OK I'm a freshman this year and I'm not sure what I want to do,I was thinking about looking into photographer but my parents say that it will not be a good idea because of the economy but I love taking pics of people and every thing elce I just don't want to pay for college to be a photographer if I'm not going to enjoy it or if it don't pay well so if there is any one that can give me advise on weather I should be a photographer please... please tell me!
Thinks for your time

No one here should tell you what to do with your future. It's your decision.

Remember most photographers are freelance and it is a competitive world out there. You also definitely need the talent!

Anyone can pick up a camera now a days and call themselves a photographer [I hate that]. I believe taking courses in order to better know the art of photography is always best.

First you need to decide what type of photography your going to be into; such as news, advertising or fine-art photography.

Practice, practice, practice!

Develop a portfolio

Get a job to work as a photographer's assistant.

Attend workshops and seminars to remain up-to-date on technical advances in photography.

And the most obvious of all, get a camera.

Sarah

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mudweiser

No one here should tell you what to do with your future. It's your decision.

Remember most photographers are freelance and it is a competitive world out there. You also definitely need the talent!

Anyone can pick up a camera now a days and call themselves a photographer [I hate that]. I believe taking courses in order to better know the art of photography is always best.

First you need to decide what type of photography your going to be into; such as news, advertising or fine-art photography.

Practice, practice, practice!

Develop a portfolio

Get a job to work as a photographer's assistant.

Attend workshops and seminars to remain up-to-date on technical advances in photography.

And the most obvious of all, get a camera.

Sarah

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+1
It irritates me when people think that they can just grab a camera and point and shoot and automatically call themselves a photographer, I've used a photo camera before, but I don't consider myself to be a photographer, yet
You'll definitely need skill to call yourself a photographer, you'll need to know DOF (professional term is Bokeh), aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and I'd recommend looking online for tutorials on how to take photos, i.e. which position they should be, what kind of background, what kind of lighting you want, and avoid dark shadows on people's faces that most likely will ruin the picture

Practice is all you need my friend

And might I add to that, that when you think you have good photos I'd recommend shooting at weddings. I've heard that those are in high demand.

- Dx