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02/27/2008 03:57:23 PM · #1 |
This has been on my mind for several months now and I just wonder if I'm the only one. I am mediocre at best so don't think I am dismissing others work as beneath mine.
That being said, when you see people with a portfolio full of harshly lit, poorly composed, boring images come to the forums talking about starting their own photography business what do you really think? Not the dream of one day doing it - next week doing it. Are we really doing them a favor by saying, "Do it baby!! It'll be awesome!!"? |
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02/27/2008 04:04:54 PM · #2 |
| Well, I've seen a lot of studios doing well whose work I wouldn't score well here :) |
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02/27/2008 04:27:28 PM · #3 |
Me too but from what I've seen (from the studios that actually do fairly well) is that they do have some okay photographic value. As far as scoring the image for here it might not do well but as an overall shot it's prolly okay. I'm talking about the ones who say they're going into portrait work then when you pull up their portfolios you see how they have no idea what they're doing. Sure, they might have purchased an expensive set of strobes but how they can seriously step back from their way overlit close up, post it up here and not see that they're far from where they need to be at a minimum is beyond me.
Of course I have seen one or two here that claim to be pros and I have the same feelings about their stuff too......so maybe it is just me eh?
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02/27/2008 04:37:43 PM · #4 |
| Maybe I'm wrong or misunderstood, but I thought this was supposed to be FUN. I think going out and shooting photos because you LOVE to take pictures and being a professional studio photographer are two different things. Studio photography is a controlled environment. Most of the time you hae no control over nature. Sure, you can sometimes change your angle, pov and so forth, but you can't control weather and animal movement, etc. |
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02/27/2008 04:37:52 PM · #5 |
A lot of times the people coming into people for their portraits aren't looking for perfect lighting or perfect composition, they are just looking for someone who can take a picture of them, I mean I've seen people who talk about how much they like this picture of themselves, and it was taken with a point and shoot with the sun directly on their face.
I definitely see what you're saying, and I'm not sure if encouraging them to start their own is good or bad, some good advice may be "hang around on the site for a little more and watch for portrait threads and learn from them before you start a business." I've learned a ton from this site, I could "take a picture" before I got involved here, but then when I got involved I learned the importance of DOF, lighting, composition, creativity, and all that stuff.
Just my 2 cents.
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02/27/2008 04:43:54 PM · #6 |
I would not consider it for a second. Whiny customers, snotty kids, squeezing people for money, bills, advertising, taxes... I take photos to get away from things like that!
I admire those that do it, but not for me.
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02/27/2008 05:05:56 PM · #7 |
Having just crossed this line....
First the photographers and photography here is breathtaking. But they're also shot for a 720x720 web venue, not a 24x30 wall portrait. As well I would consider myself mediocre here, but compared to many studios available near wear I live, I'm pretty great. I've found that customers don't really look at sensor dust, or a slight yellow tinge, or even half the time if there are shadows or goodness forbid it's a touch out of focus, they just want to see their sweet childs face in 100 wallets to give to everyone who will give them time.
As for portfolios, my shots here are across a number of years of learning now, I can easily see why my first shots were so bad, and my new one's are better and better, this is a GREAT training ground for breathtaking photography, it is not however what most of my customers want to see.
That being said. I don't know how I feel about being IN the business now that I'm here, I hate customers who won't control their children, or who themselves tear up my props and equipment. But then when you get that one shot of the week, that just captures your eye and your heart. It's all worth it in the end. |
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