Hey again to everyone on here.
I've decided to start a thread once more. But instead of posting photos, I'm posting serious questions.
I have always had a real passion for taking photos, and since playing with Gimp - with little to no idea of what tool do what - I've grown fond of the whole process.
What I have decided to do, in change my career (as it's a known fact that I'd rather take photos and retouch them --- then read any Psychology book).
So here's the thing gang. I'm researching all the school in my area with hopes of finding a job that meets these discriptions.
Taking photos - and retouching them.
What I see myself doing (with the proper education) is working with companies or running my own company that's in the advertising business. Cars, People, or Nature.
But what I'm stumped with is what is this job called?!
There's Photographer, and Graphic Designer.
From what I've read, a Graphic Designer has a nack for drawing and painting... I really don't have these qualities.

Perhaps with some help, I can figure out what this mystery job title is.
Thanks!

Jillian

Well a designer does more than just paint and draw. :)

Obviously in larger companies, the job titles and roles are much more specific. I do traditional print design, web design, and photo retouching and I consider myself a graphic designer with specialties in each of these areas. If you just rendered work, you'd be likely to call yourself a graphic artist. If you just conceptualized ideas but didn't actually do the grunt work, you might consider yourself an art director. But "designer" is a nice middle ground. You'll have a tough enough time describing what you do to people who are unfamiliar anyway.

If you specifically want to work in photos though, you might consider the term photo artist to qualify that from just a photographer. As I've come to know, retouching is pretty much a shadow career anyway. Either it's just a part of another job role (media manager, layout specialist, etc.) or it's a career that nobody really talks about.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/go-pro.htm -- One viewpoint about being a professional photographer (Keep your day job.)

Wow...
Sounds like that person via the link has been through hell and back
[ 10 minutes later ] maybe not. He offers really sound advice at the end... perhaps I'm not doomed...

Here's a working photographer's
http://www.daveblackphotography.com/workshop/01-2006.htm -- look down the list to his answers about how he started in photography and farther down to "how to make it in photography".

He gives many tips and ideas to people who want to improve their photography
http://www.daveblackphotography.com/workshop/index.htm

CJ is right. I know too many good photographers in this area that are either out of work or just barely making a living.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/go-pro.htm -- One viewpoint about being a professional photographer (Keep your day job.)

A Community college here in Florida has a major called graphic design. It takes two years. They study photography, Web design, some Photoshop, page layout - Quark or InDesign, Web design, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat for PDF creation, Intro to Flash animation.
These days, the more you know about all these subjects, the better. An ad agency would have people doing all these things.
The competition is high because every 18 year-old now is very computer savvy and many students know this stuff by doing it as hobbies.

Sigh... how depressing. I have a BFA in photography and wandered to New York City thinking my chances would improve for becoming a professional photographer. Boy, did my bubble burst. The advice (keep your day job) is right. I've had advice given from all sorts of photographers. A weathered travel photographer told me that I would have to decide between having friends and family and my photography career. He told me that there is no way to keep a relationship when your constantly traveling, and then spending months editing when returning to the states. I worked for a wedding photography studio and found myself clawing my way out. If you're not into princess fantasies of prince charming and everything being perfect, don't go into the wedding industry. You'll make money, but you'll break your creative spirit. The fashion industry?... you won't make any money doing editorials for magazines. You will have to start there in order to promote yourself and work your butt off trying to get your name out there. You'll be competing with hundreds of other photographers and just might get one editorial in one magazine. Still life/product photography?... I work as a studio manager for a still life photographer right now. I see that he does make decent money for what he does, but it's boring, tedious, and requires being hunched over the product for most of the day. I'm so very bored.

These are my experiences entering the photography field, seven years ago. I have come to the conclusion that it's not for me, as a profession. I do like to exhibit my photography and will continue to do so. But I am just about ready to switch careers. I don't mind retouching, in fact I find that I like it. And I can make money to support my photography "hobby" (that word makes me so sad). But I think I am going to be happier making money AND keeping my friends and family AND doing things I am inspired to do. These are just the experiences of one frustrated photographer, don't take my opinion as the only one.

I have a one person studio in a one horse town. I do all kinds of things like portraits, weddings, sports, advertising, aerial, medical, reproduction and restoration and on and on.

Its been fun and its been interesting, not to much of a chance to get bored.

But I would be so much further ahead if I had had the smarts to take a bunch of business classes a long time ago. I really feel that I have been playing catchup for years due to the way I started the business.

So my best advice is to concentrate on a bunch of the business classes before you hang out the shingle and open the door, but then do not forget to keep current in the photo/retouching end of it either!

'Production Artist' might be a term you're looking for. Typically that's one who doesn't necessarily take the images but works to make them better or suitable for the intended output... or at least that's what I've gathered from looking for work in this field.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design - may help too.