Wish me luck
 

On Monday morning I go infront of a panel that decides if I'm worth of a "Valokuvaajan Ammattitutkinto" - translation would be Photographers Professional title...? Or something along the line.

After that panel reviews my pictures and interview me my pictures are send before national panel of professional photographers.

Not all people who do this for living even have the title.

Here's some of the stuff I have in my portfolio and which I can post here.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5127/...13c777dc_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5250/...535a53e9_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5287/...e4cbe91e_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5001/...d0a6a45f_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5287/...a148815a_z.jpg

Congrats [thumbup]

Girl on far left, looks like her tongues turned blue. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/laugh1.gif

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5287/...e4cbe91e_z.jpg

And don't get me started about the girl on the far right...http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/laugh1.gif

Good luck m8

Got it... [thumbup]

Now you can call me "Sir Photographer".

Yes, I got piss in my head instantly... [rofl]http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...es/tongue1.gif

[ban]

This "VAT"-title doesn't practically mean anything.

It's just a proof to customers that I as a photographer hold/achieve certain standards.
Of course not just anyone can get VAT if they want to. You are required to work in "the industry". You'll have to understand and to be able to control colors, lighting, etc etc.

Then there's the interview panel where you show your work. It took about 2.5 hours and then they deliberated for 30 mins. After that the portfolio is sent to national committee which also reviews it.* Those people can be quite snobs. Most of them have worked at the field for aeons. And most of them hold Master status. It's a title rarely given to anyone. Last one was in 2008.


*So my VAT title isn't 100% yet. More of a 98,5%... http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/laugh1.gif

Gratz to your 98,5% title http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/wink1.gif

"Valokuvaajan Ammattitutkinto"

....
LMAO!!!!!!

[shocked]

That's not its exact Translation though is it ?

It Translated for me as Photographers Professional Competence

Which says to me, its not much better and more in depth in the Photography field than the 2 day course I did for Basic Electrical Safety Competence (BESC) for my job which requires me to work near High Voltage Electrical equipment (up to 400kv).

Not to put you down or anything, but it just means your Competent enough to pick up a Camera and know what does what, and then take photo's based on that knowledge you've learned about the camera and its settings.

The same as I now know, don't Vertically carry any 25 foot Ladders near to where there might be Electrical cables above. [rofl]

I knew it before, of course, I've not f*cking stupid, But Now I'm Qualified, to say that I know Not to do it.

Get, what I'm getting at ? [yes]

And tbh, yes! I have to agree, even if it was a bit harsh! http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/laugh1.gif

No offense taken.

Sometimes translations aren't just good. I have "VAK" which means I can transport dangerous materials including highly riched uranium if needed. And I got that by sitting listening to this guy babble for 3 hours and then we took a test. That's "competence".

This took 1 year* and one of the requirements is to work as photographer.

*Normal route to achieve a VAT from scratch is firstly to achieve status of "Kuva-artesaani". That education takes 2-2.5 years. Then you apply to VAT which is 1-1.5 years.

Here's an example of VAT portfolio:
http://vvi.fi/galleria/index.php?cat...Luoto%2CHeikki
(there's a small pictures below.)

So if you know anyone who is as competent as that and doesn't work as photographer you should tell him to change field...

Please can you post the portfolio you submitted, im very curious.

Like I said in OP, I can't post all of them. It would be against our laws. There's a few in OP that were in my portfolio.

Laws? on posting pics? cant you have them on flikr? (thats not publishing them is it?)

That's the worst kind of publishing. Once you post something to internet there's a possibility that it can never be removed from there.

Yes, it's against our laws of privacy. (This can be of course countered if you ask from your client if I can us her/his picture) There's pictures that show political alignment, young people wearing cross which show religious beliefs*. I can show them on my portfolio because it's private.

Those sport pictures I can post because they are "famous" persons. And their privacy is reduced.

*In essence; 100m runners kissing their crosses is way of showing religious belief. And according to our law it's forbidden to publish that sort of picture. But since they are "public" persons their privacy is reduced and it's allowed.
If however I would take picture of someone in local market kissing the cross he/she is wearing I couldn't use it anywhere at all.

Fair enough I guess if the course your taking/took has lasted a year or more, But it initially didn't sound as difficult as that, so forgive me if you thought I was taking the p!ss out of you, I wasn't, I was just comparing the word Competence with regards to my own use of it within the course I took.

So no hard feelings ! http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/wink1.gif

Of course not mate!

Like I said translations are sometimes bad.

Me getting this "title" doesn't necessarily mean that I could take better pictures of nature or animals compared to a lot of people here in FM.

I'm focused on portrait (human) photography.