Advanced Beginner, desires to pursue "ON LOCATION" Portrait Photography
Jan 25, 2021 07:58:23 #
tcthome wrote:
U FUNNY GUY!
U FUNNY GUY! That advice is as serious as a heart attack.
Jan 25, 2021 07:59:03 #
It would take several books to answer your question. Many of those books have been written. Read as many as you can, and you will get plenty of information. Author’s opinions will frequently differ, but they may all be accurate for the time they were written. Styles change and equipment changes over time Ideas may be obsolete by the time they get into print.
To save money on that: search Amazon for books on professional photography and on starting a business. Copy down titles and author names. Take the list to your local library. Odds are that they won’t have any of the photo books, but they should have some business ones. Never fear. Ask them to look up books on ‘interlibrary loan’. This is a little-used service offered by many libraries. Your local library can search the US for a book and borrow it for you from another library. It is shipped to your library, loaned to you, and you return the book to your local library. They ship it back.
Join a professional photography association and get their magazine. Not cheap, but it is the most up-to-date market info available.
It helps a little.
Contact your nearest office of the US Small Business Administration. You are starting a business and need to know far more about business practice than photography! The SBA usually has an office in the major city, or capital city of each state. Before Covid they had regularly scheduled seminars for people considering starting a business. Something like that may be online now, and not require travel. Most of their services and many of their publications are free, or inexpensive. They have vital information on organizing your business, so you get it right in the beginning. Photography businesses go out of business for financial reasons far more often than because of the pictures.
Start with a lot of cash. And be willing to say goodbye to it. It costs money to start a business.
It will take at least two years to get your business recognized. Less than 10 percent of new small businesses are operating full-time after 5 years. Over half fail in the first year, mostly for financial reasons. They don’t bring in enough money to support the owner, so the owner gets a job elsewhere.
You can start doing part-time work—for yourself or for others— to gain experience, build a portfolio, and meet possible future clients.
Contact local wedding photography studios. They hire assistants in the winter and spring and by the summer these people will solo and be shooting weddings on their own. If they have lighting equipment, you’ll be the one carrying it !
The portrait business is based on reputation. A new guy in the business has zero reputation. The most effective advertising for s portrait studio that I have seen is a display window filled with large examples of the photographer’s award-winning works.
At the minimum you’ll need a portfolio of a dozen or more great portraits. These would be different people, not 12 shots of the same model. You may do free portraits for family members and friends, or hire models, or display examples of work you have been hired to do. That is the cheap part. Once you capture the images you’ll need large display prints in expensive frames. And a display window to put this array in. Today, you may be able to do an online display, but then you need to get thousands of people looking at your images daily (and they need to change regularly) to get a few clients a week.
Good luck to you on this venture.
To save money on that: search Amazon for books on professional photography and on starting a business. Copy down titles and author names. Take the list to your local library. Odds are that they won’t have any of the photo books, but they should have some business ones. Never fear. Ask them to look up books on ‘interlibrary loan’. This is a little-used service offered by many libraries. Your local library can search the US for a book and borrow it for you from another library. It is shipped to your library, loaned to you, and you return the book to your local library. They ship it back.
Join a professional photography association and get their magazine. Not cheap, but it is the most up-to-date market info available.
It helps a little.
Contact your nearest office of the US Small Business Administration. You are starting a business and need to know far more about business practice than photography! The SBA usually has an office in the major city, or capital city of each state. Before Covid they had regularly scheduled seminars for people considering starting a business. Something like that may be online now, and not require travel. Most of their services and many of their publications are free, or inexpensive. They have vital information on organizing your business, so you get it right in the beginning. Photography businesses go out of business for financial reasons far more often than because of the pictures.
Start with a lot of cash. And be willing to say goodbye to it. It costs money to start a business.
It will take at least two years to get your business recognized. Less than 10 percent of new small businesses are operating full-time after 5 years. Over half fail in the first year, mostly for financial reasons. They don’t bring in enough money to support the owner, so the owner gets a job elsewhere.
You can start doing part-time work—for yourself or for others— to gain experience, build a portfolio, and meet possible future clients.
Contact local wedding photography studios. They hire assistants in the winter and spring and by the summer these people will solo and be shooting weddings on their own. If they have lighting equipment, you’ll be the one carrying it !
The portrait business is based on reputation. A new guy in the business has zero reputation. The most effective advertising for s portrait studio that I have seen is a display window filled with large examples of the photographer’s award-winning works.
At the minimum you’ll need a portfolio of a dozen or more great portraits. These would be different people, not 12 shots of the same model. You may do free portraits for family members and friends, or hire models, or display examples of work you have been hired to do. That is the cheap part. Once you capture the images you’ll need large display prints in expensive frames. And a display window to put this array in. Today, you may be able to do an online display, but then you need to get thousands of people looking at your images daily (and they need to change regularly) to get a few clients a week.
Good luck to you on this venture.
Jan 25, 2021 07:59:18 #
tcthome wrote:
Good advice from Mr. Shapiro & Gene51. Dependi... (show quote)
Awesome and informative link. Thank you!
Jan 25, 2021 10:03:38 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
The easiest way to make money as a photographer is to sell your equipment.
Well, you may have a legitamit Point, Everyone has Smartphones, easy to carry, accessable quickly and prints can be made quickly online at your local Walgreens or CVS, Walmart, Mpix, etc.
So, basically you are telling me is "Give-Up" on having a On-Location Portrait Photography business?
What is your thoughts and opinions concerning "Smartphone" Photography.
Jan 25, 2021 10:43:11 #
Wallen wrote:
With your present gear, always use the 55-200 and ... (show quote)
Never heard of continuous shot setting for portrait photos. Alway single shot! Thank
Tom
Jan 25, 2021 10:50:52 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
The easiest way to make money as a photographer is to sell your equipment.
You are onto something!
Tom
Jan 25, 2021 10:54:25 #
Picture Taker
Loc: Michigan Thumb
The best advice for going into the photo business now is have a day job.
Jan 25, 2021 11:05:41 #
tshift wrote:
Never heard of continuous shot setting for portrait photos. Alway single shot! Thank
Tom
Tom
Continuous burst for portraits makes tremendous sense. Would you shoot sports or bifs in single frame mode ?
Single frame clearly makes sense for architecture, tabletop, copying, and anything else that remains absolutely
unchanging from moment to moment.
Jan 25, 2021 11:32:09 #
Silverrails wrote:
Please provide me with any upbuilding suggestions ... (show quote)
Silverrails, I think your question should be "Where do I get inspiration for taking natural photos for a business?" That is a lot different than focusing on the equipment first, and art second. I am enclosing a link of one of the best photographers I personally know. She both takes photos, and creates art/paints thru watercolor and other medias. Look at her website and particularly how she uses light. https://www.ktziegler.com/ She shot all of these with either a d300 or a d700, so the focus is not on the biggest most expensive camera and equipment, but more the artistic vision and knowledge of how to use light to create something that looks like more than it is.
Jan 25, 2021 11:35:13 #
Silverrails wrote:
Well, you may have a legitamit Point, Everyone has Smartphones, easy to carry, accessable quickly and prints can be made quickly online at your local Walgreens or CVS, Walmart, Mpix, etc.
So, basically you are telling me is "Give-Up" on having a On-Location Portrait Photography business?
What is your thoughts and opinions concerning "Smartphone" Photography.
So, basically you are telling me is "Give-Up" on having a On-Location Portrait Photography business?
What is your thoughts and opinions concerning "Smartphone" Photography.
I offered other more serious advice earlier, being to work with the numerous free and experienced photographers for coaching and consultation. Hopefully, you'll consider that idea too.
Jan 25, 2021 11:37:38 #
tshift wrote:
Never heard of continuous shot setting for portrait photos. Alway single shot! Thank
Tom
Tom
Every one has their way that works for them.
There are times I find continues/multiple shots helpful in getting the perfect moment, specially for glamour, group photos & children.
Jan 25, 2021 11:38:17 #
I suggest that you sign up for courses on www.kelbyone.com and watch the course by Joe McNally called "Accelerated Corporate Portraiture". McNally is a well known and very accomplished photographer. I believe that you can sign up for kelbyone on a month to month basis, so your risk is $9.99.
Jan 25, 2021 11:43:45 #
User ID wrote:
Continuous burst for portraits makes tremendous sense. Would you shoot sports or bifs in single frame mode ?
Single frame clearly makes sense for architecture, tabletop, copying, and anything else that remains absolutely
unchanging from moment to moment.
Single frame clearly makes sense for architecture, tabletop, copying, and anything else that remains absolutely
unchanging from moment to moment.
Would like to hear opinions from some of our other HOGS!!
Tom
Jan 25, 2021 11:47:10 #
Wallen wrote:
Every one has their way that works for them.
There are times I find continues/multiple shots helpful in getting the perfect moment, specially for glamour, group photos & children.
There are times I find continues/multiple shots helpful in getting the perfect moment, specially for glamour, group photos & children.
I can see groups and maybe children but I had never heard of anyone doing continuous. Thanks for your comments.
Tom
Jan 25, 2021 11:56:47 #
User ID wrote:
Continuous burst for portraits makes tremendous sense. Would you shoot sports or bifs in single frame mode ?
Single frame clearly makes sense for architecture, tabletop, copying, and anything else that remains absolutely
unchanging from moment to moment.
Single frame clearly makes sense for architecture, tabletop, copying, and anything else that remains absolutely
unchanging from moment to moment.
I do shoot sports. Would miss too much if not shooting continuous. But for headshot portraits single frame!!
Tom
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