I thought it would be interesting to see where our membership falls in relation to thier relative abilities and equipment choices. To help make the poll as accurate as possible, PLEASE READ the descriptions before posting in the poll. Beginner: Point and Shoot only, captuing famliy photos Novice Photographer: Attempting to master the Point and Shoot, but with style, flare and an eye for composition. Beginner Photographer: Feel confident in my P&S and ready to experiment with SLR. Photographer: Enjoy both P&S and SLR depending on my mood. Senior Photographer: Finding that I have less and less need for P&S and want to focus mainly on the advanced equipment. Advanced Photographer: Only use the big stuff, all the bells and whistles. Semi-Professional Photographer: Being paid for it is the only thing seperating me from the big boys. Professional Photographer: Living the dream. Feel free to post here and describe your experience in photography.
tim gets paid...so i guess i'm a pro (woo hoo) seriously, i work part time with the studio that did our wedding- i shoot about 12-15 weddings a year and once in awhile do little side jobs for friends of mine.
Great idea, Valerie! I'm a beginner, but I'm learning a lot already from reading here. Actually, I probably would have rated myself higher before I saw some of these amazing photos, but I realize just how far I have to go!
I marked myself as a beginner, but accroding to your chart above I'm a photographer. I still feel like a beginner though. I've got a long way to go. :-\
I started to say I am a novice then I saw your definitions and I turned out to be a senior! Cool! Actually, technically, I could say I'm a professional since I was paid for 3 of my Disney photos this year - that was totally exciting. But really, I got a Nikon D50 this past spring and have just barely begun to tinker with the manual settings - so I'm just barely past the point and shoot mode. I'm hoping to learn lots on your photo tours Tim! Barrie
I don't really fit into any one catagory. I don't touch P&S unless I'm without camera and using my cell phone camera as a last resort. But that's just ME.. I like SLRs. To me that's what a camera is supposed to be, big, satisfyingly heavy in the hands, and it should click when you take a picture. Not just make the sound, but I like to be able to feel the mirror slap when I push the shutter release. I was kind of raised on SLRs, so that's just the way my preferences have gone. I'm reasonably experienced, but still I can't honestly say I'm using the camera to its full potential. To me that fits with the term "all the bells and whistles", I don't make use of all the features, so I'll squeeze myself in at senior photographer. I prefer enthusiastic amateur though.
Based on the choices I'm grouped in the "Pro Photog" category... but seriously, it's only because I get paid, not because of my ability. As far as abilities go, almost everybody who have posted their pictures should be considered as pro photographer and I'm into the Advanced Photographer at best.
Yes, intriging note. There are different descriptions for that. Kind of like the difference between volunteer and professional (paid) paramedics. Both have the same training. One usually gets more respect. I've been published once - I wasn't paid per se - just 100% costs reimbursed.
