Photographer Beginnings

[marttinb6]

I am curious to know how some of you professional photographers got into the business and your motivations behind it.

I was going to school for pre-law/liberal arts but was so uninterested in it that I have put college on hold for the time being.
I have been into photography for awhile and only now coming about to actually maybe do something w/ in the photography field. I've been looking at some schools and seeing what is out there and my choices, it's something I'm pretty excited about when I haven't been about school in a long time.
So what I want to know is what was some of your majors were and what school you chose and why.

Also, what inspired you to become a photographer? Was it a dream that you had for a long time or dfid you fall into it somehow and how has your career come along? Are you pretty happy/satisfied with your choice?
Just curious, think this would be fun finding out some personal history.

[PhotosGuy]

General Info (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=667830)

[JWright]

My suggestion... Go back to school and get your law degree. You'll make a lot more money in the long run and be in greater demand as an attorney than you ever will as a photographer.

To answer your original question, I am mostly retired but I do a bit of contract work for a couple of aviation publications. I got into that pretty much by accident. I was at an airshow a couple of years ago and was shooting near the media. I was "plucked" out of the crowd by a writer for a monthly general aviation newspaper and asked if I would shoot some pictures for him as he had dropped his camera and broken it.

I obliged and when I submitted the images to his editor, I asked if they needed someone in my area to cover events for them. One thing led to another and I now cover several events a year for them. This year, I was asked by a contributor to a different publication if I could cover the Red Bull Air Races in San Diego for his magazine as he couldn't do it this year.

It doesn't pay much, but it's something to do and it finances purchases I wouldn't normally be able to get. My last check paid for the registration on a used truck I just bought...

[timbop]

It's good that you are evaluating what you really want to do, as many people wait until they have the degree (and the loans) before changing their mind. You should pursue something that you are passionate about, but as mentioned you also need to realize that photography can be a tough way to make a living. For me photography isn't my prime career, which is something you might consider. I do it part time for extra money (and because I enjoy it), but my primary source of income is as a software engineer.