What helped lead you on the path to photography?

Check out this response from a photographer in the CareerVillage network:

"Well, mostly I decided to be a photographer because I love photography, just like you. Taking and developing pictures (I started doing photo back when it was still darkroom-based) has been something I've really enjoyed for a long time. However, it's a field that has definitely evolved a lot in the time I've been doing it, and I'm sure it will continue to change as the technology related to cameras and file saving & sharing continues to advance. I think it's important for you to know that nowadays being a photographer involves a lot more than just taking pictures--in fact, the time you spend behind the camera is probably close to the least of what you do. If you want to be a freelance photographer, you also have a lot more responsibilities to make photography work as a career, including things like: uploading & selecting the best images from a shoot; editing the images; exporting the images; putting the images on a client-accessible support (CD, DVD, website, &/or flash drive); creating albums; creating and updating a website, usually including both sample galleries and a blog; answering client calls, questions, and emails; and equipment maintenance. Depending on whether you're more interested in commercial photography or something like wedding photography or senior pictures, some of these responsibilities can vary a bit--if your clients come from the general public, you may need to invest more time & money into creating a nice website and getting your name out in the community, whereas if your clients are businesses, you may need to think of advertising ideas and pitch them to these companies to get deals.

Because of this, I decided to combine my photography with other sources of income, since I wanted the freedom to accept photo projects that sounded interesting to me, but not have to take the first or only thing that comes along. Plus for me it was getting to be a bit of a drag spending so much time in front of the computer--I realized that, as you say, I love taking pictures, but I don't love hours of digital editing. So for me the right decision has been doing some professional photography, and some other things, to make a salary.

So, long story short--being a photographer can be a great way to get to take more pictures, but you definitely have to be dedicated to make it your career! All the best getting started!"

My passion for photography started when I was 8 when I started using my father's film camera. At first I started as a school photographer and then I worked in a portrait studio. I had a desire to not just work in photography but to pave my own way to integrate it into my career in marketing. This was a slow process but the more I shared my love for photography and volunteered to take photos of the people I met the more doors opened for me. Within the last two years I have been lucky enough to integrate it into my role at Dell. Now I take profile pictures for co-workers so they can make their social media presence more professional. I cover corporate events as well which is always an adventure! For me I decided I wanted to do this because working on photos brings me joy. Meeting new people and finding ways to get them to smile and enjoy portraits of themselves makes me excited and driven to work harder.

I wish you the best for your future in photography!