Professional Photographer is a Generic Term -

I get asked a lot what its like to be a professional photographer. I always give the standard “Its great. You meet a lot of great people, get to create and every day is different.” While this statement is true I am leaving a lot out. I really want to explain to people that I am an Advertising Photographer. Not just a “professional photographer”.

What I do falls within a specific discipline of photography. Its kind of like an unofficial union or more like a gang allegiance - Im an Advertising Photographer. 

So I decided to write a blog post to be about the more common disciplines of photography there are out there. 

If you are reading this and looking to become a “professional photographer” this post might help you narrow down your focus to help ensure success…. And if you are just reading this out of curiosity’s sake post this will help you understand what kind of photographer took the pictures you are looking at. 

In explaining the various disciplines of professional photography I am going to draw comparisons to the various disciplines within the film industry

Advertising Photographers are basically the same thing as big budget Hollywood Movie Directors. We are like the Michael Bay’s of the photography industry. We have full time assistants, big crews and bigger budgets. We often fly to our shoots and the work is seen in large media buys.  Although our final work looks awesome in truth it has little artistic value. We have a respect amongst much of the general public and many photographers, but true artists hate us, because we have “Sold out”. Our major challenge is that we have to deal with the endless wave of Creative Directors all of whom have watched too many episodes of MadMen.... settle down there Don. 

Editorial Photographers (magazine) are pretty much like the Documentary Filmmakers. They operate in the low budget world. But its offset by shooting interesting subjects and stores. This means one day a shoot can be in an un-photogenic office cubicle and the next day they are shooting an astronaut at NASA. These guys are the hustlers of the photography profession. The need to make it work no matter what kind of shit is thrown their way.  They work in short timelines and still have to produce fantastic looking images that have a narrative. On top of that magazines have different styles, so they need to adjust how they shoot for each assignment to match the style of the magazine. 

Photojournalists (newspaper) are like News Directors. Run and Gun. No real thought of what they are shooting or putting on TV. It’s all about the current event. That moment. Speed is key. One hour they are shooting a car accident the next hour a speech from some burnt out city councilor. These guys thrive on change and adrenalin. They really don’t care about the images perse, but more about telling a story through the image. Don’t get me wrong these guys are fantastic. They are desensitized to what they are shooting. It’s a skill. The News Director doesn’t care about the car accident he is putting on the front page nor does the shooter. All they are concerned about is getting an image that tells the story.

Wedding Photographers are basically the same thing as a Porn Film Directors. I’m talking about the full time Wedding Photographers. Not someone who shoots a few weddings a year. Like the Porn Director the Wedding Photographer doesn’t give a shit about their client. I have been to enough bridal shows and been in that position to verify this is the case. In no way does that mean the Wedding Photographer wont take fantastic photos. It’s just that to him Brides are faceless ATM machines that pay the bills in the same way a Pornstar is a faceless ATM machine to the Porn Director. The wedding industry makes promises of big cash for little investment which inevitably brings out scammers, unsavoury characters, lazy people who really don’t want to put in the work to truly succeed - sounds just like the Porn industry. 

Fine Art Photographers are basically carbon copies of Indy Filmmakers. These guys are the real artists of our craft. They do it because they have a burning desire to create. Much like how the Indy Film maker still shoots movies on 35mm the Fine Art Photographers often still shoot on film because because when they shoot film they are truly creating a image in the form of a tangible object on the negative. These guys often need other jobs to support themselves because there is very little money in Fine Art Photography. However they have the full respect of all professional photographers in the same way that in Indy Film maker has the full respect of their peers.

Summary

These are what I believe to be the main types of real world working photographers. But before anyone chews my ass out for not talking about Portrait Photographers, Ariel Photographers and say Travel Photographers…. I view these all  as sub-disciplines within the professions I have outlined above. For example most travel photography assignments are shot either by an Editorial Photographer or a Commercial Photographer.

I hope this sheds some light on the different disciplines of Professional Photography. You might agree with my break down, you might not.. really I dont give a shit, its the way I see it....

But I do thank you for taking your time to read my blog.