photography

[nitason]

does anybody make money selling or taking photo's?<br>ive just ordered from amazon i nice camera and lens <br>i plan on at 1st entering contests and get some<br>expereince at photography<br><br>thanks<br>

 

[Crisscrosses]

I think there's a lot of competition, but if you have fun doing it, why not! I would like to learn more about this too.

 

[akrvbob]

Crisscrosses is right there is a huge amount of competition. That makes it very hard for a beginner to break into the market. I take nature photos and I think I am very good, friends and family are all the time telling me I should sell them. However, I know there are so many incredibly talented pros put there, my chances are 1 in a million. <br><br>But here is a way I think you could make some money at it. first, you have to have some really great shots. Next you need a high quality 13x19 photo printer--you can get a great one for $200. Learn how to print great pictures with it. Then set up a booth at flea markets or craft shows. You want print-outs of all your best prints, from exotic places all over the country. When someone wants a print, you print it right there at up to 13x19 size. While it is printing, tell them the story about how you took it. people like that. I'd charge between $20 to $50 for one. If you are good, I think you could sell enough to make it worthwhile. Your best time to sell would be at holiday crafts fairs. Bob<br><br>

 

[Seraphim]

Photography was always a niche market, but in the days of film a photographer who could consistently take excellent shots could make money. Hiring a professional photographer was a bit costly, but there were times people would pay the cost.

Digital cameras have decimated the market for many professionals, except perhaps for commercial and architecture, which require specialized equipment. A person with a camera no longer needs to know how to use a light meter to ensure a properly exposed negative for an image they can't come back and recapture. A digital camer let's the user see what they have and in many cases reshoot. Not always.

People are taking their own pictures because its cheaper and easier. Paying for a photograph is a luxury which is difficult for the average market to bear, momentarily.

If you wish to make the attempt, beside the printer you'll need a computer and image editing software such as Photoshop. A tripod, for multiple exposures to increase the exposure range in situations you can't control the lighting, an external flash eventually ( so make sure your camera can support one) and, if you're going to photograph people, a portable reflector.

You have to make your images better than everyone's around you, of you're going to,sell them.

Here's a free site that runs digital photography competitions for fun, and everyone rates each other. I used to be one of the critiquers , for people who wanted an in-depth critique of their photo. You can learn a lot here and get a reality check. It's got a LOT of members. Generally five or seven competitions going on at a time and hundreds of entries per competition. They are also time limited. You must take the photo AFTER the competition was announced, and taken specifically for that competition. Again, it's free.

Http://www.dpchallenge.com

 

[dfh]

Photoshop is the best, but its quite pricey. There are a few free programs that you can play with to get your feet wet. Google these: Photoscape, Paint.net, Gimp. Picnik is a free online editor which is really neat to play around with too. You can look on youtube for tutorials on how to use these programs and how to achieve certain effects.

 

[Khaly]

<p>Paint Shop Pro is another good image editor, and has (as far as I can tell) pretty much all the same features that Photoshop does.&nbsp;&nbsp;You can get older versions of Paint Shop Pro on Ebay for under $50, which is a pretty cost-effective way to go.&nbsp; Just make sure you are getting a version compatible with your operating system.&nbsp;&nbsp; <img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif"></p>

 

[Ricekila]

<P>What I did was take a very basic photography adult ed. course - bought my self a Cannon A1&nbsp;with the 55 MM lens&nbsp;and a 38 - 85 MM lens <IMG src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif" align=absMiddle border=0><BR><BR>Then with my radio shack scanner - when there was something interesting within a 20 minute drive - I would go and snap a few pix's and see if the local papers were interested <IMG src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/idea.gif" align=absMiddle border=0><BR><BR>I landed a stringer job with "This Week Newspaper" ( you want this week's news's - you'll get it next week <IMG src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/crazy.gif" align=absMiddle border=0>&nbsp;&nbsp; ) news rag -- They sent me to all kinds of events - Election nights were crazy ---- It was great fun <IMG src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif" align=absMiddle border=0></P><br>Then I could afford another A-1 body and a slue of lens's <IMG src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/cool.gif" align=absMiddle border=0><BR><BR>Side story - NYC - NBC contacted my boss's and asked if they had crime photos in Suffolk County --- They needed bumper stills for their Long Island segment <IMG src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/cool.gif" align=absMiddle border=0><BR><BR>They sent me into Mad-Hat-ten <IMG src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/crazy.gif" align=absMiddle border=0>&nbsp;to show what I had ----- long story short - they only used "One" <IMG src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif" align=absMiddle border=0>&nbsp;the majority of the crimes committed were in black and spanish areas - they had plenty of those <IMG src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/eek.gif" align=absMiddle border=0><BR><BR>My Avianca plane crash photos were published in Paris Match rag-o-zeen <IMG src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/comp.gif" align=absMiddle border=0>&nbsp;Since I owned those - I donated 3/4 of the monies to the family fund that was set up then <IMG src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" align=absMiddle border=0><BR><br>

 

[lampliter]

I tried selling stock and all my shots were rejected by stockhouses because" they had so many" of that theme (landscape). <br>

 

[Seraphim]

Stock photos still need tobe way above ordinary both compositionally and technically. For cover shots, there needs to be clean space in the image for text. It's easy to saturate the market, because stock photos never get used up - they're on file forever. The company also expects photographers they take on to consitently produce quality images. Try finding an online catalog to see what they're selling from others photographers.

Addendum: just checked out what basic stock photos are going for - 1 to 5 bucks, of which the photographer gets very little. Unless one is extremely good, and continuously produces a lot of outstanding images, there's no money in it. Set up your own online collection.

The guy isn't anything special, IMO, but he travels, has 7000 stock images, charges 15 bucks for an avatar size, up to 45 for something usable online, and doesn't quote prices for high resolution images, but gives you an idea if you want to sell stock:

Click Here

 

[Trout]

<p style="margin: 0px;">Ricekila, My first was a Canon AE-1 program.&nbsp; I loved that camera.....</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Now I have a Pentax DSLR K-10, hopefully I will get better use of it as my knowledge/practice improves.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">for free ware I have been using Picasa 3, Gimp, and mostly Infranview.&nbsp; I use Picasa for quick and easy stuff, Infranfiew for most of it, and I am still trying to figure out Gimp.&nbsp; Now to check on the other programs listed above....</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Ansel Adams developed a technique to balance the light levels in the photograph.&nbsp; I can't explain it very well, but look it up.&nbsp; It helped me quite a lot.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">check out other photographers as well.&nbsp; Not just for the really amazing shots, but learn from the not so good ones as well.&nbsp; The site Seraphim mentioned above has quiet a few no no's.&nbsp; i.e.&nbsp; when taking a persons picture who is facing left, place their head 1/3 from the right edge and adjust up or down from center.&nbsp; He placed many focal points directly in the center and it just doesn't work.</p>

 

[Seraphim]

Trout. Which site? I posted two, and the second was merely for information about stock prices: he was not mentioned as a good photographer.

As for composition, you are quoting a very basic rule used to guide beginners. Composition is far more complex than a small set of beginning guidelines. In your example above, if you did the opposite and made the subject looking at the edge, it would create an uncomfortable feeling, perhaps making the viewer wonder what the subject was looking at off the frame. If thats the goal of the photo,, then then the image "works."




Grid by jglennhart, on Flickr

 

[4myk]

I use a FREE program for my photos called G.I.M.P.. It is an excellent program, open source, just google it and save yourself hundreds of dollars.<br>

 

[4myk]

GIMP used to crop and adjust color.<br>

 

[Seraphim]

<p style="margin: 0px;">If you know a teacher or a student of any level, Adobe sells student versions of their software - full functioning versions with a limited license for comercial use. The student versions are inexpensive (relatively): a fraction of the regular versions.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Nice shot 4myk.&nbsp; </p>

 

[4myk]

Thanks Seraphim..<br>You can do amazing things with GIMP as well... Here's a picture of the Callanish Stones in the Outer Hebrides that has been slightly altered....<br><br>

 

[Seraphim]

<p>I'm familiar with GIMP - it's a linux port. It's not as user friendly as PS but can accomplish the same results.</p>