[Leica] Professional photographers?

[Lawrence Zeitlin]

When I mentioned the almost impossibility of selling figurative photos at art and photo shows several LUG members suggested that I repost this note. It was written half a decade ago and is still relevant today.

"A couple of truths. Photography is not legally a profession in most parts of the USA. Anyone can call themselves a "professional photographer." There are no exams, no licenses, no boards of regulation, no educational requirements. Your doctor, dentist, architect, lawyer, accountant, podiatrist, and even your kid's kindergarten teacher are professionals. Photography is either a hobby or a business. In some communities you must have a business license to operate. But having a business license does not mean that you are legally a professional. According to the IRS, if you don't make money three years out of five, it is a hobby. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that there are 152,000 people in the U.S. who classify themselves as photographers but only about 10% of those make a living which puts them solidly in the middle class. If the practice of photography is their only income, the rest qualify for food stamps. Many LUG members who profess to making a nice living from photography are not free lancers but are or were gainfully employed by some organization who paid them to take pictures.

Second, photographic equipment has evolved to the point where little technical knowledge is required to make adequate photographs. Anyone can pick up a camera, point it at a subject and get a perfectly exposed, in focus, image. It is all in knowing where to point the camera and that facility is shared by many who do not classify themselves as photographers. There is no long apprenticeship learning the fundamentals. The entry bar is very low. This extends to commercial photography as well as pictures of Aunt Julia. A national distributor of mechanical fasteners in my neighborhood photographs all the pictures in his voluminous catalog himself. "Why," he says, "pay thousands to a professional photographer. How much skill does it take to make a picture of a bolt?"

Third, professional quality equipment is cheap and readily available. Canon expects to sell 26 million cameras this year. Two million will be of professional level. Nikon, Sony, and even Leica will add to the sum, perhaps 5 million pro cameras in total. Clearly there is no shortage of equipment which can meet the highest standards for publication. And the stuff is easier than ever to use.

The LUG has over 1000 members all of whom have a high interest in photography and probably possess professional level equipment. How many of us make a living from photography alone? Just photography. No other day jobs, investment, trust fund, Social Security, retirement benefits or spousal income included. I mean a real living. The average middle class income in the US is $40,000. The poverty level is under $20,000. Remember you can make that much by frying hamburgers at Burger King. If you don't make an adequate living income from photography, no matter how skilled you are, you are practicing a hobby. Unless more than 100 LUG members are gainfully employed in photography, I maintain that the "professionals" amongst us are a distinct minority, unrepresentative of the interests of the entire group. If we listen to them we might as well expect all real photographers to only use Leicas.

Larry Z


A couple of truths. Photography is not legally a profession in most parts of the USA. Anyone can call themselves a "professional photographer." There are no exams, no licenses, no boards of regulation, no educational requirements. Your doctor, dentist, architect, lawyer, accountant, podiatrist, and even your kid's kindergarten teacher are professionals. Photography is either a hobby or a business. In some communities you must have a business license to operate. But having a business license does not mean that you are legally a professional. According to the IRS, if you don't make money three years out of five, it is a hobby. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that there are 152,000 people in the U.S. who classify themselves as photographers but only about 10% of those make a living which puts them solidly in the middle class. If the practice of photography is their only income, the rest qualify for food stamps. Many LUG members who profess to making a nice living from photography are not free lancers but are or were gainfully employed by some organization who paid them to take pictures.

Second, photographic equipment has evolved to the point where little technical knowledge is required to make adequate photographs. Anyone can pick up a camera, point it at a subject and get a perfectly exposed, in focus, image. It is all in knowing where to point the camera and that facility is shared by many who do not classify themselves as photographers. There is no long apprenticeship learning the fundamentals. The entry bar is very low. This extends to commercial photography as well as pictures of Aunt Julia. A national distributor of mechanical fasteners in my neighborhood photographs all the pictures in his voluminous catalog himself. "Why," he says, "pay thousands to a professional photographer. How much skill does it take to make a picture of a bolt?"

Third, professional quality equipment is cheap and readily available. Canon expects to sell 26 million cameras this year. Two million will be of professional level. Nikon, Sony, and even Leica will add to the sum, perhaps 5 million pro cameras in total. Clearly there is no shortage of equipment which can meet the highest standards for publication. And the stuff is easier than ever to use.

The LUG has over 1000 members all of whom have a high interest in photography and probably possess professional level equipment. How many of us make a living from photography alone? Just photography. No other day jobs, investment, trust fund, Social Security, retirement benefits or spousal income included. I mean a real living. The average middle class income in the US is $40,000. The poverty level is under $20,000. Remember you can make that much by frying hamburgers at Burger King. If you don't make an adequate living income from photography, no matter how skilled you are, you are practicing a hobby. Unless more than 100 LUG members are gainfully employed in photography, I maintain that the "professionals" amongst us are a distinct minority, unrepresentative of the interests of the entire group. If we listen to them we might as well expect all real photographers to only use Leicas."

Larry Z