What is a MWAC, exactly?

[reader0428]

I know what the acronym stands for. What I'm unsure of is what exactly is meant by it. I have an idea, but I'd love to hear from some of you who use the term.

I'll put myself out there - I'm a mom, and I have a camera (a Rebel and a 5D, which I picked up in August.) and a couple of kind-of decent lenses (Tamron 28-75/2.8, Canon 85mm/1.8) and a 580 EXii (which I'm hoping to start using off-camera really soon). Since last Christmas I've been doing all I can manage to do to learn about photography (which has included reading everything I can get my hands on, spending countless hours on this forum, shooting all I can, and even more countless hours editing and re-editing.). I accept payment for photographing others. My print prices range from $25 (4x6) to $45 (8x10) and framed wall art starts at $150, collections start at $425 (I know these are lower than some but it's not $50 for the session and all digital images, either). I sell gallery wraps, canvases, albums, cards (ordered from WHCC, not Walgreens or Snapfish). I have a sales tax permit (and pay sales tax). I'll pay income tax at the end of the year. (Actually, I may not since my expenses will probably have exceeded my income for 2010.) I don't have insurance yet but it's on the list. I have a web site. I have a rough business plan that I'm still fine-tuning. I think my photographs are decent (much room for improvement, certainly, but I've seen a lot worse). I have a strong desire to keep learning and improving.

Am I a dreaded MWAC? :) (And I know I asked, so I can take the answers!)

[photopam]

Here is a post from the MCP blog today!
MWAC Is A Four-Letter Word {Mom with a Camera} | MCP Photoshop Actions and Tutorials Blog for Photographers

[MT Stringer]

[timbertoes]

I'd say, no you are not :)

[Flea77]

When I first offered to help you out on your first wedding I was pretty sure you were, at least by my definition. To my supprise, you were anything but.

To me, a MWAC is just that, a mom first (when shooting a job), and camera user second, and little else. You on the other hand were deeply concerned with doing a good job, eager to learn, and worked your rear end off. Regardless of equipment, your attitude seperates you from the MWACs by a wide margin.

Allan

[reader0428]

Originally Posted by photopam

Here is a post from the MCP blog today!
MWAC Is A Four-Letter Word {Mom with a Camera} | MCP Photoshop Actions and Tutorials Blog for Photographers

Pam, that post is what got me thinking about it! :) Thanks for sharing.

I think I'm having a momentary dip in confidence. Allan, thanks for your kind words, they really help! :)

[reader0428]

Originally Posted by mt stringer

lololol!!! :)

[suerenee]

I recently had a rather rude photographer call me a MWAC because I still work a day job. I'm like you Amanda--I'm new to the biz (officially got my DBA in May, but have been shooting for 4 years.) She scolded me on my pricing and told me that I was the type of person who put people like her out of business. I was a duck and let it roll off my back. I know that I have the gear (Canon 5DM2 and all L glass) to do a good job. I also have been working with other Photogs to build my wedding portfolio. I know there is plenty of business out there for us all. And I'm glad I didn't listen to her putting me down....I think she was threatened more than anything.

[gardener]

I have a perfect example for you...
I used to help moderate a small garden e-board and as gardeners, we all had cameras to record our leafy treasures... p&s, DSLR's.. you name it, everyone had a camera of some sort.
There was one mom however, that had a small urchin that played sports and she decided that she was going to sell sports photos to all the other moms and family members to make extra money. Her gear was a lower end Canon dslr with a kit lens...
Her reasoning: They love my pictures so I should be able to sell those photos I'm taking anyway and I'll be rolling in the dough at the end of the season. I'll also take pics of all the other teams and sell those too...

My response because she asked me, not that I was going to volunteer it: (paraphrased with much harsher language here than the far more polite version she got) Your images suck, the light sucks, the pictures are frequently so blurry that you can't tell one kid from another, and in general, most of us delete far better images than you're keeping to try to sell.
Have you applied for a business name? Have you applied for a tax number? Have you done anything more than buy a camera and kit lens and decided that's where your financial fortune lies? Do you acually have the funds to print images and hold them for payment from week to week AND then what happens if you DON'T get payment? Have you asked the league if they have a contract with a photographer that gives him the exclusive right to take and sell images of the teams?
In another case, a mom on my middle grandaughter's soccer team (8-9 year olds) had your basic XT Canon w/ kit lens and was selling 4x6's of the kids to the parents for $3-$5 each. I'm shooting the same team only of just my granddaughter with a M2n and L glass and ending up with pics that blew hers away. The difference being that while I wasn't freely handing out pics, I also wasn't trying to sell images that weren't up to par in many cases and then strong arming parents into buying them. Another MWAC on the loose...
These examples are, in case you haven't figured it out yet, my perception of the standard MWAC description. The first young lady had pretty much decided that quality be damned, she was going to get rich selling images because other team moms liked her photos (whether they actually did or were just being polite is up for discussion). The second person took photos and tried to make a business out of a poorly done hobby.

Now, to be sure, I'm not a professional photographer and don't want to be. I don't sell images but want to learn enough to be ABLE to take professional quality images for my own gratification and enjoyment. I try to study why one image is better than another, why light works the way it does, why... why... why... and spend my saved up minnow money on better equipment when I can. I take lots of images and delete lots of images but at least I'm trying to get better, the persons mentioned above weren't.

And that is my perception of your standard issue MWAC.