Does anyone know what is involved in becoming a photographer??

Question

Ok..here it is...I have always wanted to be a photographer of nature and do portraits...I was wondering does anyone know about photography school. Cost...What is required so on???

Answer 1

It really depends on where you live. Photography is mostly about talent, skill and in some ways, business sense. It's not a career path that tends to be greatly enhanced by a diploma or degree. So, with that in mind, your best bet is to start out learning the basics at a local community college, or even in a book or instructional DVD but first things first...you need to get yourself a good camera and start shooting. The cost to get going would likely be around $2000-$3000 to get some good gear and a few books. School, depending on which route you take (technical/community college or a specialized program, say at an art school) could be as cheap as a semester at community college rates, or as expensive as a 4 year education at a major college.

Before school, you can learn a LOT just by practicing, especially in this day and age of digital. I would suggest going to flickr or a similar photo sharing community and start looking at images. Mark the ones you like, and the photographers you like then reach out to them. Ask them how they created a particular image. What camera did they use, what lens, what time of day, etc. You'll find that most photographers are very helpful if you approach them in the right way (with respect). From there, put what you are learning into practice and post your images to the parts of flickr that are intended for critiques (do a search in groups for "rate" or "critique"). Expect to be told you suck for awhile and that some people will just abuse for the sake of abuse but some will offer their advice on how you could have made your shot better and that's what you really want.

If, after you get started with a good camera (and what constitutes a good camera beyond making sure it's an SLR with a couple good lenses and a flash is another question for another day) and start to develop some skill you can either start thinking about opening a business OR seek out a local photographer who will either hire you on as an assistant or allow you to intern with them so you can learn the ropes. Be studious, courteous, hard working and dedicated to the art and you will be successful.

Oh, and do a search on this site for "how to become a photographer" and you should find MANY great answers to your question.

Answer 2

Being photographer is harder than it seems. It is sad but it isn't all about being a good photographer. You can't be a bad photographer, but often you could be just a decent photographer and a great salesmen and become a success.
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I once saw a video from a successful retired photographer. He was saying (very frankly) that when he started out he not very good. But even then he was making a good living. He said just imagine that a good photographer could go starving, but you could also imagine a bad photographer with good marketing skills eating well.

Answer 3

I have been a photographer for 40 years and never had a class on anything. I have, however, taught photography on the university level for three years while I was in college.

The only things you need to do is to find out how your camera works and find the relationship between film ISO, shutter speeds, and f stops. My suggestion would be to start with a strickly manual film camera and for the first part, shoot only slide film. The reason for that is that you have no latitude on slide film whereas if you take your standard color films and black and white films to a processor, they have enough latitude to correct minor problems that might have been caused by over exposure and underexposure, but not on focus. The slide film will indicate quickly whether you are overexposing or underexposing. Even with all the electronics in today's cameras, each will have its quirks.

You can learn the basics by simply getting a text book or anotehr book on photography that describes what y ou need to do.

99.9% of a good photographer lies within the grey matter of his brain. If you don't pick good subjects and don't have the lighting correct, you get bad photos. For this reason, I suggest that you get books showing very good photography and see how those people did it. And, I would look through books on the highest quality of art to see what the painters saw. Rembrandt is a good one to look at because no where in his pictures can you see where the light is coming in from.

If you like portraits, look at portraits. If you like landscape, look at landscapes.

When you drive around, look for things that would make interesting photographs and if you have your camera with you, stop and shoot them and take them home to evaluate.

I have a friend who went to a very good photography school. He can't even take a good passport photo.

Answer 4

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By the end of this course you will have developed an instinctive skill-for-life that will enable you to capture truly stunning photos that not only amaze your friends and family... but could also open the doors to a brand new career.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

Check out Photograpyschools.com. They have schools all over the country listed where you can request info.