What is a Professional Photographer?

Webster’s dictionary defines professional as: (1) characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession, (2) exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace.

Some photographers will tell you that equipment is what makes you a professional. Others will tell you that anyone with a camera can be a professional. The truth is a little more complicated than either of the previous statements. Professionalism is about attitude and commitment. Equipment is important: it is about quality, it is about reliability, and it is about being able to get what you want out of your equipment when you want it. Today anyone can buy a well-reviewed digital SLR camera new for $500 and a decent lens for an additional $50 – that doesn’t make the person a professional photographer. Anyone with a lot of money can buy a top-of-of-the-line camera costing well over $20,000 – that doesn’t make the person a professional photographer. Both cameras can produce great images, albeit the $20,000 camera technically should produce a more color accurate and sharper photograph. Still, if you give a Hasselblad to someone who doesn’t know how to use it, you won’t be able to tell the difference between images compared to those produced by an amateur with the cheapest camera. A photographer chooses the tools that best get the job done - sometimes that is the most expensive tool, sometimes is it the cheapest. However, I think it’s safe to say that no professional who takes pride in his work will use a $500 camera. On-the-other-hand, no matter how good the photographer is skill-wise, if he or she doesn’t know how to work with and treat you and comes off as arrogant, then you will be talking about your photographer for all the wrong reasons.

My goal as a professional photographer is for you to talk about how great an experience it was to work with me and how wonderful and beautiful your photographs look. To that end, before you book me, I’ll sit down with you and ask you questions about what you’re looking for in your photographer and your photos. I need to make sure that we will be a good fit for one another. After you receive your photographs, I’ll ask you to fill out an evaluation of my services. This evaluation is to help me find out where I can improve and if I failed to meet your expectations in any way. I call myself a professional to give you an expectation of what to expect. Once you meet with me, hire me, and get your photos, you’ll know what to expect from anyone else calling him/herself a professional.

Call Patrick at (323) 309-3332 to schedule your appointment today.