Amateurs Undercharge to hurt Professional's business ?

Not really. Look at the discussion took place on this topic at one of the photography community on Facebook.

The Group Admin posted :

Anybody with a camera (or smartphone) who enjoys taking pictures thinks life would be much sweeter if they just became a professional photographer. Well, it's really not that easy and, in fact, amateur photographers who decide to "make the jump" to becoming a pro can do a lot of harm by lowering the value of the occupation through undercharging clients. (Not that long ago Time magazine paid just $30 for an image to use on its cover, which is typically a $3,000 value.)

Replies it Received :

Sunny Gangar  :

When market is having less of talent and more of the demand, its called a market where Talent decides its worth. 

The time has changed and so is TIME mag. they once were the only one who used to list ou ppl and honor them.. now a days every state in US has one such local mag.. thus the ppl referring to TIME may have also reduced.. call it cost cutting or smart bargain .. ultimately their covers do say a lot then words could possibly do.. 

I will say if i were an editor of the front page of TIME i would definitely give a chance to big shot professionals.. but if i also knew that there images are very costly .. i would go out a bit and give interview the second best who is aparently new in the market as a photographer and has shot an image which i feel is apt for the months cover page..Since i am the new age editor who also needs to be a a good bargainer too.. i will say "buddy you got talent and i got market.. lets say i will tip you a bit more then you could get for this image + you will get a lot of coverage too.. lets say it will be a win win situation"

Plus if you notice for any amateur photographer, its really nice to get that big exposure.. cas then they will go in more deeply and get the best of their images on still life reels. So when you say amateurs have badly hampered the market, i will say its the bad karma of those highly talented but yet awfully expensive professionals who paved the way for such equally talented and yet called amateur photographers come shoulder to shoulder to them.. 

One more point - just because its cheap doesn't mean ppl will buy it.. and also just because its costly doesn't mean someone cant get it ..Since images are nothing but a photographers vision.. one can't possibly compare two photographers even if they are equipped with same tools of excellence..

Mark Preston  :
As far as under cutting goes, try getting an accurate price guide for an image. Near on impossible. If Pro's do not divulge what they get for an image how do others know what to charge. Guess that's what happens when there isn't an open market.

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Admin :

Its when we consider ourselves to be pros only then the dog fighting starts and we run after the bone. Competition is good but then it should be healthy and not simply under cutting or spoiling someone else's broth... think about it? 

Reply to Admin by Ashley Wills :
But if the pro does good work and good business they should have no worries about losing clients. When rants about other amateur photographers come from the pros, I think that hurts them more than someone charging less for a session.

By Sunny Gangar  :

yea .. not spoiling others broth.. 

think it this way " if i think my image is worth $30 it means its $30 for me " now why a pro thinks that "that mongrel spoiled my business"" ! isn't it outrageous.. who is he to judge the cost of my image.. if he thinks its more worthy .. common buddy even i know even then you wont purchase it from me ... rather you will say lets negotiate..

Liked the Photography Gyan ;) ?