The beauty of being a professional photographer is that, unlike a lawyer, teacher or electrician, no formal qualifications are required. Provided you have the right equipment, the basic skills and knowledge to be successful, it's a job anyone can do.
Many photographers are self-employed and for those who are employed, often their portfolio and skillset is deemed more worthy than a piece of paper with a qualification. However, there are many benefits that come from studying photography, ranging from broadening your knowledge and widening your understanding to re-routing yourself down a career avenue you hadn't considered.
Studying costs money though - so before you enrol on a photography course, you need to be sure you have the funds or access to borrow the money and the ability to repay it later. If you undertake a course such as a Bachelor's degree, the fees alone cost £9,250 for a year (usually a three-year course) - a Master's degree costs around £11,300.
If you have never received a student loan before you I will be entitled to one whatever your age. However, if you are over 60, you can still qualify for a tuition fee loan, but you may get limited funding when it comes to maintenance loans. Find out more about UK Student loan eligibility at www.gov.uk/ student-finance/who-qualifies
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Fine Art photographer Liz Jeary (lizjeary.co.uk Instagram @lizjearyphoto) embarked on a photography degree at the University of Salford aged 31 and has no regrets about her decision.
"It gave me the confidence to start a photography-related business straight out of university," she says. "It also gave me an opportunity to develop my artistic side and to use other skills I had gained through my employment history in the curation of exhibitions, something I really enjoy."
Denne historien er fra Issue 254-utgaven av Digital Photographer.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 254-utgaven av Digital Photographer.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Apply a stylised detail enhancement
Give your photos a movie aesthetic with the bleach bypass effect in Photoshop
Sony FE 16-25mm f/2.8 G
Matthew Richards investigates this lightweight wide-angle zoom lens with a unique focal range
Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
This lens offers everything from wide-angle to super-telephoto reach, says Matthew Richards
Novo Helix T50 Carbon Fibre Tripod
Adam Waring discovers an unfeasibly small yet feature-packed travel tripod
OM System OM-1 Mark II
James Artaius finds the OM-1 Mark II has features that you wish your camera did
How do I get into events photography?
Jules Renahan, owner of Jules Renahan Photography and co-founder of PhotoHound, tells us what to expect when photographing events
Career advice
This issue, Claire Gillo looks at the logistics behind running a photography business and talks to an events photographer
My dream photo kit
With help from used camera gear specialists MPB, we've created an expert photographer's fantasy camera kitbag
Create wet plate portraits
Recreate the collodion process for enhanced detail
Fine-tune colour and saturation
Use Lightroom's extensive controls to enhance individual colours in your shots