Aspiring Professional Photographers

Are you thinking about getting into wedding photography? Are you actually thinking about getting into photography in general? The old saying goes, photographers are a dime a dozen! But what does that mean for you as a start up photographer wanting to break into the industry?

There are a few things you need to know before starting your photography ventures. The first being, are you really going to devote yourself to the necessary learning and practice that it takes to become a professional photographer? Do you even have a creative eye, or are you just entertaining the idea of having a creative eye? The truth is, most people do have ample capacity for creativity, but not everyone's is suited in the same genre of expertise. Some people may have a creative ear, others a creative hand, and some a creative eye. Are you someone who can see with creativity? Don't kid yourself. Be up front and brutal about who you are and if you're even cut out for photography because not everyone is, and yet, it is still highly competitive.

How are you with your composition? Do you get good angles? Do you capture the right moments? Of course, different types of photography require different mindsets. Portrait photography requires more posing and you can take your time, but wedding photography puts the pressure on. Either way, you still have to be able to capture those angles and be able to pose people for the right effect in front of the camera! You can definitely tell how good a photographer is by how beautiful their pictures come out, but don't be totally naive. Photographers do have to have the eye, but some post shoot editing always comes into play. If you're really thinking about getting up there with the big boys you're going to have to get a photo editing software. The most popular is Light Room 3 by Adobe (who else!). But you're best shot is still to get as good as can pre-editing so editing takes less time and it says more about your photography!

The third thing you're going to want to know about is how to differentiate yourself from the rest of the photographers in your area, and so being, in your target market. How are you going to beat the competition? Is it going to be through awesome ability? Talent can get you places, but unfortunately that's for the top 1%. Even if you do have talent, you're going to have to market yourself in way that says "I'm the best", "I'm unique", "I deliver high quality". Like i said before, being talented in this industry just isn't enough to get you noticed. It's going to take marketing, and unless you want to take a long time to get noticed, it's going to take aggressive, creative marketing, as well as fundamental internet marketing. Word of mouth is the most common form of photography marketing and it tends to capture different social circles, leaving no monopoly for any 1 photographer. Get creative! You have to get yourself noticed!