 Sharon A |
Help please I'm beginning to think I'm no good as a photographer. I have had many interviews and nobody calls me back. I have taken 2 courses on photography, and even courses on here. Do I need more experience? I mean I dont understand I always thought my photos were great. Nobody has ever said anything negative about them. I dont understand what I need to do. I tried to venture out and start my own business but I had no luck. What should I do???
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Robyn Gwilt |
Had a quick peek at your gallery and yr stuff looks great - I guess its the old saying about the violinist asking how to get to Carnegie Hall - and the answer was 'practice, practice, practice' - or as Gary Player once said about his golfing career - the more I practice, the luckier I get! Keep going you're doing fine!
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
What kind of interviews have you been going to?
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Sharon A |
Position for photographer. I mean they seem to like my stuff when i'm there but nobody ever calls back or they found someone else.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Figured it was photographer, I meant what would you be doing. Newspaper, regular portrait place, product shots for a website, etc....
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Sharon A |
portrait place, and a few wedding companies
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Forrest C. Wilkinson |
Sharon, Sometimes it's more of finding your niche in photography rather than trying to make yourself good at a certain type of photography. And let me tell you a statistic that I've found, 99.99999% of photographers feel that their work is under-appreciated. I will also let you know that I was in a similar circumstance as you when I got started, so maybe my story might help you more than anything else I can tell you: I started my overall photography career volunteering at a church in Dallas called Fellowship Church, which was, to my advantage, one of the largest churches in the nation. I shot video on some of the top of the line TV equipment available, which led me into my still photography. I started shooting landscapes for fun with my DSLR camera, before long, I developed a love for photography. I started submitting my photos (for free) to a community newspaper. I then got a unpair job at a bigger newspaper as a front-page sports photographer and bought myself a Canon Digital Rebel. After shooting for 5 months of football, my experience made me good enough to be a paid photographer on the staff of the local newspaper. Needless to say the pay was low, but better than no pay, and I got sideline access to become more experienced. Then, over this summer, I got a job as a freelance/contracted photographer at the Star-Telegram, and I make better money there. And at the end of the summer I got a job at a Television show as a Dolly Camera Operator, which revamped my video career. With the Star-Telegram giving me still opportunites, and the Television show giving me video opportunites, I decided to use video to make a solid income. I freelance work for Fox Sports, and other networks and make enough money a month to be able to purchase a couple Canon L series lenses and new camera equipment and afford gasoline for my car. It's all about getting of the ground, then it's all downhill from there. So my advice to you is, firstly, upgrade to DSLR. Then, instead of trying to jump into the paid-world where there is a lot of competition, offer to work for free. Say, I'll go to the wedding and take pictures for free, as long as you give me that OPPORTUNITY. That is what I did, although I made no money, I got a sideline pass and I gained experience in my field. More OPPORTUNITIES in a professional environment will get you to become a better photographer, and then you can make a move into the paid-world at the same company, or switch companies like I did. Also, you might think about just forgetting about what kinds of shots will make you money, shoot what YOU WANT TO SHOOT for at least a month, see what you like the best, then try to get a non-paid job in that department. If you're beginning to not enjoy photography, then you are taking a step in the wrong direction, Sharon, take a month of to find that love again. Take a month to remember what you wanted to shoot in the first place, and forget about how much money you'll make doing it. Then, after giving yourself some time, jump out there into the photography world. And bottom line is, NEVER, EVER think that you are becomming a bad photographer, because it is not true. I went through your gallery, Sharon, and you are not a bad photographer, as a matter of fact, you are a good photographer with good potential. Best of luck to you!
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John G. Clifford Jr |
Second, Sharon, I looked at your gallery here on BP and there are some really good pictures ("Wrong Direction") and some not-so-good pictures (most of the zoo pics). While all of them are technically adequate in terms of focus and exposure, many are woefully lacking in composition and look like snapshots. We all take not-so-good pictures, but if you're applying for a job as a photographer, only show your best work. You must be your own most ruthless critic. Your friends and family will not be honest with you. Chances are, they don't know much about photography anyways, and because they like you they'll tell you what they think you want to hear, not the truth. Doesn't mean they're bad people, just means they're human. My suggestion for your portfolio would be as follows: print out the 'Ten Tips' article from this website, then print out each of your photos. Look at each photo and see if they could have been improved by following one or more of the Tips. If so, WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU WOULD DO TO IMPROVE on a piece of paper, and put that print aside. By the time you're done, you should have a much smaller set of good (portfolio) prints, and plenty of re-shoot assignments. Your job now is to go out and re-shoot these photos! (Here's my example, using your landscape version of "Maria & Fernando". There is too much extra stuff in the picture. You have their heads centered in the viewfinder, meaning the top half of the image is wasted. You need to move in/zoom in on the couple until they fill the viewfinder. I've gone ahead and cropped the image to show what I would have done.) My bottom-line assessment of you as a photographer is someone who has a good eye but who too often settles for mediocrity. You show flashes of excellence. So, the question is, are you as good as some of your photos, or as bad as some of your photos? (At this point your ego had better be screaming "I'm BETTER than these photos, even the good ones!") Go out and prove it! Go out and prove the people who didn't call back wrong. Go out and focus on a subject, THINK about composition, and make it a non-negotiable goal that you WILL get at least one incredible photo of each subject you pursue. And, do NOT take a photo without thinking about the image you see in the viewfinder as a picture as framed in the viewfinder... and move the camera around, zoom the lens, etc., until the picture looks as good as you think you can make it before you press the shutter button. If you want excellence, don't settle for mediocrity. (This is the advantage a dSLR gives... it's really cheap to take lots of photos and you get instant feedback by seeing the image right away. That is extremely valuable in developing your skills. If I were you my next investment would be a Canon dSLR that will take your current lenses. The money you spend will be saved in a year or so on film and processing, and you'll learn a lot faster.)
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John G. Clifford Jr |
Second, Sharon, I looked at your gallery here on BP and there are some really good pictures ("Wrong Direction") and some not-so-good pictures (most of the zoo pics). While all of them are technically adequate in terms of focus and exposure, many are woefully lacking in composition and look like snapshots. We all take not-so-good pictures, but if you're applying for a job as a photographer, only show your best work. You must be your own most ruthless critic. Your friends and family will not be honest with you. Chances are, they don't know much about photography anyways, and because they like you they'll tell you what they think you want to hear, not the truth. Doesn't mean they're bad people, just means they're human. My suggestion for your portfolio would be as follows: print out the 'Ten Tips' article from this website, then print out each of your photos. Look at each photo and see if they could have been improved by following one or more of the Tips. If so, WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU WOULD DO TO IMPROVE on a piece of paper, and put that print aside. By the time you're done, you should have a much smaller set of good (portfolio) prints, and plenty of re-shoot assignments. Your job now is to go out and re-shoot these photos! (Here's my example, using your landscape version of "Maria & Fernando". There is too much extra stuff in the picture. You have their heads centered in the viewfinder, meaning the top half of the image is wasted. You need to move in/zoom in on the couple until they fill the viewfinder. I've gone ahead and cropped the image to show what I would have done.) My bottom-line assessment of you as a photographer is someone who has a good eye but who too often settles for mediocrity. You show flashes of excellence. So, the question is, are you as good as some of your photos, or as bad as some of your photos? (At this point your ego had better be screaming "I'm BETTER than these photos, even the good ones!") Go out and prove it! Go out and prove the people who didn't call back wrong. Go out and focus on a subject, THINK about composition, and make it a non-negotiable goal that you WILL get at least one incredible photo of each subject you pursue. And, do NOT take a photo without thinking about the image you see in the viewfinder as a picture as framed in the viewfinder... and move the camera around, zoom the lens, etc., until the picture looks as good as you think you can make it before you press the shutter button. If you want excellence, don't settle for mediocrity. (This is the advantage a dSLR gives... it's really cheap to take lots of photos and you get instant feedback by seeing the image right away. That is extremely valuable in developing your skills. If I were you my next investment would be a Canon dSLR that will take your current lenses. The money you spend will be saved in a year or so on film and processing, and you'll learn a lot faster.)
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Pat Wimpee |
Wow John, That is THE best answer I have every read here! Now I'm going to do the same with my photos and see what I come up with. I think everyone can benfit from accessing themselves that way!!
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John G. Clifford Jr |
I've often said that, inside every snapshot a fantastic picture is just struggling to escape. In the interests of freedom for fantastic pictures, here's another suggestion to help you improve your composition skills: Use image editing software (PS, PSP, even Microsoft Paint that is included with Windows) and practice re-framing/cropping your images. While doing so, think of some of the principles of composition, such as the Rule of Thirds, to help you frame. (Notice that my re-framing put both heads in the upper third of the picture.) That is all that I really did with the example photo, above; I just cropped it until I eliminated the extraneous stuff, filled the frame with the subjects, and made the image look like a picture instead of a snapshot. I let the fantastic picture escape. The key to taking good pictures (as opposed to snapshots) is to use the viewfinder to do this framing/cropping BEFORE you press the shutter, instead of relying on fixing composition problems later during post-processing. In other words, liberate the fantastic picture with your viewfinder... that's what it's there for.
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Sharon A |
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Sharon A |
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