I want to be a photographer, but where do I start?

hello You can start taking pictures with your cell phone, next you buy a high pixel digital camera, start shooting land scapes, people around you, soon you will enjoy.. Thanks for sharing. Welcome always, cheers. Professor. .

The camera itself doesn't really matter. Try to find one that is digital (you are going to take a lot of pictures and this is cheaper, in the long run, than developing film; plus it gives instant feedback)and that lets you change the aperture and shutter speed. Changing ISO is a plus but not mandatory at your level. Taking classes is a must, but before you put money into it, try doing some research online for free classes. There are a ton of sites such as http://photo.net/learn/ and www.morguefile.com that offer free lessons you can play around with and learn a lot from. If you still find your interest piqued, then continue on with paid classes. www.betterphoto.com has some excellent classes, but they are not cheap. You received excellent advice on taking the business classes as well. Too often we think that just being able to take pictures is enough, but we really need to know the business side as well. It's not fun, that's for sure, but without those classes we will never succeed. Good Luck!

Do you yet have an idea what kinds of photography that you like and want to do? Or do you want to do some of everything? Sometimes the equipment that you need is dependant on what you want to photograph, but as the previous commenter said, you don't need anything "fancy" to start out. Just the right equipment for the job. Also, do you want to start off with digital or film?

is taking a few courses an option for you ? I took a few classes in college, I found I really like it as a hobby. I also took a "business of photography" where we learned the ins and outs of the business along with what kinda of contracts to use and what not. The text book was called "business of photography" As for a camera, as a beginner you don't need one with allot of bells and whistles . invest in a good name brand camera, save up for each piece of equipment you'll need, which at the beginning will be a tripod, which aren't expensive and a good flash. Start off with family parties , build a portfolio. On a nice day just go to the park and shoot what looks interesting to you. If you have a chance to take courses do it. I took a black and white photography class and can't believe how much the black and white adds to a photo , we even learned how to develop in a dark room. I don't recommend that its hard and i didn't get any pictures until late in the course often times i ruined a whole role of film. you will really wow yourself if you just go and start taking photos. Start with people doing natural things, kids playing people cooking I really loved just capturing moments in my family's everyday life. one of my favorites is of my cousin tying her shoe and looking up at the camera, in a beautiful black and white. Start simple most of all try all different kinds of pictures to find your style. and have fun with it

to really learn the intricacies of photography, i would recommend that you enroll in a basic course. aside from learning the basics, you will meet other enthusiasts which will hopefully make you be more interested in it and sustain your enthusiasm. it helps to be with people who are into the same thing. so the first thing you need is to buy a camera that has lots of manual control not the automatic type so a basic DSLR is a good one such as the Canon 450 or 550 or Nikon D5000. you will need the manual controls to be able to manipulate these and use your camera in different situations. good luck.