photography By: KYLE HOOVER (Photo: target.com)

Why I WOULD like to be a Photographer… I enjoy taking photos very much. I have some experience in this, although I would like to expand my knowledge of photography a lot more. My Dad (Keith Hoover) originally got me into photography at a young age but I did not get too involved in it until lately. He has always taken photos but does not really do anything with them. I would rather share them with the world for everyone to see. Another inspiration was one of my close friends who somewhat jumpstarted the whole idea of actually making it into more than just a hobby. I would also like to do Graphic Design. Either career would make me very happy.

Definition and Description of photography Definition: The art or practice of taking and processing photographs. (dictionary.com) Description: There are many different types of photographers and the job description varies depending on the type of photographer. The duties that they all have in common are as follows: Use technical expertise and creativity to produce and preserve images that visually tell a story and record an event in time Decide how to best compose a subject Use various photographic equipment and techniques Capture subjects in high quality photographs Enhance the subject with natural or artificial lighting Use photo enhancing software Market and advertise their services to attract more business (truity.com)

Description continued The work environments vary depending on the type of photographer also. Some work environments are as follows: Portrait photographers work in studios but may also travel to a client’s location such as school graduation, company event or wedding. News photographers may travel and work irregular hours in dangerous situations such as war zones or other tragedies. Aerial photographers work from planes and helicopters. Nature photographers work outside in nature. Food photographers work in cooking areas where food is prepared. (collegegrad.com)

Education and training There is no degree or license required to be a photographer. Classes at universities or community colleges to get knowledge about camera settings, processes and techniques would be helpful to someone getting started. The length of time it takes would depend on how many classes were taken during a particular period of time. The magazine US News ranked some colleges based on their Fine Arts program as being the best schools for photography based degrees. Some of the rankings are: 1. Yale University and 2. Stanford University. An Associate’s degree would be fine starting out and you could take more classes to get a Bachelor’s degree as time allowed. (collegegrad.com)(usnews.com)

Education and training continued Most new photographers will work with an established photographer as an assistant or apprentice to get the experience and knowledge needed to do the job on their own. This is usually done for a time of one to two years. This could be done if they haven’t or do not wish to attend college or while they are attending college to help them. (collegegrad.com)

Opportunities for advancement To receive higher pay, for certain types of photography, a Bachelor’s Degree would be needed in the subject that would be photographed. For example: a Scientific Photographer would get a degree in Science, Biology or Medicine. Receiving a degree would be for people wanting jobs as Photojournalists, Industrial or Scientific photographers because most companies that hire those type of photographer require a degree. (collegegrad.com)(usnews.com)

Opportunities for advancement continued The magazine US News also ranked colleges for having the best programs and classes for receiving these degrees. The top ranked schools are as follows: Science- Stanford University Biology- Harvard University Medicine- John Hopkins University A self-employed photographer may want to get a degree in marketing or business to help him/her with their endeavor. US News magazine also ranked University of Michigan-Ann Abor the best for receiving a degree in Marketing. Some people may not be able to afford these colleges without a scholarship or financial aid and for them, a local community college or online university may be a better option. A good online school would be Liberty University and a great local community college in my area would be Volunteer State Community College. (collegegrad.com)(usnews.com)

Salary An average monthly salary for each would be: $3,166 starting, $5,000 median and highest $6,416. This is an average estimate of the salaries. These amounts will fluctuate depending on what the customer requests, fees charged and the number of jobs received (if self-employed). (salary.com)

benefits The benefits would depend on the company worked for. These benefits would most likely include paid vacation time, health insurance, stock and 401K retirement. Self-employed photographers would have no benefits given to them. They would have to purchase their own insurance and do their own retirement investing etc. The main benefit for a self-employed photographer would be the luxury of creating their own work hours and days to go along with their customers’ needs. (salary.com)

Aptitudes and values required It is good to have a few natural abilities when doing photography. The main ones would be to have an artistic ability and a good eye for a photographic shot. You also need to be able to use distance, shadowing, angles and color combinations to get the best outcome. These come natural to some people and through training and experience to others. Training can be achieved through mentorships, internships and apprenticeships by working alongside a professional and observing their tactics and techniques. Being kind and able to work with people to find out their needs and wants is important so that you will be able to achieve the kind of photo that they want. This will result in satisfied customers that will return to your business in the future and hopefully spread your name to their friends and family so that you will receive more customers.

Aptitudes and values required continued A good choice of camera is very important as well as tripods, lenses, and computer programs. Brands of cameras that I would chose would be a Sony model A-7s or Canon model 70D. Both of these have a lot of good functions and take amazing photos. They are in the price range of $400.00-$600.00. There is also the difference between a digital or film camera. A film camera uses film and negatives and must be developed in a darkroom. Most cameras are digital now and photos can be saved on memory sticks or flash drives or downloaded to a computer. They can be printed from a printer on photo paper. This saves the photographer time and money versus the film camera system. (photography.com)

Aptitudes and values required continued There are several settings digital cameras that a photographer will need to know and use often. Some of the most used settings and descriptions are as follows: Aperture- the opening where light enters the camera. Shutter speed- the length of time the digital sensor is exposed to light. ISO speed- this measures the sensitivity to light. F-stops- how much light is allowed to enter the lens and also pass through to the lens. Some nature photographers that I enjoy looking at photos by are: Art Wolf, Eliot Porter and Frans Landing. Some industrial photographers that I like are: Ansel Adams, Sam Haskins, and Edward Weston. I like all types of photography but these two types are my favorites.

conclusion I hope you enjoyed this presentation as much as I enjoyed making it. I also hope that you learned some things that you did not know about photography.