The First Steps to Becoming a Professional Photographer

It’s a popular hobby, and with the advent of digital cameras, it has become easier than ever for any aspirant to become a photographer. But photography as a hobby and photography as a profession are two completely different things, so if you want to go beyond just clicking all that catches your eye and make a living out of your passion, here are the first steps you need to take to become a professional photographer:

• Know your craft: Unless you know what you’re doing and are extremely good at it, you’re not going to be able to make it as a professional photographer. Learn as much as you can about techniques and methods from books, other photographers, and through experimentation. Some aspiring photographers prefer to learn through a degree, but others feel that it is a waste of time as photography is more an art that must come from within and be practiced to perfection rather than learned at college.

• Work with other photographers: An apprenticeship with other photographers could teach you more about photography and also help you break into the professional photography scene. You make the right connections and once you’ve gained enough experience, you know you can earn your own gigs.

• Create a good portfolio: Irrespective of whether you do any professional work or not, build your portfolio so that people know what you’re capable of. Store all your work online and back it up at secure locations. Send out your work to people who are looking for photographers and work your contacts till you secure a break.

• Choose a niche: While you won’t be able to break into your chosen niche at once, you could continue to develop your skills in this area even as you work in other areas of photography. Everyone aspires to work in a glamorous area of photography like travel and fashion. But it’s not easy to get jobs in these fields unless you’ve proven yourself. So unless you’re prepared to go freelance and take your chances (you’ll have to spend your own money and hope you’re compensated for your pictures), work at any photography job you get till you get your break.

• Practice: And no matter how good a photographer you are or think you are, continue to hone your skills and pick up new ones with experimentation and practice. The more you do, the better you become.

It’s not easy to become a professional photographer who earns well, simply because too many people want to do it and all of them are equally qualified. So be prepared to face failure for a long time before you taste success. It’s best you don’t give up your regular job to focus on professional photography until you’re successfully established in your chosen field. And even though the job may not be as exciting as you thought it was, gain some all-round experience before you think of specializing in a certain area of photography.

 

This article is written by Kathy Wilson, who writes on the subject of Online Photography Colleges . She can be reached at her email id:  kathywilson1983@gmail.com.

Kathy is a graduate in English literature and currently persuing her masters in Online Journalism