5 tips on becoming a photographer

December 5, 2011 | cecil 0

We are going to discuss the process of how to become a photographer. Here are some of the tips that I used to make photography a reality in my life. I realized years ago that I had a passion to TAKE photographs. This in no way means that I had any skills in the art of photography. Actually the photographs that I created in my photographic infancy actually sucked – I was using the hit and miss method of photography with lots of misses and few hits. I tried to always keep up with anything relating to photography. I would read magazines, get VHS’s about photography and ask questions of those that I knew where in the photography industry. (Okay I know I am dating myself with VHS’s but that was the tool at the time).

I had the fortune of working in downtown Washington, DC and would frequent a photography shop called Pro Photo on 19th and I streets. There I met the owner Dickron Bagdassian and immediately became friends. Dickron aka Dick and his brother Sabouh have been invaluable to me and my photographic career. Not only have they become great friends but awesome resources in the industry. So these are some of the tips that I have learned from Dick:

Identify – Find a few local photographers and find out if you can interview them. Ask them how they became a photographer and if there is anyway that you could intern or assist them on any jobs that they are doing. In choosing these photographers, it is important to find photographers in the part of the industry that you are interested in. It would make no sense in interviewing a stock photographer if you want to be a wedding photographer. Track down the best in the market and find out if you can schlep his or her equipment around. (Once you learn skills from these photographers do your very best to not compete with them in the marketplace.)
Education - For me that was joining the Professional Photographers of America and taking classes. The advantage of joining the PPA or ASMP is that you will be instructed by some of the best photographers in the world. Keep in mind also that photography can be broken into 2 categories, the art of photography and the business of photography.
Invest - Photography is like any other business, an investment needs to be made. In the beginning it might be prudent to rent equipment to make sure that it is the correct fit. It is better to invest a couple dollars a weekend to find out that the equipment is the correct match for you.
Type - When I ask prospective photographers what they want to photograph all to often I hear them say “I want to be good at everything”. I am glad that Yousef Karsch, Ansel Adams, Monty Zucker, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Annie Lebowitz, Gordon Parks, Helmut Newton, Emogene Cunningham, Richard Avedon, Margaret Bourke-White all knew what type of photographers they wanted to be. With all that is available in the industry there are so many avenues to follow: stock, aerial, commercial, advertising, portraits, event, wedding, architectural, forensic, macro, nature just to name a few. So make a decision and identify what you want to photograph.
Promote – When I started in photography I told everyone that I was going to be a photographer. I carried a 5×7 portfolio of images that I created, and showed them to everyone I knew. The word started to spread that Cecil Brathwaite is a photographer. From this promotion there were two very significant things that happened. 1. I have family, friends and neighbors ask me to take photos of them and they referred me to others. 2. I had a friend refer me to a photography studio where I landed a job as a photographer that lasted 4 years, hmmmm there is a good idea in there somewhere.