In the good old days...

[ClassicBeth]

In the good old days of 35mm film cameras, before highly capable digital slr's were available to the masses, how did one go about becoming a professional photographer?

I love this hobby (or habit, or addiction) I've developed, but I jumped straight into digital. A lot of my learning is by trial and error, looking at the LCD to see if I've got the exposure right, ect. I do a lot of reading online and I check out books from the library. Still, the "professional" level seems so far beyond me.

I ask this hoping that there is no such thing as a stupid question on DPS .

[sk66]

Lets just say it was "harder" and "more expensive/ time consuming"....
Burn a lot of film and get it developed/or develop it yourself..(I had a full darkroom at one point).....
You also had to take a lot of notes...no exif to learn from...

BTW, I never made it "pro".

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by sk66

Lets just say it was "harder" and "more expensive/ time consuming"....
Burn a lot of film and get it developed/or develop it yourself.
You also had to take a lot of notes...no exif to learn from...

Agreed!

Another version of the good old days. You just need plenty of practices and familiar with an assortment of gears.

- A least two bodies or film backs (MF)
- Manual focusing (hyper focus, fast lenses, 13 different focusing screens to choose from)
- Manual exposure (sunny 16 rule, incident/reflective/spot/flash meter)
- Accessories: 5 fps motor drive, optional 33/100 feet of film (250/750 frames film cassettes), several big handle flashes
- A film change bag
- Polaroid (MF) back for preview
- Same batch of film in refrigerator
- Your own darkroom (chemicals, paper and meter)
- Read 'Popular photography' and 'Modern Photography'
- A copy of the 'Kodak Professional Photoguide'

Piece of cake!

[Jim Bryant]

Back in the good old day when there wasn't an Auto or P mode on your cameras, you had to actually learn how to use the camera meter and bracket your exposures. Oh these were also manual focus cameras. After you shot the film, one had to think about processing the film in a multitude of different film developers on the market. Now the fun part was darkroom, my favorite where I'd hide for hours a time, drinking wine, listening to music and making that perfect print. Of course there was a various of mulitgrade printing paper and filters to use in determining one's contrast. Most of us used Ansel Adams zone system for exposing our b & w negative films.

What was good was the expenses of film, paper and chemicals that kept most photographers from jumping from the amateur to the pros. Only those photographers who were dedicated and with an eye for photography were the ones that rose to the top to become professionals. Those were the days where we paid our dues to become where we are now. There were no wanta be's with automatic cameras to turn pro overnight.

But, you're heard my take on PhD cameras. All you have to do now is hit the Press here dummy and in two months from the day you got your first DSLR, you'll ask for advice on "How to start a photography business."

Do I miss those days...sometimes, yes, but mostly no. I embraced the new technology, because it made my job easier to get photos to my clients. Now I spend less time in the darkroom and more time shooting, which is what now makes photography really fun.

[m.c.adams]

I recall, back in the late '70's, I picked up a Mamiya 500 DTL. It had a built in meter system. I thought, my God, how could it get any easier?
Mark

[Wombat]

Good all days...
Well...I got my D3 and took like duck into water. Then i found out that there is something missing in my shots, something is not right there. Then i did found out. I was making plenty of shots and i select only one or two. What the ?????
I sit down and start thinking (it did hurt).
I decided to go back to basics - back to film.
My dads 40 years old Practica IV was sent to service and cleanup. I put some black and white film with 100 ISO and shoot my film. Oh boy.. the shots was all crap !!!. But when i look at the photos i see the difference in compositions, lightning, exposure.
I learn from those bead shots a lot.
Today i shot digital and i shot film (lucky me i got my hands on 501CM haselblad), and i also use my dads 40years old camera.
The bottom line is - if you shoot digital you also should take some films shots as well. It will open your eyes and will help with digital shots.

[Jim Bryant]

yup..getting back to the basics.......makes photography fun again. Actually think before pressing the shutter.

[LoveDSLR]

I rather called it the 'joy' of photography and 'fun' is 9 fps with autobracketing.

[ClassicBeth]

I guess digital is a blessing and a cursing, then. I have a lot of respect for those of you who have mastered both mediums (or come close, anyway). It is hard enough for me with my camera-for-dummies ;-) . I really appreciate the advice to get back to some basics. Perhaps even taking notes would help me more than just looking over automatically recorded data? What do you think about the advice I've heard to go ahead and put your camera in one of the preset modes and work on developing a photographic eye?

Jim Bryant -- I looked at your website and was inspired. You are truly a cut above with the images you capture. Truly.

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by ClassicBeth

I guess digital is a blessing and a cursing, then. I have a lot of respect for those of you who have mastered both mediums (or come close, anyway). It is hard enough for me with my camera-for-dummies ;-) . I really appreciate the advice to get back to some basics. Perhaps even taking notes would help me more than just looking over automatically recorded data? What do you think about the advice I've heard to go ahead and put your camera in one of the preset modes and work on developing a photographic eye?

Jim Bryant -- I looked at your website and was inspired. You are truly a cut above with the images you capture. Truly.

Thanksie san.

You know, most of the time, I keep it on AV and select my desired f-top, unless I'm shooting sports then it's AT for desired shutter speed. It it's either a night game or inside an area where the light is pretty much constant, I'll put on manual, and set both the shutter speed and f-stop.

There's nuthin wrong with putting your camera on one of the preset modes while you're first learning. Go and have fun