How to Become a Professional Photographer

     Professional photography is an excellent career choice for anyone who wants to get paid for using their creative talents.Photography is where reality meets memories. It's one field where age and college degrees aren't as important as a good eye, a quality product, and self discipline. Photography is a competitive field, however; so be prepared to start small, while you perfect your craft and build a portfolio of your best work. The tips below should help get you started.

Steps

1. Start out by speaking to other professionals in the field. They are normally willing to give advice to individuals interested in their field. Besides if you speak to the right people they will tell you the pitfalls and upsides right from the start. Ask if you can follow them around for a day of work.

2. Consider enrolling in a photography degree program, or taking classes at an art school. You'll make connections and get advice and critiques. Once you are ready, purchase the best equipment you can afford. Remember that this is an investment and will make a big difference in your future. Try sticking to name brand items to ensure you will have service and parts available when, and if needed.

3. Understand that your biggest investment should be your lens. They should be the removable kind that you can put on another camera body if you decide to upgrade later.

4. Study how-to photography books. Lighting and composition can either make or break a photograph, and there are many excellent step-by-step study guides that will teach you the techniques the pros use. Much of this information can also be found by using search engines (e.g: Google).

5. Practice to get experience. Shoot, shoot, shoot. Always having your camera handy will enable you to take photos in different places and of different subjects.

6. Evaluate each photograph you take. Ask others to critique your work. Put your questionable shots in a separate file, so that you can go back later and correct any mistakes on your photo editing software. Many pros will tell you that they hardly ever take a 100% perfect photo. Programs like Photoshop and/or Corel Photo Paint will always be handy when making a good photo great.

7. Strive for originality. Photo editors appreciate pros who can give an old subject a fresh look, so don't be afraid to experiment. When trying to take a great photo, you can sometimes take up to 100 or even more shots experimenting before taking the one you really want. Be patient and don't give up.

8. Build a quality portfolio. Buy a good quality leather ring binder, and take a handful of your best prints and put them in plastic sleeves. Label each one with your name, address and phone number, so when a client asks to see samples, you're prepared.

9. Invest in a photography marketing guide. This is the bible that most pros use to market their work. The best ones give complete contact information of magazine, greeting card, and book publishers

10. Enter photography contests. This is an excellent way to start building a resume of credits, especially if you win.

11. Ask small businesses in your area if they would feature a small exhibition of your work in return for occasional photographic services.

12. Make CDs of all your work. This is especially important for digital photographers. Many clients nowadays actually prefer viewing photos on CDs.

13. Copyright your work. You can fit hundreds of low resolution shots on a CD and copyright all of them for one low fee as apposed to copyrighting individual "good" photos. You can do this by copyrighting it as "the collective work of____".

14. Keep good records of your expenses. You will need them for your tax returns. You may also be able to deduct certain expenses (like your camera, PC, etc) and receive a rebate.

15. Take courses on small business management if you are considering opening a studio. There's a lot to learn up front so that you don't make costly mistakes down the road. Explore different types of photography, such as photojournalism, documentary photography, commercial photography, fine art photography, etc.

article source: wikihow.com