Subject
A photographer making it their living will view the subject of any photograph as the most important thing. They will have respect for their subject. If they are human, they will have formed a good working relationship with them. If the subject is an animal, as in a domestic pet, it will be a case of obtaining as many tips off its owner as possible. The owner will know, better than anyone, how their pet responds to certain commands and situations. How a favourite toy or treat can act as an incentive to encourage a dog to perform. Better still, the owner might be willing to stay while the photographs are taken, to keep the pet calm and happy. Perhaps to distract the pet for the photographer, so that it faces the direction of the camera lens, rather than away from it. That is, towards its owner who is behind the photographer, and therefore looking towards the camera lens.
Lenses
There are three “must have” lenses that all professional photographers will want inside their kit bag. These include a 50mm lens, which is mighty in photography terms, an Ultra wide-angle lens to capture as much of the action at the same time as possible, and a Macro lens for close-up work. These can be described as an essential kit to capture the kinds of photographs that are used on calendars and contained within gloss magazines, where the images need to be blown up without losing any of their sharp focus.
Lighting
If you have not been the subject of a professional photograph, you have possibly wondered what on earth a photographer does with an umbrella, apart from sheltering under it and stopping their equipment from becoming wet. But then, that does not explain why they use them indoors. Well, a photography umbrella is a vital addition to the photographer’s tool kit, in that it is used to diffuse and soften the light that is produced from an external light source such as a flash unit. Lighting is important because it does not just control the darkness or brightness of an image, it also changes the mood, tone, or atmosphere of a shot. This makes it essential for a professional photographer, who will be adept in manipulating and controlling light in the correct manner to achieve colour vibrancy, luminosity, and the best texture possible. It makes the difference between a shot being adequate and one that is worthy of someone paying for it and using it inside a professional publication.
Protecting the Equipment
For a professional photographer, who is usually freelance, the camera and all its accessories represent a business expense. As such, the photographer using them will not want to have to replace any of them too frequently, or it will impact on their profits. The best kind of protective case to consider is one that is like a sweet – hard on the outside but soft inside. Not only that, one like a box of chocolates in that it individually separates each piece of equipment and stops them rubbing together. Lens caps are good for protecting lenses. Camera hoods protect lenses from the rain and avoid raindrops appearing on a photograph. Although, image manipulation software might be able to take care of them afterwards.
Backing-Up Photos
A professional photographer will be concerned with not losing any of the images that they have taken. It is their business, so they are worth money to them. Many of the photographs that they have already taken will be difficult, if not impossible, to obtain again. They will be from unusual, one-off situations, and likely to be particularly well shot and framed. For this reason, photographers will, with regularity bordering on obsession, back-up their digital images onto a system such as Cloud. In addition, they will always have a good supply of memory cards and portable external hard drives that are able to store hundreds, if not thousands, of digital or scanned photographic images. Professional photographers will use software that helps them to back-up their photographs with ease and invest in storage devices that are network-attached.
So, this gives us an idea as to how a professional photographer might view photography, for those studying the subject or thinking about becoming a professional photographer. A fellow professional photographer may be interested, too, in how his colleagues are viewing the subject, while striving for a marketable image, protecting their equipment, and trying to make their business a profitable one.