Are you still trying to learn all the ins and outs of professional photography? Besides school and practice, the best thing you can do is assist. I learned SOOOOOO much from assisting some great commercial, portrait, and editorial photographers.
Did you know that you can make money as a professional assistant? Maybe not enough to have a great life, but enough to scrape together a basic living while you build up your own career. Here in Dallas, TX, an average assisting day rate is between $100 and $200. Top assistants can make $250 to $350 for a day’s work and brand new, fresh off the truck assistants will charge as little as $75 to move boxes/objects/stuff around a set.
You can also do the intern equivalent to assisting, which is offer you services for free until the photog feels comfortable enough to hire you as a real assistant. Or, if there is a shoot that you think you’ll just learn a ton from, a free assisting gig may be worth it in the long run.
How do you become an assistant? A few ways… One, contact a photographer directly. I admired the editorial work of James Bland when I was still learning years ago. Back in the Nineties, the internet was still new enough that it was standard practice to make a phonecall or mail out a postcard promo (what is this “mail” you talk about? And phonecalls?!? I thought phones were only used to text, AIM, and twitter???) introducing yourself and your services.
Another way to find work is to contact a photo-based group like the ASMP or TPPA and ask how you can let their members know you are available. The ASMP has a “find an assistant” list and you can often go to their monthly meetings and mingle with photogs. Face to face meetings will work much better than emails will, I promise.
The last way is to contact businesses that have a stable of photographers. Over the years, companies like JC Penny and Neiman Marcus have used tons of photo assistants, including me. I learned a lot from my years at those companies. They have huge commercial studios (no, not the portrait studio in the store, but an actual commercial studio space for creating catalogs, advertisements, and POP/promotion stuff), and have several photographers on staff. They often use contracted photographers and assistants. You can contact their photo department and ask to come in and speak with them about assisting.
So, go out and assist. Now!!! Assuming you want to learn as much about photography as you possibly can.