I Hope To Be A Freelance Photographer, But I Dont Know Where To Start?

Question

I Hope To Be A Freelance photographer, and I Take great pics, ( I Will Show You Some If You Wish ) But I Have No Idea Where To Start. I have a great 10 megapixel camera, but I Am Under 16, Will any one hire me?

Answer 1

First see if there is a studio near you and volunteer to just clean up the studio and hang with the photographers.  If your school has any kind of internship program, see if they can get you an internship with a local photographer.  What you want to eventually do is become an assistant.

Then, school ... at least two years of photo classes, then get as much experience shooting as many different kinds of cameras you can ... freelance means you have to be ready to shoot any subject, using any kind of camera at any time.

So, basically

1) School

2) Experience working as an assistant or as a staffer for a large company (in the PR department) or for a newspaper or magazine.

3) While you are learning your craft, build your camera system(s).

4) Attend ASMP and NPPA meetings and network with other photographers

Answer 2

I started at your age. It was film then and darkrooms, chemicals and a whole lotta work. It still is, but the work flow is now mostly confined to a desk top, pixels and computers.

Will anyone hire you..? Most likely not - yet, but you can still - sell yourself - to different places if you apply your self and what you can do with your camera..

First. Take pictures till your blue in the face. Understand what the heck YOU and your camera are doing..!! You HAVE to have a camera that has good, honest manual controls, and YOU must understand them and know how to use them.

Under stand the relation between f/stops and shutter speeds. If I change 1, what happens and do I need to change the other, and why..? Then toss in the "film speed" and how THAT works in to the equation of the exposure and it's relation to f/stops and shutter speeds.

If all this sounds Greek, you have a LOT more studying to do first. You can NOT rely on automatic cameras to get you through a job. You can not rely on point n shoot equipment and mentality either. You will need a D-SLR some day (soon) down the road to excel in this profession.

Now, get a good 6 or 7 color printer and learn how to print. And print. And print some more... If you wanna start from the ground up you need to do a lot your self and learn, and learn some more. By offering photos (prints) to family, friends, the school, church, etc, you can also make a few bucks and finance your self to a degree. Not everyone will want a gazillion pixels on a CD. Many will want hard copy. Learn how..!

The jobs you will take can be anything, so be ready to do homework on what it is someone wants you to shoot. Freelance is just a camera for hire. You have no association to any lab, studio or group. You are foot loose and fancy free to pursue YOUR brand and type of work. You do NOT have to do everything asked (I don't do wedding anymore) but be like a photographic hit man.. If someone wants you to do a job, and if yes is your answer, do it and do it well, so be ready to do homework on what it is someone wants you to shoot.

Get in your schools photography club. The year book staff. Maybe something in the actual school offices, school paper, etc..! Same with other places you may hang out at. All this is for practice and a chance to - learn - your dream profession.

On top of all this, you will need to understand Image Editing and get your self a Image Editing Program that has some power to it. They also have a learning curve, so do it..!!! Nothing is cheap, free or easy in life except being lazy, and it's easy to see them who are... and them who are not..!

Working for a studio, camera store or like places will get you "exposure" to people, the talk and the walk. The work will be priceless in the experience alone. See if anyplace would take you on as a - go fer - or just to hang out sometimes. You just never know...

Get books, read.. Go out and try to copy what you read or saw in the books. Study a plant or a animal enuf to know it's yearly cycle, then do a photo essay on it, for a year..! (or at least a good part of it's life cycle). Show others you have the determination and will power to do something like this. It helps..!

Set your eyes on the prize and don't get side tracked. With constant work and thoughts on what it is you want to do, make almost everything you do a step in that one direction and keep on the path.

Good luck

Bob - Tucson