How to be professional photographer

How to be professional photographer

If you’re interested in becoming a professional photographer, there are several crucial topics worth exploring before you dive in. From educational options and industry certifications to mastering the marketing essentials necessary to starting a business, there is a ton of knowledge available that all aspiring photographers should take the time to uncover before getting started. To begin your research, below we’ve outlined some answers to a few of the most common and important questions we’re asked by aspiring professional photographers

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• in becoming a professional photographer, there are several crucial topics worth exploring before you dive in. From educational options and industry certifications to mastering the marketing essentials necessary to starting a business, there is a ton of knowledge available that all aspiring photographers should take the time to uncover before getting started. To begin your research, below we’ve outlined some answers to a few of the most common and important questions we’re asked by aspiring professional photographers:

What Do Photographers Do?

A photographer is an artistic professional specializing in the art of taking photographs with a digital or film camera to be used and sold for a variety of purposes. Photographers are experts in the manipulation of both artificial and natural lighting in an effort to capture meaningful photos of countless people, places and things- and in a variety of settings. While many photographers focus primarily on studio work, others specialize in landscape, others in photojournalism and news, and others in commercial, advertising-oriented photography, just to name a few.

While a large percentage of photographers work as freelancers hired for specific, variously-timed jobs by numerous clients in lieu of traditional 9-5 office hours, that’s not necessarily the case for every professional. Some photographers do elect to work exclusively in certain segments of the industry that lend themselves to a full-time dynamic, in office employment such as corporate or full-time studio work. Additionally, a large number of professionally trained photographers focus more on the artistic nature of the industry, shooting more imaginative, abstract works to be sold on an individual basis to art collectors or independent buyer

Do I Need a Photography Degree?

If you’re interested in launching a successful photography career, it’s important to consider which educational options are considered industry standard. Unlike other professions, the presence or lack thereof when it comes to a university degree is something of debated importance amongst photographers today. While many other specialists are literally unable to get hired and start working as, say, a nurse or lawyer without the proper credentials, that’s simply not the case when it comes to photography. Thousands of photographers currently running successful businesses today never went to college for their craft. Some are self-taught, some took courses locally at a community college or arts center, some learned online. Essentially, wanting or needing a photography degree is a personal question in this industry more than a logistical or legal one. Do you know how to use a digital camera? Do you understand compositional concepts like aperture, ISO, exposure, etc.? Do you know what all the dials and functions on your camera are capable of and when and where to best use them? What about the business aspect of your career- are you familiar with marketing or how to draft a yearly business plan? Do you know how to find and sign clients? These are all things someone with a successful photography business must know, but not things necessarily only learned via an expensive, 4 year long university bachelor’s degree program.

If you’re unsure which educational route is best-suited for your needs, we’ve developed a simple chart you can reference as you move forward with your decision making process. See side by side how much money you’ll pay for different options and 7exactly the quality of comprehensive education you’ll get for that cost. Determine which gaps in your business photography knowledge need to be filled before you get started and pursue the appropriate resources accordingly.