Hi there, I have been an active amateur photographer around my local area for about 2-3 yrs now, with a few professional jobs thrown in here and there. I have spoken with a lot of the professional photographers in town and I was surprised to find out that they don't have any formal photographic training. I studied photography in high school and was considering doing more studies in the future. My question is, how may of the "Advanced" and "intermediate" photographers who are members of this forum are trained? Is it generally considered a prerequisite to get into professional photography? and, Is doing a course online considered adequate?

I would be appreciative of any and all response.

Thanks

Karla