Becoming a Professional Photographer: Selling Yourself

Once you've built an impressive portfolio, it's time to focus on the marketing aspects of your future career. This is where a website can really come in handy. Most providers offer a low fee, but you want to look for one with a large amount of storage space, which will be necessary if you are hosting your videos. If you're not adept at website construction, many companies will do it for a small fee- maybe you could even trade someone for some photography! Once you have a site that hosts your photos, make business cards to carry around, and distribute them where they seem necessary. Leave them with tips or any time your phone number is required. Be firm but NOT pushy- people respond to confidence, not desperation.

It is worth mentioning that soliciting feedback from professionals is desirable whenever possible. This can be done informally (on a site like deviantART) or professionally (from known photographers that you admire.) If there is overwhelming opinion that your work is awful, this should not necessarily be a setback, but you should take it into consideration before presenting yourself professionally. If the criticism is mostly on your content, this could be entirely objective and purely artistic preference. If the criticism focuses on the technical aspects of your photography, however (for example: that it is poorly lit, that it is consistently out of focus, that the framing is less than desirable) you will want to consider study and improvement before you set out professionally. This will drastically improve your chances as a photographer.

Networking can help. Find communities of photographers within your area. Browse newspaper ads and sites like Craigslist for opportunities. Research going rates before pricing your services; too low could scam you and too high could scam others.

Breaking into the world of photography without a degree can be time-consuming and difficult, but it is my firm belief that people ought to do what they love. Just make sure you have a second income to pay the rent!

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