Pro qualifications and your business

Are qualifications relevant in today’s marketplace? Let’s take a look…

“I don’t see the point of pro photography qualifications. I don’t need them and clients don’t expect them, so why should I?” This is a common sentiment I encounter when I chat with other photographers. I believe they are only partly right. Do most of my clients scan through my website to find my qualifications before getting in contact? I doubt it. Still, the qualifications I’ve achieved have been so instrumental in shaping the photographer I am that I cannot conceive where I’d be without them.

In 2008 I left a well-paying job in the city to become a full-time photographer. I’d earned some money on the side before but knew my photography wasn’t at the standard it needed to be to compete in the marketplace. At that year’s trade show, I decided to join the Master Photographers Association (MPA). It was exclusively for full-time pro photographers at that time, which I thought would give me a bit of prestige.

A few weeks later I went along for an induction day, where I met an outstanding photographer, Kevin Wilson. I asked him if he’d look through my portfolio and he agreed to. We sat down and Kevin looked through my portfolio, chatting through each image. Half an hour later we were still talking.