1. Improve and arise your photography skills. To learn photography skills, some people take photography classes or some people learn photography skills from various forums available at internet. If you may need certificate or degree in photography, you may need to join photography academy, although you can learn photography skills directly from photography professionals by joining them as their helpers.
Whatever you decide to choose, if you work for it you can achieve it.
2. Buy the equipment as per your requirement. The kind of equipment you need to buy is directly proportional to the type of photography profession, you may choose. But, you may need one or two camera bodies and number of lenses for different applications and situations. You will also need to have a computer with photo editing software.
Apart from this, you may need number a accessories and lighting equipment, but again all this depends upon the type of photography profession you may choose.
3. While you add photography equipment, you always have to take decision very wisely. First, you need to do a lot of home work before buying new photography equipment. First, draw a limit on the budget available with you and see number of options available in market in that budget. This is sometimes become the most difficult decision. On very starting, you can buy used equipment available in good condition, sometime older models are available at discounted prices, or you can rent equipment untill you are sure about the successful start of your photography business.
4. The most important process to start your photography profession to let yourself aware & understand about the photography tools like camera. Before you book any paid photoshoot, you must know in advance about the every setting of your camera. You must be able to change your lenses while your eyes are closed. Check your camera manual or online product reviews of your camera available on internet. From my experience, it is only practice that makes you good photographer. Try different settings of your camera, try multiple light setting and learn taking pictures indoor and outdoors.
5. Update yourself with current camera technologies and photography tips. Attend photography workshops in your area organized by different camera companies time to time. Participate in short photowalks and do communicate with other professionals on their photography assignments. This will help you to learn skills to use your photography tools in a very efficient way. Make sure you have good knowledge about your camera gear along with multiple lenses and flashes. Having a background in these will significantly improve your photos.
6. Join photo editing classes or learn how to used photo editin software. Because sometimes best photographs need a little bit of photo editing or retouching to create special effects. But sometimes, you client may like it or may not like it.
7. You must have a complete portfolio all the time. Sometime, apart from family friend or relative, you may get hired by a unknown source. So, to get booking, you need to show your work portfolio. You must have number of photos in your portfolio. People will hire you because of good work done by you.
8. I suggest before you to settle on one photography genre, you must try all your favourite one’s and settle on your favourite one. It is not necessary that while you start your photography as photojournalism may end up at people portraiture or candid photography.
9. Hook up yourself to client expectations. Create what your client want. At the end, your client just want to look pretty in photographs. You client buy prints only in case you produce good photographs according to their expectations.