Do you have to go to school to be a pro?

[pdechavez]

Im a business administration marketing college student with a VERY BIG interest in photography. I can't really switch courses now since I love my course. Do you need to go to college for applie photography to be a pro? And how high do Pro photographers get paid?

Thanks!

 

[Doylem]

Im a business administration marketing college student with a VERY BIG interest in photography. I can't really switch courses now since I love my course. Do you need to go to college for applie photography to be a pro? And how high do Pro photographers get paid?

Thanks!

No, you don't need to go to college... but you've got to learn pro habits somewhere...

Pay?? How long is a piece of string?

 

[HckySo]

Anyone can buy an expensive camera, take photo classes, and call themselves a pro (and yes, some people do). The best way to really learn is experience whether it's your own or as an intern or assistant or something of the sort.

 

[Trajectory]

With some study and lots of practice you can be shooting like a pro, if you have a good eye for composition and design.

 

[ChrisA]

Im a business administration marketing college student with a VERY BIG interest in photography. I can't really switch courses now since I love my course. Do you need to go to college for applie photography to be a pro? And how high do Pro photographers get paid?

Thanks!

Anyone can be a "Pro". There are "Pros" who will shoot a wedding with a Point andShoot for $50 total (prints included.) these guys make about $40 a week. It goes up from there. But it's kind of like being a musician. How much do they make? Most need day jobs if they want to pay the rent but some get rich. Photography is very, very competitive.

What would be your market? What kind of images would you sell and to who? Can you shoot 100 marketable images a week? or even one a week? In some genre of commercial photography you can bill a client $60K for a shoot but those are huge productions involving renting studio time, hiring models, makeup artists, and so on. These guys will have quite a bit of capital tied up in equipment too. But if you are just some guy with a Nikon SLR, well there are a million others just like you.

the first step is to build a portfolio that is targeted to a specific kind of client.

There are some mundane areas of commercial photography. Look at all those thousands of product shots you see in catalogs. t-shirts and running shoes, rice cookers, silverware, light bulb, potted plant and coffee cups. Lots of work to be done there. For ever guy shooting a model for a cover shot there must be 50 guys doing products.

 

[seenew]

You don't NEED to go to school, but it sure helps you get experience, advice, and connections.