About The Professional Amateur

Stefan Glazer is The Professional Amateur.

While I am technically a Professional Photographer, (I have been paid for multiple photography jobs more than once, over a period of time, see? Technically professional!) I look at myself as an Amateur still. That phrase is really hard to swallow, because we Amateurs can put out some amazing work, it’s just no one has paid for it or most importantly, no one has seen it. The Amateur stigma is hard to shake because we don’t seem to get noticed because we don’t know how to get our shots looking like how we want, to bring them all to that next level.

Some of the big time professional photographers out there, who make the big bucks, being creative and presenting showcases and showings of their work in museums and galleries are the envy of all of us out there.

They have expensive gear, tons of free time to scout locations and even rent spaces to do what they need to for those perfect shots or series of shots. We can do that caliber work too, even if you think it’s impossible to match the caliber or quality that some of the top photographers in the world can do without dropping tens of thousands of dollars on equipment.

But, if there is one thing I have learned over the past few years of taking photography seriously, beyond a once in a while hobby, is that you can be a Professional Amateur.

This is the whole reason I have started this blog.

I want a place where inexperienced people can come and learn about the equipment. I want a resource of people who can come together to learn how to create a shot in their favorite artist’s vein. I want a place where the Amateurs can look at a situation with their duct taped together gear, MacGuyver’d Light rigs, and rickety tripods, and create professional quality photos that they and potential clients will be proud of.

While this will mostly cover photography, there will be other facets of life where being a Professional Amateur has paid off.

For now, enjoy the journey with me on becoming Professional Amateurs.