How do i become a professional photographer?

Oddly enough becoming a pro isn't that much about photography, or cameras. Part of a photographers job is to run or at the very least represent a business, all the while the photographer also has to have the right frame of mind or vision to push forward their work. Professional photography is so far from just picking up a camera and clicking, and good photographers can often use some less than ideal equipment and get good results. It's about mastering the skills and the camera. As deep blue said any basic photographic technique book will get you started with the central pillars of photography, you will also need to think about a camera that can fulfil your requirements in the near future, a system camera that can adapt to the situation. In the long run you'll need to learn more and more about business, if you are to survive as a photographer. There is simple too much to say in one post. Many many books have been written, and there is so much information just ready to be harvested, now go forth and discover!

Firstly, neither of your cameras is a DSLR - The Fuji S2800 is a bridge camera. It does not have interchangeable lenses, nor does it have a hotshoe to work off camera flash, although it does have manual aperture & shutter speed controls. You need to have a good grounding of the basics of photography (the relationship between ISO, aperture & shutter speed & how they control exposure), lighting and composition. Good basic photography books will teach this - also consider joining a local camera/photography club, where you'll be able to ask questions, submit work for critique and take part in competitions & shoots. There isn't much to truly judge your work on your photostream - the self portraits are not good quality. The only landscape you have is reasonably well composed, but the lighting is flat & the exposure is lacking contrast.

You are going to need a SLR, whether that would be a digital or film, that is an absolute must. A point and shoot camera's image quality, along with a phone, cannot compete with the image quality of an SLR used properly. EDIT: The Fujifilm Finepix S S2800HD is not a DSLR. DSLR's have interchangeable lens, much bigger sensor that a regular point and shoot camera, have more options for manual controls.

the only fuji DSLR is the S5 Pro... all the others are compacts or bridge cameras... you can call yourself a professional photographer any time you want to... it is how OTHER people see your work that determines if anyone agrees... sorry, but no one will take you seriously while you use a compact... i use a DSLR and a compact...

Classes, clubs, reading books and magazines, join your school's photo staff. Education is the key. By the way, Google Mega pixel Myth while you're at it. Get constructive critiques from people who are not associated with you. Expose yourself to good photography in books and museums. It's a long tough journey so get ready to work hard.

Find a professional photographer you admire or know.... call them up and see if they need an assistant Failing that look for an assistant job anywhere. That way you'll learn how a pro works and eventually make important contacts for later.

Oh no no no no.......you need a better phone to become a pro-photographer!

Take photography in school, if available at your high school, also they have colleges where they teach photography and you can get a degree that way to become a professional photographer.

As others have mentioned, the Fujifilm Finepix S S2800HD is not a professional camera, it is a bridge camera and is not adequate for professional work. You turn up at a wedding with that and there is a real danger that you could wind up being sued for professional negligence. You turn up at a commercial shoot with it, and you will be laughed at and never used again. As an absolute minimum you need a quality SLR camera with appropriate lenses, but that really is the minimum. You also need to own and understand how to use lighting and other forms of camera equipment such as medium or large format. Before you get carried away with the equipment however, stop and think. How much do you actually know about photography, and how much do you know about business? I suspect not very much about either, therefore my suggestions: read everything you can find on the technical and artistic side of photography - how to use the equipment properly, how to compose images etc. There is rather more to using a camera than simply pointing and shooting. enroll yourself on courses - try to keep it practical, HND progams and professiona training seminars (eg BIPP, MPA, The Flash centre) are much better than degrees in terms of their practical content. Where at all possible, try to assist existing photographers with good reputations. This is the only way to develope good on the job skills. Photography as a profession has the disadvantage of being a profession that looks much easier to do well than it infact is. It takes years before someone gets really good. Another word of warning. Simply having photographic skills on its own is not enough. You need to be good at business as well. The professional market is massively oversaturated (too many photographers for the amount of work available) so be realistic. Many who try fail, so I would probably make sure that whatever training you undertake, also gives you transferrable skills in case the photographic thing doesn't work out.