Everyone is a photographer these days. With today’s smart phone camera quality, anyone can get an amazing photo. But at what point did I call myself a professional?
Photo by: Zaina Mahmoud
We all start somewhere. Photography above all starts with a true passion - a passion to capture our most special moments or a passion to transform an ordinary day into an extraordinary memory. To be able to turn this passion into a business takes a tremendous amount of determination and drive as well as the hunger to constantly improve and broaden your skill set.
It takes time. This time meant researching techniques, photography classes, playing around in Photoshop or Lightroom, but most of all getting out there and shooting. I Photographed anything I could and got comfortable with my camera, different lighting situations, and various subjects. Nobody’s photos become perfect overnight. I started with the basics. I Learned about different camera options, and what different shutter speeds, aperture, and ISO did to my images. Even photographers who have been in the business for over 10 years will tell you they are constantly learning new things.
Something I had to learn and what I will tell anyone who is trying to get into the business is: Be in love with your own work. I built up a great portfolio. I got opinions from friends and family on where I could improve and what they liked about my photos. When I got “wows” is when I felt I was getting somewhere. The most important “wow” however, needed to come from myself. This is when true value came to my work. Once I felt confident enough with my work that clients could expect high quality images from a session is when I felt I was at the right stage to turn my passion into a full fledged business.