Important choise, please help

You have got to grow to the point of knowing what direction you want to go.
There are many avenues for a pro photographer.


I chose to go the wedding route, for a lot of reasons, but it fit my
personality. A lot of guys couldn't fathom doing weddings, etc, and want
something with more excitement.


My brother is a photography specializing in a niche market, but it falls
under the grand umbrella of stock photography, and there, he tells me,
clients want huge files, the kind that can be acheived by scans of
transparancies, 35mm and medium format. So, unless you have an MF with a
digital back, film and scanning is the way to go, there, as far as I know.

So it depends on the direction you want to go. If you go with weddings,
many wedding photographers are switching to digital. Some are not, and
some who have are questioning whether they did the right thing. For me,
it was the right thing, but I still take my Elan with me on shoots, pop off
a couple of rolls, to stay in touch with film. Sometimes I will even bring
my MF camera.

For learning, digital is great because you get an immediate feedback, and
since digital has very little latitude, which reveals your errors readily,
you learn. The other advantage of digital is exif data embedded in your
files, which reveals all the shooting data off aperture, shooting mode,
shutter speed, whether manual focus or auto, flash mode, type of metering
used. The digital camera keeps file numbering continuity from one memory
card to the other, so you don't have to worry about which roll which shot
came from, its all sorted out for you in advance.

The digital advantage is so huge for the newbie as far as learrning
photography, I don't know where to begin. You would have to carry a
clipboard and log all your shots, get the film back, match the shots to the
log, and make sure you tell the lab not to color correct your shots, etc.,
to have the same information and learning experience. Additionally, you
can vary the sensitivity (film speed equivalent) from frame to frame.



Patrick

"Dallas" wrote in message
newsan.2004.08.15.17.12.29.757000@southafrican.. .
On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 13:05:45 +0000, Tony wrote:

3) Buy some good quality lens for the camera I already have. (for
exmaple?) In this option, I would go for a professional service if I
want
to upload my shoots on the web.

This is the best option. Buy the very best lens you can afford. Learn to
use it as best you can.

If you want to be a professional photographer, expect to be paid little
until you find your niche. Could take months, could take decades.


It took me months, and I went the wedding route. It took my brother years,
and he went the stock photography route. But he is having more fun, travels
the world, etc. His capital investment (mostly in time and travel
expenses) was much greater than mine.


Patrick

"Dallas" wrote in message
newsan.2004.08.15.17.12.29.757000@southafrican.. .
On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 13:05:45 +0000, Tony wrote:

3) Buy some good quality lens for the camera I already have. (for
exmaple?) In this option, I would go for a professional service if I
want
to upload my shoots on the web.

This is the best option. Buy the very best lens you can afford. Learn to
use it as best you can.

If you want to be a professional photographer, expect to be paid little
until you find your niche. Could take months, could take decades.


It took me months, and I went the wedding route. It took my brother years,
and he went the stock photography route. But he is having more fun, travels
the world, etc. His capital investment (mostly in time and travel
expenses) was much greater than mine.


Patrick

"Dallas" wrote in message
newsan.2004.08.15.17.12.29.757000@southafrican.. .
On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 13:05:45 +0000, Tony wrote:

3) Buy some good quality lens for the camera I already have. (for
exmaple?) In this option, I would go for a professional service if I
want
to upload my shoots on the web.

This is the best option. Buy the very best lens you can afford. Learn to
use it as best you can.

If you want to be a professional photographer, expect to be paid little
until you find your niche. Could take months, could take decades.


It took me months, and I went the wedding route. It took my brother years,
and he went the stock photography route. But he is having more fun, travels
the world, etc. His capital investment (mostly in time and travel
expenses) was much greater than mine.


Patrick

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 11:52:36 -0500, Patrick L. wrote:


"Dallas" wrote in message
newsan.2004.08.15.17.12.29.757000@southafrican.. .
On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 13:05:45 +0000, Tony wrote:

3) Buy some good quality lens for the camera I already have. (for
exmaple?) In this option, I would go for a professional service if I
want
to upload my shoots on the web.

This is the best option. Buy the very best lens you can afford. Learn to
use it as best you can.

If you want to be a professional photographer, expect to be paid little
until you find your niche. Could take months, could take decades.


It took me months, and I went the wedding route. It took my brother
years, and he went the stock photography route. But he is having more
fun, travels the world, etc. His capital investment (mostly in time and
travel expenses) was much greater than mine.

This is true.

If you want to talk about return on investment, the worst path to follow
would be sports and wildlife photography. BIg lens outlay, massive
insurance costs, paltry income.

I think weddings and fashion probably have the best returns for the least
outlay. Hmm...maybe not so much for fashion. Those Broncolor rigs and HMI
lights ain't cheap.

I'm looking at product photography as an option. I really enjoy it and
your market is anyone who makes anything that can be photographed. You
also have complete control over the shoot, no personalities to deal
with...etc.

--
Dallas
Group guidelines on http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
Improve signal to noise ratio by filtering all crossposts.

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 11:52:36 -0500, Patrick L. wrote:


"Dallas" wrote in message
newsan.2004.08.15.17.12.29.757000@southafrican.. .
On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 13:05:45 +0000, Tony wrote:

3) Buy some good quality lens for the camera I already have. (for
exmaple?) In this option, I would go for a professional service if I
want
to upload my shoots on the web.

This is the best option. Buy the very best lens you can afford. Learn to
use it as best you can.

If you want to be a professional photographer, expect to be paid little
until you find your niche. Could take months, could take decades.


It took me months, and I went the wedding route. It took my brother
years, and he went the stock photography route. But he is having more
fun, travels the world, etc. His capital investment (mostly in time and
travel expenses) was much greater than mine.

This is true.

If you want to talk about return on investment, the worst path to follow
would be sports and wildlife photography. BIg lens outlay, massive
insurance costs, paltry income.

I think weddings and fashion probably have the best returns for the least
outlay. Hmm...maybe not so much for fashion. Those Broncolor rigs and HMI
lights ain't cheap.

I'm looking at product photography as an option. I really enjoy it and
your market is anyone who makes anything that can be photographed. You
also have complete control over the shoot, no personalities to deal
with...etc.

--
Dallas
Group guidelines on http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
Improve signal to noise ratio by filtering all crossposts.