Hello. I'm going to start taking photos for people and charging them. I was wondering if I needed a license or permit or something to do this? 'cause I don't want to end up getting in trouble for doing this. So any help would be great. (:

Depending on where you live you will probably want to be licensed or at the minimum have a business license to protect your personal assets and to provide insurance. Right now, I would probably not worry too much about it is this is going to be basically a cash business.

In My Experience a business license doesn't provide the business owner with anything - it is a tax by the city and nothing more. The rules for licensing when you don't have a public business location (e.g. a studio) vary from place to place. Don't count on the city to give you the correct info, they usually say a license is required even when it isn't. Your best bet would be to ask other photographers in your area.

If you want to go into business for yourself as a photographer you can get a business name, tax id number, and perhaps join a photography association. It's better to check with a government website as to setting up for yourself. You can check this out with a professional photography association. Alternatively you can ask other professional photographers in your area as to what they did when they set up their studios.
Best of luck!
Amy