Becoming a certified photographer

The competition is getting fierce in the world of photography. With so many self-taught photographers out there, clients expecting top notch work may be more selective about who they choose to take their cherished portraits and events. There are a few ways to make yourself more marketable and more authoritative in your field. I'm going to tell a little bit about what steps I'm taking to have a step up on my competition.

The first thing I did was enroll in a photographic technology program at Randolph Community College. I was very lucky to have such a great well rounded program close by. It starts with the nuts and bolts of photography, starting with the fundamentals and building on that. We have started out with film photography so we learn to slow down and think about what we're shooting, how we're composing it, and we're learning how to process and print our film. We're also learning the design elements that are so important in photography. Anyone can pick up a point and shoot but as a professional you have to learn to exercise your artistic eye and the technical aspects such as aperture and shutter speed. You may not have this kind of program close, but I'm sure your local community college has digital photography classes you can take. Do anything you can to learn to use your camera beyond the automatic and program modes.

Perhaps you already know a lot about photography and you're happy with your work but you want to differentiate yourself from your competition. If that's the case you should become a professional certified photographer. The website is www.certifiedphotographer.com and this goes more in depth about the process and how to get started. There are basically two steps to this process. You can do these steps in any order you wish. You take a written exam and you submit 20 images. These images can not be of the same subject and they must be images taken for clients. As far as the written exam, there are so many resources to help but I think the most valuable right now is www.sandypuctours.com. Right now Sandy has committed to helping 1000 photographers become certified and she is providing a lot of help. Her website provides webinars, flashcards you can download to study, and study groups in your area.

Another way to distinguish yourself is to become an award winning photographer. It helps with advertisement and lets your clients know you are good enough to win print competitions. I live in NC and the PPNC is an incredible resource to help get involved in print competitions, as well as, helping make connections with other photographers in the state. PPA is the nation's resource but I think it's better to get involved more locally.

Hope these suggestions help and that you become certified soon.