The Amateur in Photography – Boundaries and Transitions
International Conference on the History of Photography
Call for papers
In cooperation with the Historical Photo Department of the Hungarian National Museum, the Hungarian Society for the History of Photography, which will celebrate its twentieth anniversary in 2027, invites researchers working in photographic history and related fields to present their research findings in presentations of up to 20 minutes. We welcome contributions addressing the topics outlined below, as well as related questions and themes.
The conference The Amateur in Photography – Boundaries and Transitions aims to examine the concept of amateur photography, its social roles and historical transformations from the nineteenth century to the present day, in both Hungarian and international contexts. The conference hopes to pay particular attention to how perceptions of amateur photographers have changed over the past two centuries, who can be regarded as the first amateur photographers, and what social backgrounds they came from in different periods.
What did, and what does, the designation “amateur” signify in photography? Is it merely an economic distinction between those who pursue photography for a living and those who photograph as a pastime, or is it a more complex cultural and social category? The question is particularly relevant given that, as early as the 1910s, photographs that had not been commissioned from a photo studio were already entering the commercial market. Similarly problematic is the requirement for a professional photographer to hold an industrial licence, as this was for a long time not accompanied by any formal qualification (since no such qualification existed). In Hungary, for instance, professional certification did not become a prerequisite for practising photography commercially until 1920.
The lack of biographical information also makes it difficult to determine whether a particular photographer worked professionally or as an amateur. In such cases, can the distinction be made on the basis of the formal and stylistic characteristics of the photographs? Moreover, careers were not always linear: there are numerous examples of photographers who began as amateurs and later became professionals (or who followed the reverse path).
All of this raises fundamental questions about the validity of the categories of “amateur” and “professional.” More than two decades after the publication of the volume Professional or Amateur? (Association of Hungarian Photographers, ed. Klára Szarka, 2002), we feel that it is once again timely to revisit these questions.
We invite contributions addressing the following topics, while also welcoming proposals that engage with related questions and contribute to a broader understanding of these concepts:
• the historical development of the boundary between amateur and professional photography
• the concept of the professional photographer (and its changing criteria)
• the technical aspects of amateur photography and the impact of technological developments on amateur practices
• the economic dimensions of amateurism (the market, sales, commissions vs. independent production)
• legal and institutional frameworks (industrial licenses and professional qualifications)
• the amateur as an aesthetic category: can a body of work be categorized on the basis of “stylistic characteristics”?
• pejorative terminology and categories (snapshooter, Kodak fiend, button-pusher, etc.)
• the social background and stratification of amateur photography
• careers and oeuvres that blur the boundaries between amateur and professional photography
• the roles of amateur networks, clubs, and organizations
• international participation in amateur photography exhibitions
• discourses on professional and amateur practices in photography journals
• the position of amateur photography under the political systems of the 20th century
• amateur photographs of historical events, such as wars, revolutions, etc.
• the concept of the “private photo”
• the amateur photographer today: is every smartphone user an amateur photographer?
• amateur photographs in public collections
• amateur photographs and the law
• gender distribution among amateur photographers
• spaces/subjects of amateur photography (travel, nature, sporting events, etc.)
Conference venue: Budapest
Date: May 2027
Please send abstracts of no more than one page, together with a short biography (max. 1,000 characters), by 15 January, 2026, in PDF format, to knipszer@gmail.com.
We welcome proposals based on original research and we particularly encourage contributions that engage with amateur photographs held in public collections.
Posters and video presentations are also welcome; submissions for video presentations should be accompanied by a one-page written abstract.
Please indicate in your application whether you intend to participate in person or online.
Submitted abstracts will be reviewed by a three-member committee comprising András Bán, President of the Hungarian Society for the History of Photography, and Éva Fisli and Zsuzsanna Szegedy-Maszák, curators at the Historical Photo Department of the Hungarian National Museum. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by 31 March, 2027.