How to become a professional photographer

Dave: So the question is what are some good first steps to get started in a photography career – and it’s a great question. Obviously, it’s a fairly daunting task to say, ‘I’m going to be a photographer’ because it’s not an industry where it’s strictly regulated in terms of accreditation or anything, so you’re sort of going in saying, ‘what am I going to do? What am I going to be? How am I going to prove myself?’

As artists, we all have insecurities, so [when it comes to] that first step to get into the industry, I think the best thing you can do is find people’s work who you admire, study their work, try to be inspired by it and certainly drop people emails and see if you can tag along for shoots, assist, carry bags – I think that’s a great way to go. How about you?

Taylor: I guess the way that I started out was from bands and stuff. I was just growing my network to as many people as I possibly could so that everyone was aware that I was definitely a photographer. If I ever showed up to parties, I always had a camera in my hand, and I just kind of re-enforced that image even in that early stage. My branding I got correctly even though I was completely unsure of what my brand was going to be down the road.

But definitely a good first step is to get a nice solid website even if it is a flash template which probably isn’t great, but at least for searchability on Google. It’s nice to have a professional presence, a nice place for people to go to, and it’s much better than a Facebook fan page [and] that type of stuff – I think at least. It’s nice when used in conjunction with [Facebook], but [not alone].

Dave: Yeah, absolutely. In terms of representing yourself as a photographer, I think [it’s important to have] something really solid and [consistently] updated. When people see a blog, they know it’s fresh because they can see a date right on it, but with a website, it’s like ‘when did this photographer shoot these images?’ So I think having a really decent blog is a great way can people interact and create an emotional bond with you.

Taylor: And it’s really helpful for couples – it really disarms the “unknowing” aspect of it where a couple doesn’t know you yet. But , if you’re updating your blog regularly, at least they know you exist as a person and hopefully there’s some of your personal input on the blog. They get a better picture of who you are just generally through your photos – like travel [and] stuff like that. I know that’s always a big topic whenever I’m talking to people. They’re always like, ‘Oh you were just here or here’, and it’s just a nice little conversation starter that I think really helps people connect with you.