Photography Careers In General

Vickie,

The best advise I have read or been told is that "if you want to get better photographs take more photographs". That assumes that we will learn from our mistakes. :)

I also had a Canon AE-1 and have always regretted selling it.

I only went through your first page of images. I cannot critique them because it looks to me like you are a much more accomplished photographer than I am!

Good luck with your endeavor. Money may be important in life but it appears that you will be leaving more than that to your son. You will be leaving him with a sense of purpose and passion.
Kathy

Video will be in demand more than still images. If you are looking for a career I'd be sure to learn how to use the video feature that every modern camera has.
,,,
"I leave 99% of my images alone. I snap a shot and I don't do any post-processing"

Any career in photography requires knowledge of post-processing with Adobe Photoshop as the industry standard.

Some advice:

I noticed you said you don't do any post production. If you shoot digital, you are doing the photos a disservice by not enhancing some of it. The camera simply will not show the range of color of what your eye sees. You have to bring out color, highlights, shadows, etc. Yes, there are people that go overboard with it but generally some enhancements are a good thing.

Shoot what you like but only show the good ones. Think about what the subject is and focus on that. Some of the photos (and I don't want to sound mean here) look like snapshots rather than photos. Many of the flowers on the first page look wilted and don't really make a good photograph. The sunflowers are a better subject. If you are shooting landscapes, ask yourself, what special about this shot? If you can't think of anything it may be good practice but don't include it in your portfolio.

Criticism is one of the toughest things to take because we as photographers want to share all of the photos we take with the world and feel hurt when others don't share our enthusiasm. But if you use that criticism to learn and grow, you start to produce better photos than last time.


Hope that helps.

you'll want to shoot more than just flowers. everyone shoots them. they are almost not worth the time any more. the better flowers are chosen carefully, background blocked by material, sometimes petals are trimmed, dusted with water, reflectors and flashes to get the right light, then shoot. its far more complex if you want to really get into it.


focus is very important -- this is not at all in focus. it won't print.


be sure that when shooting the sunset, that the sun doesn't look like a huge hot spot. shoot as an hdr to dull it down. otherwise you'll have a hot spot like this, and darkness all around.


the main thing to photography is that the image should pull a viewer in as if they were there - but more so, that they want to be there. the railing in this blocks the view, more so its not a picture of anything. its just water. it can be anywhere. and lastly, its mid day, it makes it totally dull.


this is totally out of place in here. i have no idea what its about. the font choice is hard to read. the images aren't cut out that well, nothing really blends. its like a video game from the 90s.


again this is a picture of nothing. show us the highlights of this lake. why is this lake so special you took a dozen shots of it? keep in mind you can't photograph a memory of it. you have to show us why its special. otherwise its just another body of water. not even the description says why.


its a different view, but not in focus and dark. should be totally centered as well.


clone the wire out. the story shouldn't be about the wire.


anyone can take a picture of a squirrel hiding. but you can barely see him in this. this is more of a memory you have, and your filling in the rest.


this would be a better shot if brighter and without the wire.

i would redo the bio, its talks too much about your camera history and kids, then you question yourself if your a photographer or not, yet your trying to sell it to people.

overall looking at everything it looks like you shoot things when your on a trip, but it doesn't look like your going out of your way to get a shot. a few steps forward and back can make a big difference in the shot. framing it, telling the story, working with it later are all important. you don't want wires in the shot. you want the images to be bright and in focus.

when you first get started there are no mistakes because everything is a mistake by today's standards. the biggest mistake most people make is - they try to sell before they are ready to sell. when a photographer can't see that their image is crooked, blurry, etc, a better photographer would see those, and simply erase them. you have to know how to critique yourself.

Marketing 101 by Mike Savad
Why Your Work May Not Be Selling - By Mike Savad
Evaluating Your Own Work To Sell – By Mike Savad
How To Critique And Edit Your Own Work For Better Sales


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Everyone has some great tips. I have learned a lot just reading the thread. Your sunflowers are beautiful, but i agree in bringing out more colour. I hope you dont mind me saying, but i noticed you had photos of tiny birds eating bread. Bread actually slowly kills birds. Please use a seed or fruit ( dependant on species). Birders who buy prints for their love, will turn away when they see bread with birds.
Take care.

Good tips here and attention to focus if very important unless you just offer a small size print or a greeting card. Yes, do look at the whole pic. If it needs cropping, bumping up exposure some or a minor fix, like removing some part that detracts from the whole picture, then do it with Photoshop or Gimp or ???. Of course sometimes that part/line or whatever also adds to the whole pic, so is up to you, use your feelings on the composition. Best of luck!

Thanks for all the information. I'm not afraid of constructive criticism or I wouldn't have opened the thread.

Sarah, I didn't know that about the bread so I will be sure not to feed it to the birds anymore. Thanks.

Mike Savad - The one photo was created for a friend. It's mostly created in Paint Shop Pro and the tubes are stamped in. As for the other tips and information, thank you.

Kathy - I still have my AE-1 and love it. I learned in a dark room but even then I struggled.

Mike Ste Marie - Thank you.

Thank you to Edward and Mary.

I plan on removing most of the photos on here. I am going to see which ones look the best and the most crisp at 100% and go from there. Then eliminate anything out of focus or anything that doesn't tell a story. I have kept all the photos I have taken but really wanted the help from people that are photographers or into the arts somehow. Getting critique from friends (besides photographer friends or artist) and family doesn't always work out. They think everything looks great.

Lovely capture, Vickie :)!

Thank you Xueling

How long have you been a photographer?
33 years

What do you see as your biggest mistakes that you made when you got started?
Listening to other people

Any tips for someone new to photography?
Don't listen to other people (unless they produce work you admire)

Honestly I think it is more about get your name out there that actually "good pictures".
Good images helps a lot but without people talking about you and sharing your work, it doesn't mean nothing in the business aspect.
On the other hand you can create a so so work but some how have people admiring you, maybe because of your history, maybe because you have reach a oportunity that gives you credibility, and so on.

Thank you Dave Bowman and Marcio Faustino.