS4 and other professional photo editing software programs out there make it easy to make a mediocre photograph outstanding.  Granted that “straight from the camera pictures” haven’t ever really existed except for Polaroid cameras, and that photographers have always been able to edit a photo in some way, I doubt this plays too significant of a role.

Number of publications? – I know several photographers who have some of their photographs in local magazines, brochures, and other media venues, but nothing is big time, and none of them would call themselves professionals.  Photographers like Jason Cole and Jasmine Star make fantastic images and publish in a wide variety of venues, and anyone who knows anything about photography would clearly consider them professionals.  Is the number of clients or publications all that counts though?

Technical quality of their work? – Many people can read their digital camera manual and master the major features that impact a given situation (shutter speed, aperture, sharpness, ISO, etc.), but is that what counts?  Without having the primary artistic elements of color, lighting, perspective, negative space (and many others) taken care of, even the most spectacularly sharp, undistorted photographs can be bland, and boring to look at.  Mastering the technical elements of the picture and your camera is important, but there is definitely more to making a great picture.

People calling you a pro? – Another potential qualification of a professional photographer I’ve heard of is if people regard you as a professional.  People constantly asking for your advice or critiques, your expertise, or refer others to you for advice or to have their pictures taken, could all be taken as evidence of your professional status.  If they didn’t think you had some mad skills, why would they come to you anyway?

The “X” factor? – Some photographers just have that indescribable ability to create photos that suck you in, and make you say “wow.”  Sometimes it evokes a primal emotion, sometimes it takes you to the scene where it was taken, and other times, it just makes you want to laugh or cry.  It’s often difficult to put into words what it actually is, but we all know it when we see it.  Is a professional someone who can conjure a feeling like this in his/her photos more routinely than most photographers can?

Something else?

These were a few of the qualifications of a professional photographer I seem to see some consensus on.  I realize there is not just one aspect that makes someone a pro, and I’m sure I have missed other important potential qualifications of professional photographers.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about what makes you able to call yourself a professional instead of an amateur/hobbyist.