When are you allowed to call yourself a photographer?
Six months ago, when someone asked me what I do for a living, my answer was simple, almost automatic:
"I'm a hospital pharmacist. But right now, I’m taking a break."
"Oh, really?" they'd say. "I never realized there’s a pharmacy in a hospital!"
And that would be the end of it. Clear, straightforward and with no follow-up questions.
But then, things started to change.
After spending more than a year and a half on this 'break', wandering the streets and taking photos, that answer started to feel … wrong. It didn’t feel truthful anymore. Sure, on paper, I was still a pharmacist. But deep down, I already knew I wouldn’t return to my old job. So was I really just on a break, or was this photo thing taking me in an entirely new direction?
I had invested a lot of time and energy into photography — learning the craft, trying out different techniques, refining my editing and exploring my style.
So, I found myself asking:
Was I still a pharmacist on a break, or had I become … a photographer?
But when, exactly, are you "allowed" to call yourself a photographer?
Is it when you’ve completed a formal photography education? (I haven’t)
Is it when you make and share photos with the world? (Guilty as charged)
Is it when you earn money from your photos? (Working on that)
Or is it simply when you love photography so much that you wish you could do it every single day? (Big YES!)
I decided to ask my fellow photographers on social media about their thoughts on this subject. The answers I received were varied, here some that resonate with me the most:
"No matter where you are in the process, if you are investing in yourself — educationally, financially, and creatively — then, my dear, you are a photographer."
"When is someone allowed to say you’re NOT a photographer?"
"Ask yourself if you would do it if nobody would ever see it, if you would never be compensated for it, if nobody ever wanted it. If you come to a clear 'yes,' in spite of it, then go ahead and don't doubt it anymore." — Ernst Haas, Photographer
So without externals like likes, comments, or the potential for income, would I still pick up my camera even if no one else ever saw my photos?
The answer for me is a clear YES!
But also I realized something powerful: I didn’t need anyone else’s permission to call myself a photographer.
That shift — from questioning to confidently declaring — changed everything for me. It’s about passion, confidence and the courage to claim the title for myself.
Photography lights me up inside and makes me happy. When I walk on the street with my camera, I’m seeing photos everywhere. My view on the world has changed. I see beauty all around me — little stories unnoticed by most people.
Now, when someone asks me what I do, I smile and say:
"I’m a photographer."
Because that’s exactly who I am.
