We should be too. It shows respect. In return, we don't lose respect. Or carry an appropriate change of clothes in your vehicle or locker so you can react quickly to the day's assignment. Having said all that, I still don't hang my head in shame when i introduce myself to someone as a television news photographer, photojournalist, whatever.
Most people seem interested in the profession.
I think that a very high percentage of the people we encounter on the job appreciate what we can do and notice a professional job well done. They treat us with the same respect and courtesy that we show them. Which is about the best that can be said for any profession. They may have just won a blue ribbon in some event or they might be standing behind some yellow crime tape looking down at a loved one who died in the last hour. Good or bad, we must respect that little space in their life that just changed for better or for worse.