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I am self taught but I did many, many years ago and I am still working in this career field. There are books that I read at the time and a lot of them applied to film photography and you can still find them if you look but I do not have them listed in this answer. But a good one to look at is "The Complete KODAK Book of Photography". There are some links below that can help you and some tips that I give to anybody doing photography.
You do not need to go to formal school to become a photographer but you have to learn it from somewhere be it from a class room environment or from you reading and doing things on your own. Some people require the hands-on of a teacher to gain knowledge and others can understand by just reading a book so choose which would be better for you.
Depending how good you are at shooting and marketing your images will depend on your income. You can starve one year and be feasting the next.
1. You should learn the technical aspects of photography and your camera (composition, shutter speed, rules of thirds, depth of field etc), once you understand these you will be able to create better images.
2. Shoot in "M" (manual mode) because you will have more control over your camera and not the other way around. When you are in one of the "Auto" modes the camera will just read the highlights and shadow areas and try to get you a picture. The camera is not smart enough to know what you are shooting.
3. You can start reading all kinds of books on this subject and get information from the inter net. This includes web based classes, manufactures web sites to personal blogs.
4. Buy the best professional DSLR camera that you can afford this also includes good lenses. Take out your camera and manual sit down and go over all the buttons and knobs etc.. this is the best way for you to learn what your camera can do.
5. Start shooting with your camera to get practice and from what you are learning from reading and doing you will get better. Practice does make perfect. Take notes while shooting and then look at your photos on the computer find the best one from that set and see what you did to get the shot and why you like it more than the others.
6. You can get yourself a job as a photographers assistant (be it payed or free) and learn from that person.
7. My suggestion is to find a part of photography that you would have an interest in and point in that direction and specialize. You will try to produce a better image of that subject opposed to just "having" to shoot it.
8. Areas of photography include portraits, wedding, product, nature, travel, fine art and journalism. Some of these career fields require a studio with special lighting others do not but require different lenses and other equipment and techniques.
9. A good portfolio (website) will speak for itself. Just make your portfolio fit to the people you are presenting it to. Example: If showing to a bride for a wedding, remove landscapes and corporate images they just want to see wedding images only and your style. If you have a website do the same and tailor it towards your clienteles and leave the "fluff" images out.
Since you have access to the inter net here is a start: Some you have to pay for and some are free.. start with the free stuff of course.
http://www.photonhead.com/
http://www.betterphoto.com/
http://www.shootsmarter.com/
http://www.webphotoschool.com/
http://www.lexar.com/dp/index.html?cmp=e...
Studio Lighting info
http://www.studiolighting.net/portrait-l...
Photoshop classes
http://www.russellbrown.com/
http://www.photoshopcafe.com/tutorials.htm
http://www.dphotojournal.com/category/tutorials/
Just in case you need info on a degree
http://www.photographyschools.com/
Hope this helps,
Kevin
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