[Winder]

RIP "Professional Photographers"

[SpecialK]

Her quote does not even make grammatical sense.

"there’s no such thing as Flickr Pro, because today, with cameras as pervasive as they are, there is no such thing really as professional photographers, when there’s everything is professional photographers. Certainly there is varying levels of skills, but we didn’t want to have a Flickr Pro anymore, we wanted everyone to have professional quality photos, space, and sharing.”

[RobA_Oz]

Aside from the observation that Marissa Mayer got to her exalted position without a good understanding of basic grammar, it just goes to show that you apparently don't need to know much about your subject in order to expound on it (and presumably be believed by the audience).

One of the things a real professional learns early in their career is that you don't practice outside of your sphere of knowledge - you can hold and give occasional voice to your opinion, of course, but it should always be preceded by a disclaimer about your real field of knowledge. I don't see evidence of that here. One of the problems of today's business schools is that they tell their graduates that you don't need technical knowledge to manage a business, and while that's true, they don't seem to be able to impress on them that managing a business means you rely on other people's expertise when you delve into matters that require technical knowledge and expertise - don't they teach the classic HBS Case Study about Wang computer any more?

I imagine that Ms Mayer has been overwhelmed by the marketing spin that suggests anyone with a camera (phone-camera) can create a picture, when all they've really done is take a photo - the difference seems to be too subtle for the stratospheric business mind to grasp (is that what makes a "big picture" person - the inability to see detail?).

On the other hand, if it means that a million "professional" wedding photogs can immediately go out of business, because nobody believes their "creative" approach to the subject needs "expertise" any more, I wouldn't be losing any sleep over it.

But maybe that's what she was talking about - to many business minds, the word "professional" just means you're making money out of it, no matter what the level of knowledge and skill involved. To anyone who's invested a lot of their time and money into getting an education and being tested against relatively objective standards (don't quibble about the meaning of that, please), the word means "professing a credible body of knowledge and exercising a verifiable level of skill".

I do wonder what that might mean for Yahoo's (and Flickr's) future prospects?

[Winder]

I don't think "professionals" have ever seriously considered Flickr a professional site. The "pro" accounts are going away because not enough "pro"s were using it to make if profitable. When I was looking at moving from Zen to Shelter I never even thought about Flickr.

She is appealing to amateur and enthusiasts. I think she made a mistake. Even with 1TB of storage I can't see any reason to open a Flickr account. Storage is cheap.

[RobA_Oz]

Without their clients, professional photographers don't have a business. The problem with statements like this is that they get wide publicity and people in general tend to believe them, even if people with relevant knowledge don't. It all adds to the unhealthy level of cynicism that exists in Western societies today. I'm not suggesting we should be naive about such matters, but neither should we uncritically accept that people like Ms Mayer can make misleading public statements like this and get away with it.

[Reliant K1000]

I absolutely disagree...because of the proliferation of cameras in every device and on every corner, there is and will be a lot of badly taken and poor shots out there.

In moments when one wants an important moment captured, be it a wedding or a picture of a child, people want to hire a professional and be assured of good quality. The pro, presuming they have experience, will also not only have photographic skill, but will be able to interact and make their subject more at ease, and coax a better reaction that can be captured than an amateur saying "say cheese!"

i think professional photographers will be needed more not less as their better shots will stand out more among the herd.

[fuent104]

I think she misspoke. However, it also seems like she's basically trying to goad people into using flickr by claiming that, if you put your images on flickr, they are somehow equivalent to "professional" photos. This isn't too far from how Canon loves the fact that people think buying L lenses will make them professional photographers.

I believe she did a poor job of expressing herself, but she did mean to convey a sentiment that makes sense on a promotional level.

[MRRiley]

I don't think "professionals" have ever seriously considered Flickr a professional site. The "pro" accounts are going away because not enough "pro"s were using it to make if profitable. When I was looking at moving from Zen to Shelter I never even thought about Flickr.

She is appealing to amateur and enthusiasts. I think she made a mistake. Even with 1TB of storage I can't see any reason to open a Flickr account. Storage is cheap.

Exactly!!! No self respecting pro would use Flickr (the very epitome of crudtacular snapshots) to do business on anyway. Could you imagine "www.flickr.com/anseladams," "www.flickr.com/galenrowell" or even "www.flickr.com/benjaminkanarek." I don't think so.

So maybe what she meant to say was "There are no professional photographers on Flickr or Flickr Pro."

(although, there are lots of "stolen" professional images on flickr... LOTS...)

[Clavius]

Exactly!!! No self respecting pro would use Flickr (the very epitome of crudtacular snapshots) to do business on anyway. Could you imagine "www.flickr.com/anseladams," "www.flickr.com/galenrowell" or even "www.flickr.com/benjaminkanarek." I don't think so.

I think that has more to do with the absense of internet, back then. How is www.smugmug.com/anseladams any different?

I agree that any self-respecting pro has his/her own website. Many pro's show their portfolio on their site using solutions like simpleviewer, whilst the images are secretly hosted on Flickr. No shame in that.

[Kerrowdown]

there is no such thing really as professional photographers

Oh dear, does this mean I'm out on the streets and starving?

I don't think so, this lassie may have got it a tad wrong.

[MRRiley]

I think that has more to do with the absense of internet, back then. How is www.smugmug.com/anseladams any different?

I agree that any self-respecting pro has his/her own website. Many pro's show their portfolio on their site using solutions like simpleviewer, whilst the images are secretly hosted on Flickr. No shame in that.

smugmug, despite their ridiculous name, is still a commercial grade image hosting and commerce site.... big diff IMHO from flickr which by and large is snapshot-land... and everyone knows it.

[jogiba]

Squarespace with the momentum template is another good solution for pro photographers.

[Maria27]

I wasn't happy with the recent changes to Flickr and have moved to Ipernity. They offer a plugin for Flickr Pro members to shift their work across. So far I'm very happy with the switch.
ipernity: Welcome, Flickr friends! by Team ipernity

[MRRiley]

NPPA & Other Groups Respond to Yahoo! CEO’s Comments on Professional Photographers

[Kerrowdown]

The back pedalling goes on, but we all know where we stand in certain folks eyes.