Happy Fourth of July!
Happy Fourth of July.
Can you believe just how fast this year has gone? Next thing you know school will be starting and we will be into the fall season. In June I attended a 5-day continuing education program at Daytona State College. Yes it was difficult being at the beach, lol. In order to keep my degrees current (Master of Photography, PPA Certified) I must complete 40- hours of continuing education. But more importantly I go to continuing education programs for inspiration. In fact I love to learn, if you have a passion for something then you always have a desire to learn more and to become better at your craft.
I judged a professional print competition in Sarasota, Fl in mid June. Tampa and Sarasota guilds submit images and they call it the “battle of the bays”. 170-images were judged that night. Even though I was one of the three judges I learned more from giving out critiques than I think the image-makers learned. It was a long night but an inspirational night. The three of us judged in Lakeland on Thursday night. There were not as many images but they had some very nice photography there.
The definition of a PROFESSIONAL Photographer has been diluted and degraded in my opinion. The true Definition of a professional is a member of a vocation founded upon specialized training. The word professional traditionally means “a person who has obtained a degree in a professional field”.
With 300 million people in this world it seems 300 have digital cameras. Another phrase I heard is “a working professional has 50,000 times more experience than a part timer/amateur”. Recently I went for a consultation on a procedure that I need to have done. He was referred by another professional/friend. All I wanted to know is, how many procedures he had performed. How many years has he been in practice? Bottom line is I wanted an experienced person working on me. I have tools at home but it’s doesn’t make me a certified mechanic, far from it…just because you have an oven doesn’t make you a master chef. According to the new TV series, anyway!
There have been times when I’ve tried to do something on my own, not only did it take me three times as long, the task wasn’t done as well as a professional. Hire a professional. I’ll share with you one last story. Kathy, Ally, Emmy and I where in TN. I found a beautiful picturesque location in TN with waterfalls in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlin- burg area. This was going to be our Christmas card. I set the girls up on the rocks, (working with family is never easy). I put my camera on self-time and ran to get in the picture, accidentally stepping on Ally, which hurt her and made her cry…well that was the end of the photo session. The moral of the story is even if you don’t commission us for photographic services, hire a professional. Have a fantastic summer.
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