The qualifications to be a Professional photographer?

To be a professional photographer do you need any qualifications?

• Answer:

  You won't need a degree in photography unless you plan on teaching photography in high school or college or for employment at some large corporations. The biggest deficiency of most beginning photographers is that they don't understand lighting. The meaning of the word, photography, is "painting with light." If you take any course in photography, choose a course in lighting. What will determine your degree of professionalism is the quality of your images, the design of your web site portfolio, and your knowledge of client relations and business practices. I've been a photographer for decades and I'll give you an invaluable piece of advice that I know you do not want to hear because I resisted the wisdom of it for years. Any person who wishes to have a successful business based on an artistic interest will need to devote 75% of their time to the business side and only 25% to the artistic side of their endeavor. This holds true for any media in art. Starving artists never have money because they only want to create. I've been there and that's a valid choice if you can afford to keep creating and survive with little money. If, however, you want to prosper financially you will have to understand billing, purchase orders, contracts, and what is deductible or depreciable for taxes. The other big concern is copyright protection and the sale of your images for certain market areas, whether it be one-time usage, North American rights, worldwide rights, or some other more limited usage. Almost NEVER should you sign away all rights to any image. You could then see your photo on billboards, in print ads, and on TV and not get one penny more for that usage!! The upside of this is that you'll be able to hire people to handle the business end of things once you achieve the monetary success to be able to pay them. In the begining, most photographers have to wear many hats and do all of it themselves. This is not such a dismal prospect, though. You will emerge much smarter about all aspects of your business and not have to trust any of your future employess blindly. You will have been there and will know if they're doing a good job for what you're paying them. All of the business end of things aside and remember, that is truly 75% of your success, the creative side is probably where your heart is. Look critically at your work and listen to the input of others. What do people say about your work? If a few adjectives keeping popping up, then those are your primary strengths and weaknesses. Dreamy and romantic is good but simply blurry or out of focus is not good. Cutting edge and abstract is good but confusing and cluttered is not good. Work on your weaknesses but concentrate on your strengths. Every artist has their own unique voice that sets them apart from the crowd. When people call you for a photo shoot, they will have been attracted to your unique style so you, more than anyone, need to know what that is. Good luck!!