In a day and age when anyone with an iPhone or a Flickr account can call themselves a photographer, it can be a little difficult to figure out when you’ve separated yourself from the pack to become a real photographer. After all, beauty — in photographs as in all things — is in the eye of the beholder.
But here are 21 clues that you’ve crossed the threshold from pretender to contender:
1. Your friends have begun to hand you their cameras at social gatherings when they want a good picture taken.
2. You don’t run out of battery power because you are chimping less.
3. Your kids have stopped fussing about being photographed because you work faster.
4. The salesman at your favorite camera store lets you handle the merchandise usually kept locked in the shiny glass display cases.
5. You understand the difference between bokeh and a flower arrangement.
6. A gorgeous woman with a digital SLR brushes by you — and you only notice her camera and what kind of lens she has.
7. You concentrate on the lighting instead of the undergarment when you photograph backlit subjects.
8. You snicker at the folks in the back row at the concert shooting with an iPhone or a point-and-shoot.
9. Photo lab workers ask you to complete paperwork to verify that you own the copyright to the pictures you bring in.
10. Your in-law who’s a pro shares fewer and fewer tips with you.
11. Other photographers follow you to see where you’re shooting from.
12. Other photographers ask your opinion about gear when they see you at camera stores.
13. You realize how inaccurately Hollywood portrays the photographer’s job in the movies.
14. More and more engaged women want to be your friend.
15. You stop asking what aperture and shutter speed was used to take a picture.
16. Fewer people make fun of your torn, tattered but ubiquitous photo vest.
17. The subjects in your group pictures no longer resemble the hapless victims of a firing squad (everyone against the wall).
18. You are unashamed to carry a point-and-shoot — even at events crawling with other photographers.
19. Before you allow yourself to be impressed by that long telephoto, you want to know its widest aperture and whether it has image stabilization.
20. Your spouse stops asking what FedEx or UPS delivered.
21. You realize overexposure has to do with how you meter instead of how many Twitter followers you have.
October 1st, 2009 at 12:21 am
16a. You ditch the photo vest because you think it's better to blend in than to look like a photographer.
October 1st, 2009 at 2:32 am
*roflmao* Ohhhh Thank you for a wonderful middle-of-the-night belly laugh!! So what if everyone has been handing you their camera since you were in high school, which was 20+ yrs ago?
October 1st, 2009 at 2:49 am
Thanks! I guess I must be a real photographer now...:-)
October 1st, 2009 at 5:48 am
Agree on most of them ... except number 19
I do not really care about huge lenses, but it's just my personal humble opinion.
But ... definitely ... number 6 ... it's sadly true!!!
October 1st, 2009 at 6:12 am
good stuff, sounds quite true!
October 1st, 2009 at 8:32 am
And, apparently #22: You are a man. There ARE real women photographers too you know...
October 1st, 2009 at 9:10 am
Oh non! I'm not a real photographer for many reasons xD
October 1st, 2009 at 10:33 am
A hilarious yet true list. Thanks for sharing.
October 1st, 2009 at 11:27 am
These should be the 21 golden rules on how to become a pro. Fantastic.....
October 1st, 2009 at 12:53 pm
well that was a load of self congratulatory nonsense
October 1st, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Cute list but I think if you're sitting around thinking "Am I a real photographer?" than you've got a long way to go before actually becoming a real photographer.
October 1st, 2009 at 3:46 pm
This is too funny,loved it.
October 1st, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Haha, great list. Humorous!
October 1st, 2009 at 9:00 pm
#23 :
Your children do not call your lenses "embarrassing" anymore.
October 1st, 2009 at 10:08 pm
My favorite one is #19, not being impressed by a long telephoto until I know it's an f/2.8 (for under 500mm). I first had this feeling back in the spring. I don't want to mention which lens it was so as to not incite riots. Unless someone asks.
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:45 am
as i said, i like this list, but i don't mind NOT being a real photographer
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:45 pm
As pertaining to 16: I still have my Domke photo vest. It's nearly 20 years old and almost like new. I used it twice in college to shoot basketball then ditched it after that. I'd prefer to blend in.
October 3rd, 2009 at 9:37 am
I am still working on being a "real photographer".
However, I am going to pass this on to my friends.
October 3rd, 2009 at 12:11 pm
This list is cute but I think it resembles the traits of a wanna-be more than a pro. For one, I'm not impressed by any lens until I see what the photographer can do with it. I could care less if it's a VR or IS or whatever else.
The guy at my "favorite" camera store actually hates me because I never buy any gear. I just go there when I'm in a huge jam and I need an off-shoe cord for my flash, only to return it 4 hours later.
I find it extremely annoying when I'm asked to fill out copyright releases, which is why I don't get my photos printed at Wal-Mart anymore.
Photo vests look stupid... on anyone... unless you are fishing for trout.
I still check out gorgeous women.
October 3rd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Too funny! I failed #5. Even though it's an important part of my photography, I didn't know what "Bokeh" was until I looked it up. Love the firing squad victims!
October 4th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
A truly pointless item
October 4th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Looks like several people need to get a sense of humor (benlondon, christopher, Wesley Putt and Indrid)!! You people are just plain ignorant! it was a joke for crying out loud! Damn try getting over yourselves!
October 5th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Numbers 8 & 13 my favorites.
Hollywood rarely portrays Photogs as community service journalists spreading news and decimate information, especially in disasters. The usual Hollywood is the voracious paparazzi crowd shooting wide shots with f4.5 telephoto lens....
October 5th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
6 happened to me just last week when i was on vacation. I noticed both the beautiful girl, and the d300 she was chimping.
October 5th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
24. If you are a freelance stock photographer, when you come back from a shoot, you don't scratch your head and ask, "Now where can I sell these pictures?" Instead, you check with your target market photobuyers before you go out and find out their photo needs. This approach makes your accountant smile."
Rohn Engh - PhotoSource International
October 7th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Loved it! Great way to start the day. Thanks for a great sense of humor! Will forward to my PPC colleagues who will also appreciate it.
October 7th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
27.) When you realize the biggest part of your job has nothing to do with a camera, but rather a phone, a portfolio, an undying willingness to persevere and a healthy attitude toward rejection (and I've been shooting for 29 years).
October 7th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Huh? How is this list funny? Have I just lost any sense of humor? Who buys a photographer's vest? Or purchase gear in a photo store? Those to me are the very wealthy fanatics who do photography because they have too much money or time on their hands. "Real" photographers are also not gonna be so fixated on what equipment people have, but what jobs are available. This list should be called "21 signs you're a real amateur who desperately wants to be seen as a pro."
October 7th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
As I was actually raised at "the knee" of my father in his darkroom and I knew how to develop, crop and shade before I knew how to cook, I can tell you from tons of experiences that I knew I was one of the best photographers in the room when I had joined the Bon Air Artists Association here in Richmond, VA and one of them had the gall to say to me when I asked was my art ie: oil pastels, watercolors and sketches going to be accepted? she replied "oh, no! we just want to paint from your photographs!" Well! MY response to her was: "Sure! no problem, as long as each one of you pays me a $500.00 licensing fee and I get a royalty contract from each painting used from my work!" She looked at me like she could have crawled UNDER the center of the earth!
cc: file
October 7th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Oh, and BTW I'm a ripe old 54! My father was Warren Eugene Plunkett, Wedding Photographer of Atlanta, GA back in the late 50's,& 60's. He also shot events for some of the local schools and colleges.
October 8th, 2009 at 12:33 am
I heartily agree with Kevin Haislip about his suggestion for #27.
October 8th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Amazing, it's rare find so comprehensive list for a profile characterization. My self I found on each one a surprising reality...I'm now a photographer;)
October 9th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Kinda along the line of #15, you are frustrated while looking at a beautiful picture, because they don't tell you the ISO,f-stop and Aperture!
October 10th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Since this list went up, I've been checking periodically on the comments.
I compiled this list mostly because I was bored with writing yet another advice post.
Thanks for your comments. Especially important are those who didn't find it funny.
Looks like I have a ways to go judging from what's been said:
"load of self congratulatory nonsense,"
"You are a man. There ARE real women photographers too you know..."
Thankfully "we" are passionate, artistic and unafraid to speak our minds. I don't know about you, that's what makes me return here daily.
October 10th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Peter, you haven't gone viral unless you've annoyed at least a few people
Keep up the great posts!
October 18th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Wow! At first I thought this was funny and self-deprecating (especially about the vest), but I was soon overcome by a sense of photography elitism. There are people who paint that aren't artists, people who play sports who aren't athletes and certainly people who take pictures who aren't 'real photographers'. But for some who have a passion for photography and a lust for learning and honing our skills, this list is pretty discouraging. I hope you meant it to be funny, but if some of your readers are checking things off and then saying they've arrived, then it's not that funny really. Ansel Adams was a real photographer. How many of you take photographs the same way he did? It's an evolving art form and to each his own as long they achieve their art!
October 19th, 2009 at 5:51 am
End of the day, it is the person behind his equipment. I have seen people with really hihg end cameras and not knowing how to operate it according to its extended abilities. What is scarier is that they pay $$$$ for such equipments and use it no better than a point an shoot
October 21st, 2009 at 5:28 am
22. You can't look through a photo album without wondering what camera wa being used
23. Whenever you look through a book that has pictures of landscapes, if you're impressed, you make a note to go there and best the photo
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Thanks for the laughter. Loved the article. Keep it up! And people, it's supposed to be funny. Don't take it too seriously, and don't take it too personally. That's part of the problem with the world today.
October 25th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
some of the response are a little too serious but that's cool to. SO.. I should not go out & get that vest? They look soo cool in the mag's
October 26th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Don't buy the vest Dallas if you are short like me. The small Domke vest I won, sold to another photographer. Maybe if I was bigger...
October 28th, 2009 at 5:52 am
I'm still working on point 3. My three year old now makes me stop in the street because she wants to take a photo!
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:56 am
#26 When someone says to you "Oh, is that what that button is for!"
November 11th, 2009 at 3:06 am
Lots of laughs.... loved the list. I will never be a "real" photographer because I have no desire to shoot professionally (though I have done some paid work... hired by people who like my work), and I wear a vest when shooting seriously... those pockets are really handy!
December 1st, 2009 at 3:48 am
Peter, this is great, a pity too many people could not see the funny side, a sure sign we have become too PC. I have been pro for 30+ years and sadly have never worn a vest
December 1st, 2009 at 10:07 am
well that tears it for me...
If a 30 year vet does not wear a vest, neither am I!!
December 18th, 2009 at 5:45 am
When asked to make outdoor portraits, you're delighted when the sun disappears.
December 22nd, 2009 at 6:31 pm
OMG, I haven't laughed this hard in a very long time. BTW, what is a vest? ROFL
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:30 pm
"9. Photo lab workers ask you to complete paperwork to verify that you own the copyright to the pictures you bring in."
That happened to me just last week, and made me re read this post. Hilarious stuff.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Wesley!! "I find it extremely annoying when I'm asked to fill out copyright releases, which is why I don't get my photos printed at Wal-Mart anymore."
Real Photographers don't go to mass department stores to print photos! Your funny!!
January 18th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
Humorous, but ultimately, hogwash.
January 21st, 2010 at 4:26 am
Agreed, Kahuna. You should remake the list, substituting the mainstream SLR jokes with inside jokes only rangefinder and view camera users would know. Or it could be over and done with with only one stipulation such as, you know you're a real photographer when there's film in your camera. Zing!
January 26th, 2010 at 1:03 am
Hilarious ... Too bad it's geared toward men. But I am sure someone has already pointed that out ...
January 29th, 2010 at 12:24 am
1- a real photog. says ASA, not ISO.
2- the tax papers sent to the govt. tell who are real photogs.
3- always has a camera w/ them. ( p&s, dslr, slr,
whatever ).
4- has a fantastic inventory of film equip. = great backup, if needed.
5- knows how to develop, contact, edit, print the films they shot.
6- still has access to or owns a good working darkroom.
7- started out using, developing (etc) tri-x & plus-x hp-5, films.
8- knows how to see where to meter, vs. metering everything.
9- is aware of shades of gray, using B & W films.
10- knowing that B & W is beautiful, & artistic;
although we see in color, B & W is harder to use correctly, but it offers much more - visually.
January 29th, 2010 at 1:33 am
sorry, i forgot # 11......
backup backup backup.
camera bodies, flash units, pc cords, batteries, flash cards, film, lenses, lens tissue & lens fluid
( usually overlooked - alas ), small can of air, handheld meter, etc. Remember:
February 7th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
Awesome, I knew I was o photographer since two years ago when these things started to happen. But there's a couple of facts that I never realized...
Also:
1. ME: I have three backups of my work... PEOPLE: Why? Are you crazy paranoid?
2. You have a workflow and discuss about metadata with photographers.
3. You laugh/chuckle when you see a non-pro holding pro-gear.
4. Feels naked going out without a camera.
5. Has a pro-photo printer at home, and friends ask why do you need 8 ink cartridges.
6. Your photographer friends tell you, you're getting better.
7. Loves B&W but only feels it should be captured on B&W film
8. All your family and friends ask you for gear advice.
Awesome article. keep them coming...
February 9th, 2010 at 2:40 am
This article gave me a good chuckle, which I expect was its intention.
To the people who decided that this forum was perfect for bragging about their accomplishments, upbringing & self-asserted expert knowledge of who-cares-what, I say stop making lists & go be a photographer. Peter's list wasn't meant to be a serious, definitive checklist of what makes you a professional photographer. His list was all in fun & good taste; some of these earlier comments were not.
I can't think of any photographer who would be impressed by some of the things that were said above. Although some of those comments may have been made by "real photographers", they were certainly void of the professionalism that any "real photographer" should possess.
Thanks, Peter, for the good laugh!
February 10th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Made me chuckle, just what I needed after an awful day. Thank you!
February 11th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
What a delightful read. Thanks! Some of the comments and suggestions were wonderful too.
CT - Thanks for # 23 - Ka-Ching!
I have 2 vests and I wear them when I shoot IDPA. LOL
February 19th, 2010 at 4:54 am
what a load of sexist crap!
February 19th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Sexism is when someone's comments or writings are geared towards putting down the opposite sex; not when they are worded in such a way that it points to the fact they the writer or issuer is of a specific gender and that their comments are reflective of such.
February 20th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
"a real photog. says ASA, not ISO."
Whoever said that (or repeated it) should doublecheck their information. Or, we, readers, should be aware they may not be "real photographers" themselves.
ISO (International Standard Organization) officially replaced ASA (American Standard Association) around 1987... almost 25 years ago. I guess the last twenty five years must have seen the coming of age of many a "real photographer" that has never used ASA.
Considering the dates, the "R" should thence stand for "Retired" rather than "Real. ;o)
March 9th, 2010 at 8:20 am
ahhahaha, fanstastic, it a perfect definition of ourselves. Great.
March 16th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Cute list!
People get over yourselves! Seriously, if you can't take a joke, don't read post like this!
March 27th, 2010 at 10:13 am
sexist crap
ps: dictionary definition of sexism:
behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex
March 30th, 2010 at 3:34 am
I am not a real photographer by any means - but, if you want to blend in, not only do you ditch the vest, but, you add stick on rhinestone bling to your lens hood. No real photographer would ever use bling on a lens hood!
April 24th, 2010 at 4:03 am
RE: ASA Vs. ISO, I probably should have said that a photog. should know when ASA was the norm, as a way of defining film sensitivity. Also when Ilford made HP-5 with 72 frames. Also when XP-2 was a successor to XP-1. ( fine C-41 developed B/W film ). Actually the negs were used to print on B/W paper, although it did have a slight Magenta cast. The idea was to get it developed at a 1 hour lab, then take it to Your darkroom & print it. And finally, remember when all the newspapers had B/W pix in them, and when color was introduced. ( an improvement? - probably ).
April 27th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Tee hee aha! Hilarious but true...and yes what about the ladies? I did stop a guy and ask him about his camera and walked away! lol. I didn't even notice until I read this post.
The Fed EX and UPS guys have my cell phone number so I can be sure I am home!lol. We havea routine now....lol.
May 10th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
* When you go on vacation your camera kit weighs more than your clothes and other alleged "essentials" and takes up more space.
* When asked by the Police to erase your pictures (from your DSLR) you sigh, agree, and hand over the roll of film from your pocket
May 11th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Wow! I'm on my 4th Domke vest. I'm glad I am not thin skinned. And to Peter Garner-I switched from film to old 160 MB cards to give to the police. Great humorous post. Thanks.
May 27th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
This is just not funny. It's not anything, it's just lame drivel. Were you trying to be funny? Stick to taking photos, you're fairly good at it. Words, no.
June 4th, 2010 at 12:41 am
19.1 - the super telephoto cost more than you first 2 cars - combined
June 13th, 2010 at 9:31 am
I like this, very true... particularly no. 6!!! Perhaps you should add another for the benefit of Harvey above:
22: Your images incite strong emotions in those who can't quite match your talent!
June 23rd, 2010 at 2:46 am
Funny list, and very entertaining comments too
July 7th, 2010 at 4:42 am
I did write sokme 20 lines to comment on all those with no sense of humor, but then realized that I should concentrate on what I liked instead of what I didn't... and so I say:
Thanks Peter Phun, your list is a funny read and I would love to read more of the same (I just love being reduced to stereotypes for a laugh and I try to "feel into it" even when it doesn't really hit the spot)
July 26th, 2010 at 11:52 am
How about a list doesn't make you a professional... waste of time.
August 2nd, 2010 at 5:30 pm
re#16: I bought an Italian Army surplus vest instead of the standard "lumpy fat-man vest" because it was tailored, and not mistaken for a fishing costume call, either.
August 12th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
A real photographer knows how to light the shoot for, say Kodachrome at f8, and have it look like existing light. A veteran photographer would remember what Kodachrome is..
August 29th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
If you need a sign, you are not a "real" photographer.
If you need to be called a "REAL" photographer, are you really a "real" photographer?
"Labels Are for Cans not for Photographers"
Best Regards.
Michal
August 29th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Michal Fanta... I thought this was a funny post. I think it was all in fun. Most people don't need a label and if they do, then that there propagative.
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:46 am
you know when your truly dedicated to capturing close up nature image when dragonfly or spider is busy eating the dengue carrying mosquitos buzzing round your head.