I recently discovered Josh’s writing on Medium in which he’s written several thought provoking pieces on photography which have had very little to do with gear. In my opinion, these are the best kind because they never have an expiration date as to how much inspiration you can glean from them as oppose to gear which rapidly gets outdated.
In this piece entitled The 5 Mindset Shifts Of Becoming A Pro Photographer, he touches on a topic which resonated and has often haunted me in the past. As you begin envisioning your craft as something more than a hobby, there will always be that lack of confidence that will accompany you because you before you can wear proudly the title of introducing yourself as a photographer, you feel that you must know everything first and that’s certainly not the case.
Josh says:
Yes, there are still things to learn, this is true in any profession. That doesn’t mean you aren’t a professional. And the real truth is, all photographers still have things to learn — at every level. Your professionalism starts the minute you declare it, even if you are still learning things. As long as you have the ability to get hired for one thing, that’s being a professional.