ABSTRACT
DESPITE A CAREER DOMINATED BY PHOTOGRAPHY, I can safely say with my hand on my heart that I had never purchased a photography magazine. So when I accepted the position of editor of Professional Photographer, I was placing my head firmly into the lion’s mouth. Technique and equipment have always informed my work but have never dominated it, so the creators of these bastions of the “technophile” and “technique geek” were eager to question an outsider like me as to what I would do with the magazine as it stood. The first question I was regularly and persistently asked was, “What do you think defines a professional photographer?” It’s a good question, and in the world in which we now live-where anyone who owns a smart phone has the possibility to create high quality images-it is extremely relevant. It wasn’t a question that I rushed to answer, but after time and consideration I came to the conclusion that the most accurate and appropriate answer required that I divide the world of professional photography into three distinct areas.
