Getting a foot in the door

murakoz

Hey,

I was wondering if any one has any tips or tricks on getting your work/name out there.

I have been working hard on my site and been taking pictures like crazy but I have no clue how to get my foot in the door.

I am still a high school student (going into grade 12) and plan to go to school for photography or journalism.

My goal is to be a photographer for an outdoor magazine that allows me to travel.

I just really want to get a head start by getting people interested in my work and getting it published or in a gallery.

Thanks

audi

just dont let the door slam....
im in the same situation, though im probably a bit further ahead in the game than yourself (been in a few gallery shows, sold a few prints, etc.).

even though im not in any real position to give advice, I will anyways becuase im floating in the same boat hoping to oneday be paid to float down the same river. my best advice is save up your money now and wait till you are in your photo/journalism school. soak up anything and everything you are taught and study with a passion. (though again, i really dont know what it would be like - im a environmental science/anthropology major). give yourself time to really find your own way of shooting. uniqueness is what separates "the men from the boys" in any type of artistic industry. also, i imagine a photo school(if you go to one) will probably help you "get your foot in the door" through special events and "hookups" with various people and places. again though, you've gotta find your way of shooting that makes you YOU amongst THEM. then you'll really start seeing people recognize your work.

another thing to consider is some business cards. I recently received an order of 500 cards which cost me somewhere around 30 bucks for real nice color print on glossy heavy paper. put your e-mail adress, your name, what you do, and your website on the card. take a bunch and give them to your family and friends to give to people someday. when you talk to people and ever get on a topic relating to what you do, tell them about how you are into nature photography and just hand them a card. usually they will check the site out at least out of pure curiosity.

also - get a good domain name. its really worth the investment to get a "www.yourname.com" site. it looks professional and is also easier for people to remember. you can find cheap ones at :
http://www.godaddy.com
http://register.com/

also, since you're goal is outdoor magazines, read their submission guidelines and submit some of your work to various mags. Alot of them run photo competitions and will publish the winner.

http://www.naturesbestmagazine.com
http://www.emagazine.com/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/

theres more out there...you just gotta search for them.

hope this helps. this is just what i've done so far to kick off my photography career and so far is seems like its worked out(and ive only had my site for a month or so). this is just my two cents also, i dont guarentee it will work. heck, i even posted in this forum a few days ago on how to get the foot in the door regarding nature photography.

but either way, i wish you luck and i look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.


- austin

gus

Welcome to D/grin Murakoz.

I dont have stuff published other than some people use my shots on the net that we have an agreement on.

What i suggest you do is approach those promoters that have a venue that interests you & show them some stuff you have done & that you wish to get some more experience. Magazines/sporting clubs etc love the idea of having a larger photo pool to draw from as 2 photogs can shoot the same event with 2 totally different outcomes.

I did this a few times & have had almost 100% success with them asking me to attend their next events.This can be thrown completely out the window with some high level events as they support photogs that have contracts with them or a closed shop with numbers.

Good Luck !
Gus