Photography

Check-out_Chick · Post by **Check-out_Chick** » 17 Sep 2004, 12:34

Hey jus wondered for all who are photographers e.t.c how did u get it to it ? cus im REALLY interested in doing Photography as a career but im not to sure how to get started n was jus wondering if any1 could help me out a lil ?

ecm · Post by **ecm** » 17 Sep 2004, 16:51

Call me if you need a model, Checkout Chick.

I'm very cheap!

Epykat · Post by **Epykat** » 17 Sep 2004, 18:22

ecm wrote:

Call me if you need a model, Checkout Chick.

I'm very cheap!

So we've heard!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 19 Sep 2004, 11:20

Just go for it. Don't worry about the camera - the photo is the thing. Take photos. Get your friends to criticise them. Get a website (it costs peanuts). Take advertising. Let it grow.

Alternatively, of course, you can go to college and study.

Isn't there a LearnDirect phone line that will advise you on what courses are available.

Check-out_Chick · Post by **Check-out_Chick** » 19 Sep 2004, 18:19

Tanks for the advise

ive got loads of photos that ive taken for school n ive been told they're good n I take loads of pics on my digital camera aswell.....not got round to printing them off yet tho

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 19 Sep 2004, 18:25

Why don't you post some on the forum and we can tell you what we think of them?

Post by **wangi** » 19 Sep 2004, 19:02

COC, I recommend getting yourself a pbase.com account (or similar) and posting your pictures up. I also find the PAD (picture a day) is a good challenge which improves your skill and perception - you get some good feedback from other PADers.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 20 Sep 2004, 12:46

Good advice from Bob and Wangi.

Another thing if you want to take photography seriously is that there is no substitute for learning to use a manual SLR (film) camera. If you want to make money out of photography, it's essential -- and it's still the way photography is taught at college/university.

Price is obvioulsy a barrier - but not as much as you would think. Photographers in their thousands are abandoning their old manual SLRs in favour of automatic and/or digital equipment, and there are huge bargains to be had with REALLY GOOD QUALITY manual equipment. (Try eBay or Jessops.)

Another thing to think about is whether you really want to use a camera with a built-in zoom. The reason I say this is that having a zoom can make you really lazy... there's no need to move closer/further away from your subject because the lens does it all for you. On the other hand, by using a lens with a fixed focal length, you are forced to think really hard about the composition of your image. And the more you think about composition (and for that matter, exposure, depth of field, focus etc) the more you understand.

Once you understand the rules, of course, you can break them.

Post by **wangi** » 20 Sep 2004, 13:02

Alex wrote:Another thing if you want to take photography seriously is that there is no substitute for learning to use a manual SLR (film) camera. If you want to make money out of photography, it's essential -- and it's still the way photography is taught at college/university.

Price is obvioulsy a barrier - but not as much as you would think. Photographers in their thousands are abandoning their old manual SLRs in favour of automatic and/or digital equipment, and there are huge bargains to be had with REALLY GOOD QUALITY manual equipment. (Try eBay or Jessops.)

I was quite amazed at the price film SLRs are selling for these days as I squinted past the dSLRs towards them while shopping yesterday! Of course you've also to consider additional senses - but the supplied one should see you ok for a while.

I agree too about the zoom - a lack of zoom does getting you thinking more! But I'm well looking forward to my 12x zoom

And macro (just can't do it currently)...

COC, are you interested in one particular type of photography? Portraits, landscapes, wildlife, sport, entertainment... ?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 20 Sep 2004, 13:09

wangi wrote: I was quite amazed at the price film SLRs are selling for these days as I squinted past the dSLRs towards them while shopping yesterday!

I want to go digital, but I can't face losing the control you get from SLR.

The prices are getting closer... the digital version of my Canon SLR has dropped from Ã‚Â£1100 18 months ago to Ã‚Â£700 today... but that's still three times the price of my film camera.

I'm waiting for the price to drop to half its current level... then I'll pounce!

Post by **wangi** » 20 Sep 2004, 17:02

Alex, are you a member of a photography club/society?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 20 Sep 2004, 17:52

No, I'm not. I work with the President of the Haddington Photography Club, and he always makes it sound really worth while. But Haddington... on a cold winter's night...

If you're trying to recruit members to something more local, I might be persuaded.

Check-out_Chick · Post by **Check-out_Chick** » 21 Sep 2004, 12:50

Alex wrote: COC, are you interested in one particular type of photography? Portraits, landscapes, wildlife, sport, entertainment... ?

I prefer portraits and wildlife altho i did enjoy taking pictures sum skate borders in action .....

Post by **wangi** » 21 Sep 2004, 23:28

Alex wrote:No, I'm not.

If you're trying to recruit members to something more local, I might be persuaded.

I was just looking myself at the Edinburgh Photographic Society and the Musselburgh Camera Club - the better half pointed them out.

The EPS has an open night next week, which I was planning to go along to.

L.

Charlie · Post by **Charlie** » 21 Nov 2004, 23:22

Wangi - how did you get on at EPS? And how's your new zoom working out?

I have an SLR and and a digital compact. I really, really wanted to ditch the film SLR and go for a digital one. However, I'm reconsidering - I seem to take snaps with my digital (lots and lots of them) but I take longer on a photo with my film camera & the results are generally better. I've just been scanning in some slides - the quality is amazing (OK, even if the actual pictures aren't great

).

Wangi - your photos on pbase are amzaing. What's your duff:good ratio? e.g. how many did you take of "Outlook Stormy" to produce the one you've published?

Post by **wangi** » 22 Nov 2004, 14:33

Charlie wrote:Wangi - how did you get on at EPS? And how's your new zoom working out?

I wasn't too impressed - I felt like I was barging in to a private club! Everyone (current members) was in their own wee cliques, chatting away. Nobody was really engaging with the folk who had come round for a look-see. So, I'll give it a miss for just now.

Charlie wrote:I have an SLR and and a digital compact. I really, really wanted to ditch the film SLR and go for a digital one. However, I'm reconsidering - I seem to take snaps with my digital (lots and lots of them) but I take longer on a photo with my film camera & the results are generally better. I've just been scanning in some slides - the quality is amazing (OK, even if the actual pictures aren't great ).

I guess it's the state of mind - film's expensive and digital is "cheap" per shot! But yeah, $$$ to get a dSLR with enough resolution to match film, at that level.

Charlie wrote:Wangi - your photos on pbase are amzaing. What's your duff:good ratio? e.g. how many did you take of "Outlook Stormy" to produce the one you've published?

Checks... Was at most 15 (at least 10) - I'd have thought more! Normally I just exposure bracket the shot, so end up with 3 of each. However with action shots, light trails, moon, wildlife and the like I'll just plut on burst mode and then delete later. The other weekend I filled 256MB / 100+ shots in 5 minutes at Eskbank in Musselburgh - ended up posting 4 or 5 shots.