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Completed this assignment for my Photography course, here is a little bit of information one may want to know when playing around with the idea of becoming a professional photographer.
What makes someone a professional photographer? What
qualities do you think a professional photographer should have? A professional photographer is be
defined as a photographer who is paid in one way or another, whether this is
through stock photography, newspaper journalistic photography, or
freelance photography for a news or online blog. The qualities that a
professional photographer should embody are professionalism in the way the
photographer acts and represents themselves; professionalism in the way a
photographer communicates with not only the subjects and people that one
is working alongside but also in the way they may run their business can
be equally as important.
What are three different types of photography? Which
type do you think you’d most like to focus on? Why? Three of the main types of
photography are commercial photographers, forensic photographers, and journalistic
photography. Out of these three choices the one that I would most enjoy focusing
on would be journalistic photography; I would most enjoy this option, as I
am deeply interested in acquiring a college degree in and pursuing a
career in journalism.
What do you think would be the best and worst aspect of
being a professional photographer? Why? I believe that the worst aspect of
becoming a professional photographer would be the amount of money required
if you were to open your own photography studio, especially in marketing and
initially getting the word out when you may not be making a large amount
of money instantly. However, the best aspect of becoming a professional
photographer would be that you would have the ability to explore your
passion of photography; especially if you are able to join the field of
photography that you find to be most interesting.
What tasks or responsibilities would photographers have
if they owned their own business? The tasks and responsibilities that
photographer must take into consideration once they opened their business,
would initially be marketing the business and getting the word out in
order to generate a flow of people and thus money. The photographer then
would also have to be aware of the condition and upkeep of equipment in
order to ensure safety in the workplace. The hiring of employees would
alleviate some of the responsibility of keeping the work area tidy and
safe if tasked with the job of doing so, but the photographer must also be
aware of the costs in hiring an intern, clerk, or janitor.
What is the job outlook for photographers? What factors
are influencing the job outlook? The job outlook for photographers
is forecasted to climb as the population increases and as more newspapers,
magazines, and companies increasingly require a place online for
photographers. The outlook is also expected to continue being a
competitive field as more and more cameras are released which are user-friendly
and able to produce near professional level photographs. Factors that are
influencing this job outlook are population increases, demand for
photographers in news, magazine, and online company websites, along with
the consistent release of easy to use and increasingly cheaper cameras
being released to the public.
What are the educational or training requirements for
becoming a professional photographer? What options exist for individuals? The educational or training
requirements for becoming a professional photographer vary, largely
depending in the job area you wish to work in and the position you will be
taking in this area. If you acquire a university degree your chances are
largely increased in finding a job in the photography field, however if
you wish to start your own business in photography, or want to be a
freelance or stock photographer, a degree is not as common. A good idea
and option for a person aspiring to become a photographer but one who
lacks in training or education in photography would want to look into
becoming an intern for a studio or company. In this example, the studio
would give the photographer training while the photographer either helps
around the studio or does what the owner asks of them, often discussed at
the time of allowing the intern into the studio to train.
What are the steps to becoming a professional
photographer? The first step to becoming a
professional photographer is to have an interest in photography; without
an interest in photography, the photographer in question will not have a
passion for developing a photograph of interest or value to the clientele.
The second, and likely most important step, is to determine which area of
photography the photographer will want to work and develop a career. Acquiring
a university degree in the relative field of which the photographer wants
to go on is recommended but not necessary, and largely depends on the
position that the photographer wants to go into. Once the photographer has
finished these steps, the next option is to either begin the competitive
job search for a studio looking to hire, or to start up their own business
studio and begin marketing the studio in order to begin interest and foot
traffic into the business.
What is stock photography? Do you think you’d like to
take stock photographs? Stock photography is a type of
photography in which the photographer will take photographs of a wide
variety of things and submit them to a stock photography business, which
will then take the photograph and moderate it if required, and then will
begin the necessary licensing agreements dependent on the clients’ needs
on their website. Yes, taking stock photographs would be a great option; this
would be great as it would allow a generation of income and further the
start of a foothold in the photography business.
What do you think is the biggest challenge for
professional photographers? The biggest challenge that appears
for professional photographers seems to be like many beginning business owners,
the initial traffic into the business is what can get the business to a good
start. Without any initial marketing or advertising of any sort, the
business can fail because it will fall into the shadows and generate such
a low amount of traffic that the business cannot possibly succeed. A
professional photographer starting out should not rely on word-of-mouth to
get the business profitable.
How do the careers of freelance and salaried
photographers differ? Which one do you think you’d prefer? Why? The career of a freelance
photographer and a salaried photographer widely differ; a photographer in
the freelance area will only procure money when the photographs are used.
The freelance photographer is very common in news and some magazine companies;
the cost of paying a freelance photographer to procure a few photographs
is drastically less expensive than to pay a salaried photographer an
hourly wage to acquire photographs. Salaried photographers will often work
normal hours, which can be in a photography studio or sometimes out of the
area on an assignment to get a certain story. Salaried photographers are
also hired by newspapers to set out and find stories but are less likely.
Magazines and websites are more likely to hire salaried photographers; an
example of this would be National Geographic, which hires photographers
and journalists to traverse the world to get their story. After scrutinizing
at these facts, a salaried photography job would be the best choice if
possible.
This blog has moved to a different URL! Go to
http://themaxreviews.blogspot.com/ for more. Please click one of the
following links to check out my other reviews or blog posts. Have a great
day!
