Photography is nowadays one of the most widespread mediums used throughout the world. People have come to depend (mostly emotionally) on capturing moments, emotions and visions through it. The fact is that photography is accessible to most people – it is not extremely costly to purchase equipment (especially for beginners) and the knowledge can be acquired through courses or workshops but also on the internet for no charge. This means that there is a thin line between professionals and amateurs. Of course, the vast majority does not fall into either of these two categories – both of them require skill and practice of the process. Here we will discuss the correlation professional – amateur in photography and the differences in the quality of product (the photographs).
Although discussions are still in progress over the internet community, it is generally agreed upon that the only difference between professional and amateur photography arises from the form of endeavor one has undertaken. This means that a professional photographer is a business owner who makes livelihood out of his work. In other words, one who chooses photography as a profession – a full time job, which means that he/she uses professional language, contracts and forms of marketing as well as advertising. More importantly, he/she makes a commitment to deliver product under necessity and request. An amateur, even if he/she can make some income, basically is not restrained by a business in production of work (it is a passion followed intrinsically).
It may come as a surprise that quality of work is not one of the differences between professional and amateur photographers, as QualcosadiBluPhoto experts sugget! However, if the knowledge and technology of the process are available to everyone, it becomes clear that anyone can grasp it and make exceptional work. Some professional photographers do not achieve quality work as much as some amateurs do. Therefore, in the spectrum of people who really know what they are doing, there is not that much of a difference.
On the other hand, there are the ‘complete’ amateurs who gained experience by taking random ‘selfies’ and using Instagram filters – not that we oppose this kind of expression or entertainment. Even here some good quality work can be found/achieved. However, this is where quality differences can arise more frequently. A professional has to be acquainted with light manipulation, focus determination and perspective setting because it is his/her job. This is the reason why professionally taken photographs tend to be more appealing to the eye (the magical feeling of everything being precisely as it should with the emotion gloaming from the image). This is also why your grandmother took a bunch of blurry/extremely dark/out of focus photos of your family reunion. A professional photographer has made the commitment to do it right, always.
The availability of photography is a beautiful thing. It allows self-expression and growth in techniques. However, for some occasions, it is crucial to depend on the quality (which you should be able to check beforehand) and efficiency, then is the right moment when a professional agency comes in!