Screenwriter John August has a great blog. He frequently writes about the process of getting movies and tv shows made (he is the screenwriter of Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory), writing in general and other interesting topics. A couple days ago he posted a transcript of a speech he gave at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX about Professional Writing and the Rise of the Amateur.

It's a very good speech and I encourage everyone to read it because it highlights some of the blurry lines that those of us who work and communicate on the internet need to recognize and remember. Namely that google and archives are fierce mistresses and very nearly everything you say now will be traced back to you in the future. Outside of that important tenet his assertions about what makes one a professional versus an amateur (I'll give you a hint, it's not money) were exceptionally interesting to me as someone who is trying to make the leap from serious hobbyist to professional photographer.

August says that most of us are talking about "professionalism" when we talk about someone being a professional. That is they meet the expectations and standards that most of us accept as being part of professional behavior for person in field X.

The first expectation or standard that August lists is presentation. In a humorous and more direct way August says "I used to call this, “giving a shit,” but I decided I was swearing too much for an academic setting." What he's saying is that when you're a professional (noun) you care about being professional (adjective). You care about how you're presenting yourself to clients, colleagues, strangers as a _______. I'm there with you John. When I first started thinking about trying to become pro photographer (even a part time pro) I realized that I wanted and needed to meet the appearance of a professional photographer. No matter how much I carried around a P&S or how great the pictures were from it people were never going to see me as anything more than a tourist or hobbyist with a little camera. A "big camera" (aka an SLR) meets the expectation people hold for what a professional photographer should have. This sounds silly because the photographers' mantra seems to be "it's not the equipment, it's the photographer." But when I started packing a film slr and eventually a digital slr it was much easier to say "I'm a photographer" and have it be accepted as fact by friends and strangers alike.

I also realized that I had to believe that I was and could be a professional before anyone else could believe that I was. I had to get comfortable saying things like "I'm a photographer but I currently work in industry Y while I grow my photography business." That's a mouthful and it was a bit uncomfortable the first several times I said but it became easier.

August's other defining characteristics of being a professional are:
1. Accuracy: doing what you're supposed to do and doing it correctly
2. Consistency: delivering what is expected of you
3. Accountability: taking responsibility. Lay claim to your work and own up to your screw ups
4. Peer standards: meeting the standards for what's expected and accepted in your profession.

I feel confident that I meet all of these standards as a photographer. My attitude toward photography in general and my work shifted a long time ago and I decided there were standards and levels of professionalism I must meet in both my work and in my demeanor.

I liked August's speech because it vocalized some things I'd been thinking. Mostly that waiting until you're making significant money before you identify as a professional is missing the point. All of us who are following our dreams to become something should take that to heart. Take a page from the self help books and visualize yourself as what you want to be and you're a few steps closer to actually being it.