Reflective Response

I will be talking about my interests, skills, personal and work values, learning styles and intelligence. Also, I will talk about what in school and out of school activities or programs I will need to do to increase my experience for my future career choice. I will also be talking about my future plans and what I hope to achieve to be successful. Including finance, family, friends, health and possessions and how all these things I will be talking about will help me pursue my career.
My interests are I enjoy expressing myself through art or writing. Art as in "photography" art. This relates to my career I want to pursue because I can easily take pictures that express what I enjoy, or I like doing. For example; If I like to go swimming, and love water. I would probably take some pictures of big oceans or well known lakes. Another interest I have is that I love hearing other people’s opinions. When you take photographs people are always commenting on them. The opinions people give might not all be positive, a lot of them can be negative as well. I also enjoy working with people, materials and equipment. This will help me pursue my photography career because being a photographer is hands on. You have equipment on you at all times, either having your camera and gear on you, or your on a computer editing the pictures you have took. Working with people comes easily to me. When being a photographer you might have to work with other people. Talk about what kinds of cameras or lens to use, or where to travel next. The skills I have are that I am dependable and trustworthy. When I am assigned to a job, I make sure it’s done and done properly. Although I am cautious about change, I know change is healthy and in photography there is going to be a lot of change. I cooperate well with others, and in photography that is necessary because I might have to take portraits of people, if they do not listen or something I have to stay calm and talk to them. I know how to use a computer and camera quite easily. I learn quickly, so if there is anything that I don’t know how to do, someone can teach me and in maybe a couple days I will be a pro at it. I try to avoid conflict, also I am not interested in dominating others. Photography can be harsh at times, you might work with people who think their photos or editing skills are better than mine. Some of my work and personal values are..working at a job that’s exciting and sometimes dangerous. Being a photography I might have to take risks, going to different countries eye witnessing horrid scenes, or even just take pictures or videos of the weather like a tornado. Often photographers might have to go over to the war fronts, that can be extremely dangerous. Another personal value is not to lose friends or family over a job. In photography I probably won’t have to worry about that. I will have to travel long distances, but I would not be away from home for a long time. Being a photographer comes with benefits. I would like to find a career that offers benefits and photography does. My top 2 learning styles are verbal/linguistic intelligence and interpersonal intelligence. Verbal/linguistic intelligence is either speaking out loud or writing stuff down. People who have this intelligence usually are good in English and writing. For example; I like to write down my ideas and for a group presentation I like the research part rather then the talking part. With photography you do need to communicate, but the communication is low compared to some other careers. Interpersonal intelligence is having close colleagues, family and friends. This is because people who have interpersonal intelligence skills like to be around other people and work with people. The activities that I will do in school would be making the yearbook for our school. This involves working with people, taking different types of pictures, and creating. In photography all these things are used. It will 20% prepare me for my future career. Out of school activities I would do to achieve my life time career would be just going out, taking different pictures even though my camera is not professional I can get in to the habit of taking pictures. My hopes for fiance and wealth for the future would be, I do not care how much I get paid as long as I make a decent amount of money to support me and my family. This includes not having to constantly worry about money, or how I am going to pay bills,rent, or be able to afford clothing or food for my family. I would like to own a nice house, not to big but not to small either. I would also really like to stay close to my family, not only my additional family(people living with me) but also the people who raised me and took care of me when I was young, and was there for me. Such as, aunts, uncles, parents, brother. Also, I would love it if I am still close with a couple close friends that I have right now when I'm older. Hopefully this career will give me health benefits such as dental. This would be greatly appreciated to help me, and my family in the future. For possessions I would really like to get my kids what they need, and at the same time go out and be nice and get them something they enjoy. I wouldn't spoil them, but it's nice to have the extra money to do something nice for my kids or husband. Right now I have jewelry that got passed down to me from my grandma, hopefully I have a girl who I can pass it down to as well. So in this, this is what I want my future to look like, if I get this career hopefully it is how I want it to turn out even with the little bumps in the road.

Description

The name of the occupation I would like to be is a photographer. It allows me to be myself, and occasionally take pictures of things I like. A photographer either creates images that tell stories, paint pictures or record events. If you are wanting to do this you will need to be good in technical and artistic parts of this career. Photography takes time and effort to make it successful. Using a traditional camera will allow you to take photographs to develop into prints you will need to be in a dark room, this can get very complicated. Using a traditional
camera involves treating the film in various chemical and water baths. Using a digital camera allows you telectronically record images that can be uploaded on a computer and then printed. But, before photographers can even take any photos, they must make some decisions. First off, they must decide on what type of camera is the best for what they are going to be shooting. Most photographers choose wisely on the appropriate camera, lenses, filter, film stocks and lighting. When choosing a position or angle to shoot from for the photo you must choose what angle, how close to get to the object or person, and how to frame the shot that best suits the picture you want to take. You should think about including the different camera settings and shutter speeds. Doing this will decide what atmosphere, mood or concept the picture is in. There are many different photography techniques to create the "desired" look, photographers can
often manipulate the pictures after they have been taken. To make the photos the way photographers want them to they use computer software, digitized versions of the photographs to make them altar the way they want to. In all, there are many various photographers this includes...portrait photographers that take pictures of babies, weddings, graduation, and families. There are fashion and beauty photographers who take pictures for billboards and magazines. The photographer that captures newsworthy people and events are called photojournalists. Other types of photographers are commercial photographers who take pictures of cars, computers, food, etc. There are also scientific and nature photographers. Most professional photographers own their own business in which they might hire and train employees. These business owners take pictures, have to arrange for advertising and sometimes mount and frame pictures.
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Work Environment

Some full-time photographers could regularly work 55 hours
a week, part-timers might only work a few weekends a
month depending on the lack of interest. If a photographer
does " location shoots" such as weddings or at schools,
they might work 15 hours a day, but maybe only 1 or 3 days
a week. If you prefer working in a studio you might work 8
or 9 hours a day, 5 days a week. Photojournalism can be very
emotional. When they take pictures for a newspaper or news
magazine they might cover upsetting events and situations such
as accidents. Staying in different countries for a long time
might seem adventurous and exciting. But, they may find themselves in life-threatening situations. For example, if they are assigned to
war-torn or politically unstable areas of the world. There can also
be some physical demands involved in photography. Sometimes,
photographers need to be in some positions that are awkward, or
unusual to get the perfect shot. This might include lying on the
ground, crouching down or climbing a ladder. Often they need to
carry equipment from place to place, this includes cameras, tripods,
and laptops.
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Working Conditions

Depending on what’s being photographed, photographers
work in different settings all the time. Some photographers
rather just work in the studio doing let’s say " family shots"
as a example. While others like to work out side taking pictures
of landscapes, wildlife, and/or weddings that are located outside.
A lot of the photographers have to travel, to either a school, a
private home or to a church for a wedding. Sometimes photographers
stay in a country for long amount of times. You can either work
independent or with someone. If you own your own business you
might want to hire people to work for you. Being independent doesn't
mean not working with other people at all it means being the one who
can takes risks and chances on your own, and get the job done. If you
are the type that likes to work with other people you are a team sport.
When working with other people you must listen to them, and respect
what they say.
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Salary

Photographers can be full-time employees of businesses such as magazine companies, newspaper, advertising companies or a wide variety of other companies. Some can own their own business so they would be a full-time worker as well. Most photographers are part-time workers includes offering their services to several clients instead of sticking to one restricted area of the job.
The average rate of pay is $16 dollars an hour. For people who can work full-time in this career, this adds up to roughly about $34,000 a year. But, most photographers make $20,000 to $60,000 dollars a year. People who work full-time with a lot of experience and good reputations can make over $80,000 a year. Those who work in newspapers and such tend to make more then those who work in scientific or technical services, the salary is based on experience, location, employer and industry. Full-time photographers often get benefits. Such as, dental coverage, paid sick days, and vacation time. Freelance photohgraphers have to cover these costs themselves.
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Relevant high school subjects

This is what you should have to make it more sucessful in post-secondary
4 english
4 math
3 science
4 Social Studies
1 creative arts
4 computers
1 french
1 health & Physical Education
1 personal and career development
3 visual arts
3 electronics & communications technology
2 drafting and design
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Education

Experience the most important factor in becoming
a good photographer. There are apprenticeship
programs for photographers in a lot of the provinces.
An apprenticeship program is a good way to learn
some of the skills needed to become a photographer.
Apprenticeships generally last 2-3 years and have
classroom instructions and on-the-job training. In grades
11 and 12 you can go to a college to take a couple college
courses on photography. This will help you learn more about
how to be successful in the photography career.Co-op or work
study programs such as college courses are very useful.
Training in business or law might be useful for freelance
photographers, they should learn how to market their own work,
secure copyright protection, and negotiate with clients.



One of the programs you would be able to take in grade 11 or 12 is :

Photography: Lambton College. Sarnia, ON

Credential: Certificate

Length: Varies

Description:
This certificate/program will give photographers the skills they need in this career. By doing hands on assignments students will learn and improve their knowledge of the career. There are three choices of streams: Conventional 35mm, Digital and Darkroom. Students may pick one or 2 of these given. In doing this students will be required to complete 3 core courses, each one is about 20 hours in length. With this, they must take and complete 2 workshop courses as well.

Future courses will include: The Digital Darkroom, Presentation and Marketing, Photography for Weddings, and Photography for Portraits.

Program Costs: Free, but talk to your school about tuition and fees

Concentration: Conventional 35mm Photography, Digital Photography, Darkroom Photography

Delivery Method:
Offered through continuing education,

Part-time only

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