How to Become a Professional Landscape Photographer

Landscape photographers capture outdoor images.

Professional landscape photographers produce photographs of natural scenes for publication in calendars, magazines, travel guides and other publications that cover outdoor living. Landscape photographers generally run their own freelance business, although some may find employment with organizations that have an interest in landscape. Landscape photographers operate a mobile business and do not require a studio.

Instructions

1. Choose cameras and lenses that will operate reliably outdoors. Select wide-angle lenses that enable you to cover panoramic landscape shots. Use a tripod to ensure quality images on panoramic shots. Take a photographic course at college or university to improve your technical and image manipulation skills. Choose a four-wheel drive vehicle to ensure that can reach remote locations in difficult terrain. Carry plenty of spare batteries and a battery charger when you are working on an extended project.

2. Identify the type of landscape that you want to cover. Choose scenes that are popular with buyers, as well as photogenic locations that have received little coverage by photographers. Contact travel magazines, tourist bodies and publishers of travel guides to obtain details of areas they want covered or to offer your existing photographs. Look for opportunities to work with travel writers on projects for tourist bodies or magazine publishers. Your work will stand a higher chance of sale if it forms part of a complete project. Contact travel editors as well as travel writers, including examples of your work.

3. Submit copies of your images to photo libraries. Libraries negotiate fees with buyers on your behalf and retain a commission on the sale. Sell landscape prints of popular scenes from a gallery page on your website. Offer different print sizes, including large sizes for panoramic images. Offer photographs to calendar and postcard publishers as well as publishers of landscape prints. Approach galleries that hold exhibitions featuring landscape photography.

4. Register your business with the appropriate authorities. Search the website of the U.S. Small Business Administration for information on your requirements for licenses. Apply for a sales tax license so that you can sell prints from your website.

References

• U.S. Small Business Administration: Search for Business Licenses and Permits
• American Society of Photographers: Mission Statement
• New York Institute of Photography: How to Photograph Landscapes