Does transcript matter for photography?

I more than likely will not be going to college for photography unless I find I need to. That saying, I'm pretty skilled photographer for being a highschool student. I'm intelligent and responsible so please don't lecture me on that.

My highschool transcript for my first 3 years of Highschool is pretty bad, generally a C-D average. I was very lazy until the summer before senior year came when I realized I was in love with focusing on photography. Now.knowing that my transcript is poor and I won't have college education, will any types of jobs concerning photography be off limits for me due to that?

Keep in mind I want to focus on trying to be payed to do artistic travel(ish) photography for companies like National Geographic. Other options I'm considering is upgrading my Nikon into a Hasselblad H4d (I have a very decent income pay along with a nicely sized savings) and doing fashion/modeling photography or product photography.

When it comes to any of the "art" professions, sure education helps… But only to a certain point.

A person with poor grades that has an exceptional portfolio is better off than someone with a college degree but only does mediocre work. If you look throughout history, you will find many of the "Masters" who did poorly in school (including some being expelled at one point or another). *cough*… Ansel Adams and Salvador Dali for example.*cough*

Unless you are shooting all studio photography, the Nikon is the camera you will need for everything else. In fact, I now use the Nikon D3x instead of the Hasselblad

If your intent is to shoot for National Geographic, you will want to stick with your Nikon's

Just throwing money at photography will NOT make you a brilliant photographer. You need years of experience which you can't buy.

Just your statement of upgrading from Nikon to Hasselblad shows you need more experience.

I would say lack of a 'formal' education (degree etc) is not a hindrance to being a photographer. Nat Geo & similar publications have very few staff photographers these days - most are freelancers. Quite a few of those photographers have qualifications in other areas such as sociology or zoology, so that they understand the background to the subject they are shooting - photography is almost secondary to that, however, it is not a pre-requisite.

You do not need to upgrade to a Hassie - the fact that you say you do implies that you regard the equipment more as a status symbol than a tool to get the job done. Certainly for fashion/product photography a full frame rather than medium format camera would be fine.

Edit: I see you have only had your D7000 for just over a month. Your portrait images also have some focus/exposure issues - this for example;

You need to work on the basics more - if photography is important to you I would recommend taking some courses or learning via a local camera/photography club.