How to have a career in Photography
It is possible for you to do anything that you put your mind to. Is that what you always heard when growing up? Whether from a parent or other guardian or just your big brother or sister, and even maybe a friend, someone has given you some words of encouragement regarding your future in America . After all this is the land of opportunity, what we do with it is another story. In order to be successful at something you must like what you are doing. It makes it very difficult to be successful when you have to struggle with something in which you are not interested.
Photography is very interesting to me as you always have so many subjects and areas to choose from. You will never run out of subjects and ideas if you are truly looking for them. You can pursue a career in photography that focuses on different areas such as nature (which is what I like), sports, technology, reporting, modeling, or others areas of interest. The great thing about a career in photography is that you can do it in your spare time as I currently do. It can be a hobby to begin with and then gradually progress into a career or even just a second income. I have never had any formal training in photography nor have I even taken the first class. I simply just got a camera and started taking pictures. However, if you are serious about a career in photography you should either attend a formal college course or at least take some classes on you own such as those offered at betterphoto.com, that by the way are completely free.
You can get a statistical outlook on a career in photography by visiting the U.S. Department of Labor bureau of labor statistics. Simply perform a search on any major search engine and you will find the link for the statistics site. The site will list several different avenues that can be taken in a photography career. Some that are listed include; Portrait photographers, Commercial and Industrial Photographers, Scientific Photographers, News Photographers (also called photojournalists), Fine art photographers, and then Freelance or self employed photographers. All of these provide some rewarding employment opportunities but it takes a special skill and desire for each photography career field.
The earnings are not the greatest out there by far as there are other higher paying jobs in the career fields available in America . However, when you do something you like you will be rewarded in more than one way. A career in photography does not mean getting rich it means maybe being rich in what you do and love. If you enjoy capturing moments that you have never seen before or that you may never see again then a career in photography may be just right for you. If you enjoy capturing emotions of people laughing, crying or of excitement then a career in photography may be for you. When you go hiking through the woods and see a special scene or something that amazes you about God’s creation and you want to show the whole world, a career in photography may be for you. If you like to pay attention to detail and find things in the micro worlds that are all around us then a photography career may be just right. Are you attracted to the center of the action and want to capture it in real motion to show everyone later what happened, you may be headed in the right direction.
So much has changed in the world of photography over the past 50 years and the advent of the computer. Computer and transistor technology has made digital cameras capable of taking pictures and storing them on removable media in much less time than developing. Not to mention developing film has nearly become a technology of the past because of digital printer technology. If you think you may be interested in pursuing a career in photography, first get a cheaper digital camera and try it out for a while. Then if you feel that it is something you may have a nacht for then try out a higher performance camera. You may find that you can do a lot more custom things with the higher end camera that you only wished you could do with a regular camera.