how to be a photographer

Many of my photographer friends say just take pictures constantly, 100/day

Go to the library! Check out some books about basic photography. Read them and learn about the technical aspects. Learn about basic things like aperture, depth of field, the rule of thirds, etc. Then practice, practice, practice!!! Take as many photos as you can. Analyze your photos... What do you like about them? What don't you like about them? Post your photos on different websites (try deviantart.com and flickr.com) to get some feedback.

I think you mean without undergoing any photography course. OK, there are many photographers out there who learn their skills well, outside the classroom. The first thing you need to do us to know your camera. Whether you plan to use a DSLR or point and shot camera, the foremost lesson is to know your camera well. This can help to make your learning easy. You will know when to use certain lens and when not to. You will also be able to see objects through the lens creatively. After that, you will be able to practice capturing images using your camera well. These will be your skills. Of course, you will need to learn the image retouching skills. There are books and magazines to help you.

I would suggest that you get a notebook and kee track of you shots, what your camera was set at, what mode you used, what were the settings etc. You can then review your photos and see what yo liked and do not like about your photos. Spend lots of time taking photos of things you are interested using the different functions of your camera. Above all Have Fun with your Camera.