Chapter 2What Makes a Professional Photographer?

MOST PEOPLE’S FUNDAMENTAL DEFINITION and understanding of a professional photographer is this: someone who gets paid to take photographs. In the most basic terms this is true. However, if you want to be a professional photographer, the questions you need to ask yourself are “Why should anyone pay you for photography?” and “Who pays for photographs?” Let’s deal with these questions together, as each answer informs the other.

As I previously mentioned nearly every decision we make in our lives is to some extent informed and influenced by the creation of professional photographic images. The power of the photographic image to inform, educate and persuade is undeniable, and the creation of these images ...

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