How to become a professional photographer

October 4, 2018 By Emily Dews With 0 Comment

In Blogtober / Business / Photography

Do you ever go out on an adventure with your camera and wish you could spend your life taking photos? Well, here’s how you can do that.

1: Learn how to use your camera PROPERLY.

I don’t mean learn how to take a decent photo using your camera, I mean go back to the very basics, in order for your photography skills to develop and for you to be an expert in your field, you must know your camera inside-out.

Knowing the principles of photography will really help you when it comes to taking professional photos. You need to be completely comfortable shooting on manual mode.
ISO, shutter-speed, aperture, depth of field are all keywords that should be engraved in your mind.

2: Train your eyes

Train your eyes to see everything as if you are looking through the viewfinder…this will help you pre-plan all of your shots, enabling you to take better photos.

When you see something you would like to photograph, imagine exactly how you would like it to look once you have the final outcome, now that you know how to use your camera properly you will be able to take the photo to best match your vision.

3: Explore the possibilites

Which genre of photography is your favourite? You probably don’t even know yet, because photography has such a large variety of different career fields it can offer.

Below are just a few of the very many different genres that you could explore:

Fashion
Portraiture
Documentary
News
Editorial
Event
Studio
Medical
Forensic
Boudoir
Conceptual
Aerial
Astrophotography
Architectural photography

If you already have a full-time job, you could try combining photography with you current profession, if you’re a chef, why not try food photography? If you’re a makeup artist, why not try beauty? If you like the idea of portraits, practice on yourself first, self-portraits are very challenging and can be as creative as you make them! OR try something completely out of your comfort zone.

It’s very likely that you will fall in love with a field of photography that you never even imagined you would like.

Exploring the different genres can open up so many doors, one minute you could be taking a photos at an event, and then you may realise you were happiest when you were taking photos of the scenery and architecture around the event…focus on what you enjoy, but explore all fields so you can find which one you love.

4: Choose a field

Once you have found the genre of photography that you love the most (after exploring the different fields), focus on that and grow your knowledge about that particular area, keep updating that knowledge because technology is constantly evolving…and so are photographic trends!

Every different style of photography requires different equipment, for example; if you love taking landscape photos, you will need to purchase a wide angle lens (trust me…you won’t regret it!), for events…the 50mm lens comes in very handy, food photography…your clients sometimes want you to get super close to the food, so you may need a macro lens. So make sure you have the correct equipment for your chosen subject.

5: Practice. Practice. Practice.

In order to become a successful photographer you need to take as many photos as you possibly can!

I always remember this quote from when I studied photography at Uni “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson.

The more you practice, the more you develop your skills and grow…but I wouldn’t read too much into the number that Henri Cartier-Bresson quoted, your first 10,000 images may not technically be the best but they may be your most thought-out because you’re learning, your brain is working hard to work out how to achieve the perfect shot! Within those first 10,000 photos was the moment you thought “I want to spend my life taking photos”, so while they may not be technically the best, some of those images may be the most important.

I remember reading that quote at uni and thinking when will I get to the point when I have taken 10,000 images? 10,000 photos is not that many! Especially in a world of smartphones…on my phone alone I have 8540 photos, most of them of my dog haha! I dread to think about how many I have taken since I started my journey as a photographer but whenever I look at a photograph I have previously taken, I try to imagine the moment I took it. Why was that moment so important that I felt the need to document it? What was I feeling in that moment? Can I see my emotions in the photo? The photos that mean the most to you are likely to be those where you remember the exact moment you pressed the shutter…and these moments only happen if you keep on taking photos!

6: Post your photos on social media

The world is social media mad and everyone is on social media these days, your future clients are on social media. Show off your skills to them! Make them notice your work.

Without social media, Emily Dews Photography would probably not be as big as it is now, I have got to the point in my career when I meet people I have never met before and they will say “You’re Emily Dews, I have seen all of your photography online” I can’t begin to explain how happy it makes me feel when I hear that, when people recognise you because of something you love, it’s an amazing feeling, and I know…I completely bug the world of social media with all of my photography, but that’s how I learn to develop my skills, people on social media give feedback. Feedback helps you grow as a businesswoman\businessman.

Don’t be afraid to post your photos, and don’t worry what people think of your work, photography is art and art is subjective…but use the feedback people give you to help you experiment more, you might find out that they have given you a tip that develops your skills further.

7: Make a website

The first step is to buy yourself a domain, make sure it’s either your name, surname or business name.

Your website will become a huge part of your business, so make sure it looks just as you want it to before you start advertising it, make sure it matches your branding. Update your website regularly, post a blog and make sure you have a strong portfolio of images on your website! Avoid posting pixelated images on your website, it looks unprofessional and remember to post your website on your social media platforms!

I hope you found this blog helpful and feel free to send me any messages with questions about getting your photography business started!
Good luck and remember to enjoy taking your photos!

Emily x