Originally posted by Ron Kruger For every capable pro today, there are thousands using DSLRs . . .
Perhaps, but I, the lazy amateur, am not going to set out to capture a bass as it strikes a specific lure under water to satisfy an editor's requirement -- or better yet,
induce that demand in a customer. (Although I might be "baited" into helping design the underwater rig
pun intended).
I might stumble on that image by luck or accident, but no one's gonna offer to pay me on the unlikely chance my million monkeys might photoshop an image of Shakespeare some day.
No matter how many folks make "snapshots" for family or hobby, there's going to be a place for a photographer that can consistently produce top quality images on demand whether it be for portraiture, fine art, advertising, forensic/industrial purposes or . . . whatever?
I know of a few instances where the knowledgeable P&S shooter knew just enough to want that imagery and also realized that on-demand, technically correct imagery needed
expertise-for-hire to get the job done efficiently. Same thing goes for reconsidering the decision to use a commercial printer when the department XEROX machine was beckoning just down the hall.
Once upon a time the "pro" photographer was the only game in town and every "family" wanted ONE photograph. Today there's a lot more "families" and there's also a greater demand for one or more really good photos beyond the quality of the shoe-box snapshot; and here "families include the commercial/industrial/popular press presence.
H2