quote of the week, march 12, 2005

Andy

previous quote of the week discussions

march 5, 2005

february 26, 2005

february 19, 2005

this week's quote is by alfred stieglitz a late, great, late 19th and early 20th century photographer.

Let me here call attention to one of the most universally popular mistakes that have to do with photography - that of classing supposedly excellent work as professional, and using the term amateur to convey the idea of immature productions and to excuse atrociously poor photographs. As a matter of fact nearly all the greatest work is being, and has always been done, by those who are following photography for the love of it, and not merely for financial reasons. As the name implies, an amateur is one who works for love; and viewed in this light the incorrectness of the popular classification is readily apparent. -Alfred Stieglitz, in 1899

discuss.

Stan

Stieglitz worked this out along time ago, this does not excuse my amateurish attempts though. :cry



It should be noted that, in the society in which he made this statement, (in the UK anyway) ‘Gentlemen’ were considered far superior to the professionals. Whether it was as a photographer, a sportsman or an explorer. There was something tainted about doing something for financial gain and not simply for the love of it. This meant that the ‘Gentleman’ had to be independently wealthy, or be able to fit it around their profession. Being able to do a thing well with little effort was admired, which implies that to practice too had was frowned upon.

wxwax

This won't take long.

An amateur engages in an activity with no expectation of remuneration.

A professional does the exact opposite.

End of discussion.

You'll notice that nowhere in either definition is the word "passion." Amateurs don't have a monopoly on it, and it's insane to say that professionals don't have it. That's like saying Henri Cartier-Bresson didn't love photography.

Stan says it best: Stieglitz expresses an archaic distinction between an amateur and a professional. The same archaic distinction used to be made in sports, by the way.

Andy

wxwax wrote:

This won't take long.

An amateur engages in an activity with no expectation of remuneration.

A professional does the exact opposite.

End of discussion.

You'll notice that nowhere in either definition is the word "passion." Amateurs don't have a monopoly on it, and it's insane to say that professionals don't have it. That's like saying Henri Cartier-Bresson didn't love photography.

Stan says it best: Stieglitz expresses an archaic distinction between an amateur and a professional. The same archaic distinction used to be made in sports, by the way.

what i find utterly amazing is the heated debate going on in photo forums, over "full time pros" and "weekend pros"

hypothetical bottomline - if i were a "weekend pro" in the new york area, and i can get continued wedding work, regularly, have happy clients, etc etc, then shay stephens, who's a full-time professional wedding, portrait, and fine art photographer, better be sure that he's competitive on value, quality, price and service. if he's not, then i'm going to eat into his marketplace. natch, shay doesn't let this happen. and i don't do weddings

Shay Stephens

Random thoughts
There are four kinds of professional photographers

1) Great marketers who are great photographers
2) Great marketers who are not great photographers
3) Great photographers who are not great marketers
4) Professionals who are not great at photography or marketing

Group 1 has little to worry about from 2,3, or 4 and they can set their own prices and do what they want. They have permanent immunity from being voted off the island

Group 2 and 3 are direct competitors and battle it out for their share of the pie.

Group 4 struggles for scraps from groups 2 and 3 and services the low end market almost exclusively, though groups 2 and 3 can scoop some of this up for themselves any time they feel hungry for work.

Amateurs can float in and out of, or occupy any of the 4 groups. They are like flying insects in a flower field flitting here and there. One day they are there, the next day they are gone. Some are great like butterflies, some are bothersome like hornets and stink bugs. Only the gardener (the pro) can be counted on to be there when you need them. But who doesn't love having the butterfly or lady bug brighten your day as they see fit :-)

wxwax

Chauncey Gardiner makes a return.

ian408

wxwax wrote:

An amateur engages in an activity with no expectation of remuneration..

I saw a Rebok (or some such) commercial that drove this point home the other day.

Wonder if people are starting to get fed up with professional sports?

Ian