In truth, many professionals in the photography business have a degree in photography from one of the different photography schools, art schools with a photography major, or press photographer education at journalism schools, etc. Programs like Professional Photography, Digital Photography, Mass Communication, and Graphic Design are among the offerings at colleges and universities for a professional photographer degree.

But what I am focusing on is the possibility of photography experts without basic training and with another full-time job who want to live their dream of being a photographer. The individual history of now well-established photographers shows a diversity of career paths as photographers, but here I will first emphasize the potential of beginning a photographic career as a part-time stock photographer.

If the dream is to become a photographer and the question consequently is how to become a photographer, this could be a risk-free opportunity for the committed amateur photographer who wants to change their life situation. As the stock photography business is a very dynamic field, it can be difficult to give persistent advice, but let me try anyway.

How to Become a Photographer Through Work for Stock Photography Agencies

Photographers’ income from stock photography has been under attack for years, but the type of photography that best maintains income and position is related to published photography by up-to-date models with a focus on lifestyle and with a strong conceptual mood.

As that is also an area where it is more difficult for the general hobby photographer to deliver professional quality, I highly recommend this field as the point of focus for the potential full income professional photographer. Photo submissions to one or more of the professional photo agencies for this type of stock photography will be able to direct the person who wants to become a full-time professional photographer.

This will come through continual improvement in your shooting style, as stock photography is a tuff market with a fairly quick response to trends and buyer requests. At the same time, these photos can generate enough income to support additional training to become a full-time photographer.

Let me stress that I cannot recommend the potential photographer to participate in micro stock agencies. They pay very little and you will have too many images circulating in cyberspace without having enough control over their use.

My advice on lifestyle photography may not make you happy as your dream was to become a wildlife photographer or a similar specialization as a photographer. It doesn’t matter, include those kinds of stock photos in your submissions to your chosen stock photo agency and let the sales reports tell you what to focus on. But remember the lifestyle photos.

Commissioned photography as an alternative to stock photography to become a photographer

An alternative to the above approach to becoming a stock photographer is to focus on the needs of individual clients and develop a reputation as one of the few freelance photographers available for special photographic needs such as:

– Filming of special events in a company.

– Private weddings for couples who cannot afford to hire a fully professional wedding photographer

– Photography for small business websites, including product photography.

– Pet photography, since many people have their pet as their most valuable companion in life. Pet photographers who specialize in taking pictures of dogs, cats, hamsters, birds, etc. of people. might be able to do very well.

– Equine photography. Like pet photographers, equine photographers could earn a decent income part-time as a path to becoming a full-time photographer. Equine photography sessions can often be scheduled on the weekends, making it easy to combine with a full-time job.

The beauty of this answer to the question of how to become a photographer is that some of these types of photography can be combined with submitting selected images of commissioned work to stock agencies; just keep in mind to get all the types of releases needed.

Well established areas populated with many party photographers, school photographers, travel group photographers, etc. it can be difficult to go deep into it, unless you have the courage and want to do it. Running a portrait studio can also be a difficult part-time area, but offering portraits etc. in people’s homes it could also be an option.

Conclusion: Becoming a photographer through a commitment to stock photography might be your best option.