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| *SoulEyes Photography>>>Professional Photographer |
Any advice for amateur photographer looking to go pro? |
Currently I'm just an amateur photographer with a passion for photography. I always have a camera with me and taking pictures where ever I go. I'm now looking into pointing my career goals into being a professional photographer. Any suggestions where to begin? I've been looking at a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi 10.1-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera. Is this a good camera to begin working with? Where do I start in creating a portfolio? Any general photography advice would also be greatly appreciated! : ) Have you taken any classes? If you're in school, you can start with the school newspaper - or even the community newspapers. They might not be paid positions, but it's a start. You'd still be given credit for the photos taken, and you can save each one for your portfolio. Look for local papers and magazines and go talk to the photo editor. You might have to intern for the experience, but in the long run it would be worth it, if it's your passion. Also, just take some pics on your own for your portfolio, but let me say this, you MUST have different styles. Not just black & white and color. You should should have several candid shots. Landscape and scenery shots are good to have, too. Close-ups of people, animals, architecture. Advertise on your local Craigslist (www.craigslist.org - on the right side look for your city) for free pictures. Do some bartering along the way. Offer free photography for events or people in exchange for other services or in exchange for use in your portfolio. Models will always need a release - safe to have that, even if the pics are ONLY in your portfolio. The camera you're looking at is VERY advanced - but it's also a very nice professional camera. Try going to a camera store (like Ritz camera) and asking for their opinion. You're not likely to get an experienced opinion at Best Buy or other big stores. The folks at Ritz camera generally know what they're talking about, because they are only around cameras all day. Good luck! You need to be advertised, or start going around to weddings and take pictures and show them and try and sell them. Hi! That camera is a good one. Nice resolution. Be sure to check the optical (not digital) zoom features on it and go for the highest optical zoom you can afford. To start, maybe begin doing reunions, birthday parties, ect. What type of photographs do you enjoy taking? I use a digital rebel for my job as a youth sports photographer - it's a good camera & a decent seasonal job - look around in your area for companies that do youth sports photos - it's a great way to make $$ as a photographer & still have time to shoot what you want during the off seasons. The first thing you need to do is to have your present pictures evaluated by someone in the know. They will tell you if you have merit as a photographer and what you need to do to professionalize your skills. Most of photography is between the ears. You have to be able to frame a picture in a way that is acceptable to your potential customers. Some of professional photography is nothing but rote work. Shooting weddings is a pain in the tail and I would think that taking portraits would be similar. I have done some weddings and vow never to do another. My photography is basically landscape. I like mountains, woods, streams, old farm structures and things like that. Some of that is very good in color, other is much better in black and white - a 100 year old barn, to me, does not look good in color, it begs black and white. I would not start with a digital - you learn almost nothing as you are letting a chip do a lot of your deciding. I would start with the basics, an older manual camera and at least three or four lenses. I would suggest a 35mm or 28mm, a 50mm, and a 135mm to start and graduate from there to other lenses. That gives you the ability to shoot landscapes at wide angles, shoot other subjects as your eye sees it, and take portraits. You want little or no accessories built into your camera. A light meter in the camera is OK, but you can work wonders with a hand held light meter which might not cost more than $40 or $50 bucks. You need to know the relationship to the ISO of the film, shutter speeds, and stops. film has far more resolution than digital. So learn the basics, find out what works for you, use your noodle, especially your eyes, and have high quality lenses, not cheap lines. Camera is Latin for Chamber, Room, or Box, it makes no difference really what brand you use. I like old Olympus cameras like the OM1, of which I have three. because they are smaller and the Olympus glass quality is about the best available. Look at great art, see how that is framed. Look at Rembrandt's paintings and see the mystery of his light sources. There are too many things to look at and study, you can get any one of the very high quality and respected books on photography and learn a lot. I usually carry three camera with me. One armed with a fast color film, another with a slower color film, and the third with black and white. Go to photo.net. You can find tutorials on every topic and books. Becoming a professional photographer requires a commitment to produce images that are above the norm, on time and on budget. A pro is someone who can be counted on to be at the right place at the right time and understands that situations change rapidly and can adapt. They must understand their strengths and work to improve their weaknesses. They must understand that professional photography is a business and they MUST know their cost of doing business. They need to know how to negotiate and must be willing to walk away from a bad deal. They need to stay up on the latest trends and technologies. They need to know if staying with old equipment is a good business plan and how they are going to be able to compete with other photographers on image turn-around and quality. Pull together 12 images that you think reflect your skills. Tone, crop and print the images to the best of your abilities. Find some courage and show them to the photo editor at the local newspaper and a few total strangers.....not just one. Ask what they think of them....what they liked or don't like. Then make adjustments.....reprint, recrop, retone the images and try again. If you get 10 you really like take them to a local coffee shop of place that might let you display them for a few weeks. (I have several in my area that allow one month shows at no cost and don't take a cut of any sales...they're great). Hope this helps. |
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