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I like taking pictures.. can I charge for it?

neastguyneastguy Registered Users Posts: 199 Major grins
edited November 7, 2010 in Technique
my wife tells me I get lots of compliments on my photos, stuff like they look professional ect... to me.. I don't see it... I use a d40 w/ no special lighting.. mainly pics of my kids.... I guess my question is.. is it unreasonable to say hey.... I can take some pics of your kids and charge a small fee.. or am I just kidding myself.... seems like I'd would need some real lighting ect.... I almost would feel guilty charging anybody for my photo's... especially when I am mainly guessing at the settings I use... anyone been down this road?:dragon

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    SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited November 4, 2010
    You could charge anything you want for any images, but I sense you want a reality check.

    Please post some images so we can see where your at skill wise.

    Sam
    www.samlinvillephotography.com
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    neastguyneastguy Registered Users Posts: 199 Major grins
    edited November 5, 2010
    here are some examples.. thanks..
    456471020_dihW7-M.jpg

    456465699_A9XTx-M.jpg
    571735251_tw9Kr-M.jpg
    936528057_AwLGT-L.jpg

    1014235392_izugD-M.jpg

    1033367655_pn3id-M.jpg

    1033372623_cBCnB-M.jpg

    just to give you an idea... most of these are on the fly... so maybe I could do a bit better with at least a little setup..... but I'm just wingin it...
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    FoquesFoques Registered Users Posts: 1,951 Major grins
    edited November 5, 2010
    i say hell yeah!
    maybe, use the little $$ you charge to get a higher end camera :D Best kind of a hobby -the one that pays for itself.
    Arseny - the too honest guy.
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    neastguyneastguy Registered Users Posts: 199 Major grins
    edited November 5, 2010
    Foques wrote: »
    i say hell yeah!
    maybe, use the little $$ you charge to get a higher end camera :D Best kind of a hobby -the one that pays for itself.

    thanks.. maybe I'll get brave and do some free shoots for friends and see how they like it and then take it from there.....
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    SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited November 5, 2010
    I would say your off to a good start, and I think your idea of doing some free shoots for friends and family members is a great way to take your photography to the next step.

    You want to use the free sessions as a real learning experience so read everything you can. Look at all the kid / baby images you can and be critical of your own work. Also get some other eyes to look at your images.

    The first image has a white balance issue, too red. The second is very nice. I don't care for the lighting in #3. #4 is adorable. #5 is cute as well.

    Basically you have some nice clean images.

    Good luck, and keep us posted!

    Sam
    www.samlinvillephotography.com
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    QarikQarik Registered Users Posts: 4,959 Major grins
    edited November 5, 2010
    yup, you can at least start exploring the idea. 3 and 7 are tossers in my book though.
    D700, D600
    14-24 24-70 70-200mm (vr2)
    85 and 50 1.4
    45 PC and sb910 x2
    http://www.danielkimphotography.com
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    ThatCanonGuyThatCanonGuy Registered Users Posts: 1,778 Major grins
    edited November 5, 2010
    Congratulations. You can definitely sell your work. These are some of the best photos I've seen taken with that kind of equipment. Some of 'em are pretty sharp--did you do that in PP or was it your 50 1.8? Did you use that lens for most of those? I wonder what you could do with a newer body like the D7000 or a FF or a higher-end prime.
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    neastguyneastguy Registered Users Posts: 199 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2010
    ThatCanonGuy wrote: »
    Congratulations. You can definitely sell your work. These are some of the best photos I've seen taken with that kind of equipment. Some of 'em are pretty sharp--did you do that in PP or was it your 50 1.8? Did you use that lens for most of those? I wonder what you could do with a newer body like the D7000 or a FF or a higher-end prime.

    thanks for your advice and encouragement everyone... most were all shot w/ 50 1.8.. manual focus... not that easy w/ little kids IMO....

    1 and 2 were shot w/ the stock 18-55 lens and 4 was shot w/ my 55-200 lens... :)

    ps... I use nikon view to sharpen my pics if needed... I never sharpen them in adobe photoshop... don't really know how....
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    ThatCanonGuyThatCanonGuy Registered Users Posts: 1,778 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2010
    neastguy wrote: »
    thanks for your advice and encouragement everyone... most were all shot w/ 50 1.8.. manual focus... not that easy w/ little kids IMO....

    1 and 2 were shot w/ the stock 18-55 lens and 4 was shot w/ my 55-200 lens... :)

    ps... I use nikon view to sharpen my pics if needed... I never sharpen them in adobe photoshop... don't really know how....

    How much did you sharpen those? That 50 1.8 must be sharp. What f-stop did you use?
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    neastguyneastguy Registered Users Posts: 199 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2010
    ThatCanonGuy wrote: »
    How much did you sharpen those? That 50 1.8 must be sharp. What f-stop did you use?

    wow, I don't even know what I was shooting at fstop wise.. as for sharpening really depended on each pic... but that lenz is amazing .. I think it is... I sold it though for the 35mm so it would work on my d40.. we will see how I like it...and how sharp it is...
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    MomaZunkMomaZunk Registered Users Posts: 421 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2010
    I have also been thinking about charging for services. When I actually thought about it, I became much more critical of my work, and decided I have some more practicing and learning to do.

    My biggest issue is consistency. I can take some great shots, but getting great results every time is the issue. The 2 things that have impacted my consistency are white balance and the details in the composition. I do not use auto white balance anymore because "pasty" kids like my youngest can look really green. I also pay a lot more attention to the overall composition and background details of each shot. My shots are now much more deliberate, than spur of the moment ones I have taken in the past.

    You may be past this point, but thought I would share my experience.

    I do recommend getting a software program for some post processing as well as organizing your photos. I use photoshop elements currently.

    Good luck, and I look forward to seeing more of your work online.
    Dee Zunker

    Website
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    david-lowdavid-low Registered Users Posts: 752 Major grins
    edited November 7, 2010
    If you intend to charge for your service, then your client would expect a little more from you and you have to assume they know their stuff.

    All children looks cute when they smile. So I'm not commenting whether they look cute or not. You are supposed to time your shot. Here's my take or other areas (just a personal opinion)

    #1 - WB off
    #2 - little blown at top left corner.
    #3 - under exposed. Crop too tight at top.
    #4 - top right totally blown. Unacceptable as far as I'm concerned.
    #5 - Not too bad but top hair crop too tight
    #6 - best of the lot - perfect framing
    #7 - Just ok

    A good photo is more than just seeing the kid smile. But looking at the photos, I think the kids are comfortable with you. That's a good start.

    Good luck.
    My gallery: http://david-low.smugmug.com
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    ThatCanonGuyThatCanonGuy Registered Users Posts: 1,778 Major grins
    edited November 7, 2010
    MomaZunk wrote: »
    I have also been thinking about charging for services. When I actually thought about it, I became much more critical of my work, and decided I have some more practicing and learning to do.

    My biggest issue is consistency. I can take some great shots, but getting great results every time is the issue. The 2 things that have impacted my consistency are white balance and the details in the composition. I do not use auto white balance anymore because "pasty" kids like my youngest can look really green. I also pay a lot more attention to the overall composition and background details of each shot. My shots are now much more deliberate, than spur of the moment ones I have taken in the past.

    You may be past this point, but thought I would share my experience.

    I do recommend getting a software program for some post processing as well as organizing your photos. I use photoshop elements currently.

    Good luck, and I look forward to seeing more of your work online.

    Answers:

    Details & composition: practice.

    White balance: shoot raw, then you can change it later. Process with camera company's software or Adobe Camera Raw in PS Elements.
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    Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited November 7, 2010
    I skipped over most of this thread.....after the pix.......
    Do you truly love taking pix of small babies....if so
    then study Anne Geddes' work......
    use your own vision as I see you already have
    and do not for any reason price your work at
    the level of walmart, sears, jcpennies or any other
    photo mill......if you have a Portrait Innovations
    in your area...see what they charge......
    and Charge MORE......You will be doing custom work
    and your work is already better
    from the crap I have seen coming out of my local
    portrait innovations......do not give
    your work away for free....you have great models
    to get your portfolio built with......

    When someone asks what you use.......just say Nikon...
    you do not need to tell model and serial number and all
    that.........you will need a couple of baby posers and backdrops,
    nothing expensive and 1 light to start or maybe 2.....
    go study the Strobist site to get educated on how to light with
    off camera flash units....might even want to read some of
    Joe Mcnally's books like the HOT SHOE DIARIES.....good book....

    Baby Posers will run around $25 to 75 each depending on where
    you purchase and what brand...I suggest ebay to start out with...


    Good Luck
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

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