Can you become a freelance photographer online? Do you need some sort of education or can you use free online lessons?

Answer 1

My best advice would be to take a camera, any camera, including an iPhone, and photograph what you would like to photograph, what you see around you that touches you, whether it is positively, or negatively. Do it, again and again. Learn who you are through the lens, and learn what it is that you want to say. And ask someone to mentor you, a photographer who does things you feel close to, someone who inspires you, a figure. If creating is what you want to do, books are not the best way. Taking pictures is what matters. You will become a photographer by taking images. Millions of images. Educating yourself about the technique is important when you feel like you need to understand a technical issue you cannot solve and need to, to move forward in your art. Educating yourself about photography in general, like learning about the history of photographers, and about the masters, is a double edge sword. Every photographer you are going to like might start having a strong influence on you. It will take then a lot of effort to not repeat images that you liked. To find your own voice, your style, your signature. A photographer is someone who has a point of view, unique and extremely personal. Photography is about doing, it is a very intimate process, and most personal. Free online lessons are useless as often quite mediocre and an open door to learning bad habits from scratch. Surfing the internet and looking for answers is not the way. Again, the best way to learn is to take pictures and to find someone you trust to comment on them and to work hand in hand with this person along the way. Someone who listens, who understands, and who gives you the right advice.

Answer 2

While it's not unheard of for a person to quickly develop a talent for photography without classes or any formal training, life gets much easier if you learn the basics from someone. It doesn't have to be a formal setting, like a class from a college or camera store; there are tons of tutorials online. YouTube lets you learn techniques from experts. Sites like www.fstoppers.com have articles and videos to develop and sharpen your skills as well as review photos to help spark your own imagination. There's even a group on Reddit that offers a 30-day photography course proctored by professional photographers. Or, keep it offline with books. (I recommend DK Publishing books, www.dk.com.) Once you develop your skills, start looking at the works of other current photographers such as Steven John Irby (aka Steven Sweatpants), Annie Liebovitz, Andreas Gursky, and David Ingraham. Emulate them. Experiment with settings. Use their images and styles to spark your own creativity.

Lastly, have fun! Photography is like being retired and someone's paying you to have fun!