Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Image quality rarely denotes professionalism in photography. A service oriented person, ready to do what is asked, and has the customer's satisfaction at the very top of the list of priorities - and uses a camera to accomplish this - that is a professional photographer. There are many photographers that produce mediocre work, but really understand customer service - and are successful enough to make a living and support a family.

By the same token, there are opinionated, arrogant, self-absorbed, judgmental, narcissistic, condescending yet otherwise excellent photographers, but they will never be pros by any measure, because they are so damaged. They may even earn a good living in spite of their character flaws. But I wouldn't call them professional.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

I don't think you will find a consensus to your question and it's been asked here MANY times!
Here is a discussion I had here only a few months ago. Not worded the same but more or less.
check it out!
SS
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-495377-1.html

Lens Creep

this is the only definition needed here. and it certainly does not mean 100% of income derived from photography - that is silly.
A person can be a professional painter and a professional mechanic at the same moment in time.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

One who knows the ins and outs and does well with his work.

tracs101 Loc: Huntington NY

That often happens, because now that it has become a business, it is not fun anymore. Now it is for income and survival. Now you HAVE to do it.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Based on these definitions, what do you call someone who makes 51-99% of his/her income from photography?

canon Lee

Pro(fession) means getting paid! .....College football players turn "PRO(FESSIONAL)" when they get paid.. However "pro" does not always mean better... Some just don't make the cut..... Earning a living in photography is all about making money! A good PRO is one that has repeat business clients..

Shutterbugsailer Loc: Staten Island NY (AKA Cincinnati by the Sea)

I bet that takes a big bite out of wedding photographers' incomes. Having family or friends of the couple who are decent amateur photographers doing an album and/or video "pro bono" or in lieu of the usual wedding gifts. In similar fashion, I bet high priced call girls who love to see the return of the days when "Nice" girls waited until marriage

Photocraig

Professional photographers, as well as Professional writers, artists and others depend upon their paying clients' satisfaction. See the earlier post today about doing Theater Portraits for an amateur group and using LR and Portrait Pro for their post production. Everyone went wild because, I'm speculating, the actors looked like they imagined (in their dreams, perhaps) they'd like to look. Imagine producing results like that every day, as a requirement to get paid. Extend that to product shots of a toothbrush or can opener, buildings, hair styles or a seventeen layer double coconut layer cake on a white table cloth and white China--no reflections, please.

Judging a professional's image vs. an amateur's image is meaningless. Even in a landscape. For us lovers of our medium (amateurs) the virtues of the image are aesthetic. For, example, the 1990's Dewar's Scotch Campaign by DeWitt Jones, a stunning image of a golden hued fog-lifting over a stream side with a fly fisherman is a landscape. For DeWitt, I'm guessing that location shoot had budget of over $100K. For Dewar's, it was all about "Does the Scotland looking stream scene evoke the ethereal feeling we want associated with with our product and BRAND?" That judgement is often made by an Art Director who knows nothing about photography and all about page layout, colors and design and budget. Recuse back at Headquarters, she has a boss who is likely to say, you flew an entire crew and Professional Photographer all the way to Scotland, spent $100k and you brought me THAT!?!?!?? Just because he didn't love it.

Delivering images to demanding clients as they want them (even when they don't know enough to communicate what they want) is the signal skill that differentiates the few highly successful Professional photographers from the proverbial large Pizza. 'Cause they can feed a family of four consistently. Hopefully they can create a little wealth along the way.

And, did I mention Bride, Mom, Grandma, Sister and the ever angry Auntie--ZILLA??

C

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

What do you call people who earn 50%-99% of their income from photography?
Just curious. I have a lot of pro level equipment but I earn 0% of my income from photography so I'm in no danger of being a pro.

lesdmd Loc: Middleton Wi via N.Y.C. & Cleveland

It's ridiculous to quantify a person's profession by the percentage of money one earns in one endeavor. There are polymaths who do a number of things well and get paid for many of them. By my definition, if they care to apply it, they are professional in each and every one of their fields from which they earn an income.

JPL

If you mange to rip somone off by selling him crap pictures than you are a professional photographer.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Many professional photographers specialize in only one type of photography, and don't really need to be able to do other types of photography. For example, a school yearbook portrait photographer is not required to have experience with macro-photography to be competent on the job. Oftentimes it is the hobbyist who will have a far broader set of photography skills than the professional, dedicating more time to explore and experiment with various techniques and styles.

lesdmd Loc: Middleton Wi via N.Y.C. & Cleveland

Exactly how do you force someone to buy crappy pictures?

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

It's not so much forcing them as it is doing crappy pictures for people who don't know the difference.