What do you do if you're unsure which photography specialization is right for you?

First identify your passion. Is your passion photography or is it the subject you choose to photograph. If it is photography, you will enjoy the challenge of photographing various subjects, styles, and challenges.

1.Shoot Every Day. 2.Learn from Masters by studying their work. 3.Practice & Edit same day. Start writing your thoughts and make a visual narrative to it.Your work should have feelings and expressions.

Explore Light, Subject, & Technique. You can never know too much. Art can still happen by mistake but nothing happens if you don’t try.

I try them all and get advice from the best in every field. Knowledge will guide you; experience will charm you to what fits you best.

That is a very hard question. Not many people get to choose which type of photography they want always. I assisted mostly Product Photographers and Magazine Photographers. A lot has to do with clients. When I started I developed a relationship with a Color Print Lab. Product Photography is what they printed. It became very lucrative. So yes I would have loved to work for Avedon or Penn or so many of the other greats. With 3 kids and a mortgage It was a no brainer. Now that i have been in the business for 40 years with no kids I can do more of what I Love. Street Photography (My Passion).

Any genre requires specific skills, which need to improve. For example, if you are shooting portraits and you love to catch a mood, you need to improve your personal approach skills. For shooting portraits, it's crucial to have portrait fix lens, because the results comes the best. For example: *35mm *50mm *85mm You must set your camera settings for portrait style. Try to work with manual level to have a chance to balance SHUTTER SPEED, APERTURE and ISO in any situations. Therefore, when you decide what you want to shoot, you should also develop your skills in this direction.

Piensa primero en las habilidades y gustos que no tienes, eso te ayudará a descartar: - No te gusta caminar, no te dediques al paisajismo - No te gusta estar encerrado entre cuatro paredes, no te dediques a fotografía de producto - No te gusta relacionarte con personas desconocidas, no te dedique a hacer retratos - No eres perfeccionista, no hagas macrofotografía ... y así un largo etcétera... Luego piensa en las habilidades que si tienes como persona y las comparas con las habilidades que requieren los géneros fotográficos que han quedado en tu lista... siempre recordando que especializarse es fundamental, pero no por eso debes dejar de explorar y estudiar otras opciones.

Identifica que se te da mejor, donde te gusta estar para hacer fotografía, para que encuentres la fotografía que puedas disfrutar más. Todo esto ayudará a que te sientas mejor haciendo fotografía. Si tienes alguna debilidad en una técnica, estilo o uso de equipos, puedes tomar formación en esos puntos y buscar practicarlos hasta que los domines.

I’ve found that getting into group shoots or organized shoots locally helps quite a bit. Personally I went to many organized shoots that were free and to pay such as wedding, portrait, retail, animal, nature, architecture, and action.

Reflect on your existing photography skills. Are you better at capturing candid moments, composing landscapes, or working with studio lighting? Recognize your strengths and areas for improvement.

Of course, the genre you choose should fit your lifestyle as well. For example, if you love to travel, do not choose to cooperate with companies who wants to shoot only in the specific city, because neither you nor they will be stable and the cooperation will be unsuccessful. Also, there are genres in photography that constantly require innovation, need to travel, get to know different cultures, meet different people. There is a lot of companies, which collaborate with photographers, who travel, they sponsor them and etc. So approach this issue carefully, because it determines your success in your specific genre.

Think about your lifestyle and preferences. Some specializations require travel, outdoor work, or interaction with people, while others may involve studio setups or post-processing. Choose a path that aligns with your lifestyle.

Give serious thought to your areas of interest and the commitments and goals outside of photography. My work flows most freely when it aligns with my creative passions and fits within my personal needs. Be somewhat selfish. Seek sustainability. Follow your instincts and experiment; there is usually more than one way to approach a specific genre.

There are genres where you will never have to leave your studio and other areas where you are constantly amongst people or travel around the globe. It certainly can affect the whole aspect of your life, so it is key to consider less straightforward yet impactful aspects of your chosen field.

If you like sports, or current events, or nature. Choose something that aligns with lifestyle, but also with your capacity and physical strength.

In my experience being in the presence of established photographers plays a massive role in accelerating one's growth in a particular photography genre. Mentors are very important in this journey as well building ones network. A broad network exposes you to a lot more inspiration

Know the difference between being fully inspired by a mentor's work and downright copying their style without originality. Even classic artists were imitated first, replicated even to establish a mastery of the technique. However, these sketches, replicas, and studies were never touted as their own work. They blossomed first into their own style and workflow before they signed their name to it and called it their own.

Leía recientemente a Austin Kleon decir que si quieres ser escritor, antes debes ser lector. Así como todas las bandas musicales empiezan oyendo e inspirándose en otras bandas, lo mismo ocurre con la fotografía. Busca inspiración en el trabajo de otros fotógrafos, aprecia sus trabajos. Busca conocer la historia del proceso tras las fotografías.

En un taller literario que hice muchos a?os el docente decía: "Para ser un buen escritor, hay que ser un buen lector". Creo que es cierto. De hecho, como dice Melissa (en otros comentarios), desde los comienzos del arte, los artistas empezaban su camino imitando a sus maestros, mientras que paso a paso buscaban su "voz" propia. El camino de la copia o imitación de está bien para aprender la técnica, y en ese camino nos iremos encontrando con ideas o gustos propios que es bueno poder reconocer y, posteriormente, desarrollar.

Seeking inspiration is also a good way to have an understanding of different specializations. I find online information and Pinterest boards overwhelming. Hence, I recommend spending a couple of hours at the bookstore, going through photo books and magazines to study published work by professional photographers.

When it comes to your photography career, ask yourself what fuels you? What aspect of taking photos truly lights you from the inside? Perhaps, it is the experience of capturing what only you see and illuminating it. Maybe it's the editing process that makes your eyes dance. Or, perhaps you want to see it blown up in gallery work. Define your goal, and then build steps to achieve it.

Creo que las metas son fundamentales. Y un buen método para ello es desarrollar proyectos íntegros de fotografía. Comenzarlos y terminarlos. No dejar nada a medias. Y no digo solo sacar fotos bonitas. Buscar un proyecto que nos motive, que nos guste y desarrollar un proyecto fotográfico con eso. Puede durar un día o muchos. Vivimos en un era completamente visual y todos necesitan fotos.

This is nice and smooth in sterile theory. Goals and guidelines are, of course, important. Like some kind of road map. Just don’t forget - it’s impossible to plan everything and everyone.

Alguns fotógrafos tem a tendência de pensar que necessitam de grandes investimentos e equipamentos para come?ar a viver de fotografia. Esta perspectiva é bastante limitada, especialmente nos dias de hoje, em que os celulares podem ajudar a criar belos trabalhos. Tenha em mente que o principal em fotografia é o olhar, o estilo, o comprometimento com sua arte ou com os objetivos visuais de seus clientes. O instrumento pode variar e os investimentos em equipamentos podem ir aumentando pouco a pouco.

Si lo que más te gusta no es muy rentable o es costoso, y para ti el factor económico es una limitante, siempre puedes evaluar un plan paralelo. Considera que otro tipo de fotografía te gusta hacer, que se te dé bien y que sea rentable (al menos que se cumplan estas dos últimas), e intenta que esta sea la que cubra los costos de la fotografía que más te gusta.

Tener claro cuál sería tu cliente ideal es algo que no solemos sentarnos a pensar detalladamente. Darse el tiempo de enlistar qué es lo que buscas en cliente desde lo cualitativo hasta lo cuantitativo. El identificar que te gusta hacer y con qué tipo de gente te puede ayudar a definir en dónde buscarlo y a qué tipo de fotografía enfocarte. Por ejemplo, a mí me gusta trabajar con empresas internacionales, porque mi estilo se acopla a los procesos que manejan. Así que al definir exactamente qué tipo de cliente quiero me di cuenta que el espacio que mejor me conecta a ellos es esta plataforma. Ya que en esta están las personas claves que podrían contratarme.

Here's where the rubber meets the road. How many clients are requesting this type of photography specialization? If very few, do not despair. Keep working in that genre, but realistically sustain your passion with a secondary photography genre that is tangential to the first. While the second is bringing in more consistent income, you still be able to work on the first (and highest) photography passion without having to make it your "cash cow."

Work with what you have and try to utilize as much as possible! Photography is an expensive business, you can expect a certain expense in different specializations. You will need a full-frame camera, at the very least, to be a commercial photographer, location and lighting fee if you need to work in studio settings.

Aunque es bueno que un fotógrafo sepa un poco de todo para ser capaz de resolver en el camino lo que se le presente, lo ideal es especializarse para que pueda sacar su máximo potencial en determinadas areas de acción. No te preocupes que eso no es para toda la vida, uno va cambiando a medida que agarra experiencia, nuestro entorno también va cambiando, por lo que es probable que más adelante también cambies de especialidad. Lo importante es que te especialices, es un gran valor agregado al momento de ofrecer tus servicio. Considera que una novia no va a querer un fotógrafo especializado en vida submarina ni una expedición científica quiere que lo acompa?e un fotógrafo de moda, así de fácil.

Be very clear on who your intended audience is and what problem you are solving for them with your photography. You can invest significant amounts of time and money into your skills and equipment, but if you don't have a clear strategy and purpose, it will be difficult to find the clients you need to sustain yourself.

Stay flexible. Be open to the reality that your area of focus can evolve as you learn and grow personally and professionally. You might need to adapt or you might broaden your niche or choose another subject entirely. I don't know any photographer who hasn't adjusted their career to accommodate change in some way.

I think it’s very easy to think of photography as a fun and easy career. But people don’t realize that is it is actually very demanding, and requires quite a bit of physical fitness. Also, post production can be a very lengthy process that requires a use of programs that are not always user-friendly. There can be photography assignments that are extremely stressful, such as weddings or events. You have to be capable of providing your undivided attention at all times during these events to ensure that you don’t miss a potentially important moment. All that being said, if you are passionate about photography, these challenges can easily fall to the wayside.

Shoot what you love. Photography starts with passion, don’t lose that passion just for a paycheck. Shoot what brings you fulfillment and excites you as you go on your journey. Making a great living is possible, and even better when you enjoy what you do.