matt fury
Well-known
PS: I took a look at that guy Greg Sherry's photos... they suck. I'm no art critic her, but seriously, it looks like pictures taken by tourists and posted online to show their friends.
OT: Making a business of a hobby
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Toby
On the alert
Being self employed myself what budding photographers tend to forget is, starting out as a pro is just like starting any other small business. Only 20% (if that) of your time is actually taken up with shooting. The rest is marketing, chasing invoices, meeting clients, paying bills and the same boring stuff you'd do running any other business. Plus you often have to take pretty mind numbing assignments that will never produce work you can be proud of. Only the very lucky really get their dream even if they make a living with their camera
lubitel
Well-known
His website looks like a stock-photography site. And you can order Mugs? I wonder if he has model releases.
oftheherd
Veteran
ywenz said:
Is that really true? Or are you talking about the scans of film, which is then a hybrid process? Considering negative film seems to give more information, why would more post processing be needed? I always thought film photographers tried to make photos that didn't need a lot or post photo work anyway.
Not trying to be confrontational, just curious.
ClaremontPhoto
Jon Claremont
I am very pleased to be an amateur: I enjoy my craft and do not need to make a living from it.
On the other hand, my friend the professional spends way too much time and money replicating the same wedding, baby, and passport photos time after time.
On the other hand, my friend the professional spends way too much time and money replicating the same wedding, baby, and passport photos time after time.
bmattock
Veteran
matt fury said:
Ultimately, does it matter? If people buy his prints, then they must not suck as far as they are concerned. I never liked the BeeGees, but they were popular anyway.
Best Regards,
Bill Mattocks
bmattock
Veteran
oftheherd said:
In my experience, post-processing scanned film takes loads more time. If I didn't process it myself, there are always scratches and spots to be dealt with. Colors may get scanned wonky and have to be modified. Even harder for me, since I am color-blind. B&W film I process myself is usually scratch-free, so it takes a bit less time to process.
But for me, digital is still faster.
Best Regards,
Bill Mattocks
V
varjag
Guest
The most popular photography professionals are instant photo booths at train stations.
http://www.b0g.org/wsnm/uploads/lifestooshort2.jpg
http://www.b0g.org/wsnm/uploads/lifestooshort2.jpg
nico
Well-known
Amen!
I agree with Bill, never liked the BeeGees too.... 🙂
Bye.
Nico
Toby
On the alert
bmattock said:
All that 'professional' photographer implies is that you make a living from photography it makes no claim to the aethetic quality of the photographs...why do people always forget that?
matt fury
Well-known
bmattock said:
Well there's a fair number of people who think all sorts of bad things don't suck, but that doesn't change the facts. I don't want to invoke Godwin's law here, so I'll give examples such as racial hatred, pedophilia, and uh..stealing from old people.
Anyway, you're right, ultimately, it doesn't matter. Some guy's photos sucking or not sucking isn't going to change my life or the world in a significant way.
R
ruben
Guest
Toby said:
NW
Cheers,
Ruben
R
ruben
Guest
Jon Claremont said:
NW
Cheers,
Ruben
Andrew Sowerby
Well-known
I like Mike Johnston's musings on turning pro:
http://www.photo.net/mjohnston/column7/index.html
Not for me thanks (assuming that I was good enough!).
http://www.photo.net/mjohnston/column7/index.html
Not for me thanks (assuming that I was good enough!).
amateriat
We're all light!
That's my MO, most of the time: get the negs ('chromes occasionally) shot the right way, run them through the (already profiled) film scanner, viewed via a pair of (already profiled) monitors. Usually, there's very little PS work to be done outside minor contrast/color balance issues. Then it's just a matter of batch re-sizing apropos to the end use of the images (hint: Photoshop Actions is your friend; get to know it), creating a set of small JPEGs for viewing (you don't want to choke the client's aging PC by insisting they click on a large TIFF file just to get a quick look-see), then burn a few quick CDs/DVDs (I don't make prints unless requested).oftheherd said:
I know a few digital shooters who are damn quick at PS'ing files, but they would all set you straight about an all-digital workflow being "easy". It's real work if you care at all about the final image. I've seen way too much sloppy work by people with flashy gear who seem to believe is has to be easy because they spent so much money on the hardware (was it JFK who talked about going to the Moon not because it was easy, but because it was hard?). Good equipment should move you to raise the bar, not sit on it.
- Barrett
amateriat
We're all light!
Just took a look at Sherry's site. Yes, his work is what I might call relentlessly average. This, in fact, is the calling card of the average professional shooter: average, but reliable and (presumably) repeatable. It's the "f/8 and Be There" rule (think of the punchline to the joke about how many photographers it takes to screw in a lightbulb). Sherry's work is, IMO, nothng at all to write home about, but for him, it doesn't really have to be. He shows up, he shoots, he scores. Once in a while I'm certain he gets a really great shot, but I'm sure he's just happy to be making some semblance of a living at something he likes/loves, and who am I to kick sand in his face because his output doesn't light my afterburner? (Same deal with Maki Kawakita, although at least in her case we're talking technical proficiency an order of magnitude higher).
What this stuff always brings me back to, happily, is summed up by the last line in "Over the Rainbow": if these guys can do it, why can't I?
- Barrett (Working on it right now)
What this stuff always brings me back to, happily, is summed up by the last line in "Over the Rainbow": if these guys can do it, why can't I?
- Barrett (Working on it right now)
ffttklackdedeng
Registered User
Andrew Sowerby said:
Wow, great article - thanks for the link, Andrew!
regards, Robert
R
ruben
Guest
Through this thread my mind has evolved and came to the following conclusion:
As advanced amateurs of photography we can take pride in what we are. And whenever we find a pro around, with all rights of the trade we can straight our eyes and know we have nothing to envy from him/her, as he gets more money perhaps, but we are those who get the satisfaction, for sure and by far.
Cheers,
Ruben
PS, wasn't the money intended to buy satisfaction ?
As advanced amateurs of photography we can take pride in what we are. And whenever we find a pro around, with all rights of the trade we can straight our eyes and know we have nothing to envy from him/her, as he gets more money perhaps, but we are those who get the satisfaction, for sure and by far.
Cheers,
Ruben
PS, wasn't the money intended to buy satisfaction ?
anaanda
Well-known
Toby said:
I agree with Toby
Unless you are independently wealthy or someone like Ansel Adams, making your whole living from photography is going to involve mostly things you don't want to do most of the time.
For example, at a mall I saw a photographer sitting there all day with his dslr on a tri-pod taking pictures of people next to this race car. The people would stand at this certain spot and he would hit the cable release. I said to myself,("would I want to be doing that") I almost bought a Leica from a successful commercial photographer. He told me that on the weekend he takes out his large format camera. This he does for himself. He doesn't like all the stuff he shoots professionally but it is a business and a good living.
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dazedgonebye
Veteran
What decent amature hasn't looked at the work of a pro and thought "I have better stuff than that?"
Looking through a promotional mag that included many pictures of the desert Southwest recently, my thoughts ranged from "I've got better stuff on file than that," to "If I'd taken that shot, I would have deleted it," to "Wow, that's spectacular!"
Believing that you are good enough to be a pro and being a pro are worlds apart.
For the most part, the difference between my work and the work of those photographers is that they also did/do the necessary promotion and business tasks that get them published and paid.
More power to them, because that is no small thing, and that is why it's highly unlikely I'll ever be a professional photographer.
I'm working to sell more photos because I enjoy the finanical feedback, limited as it may be. But I'm not fooling myself that I'll ever make a living at it. As others have pointed out, do I honestly want to?
The most peaceful moments in my life are wandering the desert with a camera. How peaceful could that be if I had to worry that I might not come back with the shot?
There's a little buy inside of me that wants it...but I flog that part in to submission when he gets too upity.
Looking through a promotional mag that included many pictures of the desert Southwest recently, my thoughts ranged from "I've got better stuff on file than that," to "If I'd taken that shot, I would have deleted it," to "Wow, that's spectacular!"
Believing that you are good enough to be a pro and being a pro are worlds apart.
For the most part, the difference between my work and the work of those photographers is that they also did/do the necessary promotion and business tasks that get them published and paid.
More power to them, because that is no small thing, and that is why it's highly unlikely I'll ever be a professional photographer.
I'm working to sell more photos because I enjoy the finanical feedback, limited as it may be. But I'm not fooling myself that I'll ever make a living at it. As others have pointed out, do I honestly want to?
The most peaceful moments in my life are wandering the desert with a camera. How peaceful could that be if I had to worry that I might not come back with the shot?
There's a little buy inside of me that wants it...but I flog that part in to submission when he gets too upity.
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