I’m speaking to you today about what it takes to be a professional photographer in today’s world on the portrait side of photography such as weddings, family portraits, high school seniors and so on. I enjoy other types of photography as well but have the most experience and knowledge in portraiture.
With the technology of today’s digital SLR cameras and the prices of a decent starter camera coming down, every day more and more people have purchased these low end digital cameras and set the dial to automatic, begin shooting and BAM they’re a professional. We all have the luck in capturing a great photo once in a while where all the conditions were just perfect giving us a false sense of having that eye for photography or thinking “Hey I could do this Professionally” But a true professional can create a great photograph consistently every time, anywhere anytime.
Let’s examine how to get there:
While there is a bit of truth about having an eye for photography, it’s more about having a passion and acquiring knowledge, training and having the right equipment to get the job done!
Passion:
Either you have it or you don’t. I can put a camera in your hand but if it doesn’t feel so comfortable that is a part of your hand and an extension of how you see and want to share the world, chances are you aren’t going to be passionate about it. Passion causes you to soak up like a sponge everything you can that pertains to what you are passionate about.
Training:
Probably one of the most important things to becoming professional is to learn from a professional. Find a well respected photographer and see if they are willing to teach you. There is only so much you can learn from books on the subject you need to touch it feel it and do it. Most professionals are probably not willing to take the time to teach you but if you’re persistent you can find one who is. Again make sure their work is quality and they are well respected. I learned everything I could from a pro that has been in the portrait business for over 30 years. I would drive 60 miles one way to help him in his studio. I watched him work and I assisted him with lighting both in the studio and outside. I asked a million questions about posing, composition, lighting and everything in between. I took hands on classes and workshops and asked him to evaluate my work and I kept my ego in check and listened to what he had to say. Even today I still ask his advice and get his opinion.
Knowledge:
Not quite as important as hands on learning but very important. I attended classes in college that were in photography and art, after all photography is a form of art and expression. I continue to read books and watch videos on the subject of portraiture photography.
Equipment:
Camera’s and Lenses:
While a beginning camera kit is a good start, the difference in a photograph captured with a plastic lens and a quality glass lens is measurable. It really is in the glass (the lens). The camera body is important but not as important as the quality and type of lens you shoot through. For example the difference between a 70-200mm plastic lens and a quality 70-200mm glass lens can be as much as several thousands of dollars. Professionals realize the benefit and are willing to pay for the quality.
Lighting modifiers:
A professional knows how to manipulate the light to get the results they want in creating a professional portrait: Soft boxes, strobes, high powered off camera flashes, reflectors, diffusers, gobos, grids, and more should all be part of everyday lighting control of a professional. The difference between a snapshot and a portrait can be in how the lighting was modified.
Charging for your work:
Of course besides our love for photography we might want to sell our work right? Before you try asking a price for what you do consider this. People in this business who charge money and put out marginal or poor quality work are destroying the profession! Before you put a price on your work ask yourself this:
Am I consistently creating a quality professional portrait every time?
Am I using professional quality equipment to get the best possible results?
Can I adapt to any environment and still create quality work.
Do I have enough knowledge and training to be confident in what I’m doing?
A brief summary of what you should do:
(1) Learn from a pro and pay your dues learning composition, lighting, posing, and attention to details.
(2) Take classes and workshops and learn as much as you can.
(3) Keep investing in improving the quality of your equipment.
(4) Do TFP work until you can create great work every time. Time for Prints (TFP) is a way you can practice and practice and practice getting better at creating quality output. Basically you find someone who wants photographs such as a model and you need experience photographing people so no money changes hands you just trade their time for your photographs. I recommend you do a lot of TFP before you ever charge. When I first started, I did TFP work with well over 100 subjects.
(5) Create the scene, control the light, pose the subject, create the composition, and take the shot.
(6) Practice doesn’t make perfect, Perfect Practice makes perfect!
(7) Be patient; pay your dues, being a pro is not a few weeks or months but many years of doing it right!
Good Luck!
