I think the confusion may be not understanding what a Noun is. In English, nouns normally do not have any intrinsic qualitative or modifying aspect associated with them. That is why we have Adjectives.
A person creating a photograph using a camera is a photographer in that a photographer is commonly defined as a person who makes or creates a photograph using a camera.
However, that simple circular definition should not imply any qualitative aspect to the Noun of photographer.
A person using a camera is a photographer but it does not further define the photographer as a good, bad, skilled, successful, artistic, lousy, ... insert any of many many adjectives.
That is the whole purpose of Adjectives -- to provide further qualitative or modifying aspects to the quality neutral Noun.
I am a photographer. I would defy anyone to logically support a claim otherwise. That being written, I do admit that most of the Adjectives associated with the Noun photographer do not apply to me.
When people assume a qualitative aspect to Nouns, miscommunication and misunderstand can occur.
Where you may be literally correct, actual usage differs. Lots of people take photographs, but would never in a million years describe themselves as photographers. A photographer is normally used to describe not just some who takes pictures, but someone who is good at taking pictures.
'
The photographer' identifies who specifically took the photos regardless of quality.
'
A photographer' implies some ability
He is
the photographer who took those pictures
He is
a photographer and who took those pictures
Another way of thinking about it would be with other skillsets e.g.actors. If you can't act, no-one would describe you as an actor. Same with comedians, if you aren't funny then you ain't a comedian.
So many nouns do in my view have a qualitative aspect to them,
if there is skill or knowledge needed to be able to do whatever it is the noun describes you. If you claim to be a builder and are in fact rubbish at doing that job, you will called a cowboy instead. Though no idea why 'cowboy' is used as to mean an incompetent or dodgy person,, but again it has qualitative aspects.