| Posted By |
Message |
| Sharle Sun 1st Mar 2009 11:04
|
I'm 13 and want to be ann photographer when I grow up. Do you think I would be able to do it?
|
| Captivelight PRO Sun 1st Mar 2009 21:00
|
You can do anything if you are prepared to work hard at it...
|
| spideyj Mon 2nd Mar 2009 20:15
|
Hiya Sharle,
Photography like anything else is a skill and as such you can learn to be a good photographer. I started when I was about your age.
My advice to you is to read any photography books you can get hold of. Even if they are related to film cameras rather than digital. The basic principles are the same. Learn how to compose images and how to use lights. Get hold of magazines that have tips in. Look at online portfolios and see which styles you like and try an replicate them. Above all experiment. The wonderful thing about digital photography is that if the image doesn't work you can delete it and try again. Use this to your advantage.
Finally, whenever you can post your images on here and make time to comment on other peoples work. You will find that people will look at your work and leave comments and give you advice.
Good luck,
Lee
|
| LMoliviatis Mon 2nd Mar 2009 22:42
|
well, based on nothing at all but my current mood, i'm gonna say "no".
seriously though, some people have a natural eye for photography, others are able to learn to be good photographers, and there are some people who really should just give up and do something else. i have no idea which you are, and you're getting a much earlier start if you're starting now than a lot of people do, which may be an advantage later if you want to make a career of it. i mean, i didn't start until i was 18 or 19 and people told me from the get-go that i had a natural eye for it so it progressed from there to taking a total of 4 photo classes in college, most of which were teaching things i had already taught myself. i've since worked as a freelance photographer for a local newspaper and been a finalist in a couple photo contests.
really, it's what you make of it. i have met a few people (they really are few and far between), who really, absolutely cannot grasp even the most basic photographic concepts even after they've been explained in simple terms several times and have no natural eye. these people are the ones who should give up and take up something else.
|
| genese Wed 4th Mar 2009 11:22
|
The photography business is very competitive many students pour out of college with their new degree and find it hard to get a foot hold in the photography world... on average i get 7 ish emails a week asking me to help new photographers work wise.
We often get under cut by people that do not price their work correctly and will more often than not be out of work within the year! All this being said if you love it and you want to spend a good deal of your time Marketing it is a great job to be in! many people make a great second income from photography work!
In my experience the only way to make a First income from photography is to Widen your scope and do not specialize as such.
I.E i am a landscape photographer but most of my work is advertising and portrait, my landscapes and other work sell more through stock sites...
If you have a passion for photography and the drive ( oh boy will you need that ) you can go far... personally i wouldnt get too caught up with being published in photography magazines as they dont pay the bills... but it is a good way to get your name known by other photographers :)
As spidey said above you have to know your stuff... read read read and practice and then when you are ready you will know..
PS photographers are, digital artists, designers, managers, accountants, Marketing, and word smiths lol
something to add to the CV
|
| LMoliviatis Fri 3rd Apr 2009 15:09
|
books are good for learning the basics, but from there you've gotta do a little on your own. i personally think it's good to know things like the thirds rule, but some people do that stuff naturally without thinking about it. i've sort of been using the thirds rule since before i knew what i was doing and that it was actually a photography technique. but yeah, you've gotta be able to break the "rules" sometimes and develop your own style.
|
| junsjazz Mon 10th Aug 2009 01:32
|
Originally posted by LMoliviatis:
well, based on nothing at all but my current mood, i'm gonna say "no".
this got me teary-eyed...giggling...
Seriously Sharle, if you begin now, you got a headstart...and pick up on the advices of my friends above...I can add a whole lot more but what they said above is more than enough to start with...
Photography has been more than a hobby for me, it's a passion of mine for the past 10 years. It is not my source of income, I have my own business. In other words, I'm an avid hobbyist, not a professional photographer. So it came as a pleasant surprise when early this year a photo editor of an in-flight magazine of an Asian airline company emailed me, asking to buy some of my landscape photos to be used in an upcoming issue of their magazine. He saw these pics of mine in another photo sharing site.He offered me their standard rate of 40 Singaporean Dollars for every photo used. Well, I agreed. So far, 7 of my landscape photos has been published in four consecutive monthly issues of their magazine this year. Just last week, another in-flight magazine editor of a competitor airline asked permission to buy 2 of my photos. Pleasantly surprised again to see more offers coming!
In other words, I started photography relatively late but pursued it, researched on it, read about it, went out and practised it, then built up on my gear. The monetary rewards are just trickling in, but they are not my primary consideration. It's the satisfaction that people noticed and appreciated your work, and are even willing to publish them (at a cost!)
Start now Shale...and start well!
|
| TonyF2009 Sat 29th Aug 2009 12:35
|
O.M.G. lol
|
| LisaSam67 Mon 7th Sep 2009 21:31
|
Looks like Sharle left us in June
awwwwwwwwwww
|
| twsottawan Fri 11th Sep 2009 09:26
|
Perhaps it's beside the point now, as Sharilee seems to have dropped out, but if you set yourself the goal of uploading 10,000 photographs to a website like Fotothing, then by the time you have achieved that ambition, you can't help but be a professional photographer. You will be, whether you want to be or not, or whether you should be or not.
|
| LisaSam67 Fri 11th Sep 2009 14:40
|
Like I said.....
Originally posted by LisaSam67:
Looks like Sharle left us in June
|
| |
173,285 members
2,597,200 photos
6,996,353 comments
