Many of those who embrace photography as a hobby end up making it a profession. It makes sense to make a living doing something you love, especially if you’re good at it, too. If you plan to move from the amateur world to the professional world, there are a few things I’d like you to consider. They will help you properly orient your professional projection.
The phrase “it’s amateur work” leads us to believe that the amateur or amateur photographer produces worse results than the professional one. Does “professional” quality always mean “better” quality? Not necessarily.
- I have already explained on more than one occasion that the difference between an amateur photographer and another professional is that the former does it out of love of art.
- Out of hobby; the second does it for a living.
- That’s the only real difference.
- From there.
- You can end up with better and worse qualities in both groups.
- We have all seen excellent photographic works by amateur photographers.
- A friend or colleague.
- You see them and you are very impressed; and other professional photographers who do not achieve a minimum decent quality.
- You’re a little bit of everything.
- So remember: becoming a pro means starting to make a living like that.
- The quality of your work is already another problem.
After clarifying this point, what should you consider if your goal is to become a professional photographer?
It’s like everything else. You can jump into the pool and think “I’m a professional photographer,” and leave it all to chance. There will always be an anguished customer who will hire you no matter how you do it. Or you have the other option, consider it as a project, develop a strategy, look as a goal and start working on each of the following elements or “useful” elements to be closer and closer to the goal.
You definitely need a good SLR camera, ideally a professional camera. These cameras are usually relatively high priced, but you’re supposed to engage in professional photography, you end up loving them in no time. a professional camera has nothing to do with the quality of the photo. Or very little. Many photographers do whimsical things with entry-level SLR cameras The difference lies in how these cameras work: with a professional SLR, you work comfortably, you access most of the functions of a button through its dedicated buttons (rather than having to enter the bulky menu every time you want to change something in the settings). In addition, professional SLRs are generally much more durable and resistant, as it is understood that you will not use them occasionally but intensively and continuously.
Forget about your basic 18-55mm lens. As a professional photographer you need specialized lenses. There are specials for portraits, for sports photography, for macro, landscapes, etc. Think about the kind of photography you want to specialize in. From there, you’ll find the answer to the goals you need to buy. Even if you have to invest money in certain goals, calm down, it’s a longer-term investment. Usually, a goal will last you a lifetime. The camera body loses its value over time, new models with more megapixels, better ISO performance, etc. , come out quickly, but the lens you have there, passes the time and its value practically does not decrease.
White background, black background, interior lighting kit, light boxes, one or two flashes, reflectors. Over time, as a professional you will accumulate a good wealth of material that you will acquire according to your needs. You don’t need to have everything from day one. And like goals, the type of equipment you need depends on the type of photography you want to specialize in. Portraits often require a little more investment. The truth is that you will need a powerful flash and a good reflector almost from day one.
As you can imagine, you need a place or study to work, at first it’s not usually very defined, because if you cover marriages and social relationships, you may not need a job study as such, or at least not necessarily. On the other hand, if you are a specialist in fashion photography, models, etc. , you will have to prepare a space (which can be at home) to serve and work with customers.
Although you can master the photographic technique in a self-taught way and learn to produce beautiful photographs on your own, I will not hide that an academic study of a diploma or master’s degree in professional photography will bring you much knowledge. that will be good for your career as a photographer, in an official course of photography (in a good) not only teach you technical knowledge, composition, exhibition, editing and digital editing, but also take the dynamics of the professional world, Meet teachers who are professional photographers at the same time, you have closer and more direct contacts with model agencies, advertising agencies Etc. In a professional photography course, you receive advice on the type of photography you should specialize in, how much you should collect your reports, and a series of tips and tricks you only get through close contact with people in this world.
Without a doubt, you can become a professional photographer without having to go to a school or photography academy, but if you can afford to study a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree in photography, do so. That’ll come in handy.
You can’t pretend to establish yourself as a professional photographer and not have an online website or portfolio. An online gallery is your showcase for potential customers who might be interested in your work. You must have a type of online presence that exceeds your typical social media profile such as Flickr, Instagram, or Pinterest. There are many online services that allow you to set up your own website or online gallery as a photographer, I advise you especially one that is the one that I describe, step by step, in the next tutorial.
One of the first decisions you will have to make in your first weeks as a professional photographer is how to collect and collect, the most legal thing would be to register as a freelancer and start issuing invoice to all your customers and in all yours This means that you must register as a freelancer, pay a monthly fee (at least in Spain) of more than 200 euros if I am not mistaken , and take some money away from all your VAT and IRPF revenue.
Meeting all these requirements is a bit complicated at first because very few jobs are covered and very few seized, so it is very common to start working the first 2-3 un reported jobs, when you see that you are already starting to have a more or less stable income rate, you start to consider billing as self-employed.
In any case, and as far as I know, Spanish law states that the need to register as an independent occurs at the time you start receiving a “regular” income. In other countries, I dare not comment. I don’t know.
Update: I qualify, given the turmoil generated on social media this paragraph: I never invite or invite anyone to do black work, I don’t think that’s true. I think if you do black jobs, you’re helping build fewer hospitals, hire fewer doctors, repair fewer roads, and feed fewer people in need. I’m simply saying that, according to the legislation of each country, you may be exempt from submitting your first jobs until you reach a minimum of serious, substantial and regular annual income, which you are already starting to be required to declare, as I don’t have the details and it will be different in different countries and even in the same country from year to year , do not take this article as a reference. Seek advice from a tax expert before making a decision.
Each photographer has their own billing policy. There are those who try to offer competitive and extremely economical prices, there are those who seek to position themselves as a “Premium” option and charge a high price. Only you will know how much you have to charge for your work, as several factors come into play that only you can evaluate. To name a few:
Professional photography encompasses many genres. The choice of specialization will depend on several factors, competition is clearly an important factor, it is not the same to have to make its way in a saturated market as in an emerging market or with less supply than demand. The first thing that comes to mind is the typical wedding photographer, but the one that covers sporting events is also a professional photographer, anyone who photographs for National Geographic or Lonely Planet is a professional photographer, and the one who makes the McDonalds or Burger King posters is also a professional photographer. Some criteria to consider when choosing a specialization:
It’s today. Even now, if you like photography and want to start living with it, start now. You don’t need to invest money in photo equipment costs right now, you don’t need to have your own studio right away. a gradual process in which you gradually enter the professional world. All the hardware you need, you’ll get it on the go, you don’t need to start all from day one. All you have to do is have an SLR camera, even if it’s not a professional camera at all and you really want to focus on it, if you don’t have a good camera, no problem, there are places where you can rent a camera or lens for a few hours, etc. You don’t have a studio either? It’s okay, you can do your first outdoor sessions, in a park, or even rent a studio by the hour (leave it with the included lighting kits and everything).
You don’t become a professional photographer overnight, you become a professional by wanting and focusing all your efforts and all your learning towards this goal.
Ah, finally: if you want to do it for money, great, go ahead, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to charge for a job especially if it’s done right, but be careful, don’t think about it (but never, ever, ever) Are you a professional photographer if you have no passion for photography?If you don’t love the photo, if the shutter click doesn’t drive you crazy, if you don’t like to look for the right settings in manual. mode, if photography doesn’t move anything inside you, don’t charge for taking photos. Thanks for reading me.