A professional photography career is highly rewarding since it combines individual creativity and passion with attractive pay. According to Webkick, professional photographers play an important role in the marketing by infusing a perception of quality and high impact branding. The profession is also highly versatile as exhibited in the ability to try out different media channels such as print advertising and social media postings. When you hire a professional photographer to help you market a great product using visually stunning images, you immediately raise the stakes by bringing in the perception of quality to your brand. The high resolution images can also be used to create marketing campaigns that can go a long way to attract foot traffic and increase sales.
The most popular photography genres for professionals include events and wedding photography, retail photography, travel photography and landscape photography. The must have toolkits in the photographer’s arsenal include DSLR camera and lenses, tripod, lens filter, diffuser, reflector kit, exposure meter, external flash unit, photography software, memory card and camera and lens cleaning kits. Due to stiff competition, aspiring professional photographers must invest a lot of time and effort to build a powerful portfolio. Experienced professional photographers also need to have great insights and observe professional ethics in order to prosper. According to the Digital Photography School, the key to standing out as a professional photographer lies in the following points:
1. Mastering the craft
Photography professionals are masters in the art of photography, since they understand the various shooting functions, the role played by natural lighting among other technicalities. To get the most out of the camera, professionals often push the limits by learning new photography techniques.
2. Embracing new technology responsibly
Technology is a key component of photograph. Today’s digital camera’s come with all sorts of features designed to capture great shots and enhance user experience. However, these features shouldn’t over-compensate your individual input as a professional. The essence of having advanced features is so as to enhance the workflow and not hold you back on the path to success.
3. Possessing great people skills
Skilled, professional photographers possess both technical know-how and people skills. Using the latter, a professional photographer is able to people comfortable around them and appreciative of their services. People skills also entail interacting with people, travelling to meet clients and selling photos. Since this is a learned skill, and burgeoning professional can start by putting smiles on peoples’ faces, on and off the camera.
4. Using networking to your advantage
Networking is highly critical in advancing the photography trade. Professional photographers often network using various mediums of communication from physical conversation to online platforms using sites like Facebook and Instagram. Putting up a compelling work online helps photographers gauge what people are saying about their photography. Although this may attract criticism in certain quarters, staying positive and true to yourself will end up winning you more hearts and mind, which can translate to more tangible leads.
The Ismail Sirdah Professional Photography
Ismail Sirdah is an experienced professional photographer based in Atlanta, GA. He also owns a photography studio and is a mentor in one of the top photography school’s in Georgia. Ismail started his career from humble beginnings using a small SLR camera. With passion and determination to succeed, Ismail became a photography assistant; a position that exposed him to a wide ranging photography styles. His interest was soon drawn to events photography, wedding photography and retail photography. At his photography studio, Ismail Sirdah trains up and coming photographers and has played host to numerous photographic events and exhibitions.