How to Become a Photographer

Series Summary

Photography is the art of making pictures by exposing film or another medium to a timed flash of light. The basic equipment used for photography includes a digital or mechanical camera equipped with a flash and film or a memory card. Mastering the art of photography is a technical and challenging experience. One has to learn how to focus the lens, control the aperture of the lens, filter the light, the importance of the focal length and the duration of the exposure among other things. In this series of videos, you will learn how to produce pictures using the techniques of photography. An experienced photographer demonstrates examples of the many tips and recommendations on what it is like to be a professional photographer, as well photojournalist tips and techniques. Taking pictures is a great profession to explore. Get these tips and many more in these instructional video clips, and start taking pictures.

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Franc Anderson, I'd like to talk to you about, how to become a professional photographer. In my generation, perhaps it would might have been a lot easier. I began as an enthusiastic amateur, I went on courses, I took a lot of photographs, I was very motivated personally. These days however in a very competitive society, it's far more advisable to go to college, to go on a photography course, or if not that, and perhaps you can go to a related arts course, say in fine arts, to go on a short one year two year course in photography. And from there, you can attempt to build a portfolio, which you can of course patiently take around every magazine, every professional that you can find, it requires a great deal of dedication. And you'll have to be very resilient, because they'll be a lot of refusals. Another avenue is perhaps to try to become an assistant with a professional, in which case you will be trained in the use of the equipment, how to market the work, and perhaps most importantly of all, you'll be able to meet a very wide client base. And if you're lucky, you'll be able to borrow equipment from the professional, and be able perhaps to begin to build a base of your own, from which point you can, if you can get the investment, if you can borrow the money, and resource yourself with the equipment, you can branch out on your own. In parallel with the academic aspects and the professional aspects of becoming a photographer, it's very advisable to look at the old masters in photography, and in painting, so that you become familiar with composition, with the possibilities of organizing an image. Perhaps the most important thing is to actually take pictures, there's no substitute for experience. Take pictures of everything that interest you, your friends, your family, your surroundings, anything. You need to get familiar with your equipment so it's second nature to use it, it's very important. And just keep trying, because sooner or later, you're going to make it."