what it takes?

Aaron Wilson · December 16, 2004

Lets try this again.. my browser crashed... If in wrong spot pelase move to the correct location. What I would like to know is how to try and go pro? I use to do a lot of things for friends with 35mm and now armed with a 20d I would like to try and do a little more! But were do i start? Should I just shoot landscape and point people to a web page or do wedding for like dirt cheap (the cost of film) or do I want to avoid weddings and go some were else? I had a friend she said she would model... but the problem is I have never directed... I have always been the one with the cam shooting and not talking to the person being shoot.. any ideas? comments? articales? books?

I suppose I would or should get insureance huh? In case photo shoot goes bad and a contract?

Michiel de Brieder · December 16, 2004

Aaron
I am by no means a pro, and I'm not aspiring to be one (yet..) but here are my 2 cents for what they are worth:

I think the first thing you have to do is establish where your main interest lies. Be it with landscapes, portraits, glamour shots.... or whatever. As soon as you have that covered then you can start looking at a way to develop those skills even further and try to set up sales. But I think think different types of shooting require a different path.
For instance, if I want to sell landscape stuff I would definitely set up a good web page with ordering and payment mechanism. On the other hand, it is always good to have contact with people, aspirant buyers, So I'd try to show my work in some kind of gallery (yes, that will take some investment). Especially if you're shooting local landscapes, I think many people from a local area would be interested in that...
Just an example of my take on this

Where does your main interest lie?
Regards,

Aaron Wilson · December 16, 2004

intreasts
I would have to say 3 spots.. landscape at night, shows like auto shows, and then glamore (swim suit, people in romantic settings).

Shay Stephens · December 16, 2004

Aaron Wilson wrote:

Lets try this again.. my browser crashed... If in wrong spot pelase move to the correct location. What I would like to know is how to try and go pro? I use to do a lot of things for friends with 35mm and now armed with a 20d I would like to try and do a little more! But were do i start? Should I just shoot landscape and point people to a web page or do wedding for like dirt cheap (the cost of film) or do I want to avoid weddings and go some were else? I had a friend she said she would model... but the problem is I have never directed... I have always been the one with the cam shooting and not talking to the person being shoot.. any ideas? comments? articales? books? I suppose I would or should get insureance huh? In case photo shoot goes bad and a contract?

You can probably answer this yourself if you sit down and think about it. How does one break into any business? You usually start at the bottom and learn the ropes unless you have exceptional natural talent.

So how does one start at the bottom and work their way up? Begin with a portfolio. What do you have to show a prospective client? You don't have to show them pro work, but you do need to show them enough for them to extrapolate what your skills are.

You mention that you are interested in night shots, shows, and glamour. Do you have any examples of those kinds of shots? If not, then your quest begins there. Shoot as many and as varied a selection of night shots as you can muster with your equipment and budget. Go to every show you can and get the most amazing show shots possible. And shoot as many friends, family, and aspiring models as you can round up. Learn from experience how to direct them, light them, and edit them to produce images that thrill them.

When you have a body of work that knocks peoples socks off in the fields you want to shoot, you will probably already be shooting real assingments, the snowball will have begun rolling.

It really just comes down to experience, and in that regard, you can get all the experience you want just by commisioning yourself to do assignments. Learning the ropes along the way will be a natural progression as long as you apply yourself to learning.

You will need a good foundation in which to work once you get people starting to pay you. So have in place before they are needed, business licences, tax info, invoices, insurance, and let's not forget business cards and a website to direct people to your ever expanding portfolio :-)

You will be quite busy for the next year or two just developing your skills, busniess strategy, and policies. Hopefully you have money to live off of and don't have to work a second job, or this may take a lot longer ;-)

Shay Stephens · December 16, 2004

Night shot critque
To get down to the nitty gritty I offer the following critique for what it is worth to you.

When I look at your night shots, I am struck with a mountain of dark photos. Night shots are not about showing darkness, it is about showing the light. And night shots really can't be done using auto settings and especially can't be done hand held. You show photos with *obvious* camera shake. Get rid of these right away, they look *terrible* and tell me (as a client) that you have no idea what you are doing. Only show your best work. And for heavens sake, take the camera off auto or semi auto modes. Shoot deliberately, choose your settings, and don't leave anything up to the camera to decide. You are the artist, not the camera.

Now all is not doom and gloom, I did see one photo that excited me and told me that there is a night photographer lurking inide of you:

This is really oustanding and makes all the other photos in the gallery look like cheap filler. If you can fill your gallery with shots of this quality, you will have something really great going.

For the other night photos in the gallery and future night work, use a good tripod, set your white balance to something that looks appealing, pay attention to composition, and keep working on developing your night shot skills.

Aaron Wilson · December 16, 2004

thank you
thank you for the tips... The photo's were shoot in raw... I just got a new try pod.. the other one did no justice as you can see. Still also learning how to better creat the raw files into works of art.

Shay Stephens · December 16, 2004

Aaron Wilson wrote:

thank you for the tips... The photo's were shoot in raw... I just got a new try pod.. the other one did no justice as you can see. Still also learning how to better creat the raw files into works of art.

Good news about the tripod! And RAW is probably the best way to shoot a night shot as you have control over the white balance later. You can also adjust the exposure, but that by itself is no substitue for a good exposure to begin with.

You may want to do some research into, and practice what is known as exposure blending. You can do that with a single raw file, or multiple bracketed exposures. You can get started here:
http://luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/blended_exposures.shtml

Go get 'em :-)

Aaron Wilson · December 16, 2004

A question for you.. I really value your opion. That one picture was takin i think more around sun set if i remember and not looking it up... if you take it in a lot more dark setting would it be better to zoom in on the subject and cut out the surrounding? A lot of the shots were like 2 or 3 am.. very little moon or sky light. I will have to go threw tonight and like you said only keep the best of the best in there... I need to re-shoot a lot of the pictures on the new tripod... the old one was to light for the weight of the camera. I just got a remote shuuter release.. waiting for it to be shipped, I have noticed alot of the shake is the release of the shutter... but i have started to use the timer feature to make up for it.

Shay Stephens · December 16, 2004

That one picture was takin i think more around sun set if i remember and not looking it up...
I find that to be among the best times to shoot a night shot. Any more than an hour after sunset, and the sky is just too dark.

if you take it in a lot more dark setting would it be better to zoom in on the subject and cut out the surrounding? A lot of the shots were like 2 or 3 am..
I don't typically shoot that late for the reason mentioned above. And in general, composition is one of the primary tasks for a good night shot. If you can't see enough to frame, shoot a long exposure so you can see what the framing is like in the preview screen and adjust as needed. You may also have to plan out the shot during the daytime so you can figure how you will shoot it when it gets dark. Many night shots need careful planning and timing to work out right.

But in addition to composition, exposure is is also of paramount importance. The photo needs to look like it was shot at night, but it shouldn't look dark (for the most part). It is an odd catch 22 type situation, and the reason why a good night shot is so tricky to produce. You are not shooting the darkness, you are shooting the light that fills the darkness. So do some work with the exposure blending techniques. Learn to bracket the shots and blend the best parts of them into one beautiful photo. Sometimes, the light will be just right and you can get it all in just one exposure, like the photo you did that I pointed out.

I will have to go threw tonight and like you said only keep the best of the best in there... I need to re-shoot a lot of the pictures on the new tripod... the old one was to light for the weight of the camera. I just got a remote shuuter release.. waiting for it to be shipped, I have noticed alot of the shake is the release of the shutter... but i have started to use the timer feature to make up for it.
Great news, a remote shutter release and a good stout tripod are the low-light photographers best friend. And the self timer is a great backup for when you don't have the remote on hand. I even have a 10 pound clamp on weight that clamps on to the center column of my tripod for windy days. Keeps things nice and steady in difficult conditions.

what it takes?

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