Seeing the World through a Camera Lens - Introducing the ‘Expert-Amateur’ Photographer

Abstract: Through different blogs, social medias and apps people are sharing pictures like never before. Sales in expensive DSLR cameras have increased, and companies in the photo industry are providing customers with lessons to help them in their quest to become better photographers. From being just an object symbol of tourism it has evolved into becoming a lifestyle for many photography enthusiasts. This translates in a growing number of amateur photographers spending copious amounts of time and money on perfecting their skills and pursuing their passion. Although this trend has been a growing consumer practice for more than a decade, few researchers have focused on this field. The existing studies have mainly focused on either serious amateurs that are part of photo clubs or have reduced the field of photography into two groups: professionals and the rest. The analysis of the consumers interested in photography is more complex and cannot be limited to two groups. Hence, there is an existing research gap that this paper aims to fill. By combining insights gained through in-depth interviews from both amateurs and professionals with relevant theories from the field of consumer behaviour and sociology, we wish to better understand these consumers. This leads us to introduce the concept of ‘expert-amateur’ as a new way to define these highly engaged consumers and their practices. They are characterized by sharing similarities with both professionals (‘experts’) and everyday users ('amateurs’). Doing so we wish to shed some light on this developing consumer practice.