I read a post last week from a girl who was being ridiculed by her own sister-in-law for not attending college and gaining a degree for photography, but still running a sustainable, profitable photography business. The sister-in-law was also a photographer who had gone the photography degree route, but she was struggling to book clients. According the sister-in-law, the original poster shouldn't be able to call herself a professional photographer.

The post left me a little uneasy and frankly, a little angry. Who gets to decide what qualifies us as a professional? Does a degree do that? Or an income?

I didn't go to college to be a photographer. Originally, I went to be a journalist. For a lot of reasons, my path changed, and I ended up with a degree in mass media with an emphasis in writing and publishing. I took multiple classes that dealt with some sort of photography or video, but nothing too in depth. So even though I make an income as a photographer now, should I not call myself a professional?

Food for thought. Also, let's not be judgmental in such a largely bigoted world. You do you, let everyone else do them.