Thank you for such a motivating article :-) Alexandra

Well said! Would you ever answer with “I’m a hobbyist photographer.” ? I caught myself recently saying “I’m a photographer. Do you mind if I get a photo of this?” inside of a really cool old fashioned shop. I wonder if I said “I’m a photographer” because I wanted the photo or if I really feel like I am, even though I consider myself a hobbyist (i.e., not a professional). Thanks for posting this! :)

Thank you for giving those of us who photograph as a hobby the freedom to call ourselves “photographers”. Great article!

Thank you for this article..

I usually say I am a hobbyist. I do like your “yes, but I don’t take clients right now” because of course everyone wants their photo taken and right now I only want to take pictures of things I want to take pictures of lol. A selfish hobbyist.

Now I know I am!! My husband also said the same thing to people around, he always tells me how good I am with pictures. I always felt that I was someone who just love to have a camara on my hands. But now with what you said and with what he said YES!! I am a photographer.

Thank you for this. I’m at that point where I’m ready to take on clients. Real paying ones. Which means, I’m confident to say that I am a photographer. I appreciate all the insights you have to give.

The single mist important component of a camera is the 12″ behind it.
Ansel Adams

Great article!

Thanks so much for all your articles, they really inspire me and motivate me to keep moving forward in beeing a photographer, and must of all to call myself like that. I’ve been learning so many things since I’m following your posts, I am really gratefull. Thank you!

For a long time I fretted about “taking the next step”. This site helped me realize that for me it’s not about being “pro”: I’m in love with “the journey” – that’s the single most important thing to me. I’m a hobbyist but I’d call myself “a photographer” in a heartbeat. It’s about the craft and the creation.

I think I knew when I started coming up with more and more photos that required little to no editing. There are too many people that feel that the camera makes the photographer and that’s highly unfortunate. I shoot with a Fuji X-E1 and hear it all the time about how it’s not as good as a DSLR and the MP’s are way too low. Well I think my work speaks for itself and I saved a few bucks to be able to get other peripherals that I needed!!

I was born a photographer. I have always called myself a photographer.

Great article! ! I’m always wondering when to upgrade my camera and after reading this article and asking myself that question I realize I still don’t know my camera inside and out

I still don’t say “I am a photographer” every time people ask what I do. However, I became a little more confident with calling myself a photographer when I recently shot a newborn session and the photos turned out just like I wanted them to. For me, newborn, maternity, and child photography is the ultimate goal. Therefore, I was super proud when this session went well.

Absolutely love this picture you posted!

Wonderful article, thanks for sharing!!!

I am so in love with this blog! I have just started venturing into what I want my photography to be, a hobby or a career and finding my style. My hubby to be is always telling people about my photography and showing them stuff I have shot and I have had a couple of ppl ask me to do weddings for them which is not my thing and I was never sure how to handle those request. I think I am for sure more into landscapes then people. I still have moments when I don’t think of my self as a photographer until I do this or win this or whatever “this” is but I am getting to the point where i think of myself as one more than I don’t
I just love your blogs and I am so glad that I came across your site!

Great article. I have always lacked the confidence to say I am a photographer, but now I can happily say I am!

When I visited a camera club with my husband (also a photographer) and realised that I was taking photographs as good as any of those on display and without so much of their computer enhancement. I love striving for the perfect shot with just my camera.

I started calling myself a photographer after I sold my first piece. I think for me it was a case of believing in myself. When someone else validated my work by paying for it, I finally felt I could call myself a photographer. Of course in reality I had been a photographer for many years. Great article thanks and hopefully it will give others the courage to take this step.

Interesting! I don’t usually encounter the question of “Are you a photographer?”, but more “Are you a professional photographer?”
I defined myself as a photographer, I guess, the moment I realized that photography mattered to me, and it mattered to me to a point where I wanted to capture my life through photographs. A second milestone was wanting to truly learn how to capture better images.
The professional photographer bit? I still struggle with that, because the definition of “professional” is so loaded. I bet we can start a whole separate conversation on that alone :)

I started answering “yes” to that question when I got my first referral from a previous client. Referrals are the best compliments!

I am so nervous to fail to meet the expectations of my clients that I set low expectations and undermine confidence others have in me. I really struggle with putting myself out there. I absolutely love visiting this site, all of the positivity and tips/tricks. Thank you!

Thank you so much for this post; and everyone’s comments.

Thank you for this blog. I realized I was a photographer when all my pictures since I was 5 have me holding a camera. Memories are all we have that is truly our own. Preserve ur past in a pic.

Since getting serious about the craft about 6 years ago, I’ve grown tremendously. However, I’ve always referred to myself as a “picture-taker” because I didn’t have a clearly distinctive “voice” to my images. I so appreciate your article and the freedom it allows all of us who love and share the craft to walk in. I have indeed nailed all of your parameters listed above so effective today, I AM A PHOTOGRAPHER! Thanks for all you do…!

I started calling myself a photographer the second my friends and started asking me to take their photos all the time. I was always the selected one to take “the best photos”. I pondered this question though and thought it would be appropriate to call oneself a photographer when you very paid for a job, however big or small. Have you set up a scene to shoot? Have you brought in props for a photo shoot? These are the kind of things that photographers do. :)

This is such a great question (and a great article)! I started calling myself a photographer when I got past the point of wondering if I was going to get any good shots to KNOWING I was going to get good shots. The consistency is key.

I was ready to call myself a photographer when I could look at my own work and be impressed with it, as well as be able to replicate the same look if I wanted it again.

Thought provoking article – thanks so much for sharing! My husband, family members, and friends call me a photographer and although sometimes I feel like one, I frequently feel like a fraud! lol I usually amend the label with “student of photography” because I feel there is still SO much for me to learn. I am getting close to feeling more confident to call myself a photographer – just haven’t had that “aha!” moment.

Great article–I love to write and I love to take pictures–have been doing both most of my life–and still I would hesitate to call myself a writer or a photographer. It seems like having something published makes it so or not so??? I will, after reading your excellent article, contemplate. :o)

Very interesting! my husband tell everyone I’m a photographer before I could say it to myself. After 20 years studiyng taking pictures and so on… last year I could say, when people asked me, I’m a photographer. :) Not for clients, just for myself :D… I’m starting my professional work in photography as a photo retoucher though

When I started getting enough requests for sessions that I decided to do a separate Facebook Page instead of using my personal one for people unrelated to me I decided maybe it was more than just “snapping a few photos”. 2015 is definitely a year of new focus in my “Hobby” for me!

great article!

Great article. Reading it made me realize that I should probably work more on producing more work AND knowing my gear!

I agree, you don’t have to run a business to consider yourself a photographer; there are plenty of fine art photographers out there. 🙂📷

I came across this article on your site while looking for info how to make photo coasters. This is a great article. While I can take and make a photo. I also stumbled with the very same question. While I’m a hobbyist by my definition I always told my self, I would when I sold my first print. But within the last two weeks. I’ve had inquiries and requests for jobs to consider.

It was always my understanding that a “Professional Photographer” was someone who had an education in the field, a minimum of a B.A. in order to get jobs in the field working for companies, magazines, in advertising, etc. Don’t expect to get a job in a major company without a degree. Highly competitive field. Anyway, that would be my definition of a genuine professional photographer. Today, in the digital world, everyone thinks they are a professional photographer just because they took a few good landscape/wildlife photos and posted them on facebook and got a ton of “likes”. I have a friend who recently started selling her work and she does not even know the basics. She calls herself a photographer. Does not even know what “aperture” is!! I am a hobbyist. I might even call myself a photographer. I have even sold some stuff but I would never call myself a professional. There is just way too much I don’t know. Just because you can take better photos than your family and friends who find your work awesome compared to their snapshots does not make you a professional photographer. Clients will judge your work in comparison to other professional photographers, not to their snapshots. Sorry to be a downer, but everyone seems to think they are a photographer today.

Hi, I don’t mean to sound wierd but I had something terrible happen with my own blog, and I’m warning people in my network because I don’t want to see others lose revenue.

There’s malware going around our niche that’s targeted at attacking our sites and taking down our revenue. Mcafee total protection was the only thing that was able to get it off completely from my computer. Unfortunately, by then I’d lost my site’s data on myhard disk, and also somehow managed to erase it online. I’m fixing it, but I’ve lost thousands. I wish I’d been aware that Mcafee was the sole antivirus capable of removing the virus entirely, with no damage to my data. Apparently they work to combat current threats. You might want to download it before you’re the next victim, you’ll get a 25% discount at this link http://AntivirusSolutions.space

Be safe!

Thank you for the article; I’ve been asking myself this question for years. I started shooting as a teen, stopped for several years and picked it up again a few years ago with a Nikon D3300. I recently got paid as a videographer assisting a fellow fotog on a birthday shoot. I have been getting offers to shoot birthdays and baby showers and am teaching myself new things as I go along. I am getting close to retirement and plan on making this hobby a way of staying busy and possible making it a part-time business. I was reluctant to call myself a photographer but now that I am getting job offers, I guess I may be a photographer.

I probably wouldn’t class my self as a photographer yet, as I am only a teenager and have a camera from 2011 and currently can’t afford a new one but I love taking photos I do it so frequently. I love experimenting with all the different equipment; power paint, prisms, glass balls etc. My friends love modeling for me and we have such a blast when taking the photos so I know some basics and would love to learn more.

Thank you so much for this article! I was struggling with this and your points helped me to put everything into perspective and after reading your article, I feel confident enough to call myself a photographer!

I feel more confident now thanks to this article, thank you, because I just thought in my head “hey this is a good picture” but now after reading this I think more of that.