What’s Your Preference?

stephanie lyn · #1 (**permalink**) 01-27-2011, 04:22 PM

Hello! So Im just going to babble on about me being discouraged about my photography. 3 years ago I found that I absolutely love taking pictures, that was when my son was born, I was taking 100 + photos of him daily with just a regular kodak P&S camera. I decided to work in a portrait studio thinking that it would help me learn so much more about photography, plus i just loved taking photos and thought it would be the perfect career choice for me. When i first started at the studio, my boss threw me to the wolves, her exact words were "there is no knowledge behind photography, the camera is set up automatically, so all you have to do in there is get the camera focused and take a picture" and i must admit, it was really pretty easy. I developed quite a bit of clientele while i was there but i felt as if my creativity was limited...i had to take portraits according to the "9 pose only paper" that was taped on the studio wall. I could only shoot 9 poses no more than 3 in each category ( close up, extreme close up, 1/4 body etc) and we couldnt be in the camera room longer than 15 minutes or else we lost camera privileges and got stuck "telemarketing". With that being said (sorry im rambling on) i decided that maybe studio work just wasnt for me. My husband bought me my first DLSR which is an olympus evolt e 420. I wanted it because it was the exact same camera the studio used. I will admit that i dont know alot about photography, ive been reading tips and information from this site, and have learned quite a bit. So anyways i got the camera and automatically started taking pictures even though the only thing i knew how to do was turn it on and off and how to insert the memory card. a few months down the road I realized that in my opinion i took some amazing shots and that maybe i could save myself the money and start doing my own family portraits, once i started doing that, friends and family started asking me to photograph them. Still not knowing anything about aperture, shutter speeds and ISO, my friends and family were telling me I need to keep it up and start charging for my services. I still dont charge anybody in fear of getting in trouble for not having a business license. Then this past christmas my parents bought me a studio kit, and i will be honest...i have no clue what i am doing. So while at the beach taking photos for my aunt who is getting married down here soon, i came across a photographer and decided to ask questions...WRONG idea! He was so rude! At first I asked him about the light he was using and he just looked at me like what about it. SO then i proceeded to tell him about the studio kit my parents got me and i asked him if he could tell me what i was doing wrong or if there was even a book or website he would recommend that would help me. and he simply laughed at me and said "buying a studio kit when you clearly have no idea what the heck you are doing was the most ignorant thing he has ever heard" hmm thanks! So then he asked "your using that camera?" and i said yes and he laughed again and said I need to just give up, photography is similar to gymnastics, you need to start early or youll never get it. In my opinion he was the simon cowell of photographers. Am I really over my head? I dont expect to be a pro over night, im not worried about making money, i just want to learn how to make my personal pictures look more professional.

zona5101 · #2 (**permalink**) 01-27-2011, 04:27 PM

Hi and welcome.
No worries, you will learn it if you spend time and ask questions. I think you will find more photogs to be helpful than not. You just ran into the not first...

scootermcq · #3 (**permalink**) 01-27-2011, 04:49 PM

Welcome to the forum...

You might be in over your head if you are 102 and diagnosed with a terminal disease that will run it's course in 2 weeks.

Assuming that is not the case, let that jerk be water off a ducks back and ask all the questions you want here. Very helpful group, who will do their best to help you learn and grow.

PassionatePhotographer · #4 (**permalink**) 01-27-2011, 04:59 PM

I don't think you should be discouraged. Obviously your family think you take good pictures, so you must have some innate ability; something like "the photographer's eye". I would suggest you see if you can find a book like 'The Idiot's Guide to Your Camera Model', or ' Your Camera Model for Dummies' and read that. That should give you the basics and enough confidence to try out your camera a bit more. I know Canon EOS Rebel XS/1000D helped me when I got my DSLR last year. Other things you could do is look round the blogs on this site for advice, and go to your local community college to see if there are any courses that would be suitable. Your local library may have some relevant books in that you may find interesting.

RLucas · #5 (**permalink**) 01-27-2011, 05:05 PM

Hi Stephanie! Welcome to DPS! You have already gotten two great responses. Don't feel like you are in over your head with this, and don't let that guy's remark about your gear get you down. There are some wonderful photographers on here. The two above me to name a couple.. Some of them use high end gear, and some of them use a lot of DIY gear, and produce some fantastic images. It's not about the equipment, it's about knowing what to do with what you have.
Good luck, and enjoy your stay! Hope to see you posting some of your work!

stephanie lyn · #6 (**permalink**) 01-27-2011, 05:13 PM

Thank you all so much for your responses! Its nice to know that not all photographers are unprofessional! I appreciate all the advice, and I am looking forward to keep on learning! Again Thank You all!

Mike367 · #7 (**permalink**) 01-27-2011, 05:15 PM

That guy sounds like a jerk.

I don't think you need to start early, I think you need to start when you're interested.

I'm way too lazy to type much, but here are some websites I think are useful:

Strobist: Lighting 101

Online Depth of Field Calculator

http://neilvn.com/tangents/flash-pho...hy-techniques/

stephanie lyn · #8 (**permalink**) 01-27-2011, 05:16 PM

how do i post pictures on here??

Krusty79 · #9 (**permalink**) 01-27-2011, 05:43 PM

Stephanie,

Sorry you ran into an arrogant a-hole on the beach. Here are some tips you may find useful:

http://www.livermorevalleycameraclub...O_critique.pdf
http://www.livermorevalleycameraclub...omposition.pdf

It's pretty easy to post images if you have a Flickr account. Click on one of the images in your Photostream to enlarge it, then click on Share This\Grab the HTML/BB code and paste the code into your DPS post.