Well as the title says, I am a teenager and I love photography. I am quiet interested in becoming a photographer for a magazine. Possibly cars since I love those too :) So I'm just asking for some tips. Should I go to an art school? Or would just the Community Colleges courses and the photography certificate be fine? Is it viable to shoot digital in the professional world? What is a way to get myself out there and get a job? I don't want to be a freelance photographer really. I'd like having a fulltime job with a company. Any help is appreciated. I am getting kind of depressed without a real thought of my future ahead. I'm sure this is what I want to do but I am not sure as how to become it. Thank you Rosity you are like a second father to me. :D

G'day Mate....sorry I can't advise...but...I am an old Bugger who picked up the Camera late in Life. To start Young....and, being what You really want to do....I wish you well....and hope some of the more Professional Folk will steer You in the right direction. Cheers and good Luck with your Future.

Attached Link: http://www.nickdimbleby.com/car.htm

hi, i think it might be good for you to talk to a career counselor, as well as some those who get paid to shoot professionally. here's a link which might be helpful. Click Here! wish i could help. But i do wish you all the best!! Good luck i your endeavors! :)

try to get a job as an assistent by a photographer or designer in advertisment photography. !!!!!!!!! #:O) !!!!!!!!!!!!

My friend who has now been a pro for some 35 years got a job as a dark room assistant, maybe theres not so much call for that these days, but go looking for a pro tog that may want an assistant.

assistant is the way to go!! :]

Certificates and diplomas can't really hurt - but what an art director is going to look at is your images - and they don't really care to see the same images that your teacher offered them before she decided to teach instead of do. A "Fun-Time" job with a company comes with a whole lot of restrictions - all of a sudden, you're shooting photos that the company wants and your own vision gets lost - yes, you're into the photographic field you wanted - but all of a sudden you cannot shoot what you want to shoot - you've become a puppet to those who have no creative vision (that's why they're in the position they're in - can't do, so they tell others how to do....but they can't really "do' so they don't know what's to be done - if you get my meaning.) Yes, by all means, get involved with a shooter who is in the field you want to get into - but, more than that, build up a portfolio of your own images - with your own style - and submit them regularly to publications that encompass your particular field of interest. The majority of them will be returned, but you will hit one here and again. Eventually you will build a name in your field and have a bit of clout - working with someone else or not. Best thing to do is keep shooting - do it for yourself, not for the career - that's what will get you there. Wolf

Thanks for the input everyone. It means alot. How many images should I put in my portfolio? Or should I just keep adding. My girlfriend and a couple friends who are in bands are going to model for me! So at least I have the support!

There is no limit to how many images you should have in a folio (within reason) but with as much variety as your style allows. Good luck.

Unfortunately Wolfie has hit the nail on the head. A design job of any kind isn't so much fun when someone else isn't just telling you what they want, but how they want it to look - even though you know it won't look right and they'll probably blame you for that too.... I went through that with a company when I was in training at 17 using Quark etc. to design adverts and got sick of it so fast it's unreal - I totally went off it as a hobby for a few years. Someone I know got to know a local photographer at her sisters' wedding, and ended up going to shoots with him for a few months to see what it was really like - might be worth a try having a word with a couple of them so you see what the whole job really means, warts and all. (",) btw, good luck whichever way you go, and don't worry about making a lifelong decision at your age - I'm 35 and STILL don't know what I want to be!!

There you have it from the original tell it how it is guy JordyArt For what its worth I'm 37 and havnt got a clue either.

and i'm 41 and still don't have a clue....

Another thought... Check to see if there are any local "Artist Guilds" or "Photographers Guild" that that you can join. Not so much so for a 'certificate' but for meeting and networking with people in the field. Great for building contacts and people who 'know' people. Some also allow for free admission to local attractions that are ripe for photographers attention. Best Wishes Thomas

Or you could just be a very naughty boy and continually stick LRPS after your name........ (",) Disclaimer : Mikey does not in any way condone this, or similar, actions.

There's several British magaines which concentrate of computer graphics stuff (and which I've mostly bought for the stuff on cover CDs). I can't give you any exact pointers, but they have had articles on portfolios and how to avoid the common mistakes. It's worth checking. There's another side to arts courses -- learning the context, and the language people use to describe what they want, and what they're trying to produce. How do you tell a model to move in a particular way? Things like that. There's really two sorts of professional work. In one, you're trying to make something which you can sell later. Freelance landscape pictures that you could later submit to a calendar manufacturer, for instance. Stock photography in general. In the other, you already have the customer, and you have to satisfy them. Sometimes you have scope to try something new; some wedding photographer had to do a particular cliche the first time. But you have to provide the customer with what they pay for. The Stock Photography side is where you can experiment. You do not want to deal with the Bride's Mother when things go wrong.

JordyArt -> Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society? Heh. Looks fairly impressive. :)

Yeah, it looks impressive, and that's for a reason. It takes work to get there... I know you probably realise I was joking, which is good, because I could definately NOT condone mis-use of such a title. Mind, when you earn it I'll be among the first to congratulate you ;-) (",)