How to Be a Photographer Lesson 1

The first thing you need to do when starting out as a photographer is do an equipment check. What type of things will you need to do photography as a hobby or professionally? If you are just starting out and doing photography as a hobby, you can most likely keep things simple.

Here is a list of things you may need as a hobbyist:

• Quality, but less expensive Digital Camera, at least 4-6 mega-pixels. (Check out Sony Digital Cameras)

• Memory card. (You can find these cheep 512MB or 1G is the standard)

• Camera bag, for extra items; lens cleaner, lens brush, filters, extra memory cards, etc.

• Small tripod. (Totally optional unless you plan on doing a ton of knight photography)

• Computer or photo printer

• Software for digital imaging (Usually you get a free program with your camera software)

For professionals you may need a few more things:

• High-end digital camera 6 mega-pixels or higher (Check out Canon, Sony Cyber-shot series, or Nikon)

• Memory card that holds 1-2 GB of images. This will allow you to have a couple 100 images on the highest quality settings.

• A lighting kit (Check out eBay, there are some really great deals)

• Reflectors (Again, eBay has loads of this type of stuff)

• A good high-power flash. I bought a Canon 550EX a few years ago and it is still going strong.

• Photography books on Lighting Setup and Working with Models.

• Studio to shoot or a couple good outdoor locations. (Studios can range from $500 to $2000 a day)

• Computer with large amounts of storage. I use a 500GB external hard-drive.

• Professional imaging software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

How To Take Great Portrait Photos

Did you know that taking great photos doesn’t require you to be an expert photographer?

You may or may not agree with the above statement, but I truly believe that taking good portraits requires more than technical skill. I’ve seen some of my photos get hundreds of reviews and great feedback, but yet I’ve never claimed to be an expert. I’ve got a good eye for art and what I want to see, but I know that other professional photographers are better than me. I’m not going to try to prove anything here, I just want you to be confident and know that you don’t have to be a pro, to get good photos. Here are a few tips to get you going.
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