Advice about a career in photography?

[tuthutop]

I asked this question in careers recently and only got two answers so I'm asking it again in photography.

I'm considering taking up a career in photography. I say this not because I have had any experience in professional photography but because I love photography as a pastime and I want to earn money doing something I enjoy. I also think I have a natural ability to take a good shot and I understand the principles and workings of a camera.

What first steps do you think I should take? What questions should I be asking myself? Is it possible to earn a decent amount of money as a photographer? What are the main areas of professional photography?

[Michael]

very tough field. nowadays every dodo with a digital cam thinks they are a photog. overall the standards of quality are way down in the USA...honestly. IMHO those tv shows like top model, the shot, etc depict photogs as button pushers. not much talent there, sadly. also, I have not seen another photog who does what I consider real photography...re: retail-Seriously, big mgmt companys, model houses, etc are tough....and glamour shots & picture ppl are only studios nationwide besides kmart, sears, etc??? yuck. think you can get a gig at Playboy? No. You wont. I am portrait artist- work in LA-OC-SD california...usually shooting ppl, not places or things. Main problem for you (& all of us) lies with amateurs taking $peanuts$ to do bad weddings, zed cards, etc and ruining the name of the true QUALITY artist. who wants to do work for free?

unless you can carve a real niche for yourself and can hang for awhile without much income photography should remain a hobby.

cheers!

[psyonika]

first step is to look into a class at your community college or some comparable thing, and take it. go from analog to digital and everything in between and ask yourself if there is something else you'd rather be doing. consider that you will not always be taking pictures of what you want to, because you need to do this to make money. there are areas you can make a lot of money, and there are areas that you better be damned sure you love what you do, because you aren't paying that water bill this month. if you are looking to have a steady income with this, i'd look into weddings at first because people are always getting hitched and rehitched, or while you are learning, take a job in a portrait studio ie picture people or something, because they don't require you have a degree and you can get used to shooting and posing. there's fashion/editorial, which is harder to get into but once you get your foot in the door you can network like crazy. in order to get your foot in the door though, you generally need to find someone whose career and work you respect and assist them. you will have to work for basically free but if you really want this you need to just grin and bear it and earn respect.

these are all pretty much related to taking pictures of people because i personally hate pictures without people in them for the most part, but there's also landscape/travel, etc.

but seriously i say this every time, GO TO SCHOOL. if this is worth spending the rest of your life doing, it's worth putting in the time and effort to go to school. because school REALLY prepares you for all the crap that will come your way in this business.