I think one of the biggest mistakes people make when moving into making photography a full time job and business is being a general photographer. We all enjoy photographing range of images as I am sure anyone with a keen interest in photography who is carrying on to go pro has explored shooting a range of genera’s and styles. However, presenting a portfolio of work that is not cohesive is only going to confuse people when you are first trying to secure clients and establish yourself as a pro. It really doesn’t put confidence in anyone seeking a photographer if they are seeing a smattering of imagery as people like to hire photographers that are demonstrating to them that they are very good and consistent at the style or type of image that a client is seeking. At the very least only present suitable work in line with what a prospective client is looking for. First impressions here are important and you will want to separate yourself from others who are competing for the same clients. Once you have become well-established in one genera of photography and perhaps in a distinctive style and are generating solid and steady earnings then you can expand and show a broader range of work. 不要做“通才” 当你决定做全职摄影师的时候，不要想着做“通才摄影师”，这是一个大误区。如果你把所有的作品集合在一起，但它们风格又不统一，那么你会给你的客户造成疑惑，因为这样的作品集很难证明你是专业的摄影师。比起对各种拍摄风格都一知半解或者了解不深的摄影师，人们对拍摄风格稳定的摄影师会更有信心。至少要根据潜在客户的需要，提供合适的服务。第一印象很重要，你也想让客户看到你与众不同的一面。一旦你在某种摄影领域站稳了脚跟，形成自己独特的风格，拥有稳定的收入，那么你就可以拓宽自己的摄影领域。

Most people will not be starting out with an unlimited budget when moving into photography as a profession. Even if you do have large sums of money it would only be good business practice to not over spend. Many people don’t understand that your images are more so impacted by the lenses you use rather then the camera you use. There can be a long list of reasons for using various types of lenses – one of the main reasons being what type of photography you are doing. For most types of photography and the main reason I am suggesting buying good glass before expensive camera bodies is to buy fast lenses. Those are lenses that have wide apertures of 2.8 or wider. For sure there is going to be more then one low light instance where having a fast lens will achieve much better results then relying on straight flash and you are going to be happy that your put your extra dollars in high quality lenses. Here is a very rough guide on lens focal lengths and their main use to provide you with some direction on what you might want to buy or rent. 14 mm to 35 mm range lenses are generally used in landscape photography, for shooting architecture and landscapes as well as a good lens range for environment portraits and street and edgy fashion photography 50mm is often referred to as the classic lens and further described as the focal length that gives you and image the resembles how you view a scene with the naked eye. The 50 mm is often use for portraits and in fashion photography 85 mm is the classic portrait lens and also good for fashion 90mm to 100mm is often also found to be a macro lens which can be use for portraits or fashion images but is most commonly used for close up work be it products like jewelry or images of small subjects like insects that they can be photographed one to one 100 to 200 mm lenses are use predominately in fashion, for portraits- and in nature and sport photography. 200mm and up lenses are basically used for shooting sports and wildlife, in particularly birds. 把钱花在摄影机的镜头上 大多数人在进入摄影行业初期，预算都有限。即使你资金充裕，也要控制好预算，不能超支。很多人不明白，镜头对拍摄的影响比摄影机对照片的影响更大。为什么要使用不同的镜头？原因很多。其中有一个主要原因是取决于你从事什么类型的拍摄。对于大多数的摄影，我建议，如果需要入手好的镜片，那么就购买快镜头。这些镜片的孔径为2.8 mm或更宽。当然，低亮度的情况下，快速镜头的拍摄效果会更好。然后依靠直闪，这个时候你会庆幸在镜头上花钱是很值得的。接下来是关于镜头焦距的简单指南，教你如何购买或者租借合适的镜头。 14mm到35mm的镜头通常用于风景摄影，拍摄建筑、风景、环境、街景以及前卫的时装摄影。 50mm通常被称为经典镜头，被称为聚焦镜头，拍摄的效果非常接近人肉眼观察到的实物。50mm通常用于人物拍摄和时装摄影。 85mm是经典的人物拍摄镜头，也适合时尚摄影。 90mm到100mm是微距镜头，可以用于人物拍摄或时尚拍摄，但最常用的还是拍摄实物，如珠宝或像昆虫这样的小东西。 100mm到200mm镜头主要用于时尚、人物，自然和动态拍摄。 200mm及以上的镜头主要用拍摄运动画面和野生动物，特别是鸟类。

As much as having solid knowledge on the fundamentals of photography and how to effectively use all the tools that aid you in producing your images are key elements to operating at a pro level, don’t make the mistake of getting lost in F stops and apertures and overwhelming thoughts of all the equipment you need to buy or rent. A lot of young photographers cripple their creativity and image making by being to jacket up on new found knowledge and expensive equipment. Being able to recite camera model numbers and tech specs doesn’t make you a pro – to keep it in perspective remember that sometimes all you need is a basic camera and a window to take a great shot. 不要迷失在技术细节和设备上 坚实的摄影理论基础，有效使用所有工具，这些是成为专业摄影师的关键因素。不要迷失在技术和设备上。 许多年轻的摄影师，花费了过多时间在新技术研究和昂贵的设备上，忽略了本身的创造性和图片处理。能够背诵相机型号和技术规格并不能让你成为一个专业人士 - 记住，有时候你所需要的只是一个基础的相机和一个窗口，来拍摄很棒的镜头。