A Complete Guide to Becoming a Professional Photographer in 2022
You’ve always been captivated by pictures and the story they tell.
Your pictures get a lot of appreciation from family and friends.
You spend hours browsing the latest DSLRs online.
You’re the designated photographer of your group.
Sounds like you? Then you may be drawn towards professional photography.
For some, photography is just a hobby. But, you have decided to move beyond Instagram filters to pursue photography full-time.
Yes, social media platforms make photography look easy. But from being a hobbyist to becoming a professional photographer is a journey that needs time, skill development, and lots of experience.
Ready to become your own boss and start your professional photography journey? Here’s how you can become a pro in 2022.
- Know Your Why
Photography isn’t just about capturing a beautiful moment and calling it a day. Professional photography involves plenty of technicalities combined with creativity. It is also a highly competitive field, so you need to have a strong sense of purpose and drive.
Before getting into the hows, ask yourself a few questions:
- What attracts me to photography?
- Is this a field I want to make my career in?
- Am I willing to put in the hours to acquire skills?
- Which genres and styles do I like the most?
- Take up a Specialized Course
Now, photography isn’t a field that needs years of structured education – unlike medicine or engineering. But, you still need to get educated!
If you are serious about pursuing professionalphotography, enrol yourself in a short course that focuses on imparting relevant skills and training. Look for institute that offers an industry-focused professionalphotography course that trains you on everything from the basics to advanced concepts. At the end of it, you get the training you need to start your journey as a professional.
- Discover Your Niche
If you are fairly new to photography, use a course or an internship to understand where your interests lie.
Do you like clicking objects or are you more of a portrait photographer? Do landscapes catch your fancy or is wedding photography your thing? Figuring out your niche is quite important so you know exactly where to focus and where to find your market.
However, this is something you don’t have to nail down at the beginning of your career. Give yourself time to learn the basics while thinking about your areas of specialization.
- Be a Part of the Community
This means attending and participating in events, exhibitions and seminars related to photography where you can get a chance to learn from industry experts.
Keep an eye out for internships or freelance opportunities to gain exposure. Make use of social media platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn to connect with professional photographers. These people will be a gold mine of information for a beginner. You will find many who will be happy to help you. Use them to learn how the industry really works!
- Practice, Practice And Practice
You know what they say about practice making a man perfect. Reading about photography is all well and good, but at some point you need to put your education to practice.
The more you shoot, the more you know about the fundamentals and your own weak areas. Practice every day and experiment with different settings on your camera to expand your imagination. Another thing to be good at is editing. Familiarise yourself with the latest software like Lightroom and Photoshop. A lot of the magic happens after you’ve captured a moment.
6. Know your equipment
Being a good photographer means you have an extensive knowledge on your equipment. If you have the money, it is best that you invest in top quality equipment like camera lense, lighting, memory card, tripod and different models of camera. This will allow you to effectively enhance your skills and explore various photography styles. If you’re a beginner and don’t have a budget for equipment, you can try renting equipment from Brooklyn Grip and Electric and learn all the techniques you need for your photography.
Get to know your camera like a close friend if you want to make it big in photography!
Final Word
Professional photography is a competitive industry, no doubt. So, you will have to be really invested in refining your skills, be it through an internship or even a professional course.
Ultimately, your work will have to speak for itself. Learn the basics and start shooting to take a leap towards your dreams!
