Should You Go to School to Become a Professional Photographer?

Introduction

“Did you go to school for photography?” I have been asked this question countless times over the years of being an outdoor travel and wedding photographer. My answer may come as a shock to some but the answer is; no, I did not go to school for photography. Strangely enough, I actually went to school for engineering; chemical engineering to be exact. After getting to my senior year of chemical engineering, I decided I no longer wanted to pursue that degree. When I left school, I took up photography as a hobby. I would go on trips and take photos of the adventures my friends and I went on. Fast forward a few years and I am now a full-time professional wedding photographer. Instead of paying to travel, I get paid to travel and I love every bit of my job.

So, should you go to school to become a professional photographer? In short, no, there is no need to go to school to become a professional photographer. In this article I plan to go in depth on my reasoning why this is true. While school may be a necessary step for certain professionals, it is a waste of both time and money for those looking to become a photographer.

A photography degree means nothing to clients

If you want to become a doctor, engineer, CPA , or lawyer, a degree is a complete necessity. However, to become a professional photographer one only needs experience, motivation, and a good business plan. I cannot tell you how many times I've been on the job and been asked by other clients or guests at weddings how I became a professional photographer. The most common question I receive is, “did you go to school for photography?” It is always amusing to see people’s reactions when I tell them no; but it has never once been an issue nor point of concern for clients looking to hire me. In fact, most people respond by saying “oh, ok” or “dang, that’s awesome!” and they move on. I'm completely convinced that there is no need for anyone to get a degree to become a photographer. If paying clients do not care that I don't have a degree, why should you get one?

Schooling can ruin creativity

An interesting side-note I wanted to include in this article is that I've had the opportunity to either work alongside or have interviews with students who have gone to school and gotten a photography degree or at least taken photography classes. I cannot say it is universally true, but I've noticed that these students lack creativity and live by certain “rules” that they were taught in school. It may sound harsh, but when I interview people who say they went to school for photography, I see it as more of a negative than positive thing. Early on, I had a handful of students who looked at my work and said that it was not “good”. Their judgment of my work was based on the rules they learned in school. They had fallen into the trap of turning something that is subjective and should be viewed with an open mindset into something that can be measured objectively. It may sound strange, but the longer that I've been doing photography the more I've come to realize that the enemy of creativity and art in general is objectivity.

One of the largest problems that I have with schools in regard to photography is that many teachers grade and judge student’s work subjectively based off of an objective set of rules instead of looking at at it with an open mindset. I think that it should be impossible to put a grade to a piece of art. Instead, I feel like grades that are applied should be based off of effort and creativity. After all, what one person might find subjectively or objectively ugly, another person might find beautiful.

When is school, I remember learning about the famous painter, Van Gogh. In his day, his work was found to be ugly and was judged harshly by the people and fellow artists of his time. However, over the years his work became revered and to this day he is regarded as one of the most famous figures of Western art.

Humankind is inherently subjective in the way we look at things; some people more than others. It is something I constantly try to keep in mind when looking at other’s work. In fact, when people ask me to give opinions on their work; I almost always decline. I tell them that “judging” their work is simply impossible unless they give me a basis to judge it against. If they say they want their work to look like mine or someone in particular then it is much easier for me to give my opinion or thoughts.

Why spend thousands of dollars for something that can be learned for free?

One of the more straightforward and logical reasons why I would never recommend that somebody goes to college for a photography degree is cost. Community colleges tend to be less expensive than universities; however, getting even the most common degree costs thousands of dollars. If you go to a university to get a degree it can cost tens of thousands and could even hit hundreds of thousands of dollars. The best thing about photography is that everything you need to know can be learned for absolutely no cost.

So, where can you learn how to become a photographer? There are almost limitless options. When starting off, YouTube is a great resource as are online articles and communities of photographers. One of the best ways to learn anything is by learning from those who are better than you. One of the most helpful tools I came across when starting off was Instagram. I found photographers in my area and met up with them. Some of them I only met with once as we did not have a good connection while others proved to be good friends and mentors. You would be amazed what you can learn from other people. Even to this day I learn something new every now and then. I am wholeheartedly convinced I will never know everything there is to know about photography and I love that.

Now, back to the question of college and money. Do you know what the best part about not going to college to get a degree in photography is? You can use your money to buy gear and get your company started. Do you need a professional full frame camera and crazy gear to get started? Absolutely not. For a very long time, I used only one lens and a crop frame camera that was nothing special. If you're curious about some good starting gear, make sure to check out my article on Best Photography Gear For Beginners in 2020. It provides all the best options and info for those looking to acquire their first bit of photography gear to get started. As you start to make money with photography, you can re-invest into your gear and build your “arsenal”.

Colleges do not teach students how to grow a successful business

When going to college for engineering I had a revelation one day. College is great at teaching people book smarts and head-knowledge but is terrible at teaching people real life applications and things that are actually useful. One of the most crazy things I found out about my professors was that they had never worked a day in the field. All of them were either unsuccessful or only wanted to teach. They were very book-smart individuals, don't get me wrong, but they had no actual job experience. This trait was also evidenced in many of the students in the engineering program in general. I'll never forget the day when I asked a couple electrical engineer housemates to change a light fixture in our house. I left for class and came back two hours later and all they had done was disconnect the light fixture from the ceiling. Their books were sprawled out on the kitchen table and they were all standing around trying to figure out how to connect the new light fixture and power it. It was simple red to red and black to black wiring with a couple screws needed to secure it to the ceiling but they over complicated it. After giving them a hard time they told me that they were electrical engineers, not electricians so I told them I would take care of it and 10 minutes later the light fixture was installed.

Now what does this have to do with photography? Let me ask you one thing, do colleges teach students how to build a successful business? Sure, if you're a business student you should know at least a little on how to start a business but can you take that knowledge actually apply it to the real world? If you are not a business student or did not take business classes, chances are you will never learn how to start a business especially a successful one. I can certainly say I never learned how to do that myself in college as an engineer. Everything I have learned has been on my own through reading books, watching videos, and asking those who are knowledgeable (again, everything I have learned in this area has been completely free). I actually wrote an entire article on Starting Your Own Photography Business - My 7 Step Guide To Becoming A Full-Time Professional that provides detailed steps I took to become a full-time professional. The best part, even this information is completely free!

Conclusion

I did not write this article to dissuade people from going to school. I believe school has its place and is an integral part for many professions. However, I do not believe it is for those who wish to pursue being a photographer. We live in the information age and so much of what you would learn in school is available for free online or through the experience and guidance of others.

If you have questions on any of the topics covered in this article, feel free to contact me. If you would like to see some of my work, make sure to check out my wedding portfolio. Thank you all for reading along and I wish you the best!