Photographer

Qualifications
A degree is essential in photography as it would increase your chances of getting a job at a well known company and probably increase your salary. For becoming a photographer you need to know how to take pictures of animals (birds) without scaring them away, if this is not easy for you then you will find it harder to get a job as a photographer.
Rersponsibilities
Taking photos is only one part of a photographers duties. Depending on the type of photography in question, specific responsibilities will vary, but they'll usually encompass many of these:

Gear maintenance and upkeep
Knowledge of wide range of equipment
Budget/Pricing/Billing/Accounting
Location selection
Model selection
Lighting setup
Background selection/creation
Props
Supervision of assistants
Working with art directors/stylists/PR flak
Shooting the photo!
Supervising/performing post-processing
Customer service