I was just asked what steps a brand new photographer should take.
Here’s what I came up with:
1. Get your gear together and shoot a lot.
2. Work on your post-production skills.
3. Develop a portfolio strictly of “WOW” (high-impact) images.
4. Get a good, but simple, website together to show off your work.
5. Shoot ALL of your friends and family for free.
6. Make sure EVERYONE knows what you do and what you are trying to accomplish.
7. Put yourself out there on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
8. Get a blog. Put some photos on it.
9. Shadow, assist, and interview a lot of photographers locally, nationally, and Internationally
10. Cruise the photography message boards/websites to glean information from other photogs.
11. Join a professional organization like WPPI, PPA
12. Go to local seminars
13. Go to national conferences
14. Join a group of local photographers
15. Figure out what field of photography you want to specialize in.
What else can you think of?
Ohh this is coming at a Great time for me. I’m trying to do most of your suggestions already =)
Thanks for affirming me that I’m on the right track!