“Everyone ready? Okay! 1! 2! *snap*”

That phrase is what major manufacturers of DSLR had given birth to. Thanks (or no?) to them, wannabe photographers sprung out from the ground faster than you can spell P.H.O.T.O.G.R.A.P.H.E.R. Hey, what’s there not to like? DSLRs are cheap, weddings are everywhere, Fotopages is free, photography forums are as quick as Googling, and all you need is a free e-mail from the pig Big G or Yahoo. Suddenly, everyone becomes a photographer.

Or not?

I’m not a professional photographer. But I know from my little 5 years of experience, it takes more than a DSLR, an external flash unit, and an account with Fotopages to become a full-fledged photographer. I’m not saying that those who don’t have these values are not photographers. In fact, I hold a deep respect for every ladies and gentlemen who contributed to the vast artistic world of photography.

But a line has to be drawn somewhere. It is to preserve the profession of photography, so that people can distinguish between the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Passion

If you have to debate whether that 12 MP camera is better than the 10 MP one in terms of producing picture quality, I’m sorry to say, you are nothing more than an equipment measurbator. I mean, come on, do you really have to compare the pictures taken by professional reviewers at their lab just so that you can buy that particular camera that you feel “powerful”, and ended up just taking pictures of you shoe-string, guitar, or deodorant? And when the pictures don’t turn out good, you blame the camera, saying “This camera is useless! I should buy the one that have the all-powerful 5D Matrix Metering that can analyze the color composition of anti-matter.”

My advice: Get a decent camera, and then practice, practice, and practice. There’s a reason why they call this art “Photography”. So that you can produce Photos. Not “Cameragraphy”. Your camera doesn’t matter. Get it, Einstein?

Time Management & Discipline

I’ve seen these traits are lacking in some photographers, old or new. If you are assigned to cover an event that start at 10 in the morning, it doesn’t hurt to arrive AT LEAST one hour earlier. That way, you can survey around for any places that might help improving your shots, or enable you to get a different angle of the same shot.

Same said for weddings. I have covered ONLY 2 weddings (at the time of this writing), but have attended countless others, as a guest. Most of the time, however, the couple have some problems with their photographers. Either their photographer was late, left off early, or simply rushed from their wedding place to another.

Impression & Self-Presentation

As photographers, we deal with people. Even food photographers deal with Chefs (in case you don’t know, Chefs are people.) I’ve seen in many events that involved corporate figures and/or politicians, the photographer only wear round neck T-Shirt, a worn-out jeans, and a pair of sandal.

Dress accordingly! Wear a shirt, a slack, and a pair of black leather shoes. Or if you are not comfortable with leather shoes, find some motorcycle boots or a pair of safety shoes. Throw in a jacket if you have it. Being a photographer doesn’t mean that you are excluded from wearing suits. If you have one, you might as well wear them. If you must wear jeans, wear the black colored one. When I say ‘black’, I mean the ‘black’ with color code of #000000. Not some dull gray like dog feces.

Same goes for weddings. Better yet, ask the couple about their color schemes for their wedding dresses (For those uninformed, Malay weddings are colorful!) Then find a shirt with the same color. Who knows, maybe you’ll find your new love for your own wedding there!

What do you have to say? Are you a professional photographer? Share with us a piece of your mind!

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