Info on becoming a professional photographer

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.

1. 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.
   
   
2. 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.
   
   
3. 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.
   
   
4. 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.
   
   
5. 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.
   
   
6. 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.
   
   
7. 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.
   
   
8. 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.
   
   
9. 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.
   
   
10. 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.

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