*Serious/deep question* How do you truly become a professional?

[sonshine_rae]

With the plethora of photographers in the world right now,
how do you/can I be a true professional?

With all these threads with rants/vents about basically how unprofessional other photographers are, and how poor their quality is (both pictures and service), how do you suggest avoiding becoming 'one of them' yourself?

I have refused to use craigslist to advertise and do NOT mention that I'm a SAHM (because I feel it lowers peoples opinion of my work) and strive to have competitive pricing, instead of getting into the price wars.

BUT here again..... how do you tell/show your clients/potential clients that you ARE different.. and help them to understand that they should pay for the difference?

I had a lot of clients when I first opened up, while prices were to low, and things were given away 'just for experience.' Now that I'm gaining experience..... the people in it for cheap/free are going away.... and I'm persay in the market for 'real clients' now.

A few 'catches' in my business plan,
I do not at this time, and possibly not ever, plan to grow this into a huge full-time business, my desire is for it to be a small part-time Professional Service, that provides me with a creative outlet, and pays me for my time/experience. Is that crazy?

Yes I am a SAHM (stay at home mom), no this isn't about making money so I can stay home, it's about keeping my brain alive and creative while I spend most of my time changing diapers lol. It's my 'me time' but..... I strive for it to be the best I can possibly do, professional, quality, something that people would be willing to book ahead of time in order to 'get in' on the artist's limited sessions ya know?

Is it possible for me to make it in this business as a true professional.... or am I destined to be lower quality.. never quite considered pro?

*Sorry for my rambling.. but my teething baby (who is screaming in my arms) woke me up countless times last night.....*

[Stercus Vultus]

A real "true professional" makes a reasonable to good living off his/her photography, sonshine. It is his/her primary source of income.
As you are a 'SAHM' you do not make a reasonable to good living off your photography. It is not your primary source of income.
So as long as you're a 'SAHM' you are not, and cannot be, a professional photographer.

[sonshine_rae]

Okay so webster might agree with you but I think that is not really answering my question as it were laid out fully in my original post. I'm speaking of 'professional quality' or a certain level of expected quality, not 'making a living from it.' So perhaps I used the wrong word, but I was at a loss for what term/word to choose.

professional - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Main Entry:1pro·fes·sion·al Pronunciation: \prə-ˈfesh-nəl, -ˈfe-shə-nəl\ Function:adjective Date:1606 1 a: of, relating to, or characteristic of a profession b: engaged in one of the learned professions c (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 workplace2 a: participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs <a professional golfer> b: having a particular profession as a permanent career <a professional soldier> c: engaged in by persons receiving financial return <professional football>3: following a line of conduct as though it were a profession <a professional patriot>
— pro·fes·sion·al·ly adverb

[KmH]

With the ups and downs a full time business has it is very difficult for a small part time business to sustain itself.

As your images improve you can always market to a different clientel. At some point though to stay small and part time you begin refusing shooting opportunities and that clientel drifts off to photographers that do it full time.

Essentially you have a 'catch 22'. I you get good enough to call yourself a Pro, your business grows. Then to remain a SAHM, small part time business you have to short circuit the success to do so.

KWIM.

[Rain Lily]

Originally Posted by Stercus Vultus

A real "true professional" makes a reasonable to good living off his/her photography, sonshine. It is his/her primary source of income.
As you are a 'SAHM' you do not make a reasonable to good living off your photography. It is not your primary source of income.
So as long as you're a 'SAHM' you are not, and cannot be, a professional photographer.

I disagree with this. And so does this. And this.

Rae, hang in there. What you are wanting to do is what I am doing. I work full-time as an occupational therapist and do this photography stuff on the side. It brings me in extra money. It's not my full time job. Yet I am a professional, in that I'm educated and continuing to educate myself, I receive financial gain from it, and I conduct myself in a manner appropriate to the 'profession' of photographer. And I'm not an amateur. At least in some areas.

[zemlin]

I certainly think it's possible to be a part-time pro. I've had a side business as a recording studio/location recording/sound reinforcement for almost 10 years now. I don't make any real profit, but I don't lose money. The business supports itself and I have a good time with it.

As far as how to do business without being a jerk - I think it's important to be modest. Let your pictures speak for themselves, and make sure you deliver what your promise. I bend over backwards to make sure my customers are satisfied. To me, a satisfied customer is more important than profit. I will not walk away from a customer just because there's no more money in the job.

Just this year I decided to try to move my photography into the same sort of effort - at least try to make enough with it to support my modest gear purchases.

The good news is that you don't starve when times are slow, but business like this can be very cyclical, so when things get busy it can be hard to live your life and keep the business going.

I enjoy my moonlight ventures.

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by Stercus Vultus

A real "true professional" makes a reasonable to good living off his/her photography, sonshine. It is his/her primary source of income.
As you are a 'SAHM' you do not make a reasonable to good living off your photography. It is not your primary source of income.
So as long as you're a 'SAHM' you are not, and cannot be, a professional photographer.

I love the elitists. The holier-than-thou attitude is so easy to spot.

Define "reasonable to good" living. With my debt and resources, I can actually live a fairly good life on $25,000/yr. I can make that shooting one to two days a week. Even taking a few weeks off. Is that reasonable? My bills are paid, a little in the bank, and lots of time for whatever.

"Professional" has nothing to do with how much money you make. It's an ethical approach to providing a customer service that meets both the provider's and client's expectations. You can give away your services and still be a professional.

[ohenry]

There's no diploma to hang on the wall. No board to certify your competence. It's just you, your reputation, and your presence that makes you successful. It doesn't matter how much money you make to define you as a professional. It doesn't matter if you earn 100% of your livelihood or 10% of it from photography. It's that you earn income from your work, no matter how little or how much. How people perceive you is your best tool. If you say I'm just a stay at home mom that does photography, people will treat you as such. If you remain business like and quote prices, negotiate contracts, and present yourself as a professional, you'll be treated as such.

[korman]

Rae,

one side of being a professional is depending on the job to survive. You wrote yourself that you don't aspire to that. Being a professional in this sense usually leads to a few very positive attributes such as being able to produce constant quality that is good enough to get the bill paid, no matter of mood, weather, peskiness of the client, creative ebb etc. simply because the bills need to be paid.

This goes usually also with a broad experience and having encountered many problems before simply due to the volume of work done. Someone doing his 2nd wedding simply can't have the same knowledge about all the catastrophes and problems as someone doing his 502nd wedding. Having encountered a problem before makes dealing with it a lot easier when it occurs again.

This also leads in most cases to typical professional behaviour and reliability towards the clients, simply because the guy that is annoyed by offensive behaviour might be the client that skips you next time. A professional is always in sales and marketing mode, he usually just can't afford to lose the chance to leave a good impression with a future client.

Another one is a good sense of how much the client can be charged and how to sell yourself. Hand in hand with this usually goes a good understanding how much your services cost you and what are your cost of operating and what clients aren't worth for you to bother with.

So if you want to be more professional like, strive to get those attributes. And if you manage to produce quality that not only satisfies the requirements of the client but also is up to standards other professionals wouldn't be ashamed of.

You know you've made it, when you win contracts against other local professionals not based on price but because of the quality you deliver.

Korman

[sonshine_rae]

There have been many good points made, and I really appreciate it (takes notes).

Hopefully I can reply in detail later, but I just wanted to express my thanks to those of you who have responded thus far.

[k9ofkaos]

Rae a professional is someone who is compensated for their services and can deliver the results. It has NOTHING to do with if you earn a living wage from it or not.

My advice is shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. Look at what you do with a very critical eye, correct and improve. Sieze every opportunity to learn. Read books, go to seminars if you are able to. And at the end of the day believe in yourself. Sell not just your images but yourself as well. Since you are a SAHM, you most likely have a large network of other SAHMs to work with.

I wish you great success. Be discouraged not, but persevere with all due diligence.

[Stercus Vultus]

Originally Posted by korman

one side

The defining side, imo.

of being a professional is depending on the job to survive. You wrote yourself that you don't aspire to that. Being a professional in this sense usually leads to a few very positive attributes such as being able to produce constant quality that is good enough to get the bill paid, no matter of mood, weather, peskiness of the client, creative ebb etc. simply because the bills need to be paid.

This goes usually also with a broad experience and having encountered many problems before simply due to the volume of work done. Someone doing his 2nd wedding simply can't have the same knowledge about all the catastrophes and problems as someone doing his 502nd wedding. Having encountered a problem before makes dealing with it a lot easier when it occurs again.

This also leads in most cases to typical professional behaviour and reliability towards the clients, simply because the guy that is annoyed by offensive behaviour might be the client that skips you next time. A professional is always in sales and marketing mode, he usually just can't afford to lose the chance to leave a good impression with a future client.

Another one is a good sense of how much the client can be charged and how to sell yourself. Hand in hand with this usually goes a good understanding how much your services cost you and what are your cost of operating and what clients aren't worth for you to bother with.

So if you want to be more professional like, strive to get those attributes. And if you manage to produce quality that not only satisfies the requirements of the client but also is up to standards other professionals wouldn't be ashamed of.

You know you've made it, when you win contracts against other local professionals not based on price but because of the quality you deliver.

Korman

Well said, Korman.

Being a professional means being able to work under pressure. Being able to cope with constraints. Constraints like with stuff as: briefing quality, time, preparation, weather, budget, materials, models, gear, pesky customers, picky accountants, uncooperative banks, tiresome authorities, etc. etc., and still deliver a high standard of material! As briefed. On time. Within budget. Again and again.
Then you're a pro.

Of course this is from a customer's point of view. The one who pays the invoice.

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by Stercus Vultus

The defining side, imo. Well said, Korman.

Being a professional means being able to work under pressure. Being able to cope with constraints. Constraints like with stuff as: briefing quality, time, preparation, weather, budget, materials, models, gear, pesky customers, picky accountants, uncooperative banks, tiresome authorities, etc. etc., and still deliver a high standard of material! On time. Within budget. Again and again.
Then you're a pro.

Of course this is from a customer's point of view. The one who pays the invoice.

And nothing you said has anything to do with a "reasonable living".

I do that with photography, building houses, making custom furniture, and my "real" job in IT. The only thing you mention in your list that's unique to photography is "models". Everything else is the same.

So which am I a professional at then?

[Rain Lily]

Originally Posted by Stercus Vultus

The defining side, imo. Well said, Korman.

Being a professional means being able to work under pressure. Being able to cope with constraints. Constraints like with stuff as: briefing quality, time, preparation, weather, budget, materials, models, gear, pesky customers, picky accountants, uncooperative banks, tiresome authorities, etc. etc., and still deliver a high standard of material! On time. Within budget. Again and again.
Then you're a pro.

Of course this is from a customer's point of view. The one who pays the invoice.

I do these things too. Part time.

[Stercus Vultus]

Originally Posted by brian.austin

And nothing you said has anything to do with a "reasonable living".

Correct, because a "reasonable living" applies to the wannabe pro tog's point of view. Not his/her clients'.

I do that with photography, building houses, making custom furniture, and my &quot;real&quot; job in IT. The only thing you mention in your list that's unique to photography is "models". Everything else is the same.

Perceptive!

So which am I a professional at then?

I'm sure your clients will let you know, Brian.

But – again from a client's point of view! the paymaster! – I wouldn't boast all those other jobs to my prospective clients, if I were you. They might think "Hey, a Jack of all trades, and a master of none?".

[jrseyer]

I too, as many here, do this on the side. Being a professional at photography doesn't mean you have to make a lot of money from it. It just means that you make images and are able to receive some compensation for your time/skills/creativity.

Don't listen to the elitists here that think, just because photography isn't your primary source of income, that you are not a professional. If you are able to get clients, create their images, and receive compensation for your work, then in my book, you are a professional.

SAHM's have a great advantage over so-called "professionals": QUALTY TIME. Quality time to enjoy life and raise kids the way they ought to be. Kick those elitists in the teeth for being envious of your quality time, and while you're at it, take a few of their clients and give them better quality images.

ELITISTS

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by Stercus Vultus

Perceptive!

Indeed. Your rhetoric sounds awfully familiar...

Interesting translation on the name (this time).

[DAVE PROUTY]

When you have all the best equipment for your studio to do the best lighting anyone knows how to do, and have it all die with a client coming in, then using a small battery powered flash unit to sub for all that lighting equipment and get an image the client goes GAGA over and pay for it. THAT is a professional photographer.

[LA]

Originally Posted by ohenry

There's no diploma to hang on the wall. No board to certify your competence. It's just you, your reputation, and your presence that makes you successful. It doesn't matter how much money you make to define you as a professional. It doesn't matter if you earn 100% of your livelihood or 10% of it from photography. It's that you earn income from your work, no matter how little or how much. How people perceive you is your best tool. If you say I'm just a stay at home mom that does photography, people will treat you as such. If you remain business like and quote prices, negotiate contracts, and present yourself as a professional, you'll be treated as such.

Here is your answer. Cannot be said any better that this. Larry

[Fireice_2]

I work part-time as a photographer and as a computer and camera vendor in my place. When it comes to photography, even though I've just started to build my name, I am happy because, I recently gained clients who used to engage the services of more established photographers in town.

I hardly earn from photography as of now, but I'm happy to know that my work ethics as well as my output and preparation makes them consider me as a true professional even if I work part-time.

So for me, being a professional depends on how you carry and present your services to others. Work ethics also matter. And I agree to what others said that its better to worry how to satisfy a client than worry on how to make your pocket grow.