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Intereating definition of professional photographer from National Geographic in the FAQs for a current online photo competition.

How do you define a "professional" photographer?
A professional photographer:

Earns more than 50 percent of his or her income from photographic sales.
Is a member of such professional photo organizations as the National Press Photographers Association.
Publishes photographs in books, magazines, newspapers, or online regularly.

Taken from their World in Focus competition
http://www.worldinfocuscontest.com/

Im guessing that technically most of us publish images online all the time?

It seems fair to treat that as an inclusive list.
For example, to be a member of such a professional organisation you need to be earning 50+% of your income from photography anyway.
If you're publishing regularly yet not earning significant income from your photography I don't think anyone would have an issue with you being classed as an amateur.


Mind you, if you were earning 50+% of your income from photography, were publishing regularly, but had not got around to joining a professional body, I don't think that for the purposes of such a competition you'd be regarded as amateur...


Interesting that they didn't put the definition in the legal Ts&Cs, but instead left it to the looser language of the FAQ.

I think it is a pretty good criterion for a professional photographer (i second the idea that it is an inclusive list).