What courses should I take to become a professional photographer? Is there any online courses or do I have to go to a school?

<p>I'm debating on learning more about photography, and maybe eventually becoming a professional. Are there any online classes I can take? I have a local community college that offers classes but it would be much easier for me and my family if I would be able to take some online classes. </p>

<p>It all depends on you. If you are extremely (and I mean extremely) self motivated, you don't need classes in photography. Online can work, but you don't usually get the feedback of a face to face critique. Some community colleges offer excellent programs, but some can be weaker than a mediocre high school program.<br>

Also, photography will be an extremely difficult and expensive career. If you can't afford a community college, you will probably go into the field poorly capitalized. This is a very quick way out of the profession</p>

<p>Business 101.</p>

<p>This<br>

http://www.nyip.edu/about<br>

has been around for quite a while - you can even find the books for old courses in thrift stores as a very cheap option!</p>

<p>Amanda, forgive if I sound rude, but the 'dream' to become professional passes often, and it's more often than not just not a very practical dream. It seems so attractive, turning a hobby into profession. It's not that easy.... it's a crowded market, so you really need to know how to promote your services, how to run the business side and get sufficient jobs in to pay the bills. John H's answer is not a joke: it is the course you probably need most.<br>

There is a second thing to it; I've been lucky enough to turn a hobby into work, and that gradually has changed the hobby to a profession (no, it's not photography); it's fine for paying the bills but my spare time, I prefer to focus on other things. I still enjoy what I do, but it's different. You need to ask yourself if you want your photography to head this way.<br>

For friends, I've shot wedding photos which gave me a tiny little insight on how that kind of work goes. It's certainly different from being a hobbyist - it's still a nice activity, but there is quite a level of stress: you must get the right images, and no second chances. No fooling around and experimenting too much. For myself, I've decided at that point it's not a career option for me, ever. I'm happy not being professional - I'm still dead serious about learning and becoming a good photographer. One doesn't exclude the other. Why this long into? I mean this just as a little precaution: it's a real job, with real stress, and you're really running your own business. I'm *not* saying you cannot or should not become a professional photographer, but do think about it, because it's not just a matter of "really liking photography a lot".</p>

<p>Learning more about photography: the <a href="/learn/">learning section here on p.net</a> has some good stuff to get started on the basics; maybe you already saw those. Are there specific areas of photography that interest you, specific styles you would like to know more about? What level do you reckon you have now, did you already follow courses or similar? There are loads of good sites with tutorials, courses, and equal amounts of useful books, for all kind of levels and topics - so it could help narrowing down a bit.</p>

<p>I've been an enthusiastic photographer since childhood. Let's call it around 40 years. Spent some time working in a high-end studio (portraiture, mostly), and have done odd-job gigs all along. It was very nice to be working professionally in another capacity, the better to pick and choose the creative photography projects (and occasional paid gig) as the mood struck me. I'd still prefer that, I think. But lately I've been getting more and more busy with commercial imaging work (as much with video as stills), and the comments above are of course exactly right: it's a job. With real stress, real paperwork, real legal issues, long hours, big expenses, lots of hustle, and only once in a while, some actual photography. All of your post production time is in full-on crush mode (deadlines! deliver that finished work NOW!), most of the creative aspects are driven not by your tastes, but by the client's needs and artistic direction (which can sometimes be just awful).<br /><br />All of that real-world stuff runs the distinct risk of poisoning your love of photography. If you want to be a professional, what you have to have is a love for running a BUSINESS that happens to practice photography. John's recommendation is dead on: you must become a thoroughly capable entrepreneur, excel at time management, completely understand the legal, tax, contract, marketing and technical issues, and at least early on, be willing to operate at a loss. Without significant financing from a loan or investor, this usually happens by working a full time job and using the proceeds not for your daily latte or new clothes or an occasional vacation or nicer place to live, but to fund your second job. Think in terms of 100-hour work weeks, perhaps for a year or two, presuming you get things going faster than most people do. <br /><br />This is NOT me trying to talk you out of it. It's just a bit of reality. I know hard working professional photographers who absolutely love what they do, and make a good (enough!) living at it. But photography itself is only a very small part of being a pro.</p>

<p>New York Institute of photography<br>

<a href="http://www.nyip.edu/">http://www.nyip.edu/</a></p>

<p>Lynda online Photography courses:<br>

<a href="http://www.lynda.com/Photography-training-tutorials/70-0.html">http://www.lynda.com/Photography-training-tutorials/70-0.html</a></p>

<p>Photo Shelter<br>

<a href="http://www.photoshelter.com/?gclid=CP6ZgsOMzcECFc1_MgodUEQAwg">http://www.photoshelter.com/?gclid=CP6ZgsOMzcECFc1_MgodUEQAwg</a></p>

<p>Kelby Training<br>

<a href="http://kelbyone.com/">http://kelbyone.com/</a></p>

<p>Even photography and business courses may not be adequate. </p>

<p>A photography course might make someone an expert photographer, and a business course might make someone versed in business rudiments, but having these requisite skills only means you have a competitive advantage over someone less qualified; it doesn't mean you'll necessarily make it.</p>

<p>I would encourage anyone with professional photography aspirations to take Tina Seelig's "<a href="/photography-education-forum/Tina%20Seelig%20$5%20challenge">$5 challenge</a>". It's a simple exercise where one is challenged to develop a plan to make as much money as possible with $5 and in two hours.</p>

<p>The exercise expands the meaning of business by highlighting the importance and necessity for entrepreneurial innovation, and although this type of thinking is normally associated with the tech industry, we can actually observe it successfully applied in the photography industry through the many YouTube personalities, photography bloggers, and others taking advantage of available resources to facilitate their photography business development. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Dip your toe into it gradually to see if it's what you really want to do. That said there are plenty of books at any library good for beginners. Also it's best to spend what money you have initially on equipment instead of expensive classes until you feel you've got your camera gear where you want it to be and have gone as far as you can learning on your own.<br>

So you need to buy:<br>

1. camera gear<br>

2. a fast computer with lots of ram<br>

3. a good high quality monitor and calibration equipment<br>

4. good software like Photoshop CC and what other specialized software you feel you need. <br>

5. a good printer</p>

<p>After you have all of this then worry about classes.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p><em>"it would be much easier for me and my family if I would be able to take some online classes."</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>If you are self-motivated and a willing learner, a viable alternative to online classes are the many photography (free) courses posted on YouTube. You can then complement those courses with resources offered on photo.net, for example, where you can ask questions and receive help from a competent community of photographers. <br>

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=photography+course">https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=photography+course</a></p>

................learning more about.......:and maybe eventually becoming a professional.........

 

People are giving you all kinds of advice about how or how not to go about it, but you haven't even said what

you mean by "becoming a professional".

 

Do you mean you want to open a physical studio with a camera room and your own in-house lab and you

intend to do 50 high dollar portraits and a maybe ten or twelve 7 or 8 thousand dollar weddings a year ? Or do

you want to be a professional commercial/heavy-industrial photographer working only outside on location and

delivering finished work to clients only on digital media? Or do you want to be a professional wildlife

photographer freelancing to publications and/or a "national geo" type photographer professionally

photographing tribes in the Amazon jungle ?

 

Each of those fields, all of which involve professionals doing professional photography, involve drastically

different skill-sets, equipment, and different approaches to every aspect of their operations. I at one time was

a partner in a very large studio operation doing the "high ticket" portraits and weddings I described, and in the

20 some odd years since I sold my partnership in that studio, I have done freelance wildlife work, and still do a

goodly amount of heavy commercial/industrial location work. And the only similarity that any of those three

professional photography businesses I have been involved in have, is that they all involve me using a camera.

 

Settle a little more specifically on what field of professional photography interests you, and then go knock on

the door of someone working professionally in that field and offer to buy em a coffee or lunch and pick their

brain. The really good ones love to "mentor".