As an alternative view to yesterday’s popular post, there’s nothing wrong with being an amateur.
I’m an amateur soccer player, an amateur cook, an amateur skier, designer, racecar driver, and flyfisherman. And I’m happy to be an amateur at all of those things. Actually I LOVE being an amateur at all of those things – it allows me to dabble, make a ton of mistakes, goof around, drop the ball, not care when something else might be distracting me etc.
Being an amateur at those things means I can be comfortable. It’s safe. There is no fear of success or failure. In each case actually becoming a professional overnight at ANY of those things above SOUNDS fun to me, but I know enough that the process of going pro at my hobbies above does NOT sound fun. The workload is too great, the road too steep. The path sounds too damn hard and the rewards don’t outweigh the effort enough to dedicate my life to it.
Being an amateur is the opposite of going pro. Going pro is….…uncomfortable, challenging, and requires laser focus. That’s not to say it’s not incredibly rewarding, but you catch my drift. Going “amateur” is cush.
Now if you’re out there wondering if you have what it takes to be a pro photographer, dancer, chef, whatever and this thought of keeping it amateur sounds the least bit tempting – stick to being an amateur. Someone who has what takes to be a pro and wants to do it would likely never be tempted by such a proposal.
Which one are you? Be the judge for yourself.
When these kind of discussions arise, I default to the idea that an amateur does something for no other reason than because they like it. It’s not to say professionals don’t find what they do cathartic or pleasurable, but there are other factors that help them make decisions.
As an amateur I’m under no pressure to say yes to anything, or to produce under deadlines, unless I choose to (and I do).
As a professional I can’t afford off days – when I have them there still needs to be something on the boss’s desk. In fact, I think the best people at what I do (Graphic Design) are the ones who have mastered the art of delivering when the flash of inspiration we all wait for fails to arrive.
I like being an Amateur.
It doesn’t mean I can’t make some money if the opportunity arrives but it does mean I am not reliant on this source of income.
Business management is the not so glamorous, almost forgotten side of the “Pro” world
Amateur vrs. Pro.
It has always been my belief that to much is put on pro vrs. amateur. When I was fourteen years old I was a shy boy with little friends. Then something happened to me. A photographer let me use his nikon to shoot some photos at a friends retreat in East Texas. I never saw my pictures but did get to see his portfolio. I never new if he was a pro or not just that it was said the he spent more on photography than he did on eating. I went home and started mowing yards to raise enough money to buy my first camera. 27 years later I don’t make a living off my photography but I have come to understand that for me photography is as important as the English language. It gave a young boy his voice in life. I would like to make a living off my photography ,but I think no matter where I go with it I will always be in debt to that photographer who thought me to speak in the language of photography.
Olen G.
The Light Writer .
I am an amateur and dreams to be a pro in due time 🙂
I think comparing the definitions for professional vs. amateur proves interesting:
am·a·teur
a person who engages in a study, sport, or other activity for pleasure rather than for financial benefit or professional reasons.
pro·fes·sion·al
following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain.
Notice how the word pleasure is nowhere to be found in the professional description? Photography takes on so many other lives when it is your only source of income. It’s not just about the photography anymore, you have to contend with business, marketing, client satisfaction and communication, accounting-bookkeeping, insurance, taxes and all kinds of other things you don’t have to worry about as much when photography is still a hobby.
I started out as an amateur while paying my bills as a graphic designer. I loved how carefree I could be then about learning at my own pace and enjoying my personal pursuits with photography. Then the day came when I was able to make my sole living from photography alone and boy did a whole new world open up to me! Every single day I wake up so grateful to be doing what I love and getting paid for it, but there are so many responsibilities that I never expected and so much pressure because now I am not just doing it for fun, but for other people. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, just something to prepare yourself for. There is so much business to take care of that as a creative it can be a bit overwhelming at times. If my clients didn’t pull me into going pro as fast as they did, I definitely would have taken my sweet time not just honing my craft, but learning about running a business as well. Just my two cents anyway.