Quote:
Originally Posted by Catlady
So by your definition, we are all authors. This devalues the word so much as to make it meaningless.
We're all authors if we write an e-mail, we're all singers if we warble in the shower, we're all artists if we doodle on a scratch pad, we're all decorators if we move the living room sofa a few feet this way or that, we're all CEOs if we manage a household. It's silly and pointless.
It's only if you actually make money doing the particular job that you can anoint yourself with the title and have it mean something.
|
You're correct: being an author means nothing. Being a photographer means nothing either; as soon as you pick up a camera, you are one. By definition, you would be an "author" because of writing a post on this forum, or a "singer" because you sing in the shower, but as you say, it's a meaningless use of the word.
I took pictures for fun starting in 2003, and starting in 2005, I did freelance work up until 2010. I earned money doing that. Now, I only take pictures for fun again. Have I been a photographer between 2005 and 2010 only?
In my opinion, you can call yourself an author/photographer/musiscian/artist/whatever as soon as you are consiously trying to create (or in the case of a musiscian, performing) a meaningful body of work.