Expert: Don Wood - 12/28/2006

Question
    
hi my name is Eddie and i was wondering how freelance photographers actually succeed without schooling?

Answer
It is vital. You have to be able to improvise pictures to illustrate the story you're covering. Cameras are so easy to use nowadays that many newspapers in the small markets give a camera to their writer and then tell them to bring back a picture to illustrate their story. This is not to say that it's impossible to do, but the ratio of success  to those who fail is very low. You should have at least some courses in journalism to get an idea of what is pertinent to the picture and the story.
I urge anybody wanting to get into photography to get as much schooling as possible. The more education you get the better you will succeed. There are plenty of schools out there that will help you in your training. Investigate. There is no such field of expertise that doesn't require some training to succeed.
Freelance photogs are suited best as being in a second job, keeping your main job to pay the freight of rent, living expenses, etc leaving the photo income to pay for the equipment and having some extra money. The great majority of meetings are in the evenings or weekends.
If you freelance in the wedding field, than most of the weddings will be on Saturday, Friday evening, or Sunday afternoon. Portraits can be done in the evening, or weekends.
Good luck to you in all your future dealings. Get as much education as possible, there is no shortcut to success. Even those who are suddenly thrust into success will claim a background of hard work. Pay your dues, get your training, don't try to take shortcuts to your dreams. There is no free lunch in life. It would be nice but it won't happen.
You must develop your photographic eyes, you are taking a slice of history with every picture you make. You must learn which part of history you are taking, is it a picture that truly depicts the scene or is it your interpretation of what is happening. Ex. go to a public meeting. There may only be 10-20 people in a large auditorium but you could photograph it using an angle which seems to say that there were many people at the event.
Good luck. If I can help further, let me know.