i need advice PLEASE

[FrozenINtime]

Hi, my name is Whitney
Im 17 years old and recently graduated H.S i cant afford college right now but plan on taking some non-credit photography classes, i want to become a pro photographer , freelance, photojournalism, fashion , commercial, im not sure yet , but i think im leaning to PJ, but i cant afford good equipment , all i have is a Minolta SRT- 201 35mm slr camera, a flash , 5 lenses, a light meter , a couple filters and 3 rows of expired kodak gold, i dont know where to start , can anyone give me and advice, i also need to gain experience, please help.....

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[Solarflare]

Minolta SRT 101/20 - Photoethnography.com's Classic Camera DB

Looks like, if you want to try film, you have a pretty kickass camera there.

[chinx16]

Make the best on what you have. It doesn't matter what kind of camera your using as long as you know how to use it.

Asian glow

[Designer]

... a couple filters and 3 rows of expired kodak gold, i dont know where to start , can anyone give me and advice, i also need to gain experience, please help.....

Start with using up those three rolls of "expired" film. Learn the camera and lenses, get them processed, and buy some new film.

[enzodm]

If you browse the forum, you will find tenths of threads of beginners willing to switch to pro - where you could find also indications on how to, but the first step is to know photography very well :

Your equipment is very nice, particularly from a collectors point of view. It also could be good to learn, although it will become expensive, since at the beginnings you will shoot many pictures to understand photography, and with film you spend both in film and development. So, start by buying some introductory book (here Understanding exposure is often suggested), to minimize trial-and-error (that is cheaper when shooting digital). Basics are the same on film and digital, so you will not loose time.

However, your current equipment will be totally unuseful from a professional point of view. Your lenses might be reused on a modern Sony dSLR because they have the same mount, although most likely they will not be autofocus.

[Solarflare]

Really ? Todays Sonys still can use such old lenses ? Thats pretty cool !

[IByte]

Hi, my name is Whitney
Im 17 years old and recently graduated H.S i cant afford college right now but plan on taking some non-credit photography classes, i want to become a pro photographer , freelance, photojournalism, fashion , commercial, im not sure yet , but i think im leaning to PJ, but i cant afford good equipment , all i have is a Minolta SRT- 201 35mm slr camera, a flash , 5 lenses, a light meter , a couple filters and 3 rows of expired kodak gold, i dont know where to start , can anyone give me and advice, i also need to gain experience, please help.....

You might want to take a communication or journalism degree with a minor in photography. Or try to work as an assistant for a newspaper.

[enzodm]

Sony bought Minolta to startup its dSLR line, and inherited MD mount. Of course most likely they will be all manual, and I'm not sure about metering, however they will mount and will be usable. Maybe the best strategy could be selling them - on 5 lenses there is some possibility at least a couple are desirable (e.g. 50/1.4), for either the Sony market or mirrorless (due to registration distance, they do not go on Canon and Nikon). Body has mostly no value.

[Phototripper]

Wow, it sounds like you have a lot of good equipment. Film will be your major expense, but it is fine. IMHO, film photographers are more precise and tend to take more care to shoot good photos, since there is a cost per shot. Practice your craft, learn from others as much as possible.

Check out some free podcasts that are geared toward those that are looking to become, or are currently professional photographers. I recommend "The Pro Photo Show" by Gavin Seim and "Camera Dojo" by Kerry Garrison. Look at other professional photographers and see how they market their photos and adopt good practices from them.

Practice, Practice, Practice. Offer to do some portrait work or photograph events for free until you get the hang of it. These are great ways to refine your skills, not only with the camera, but with your future clients.

Also, check out the CameraSim application by Jon Arnold (CameraSim | SLR Photography Demystified). This application will allow you to practice with DSLR controls and is a great teaching tool. Being a film photographer, this may help to save film if you can practice in a virtual setting.

Good Luck!!!!

[chuckdee]

First and foremost, you're going to have to make that giant, relic leap to digital. Film is cool and sexy but just not practical. Say you get hired to shoot for 5 hours by a tortilla company that has a tent at the Brazil vs. Mexico soccer game. They want a ton of promo and marketing shots and they need them by tomorrow. Are you going to shoot 10-20 rolls of film, have them developed and give them prints? Of course not. Hand the client rows of film or a stack of prints and they'll look at you like you're from Mars. Scrap up some money, get a loan or borrow but you need to get a digital camera. Best of luck!
__________________________________________________ ___
Chuck Dee - AKA Chris
"A good photograph is knowing where to stand." -Ansel Adams
www.bellissimofoto.com
www.rhinobldg.com

[MTVision]

First and foremost, you're going to have to make that giant, relic leap to digital. Film is cool and sexy but just not practical. Say you get hired to shoot for 5 hours by a tortilla company that has a tent at the Brazil vs. Mexico soccer game. They want a ton of promo and marketing shots and they need them by tomorrow. Are you going to shoot 10-20 rolls of film, have them developed and give them prints? Of course not. Hand the client rows of film or a stack of prints and they'll look at you like you're from Mars. Scrap up some money, get a loan or borrow but you need to get a digital camera. Best of luck!
__________________________________________________ ___
Chuck Dee - AKA Chris
"A good photograph is knowing where to stand." -Ansel Adams
www.bellissimofoto.com
www.rhinobldg.com

Lots of people shoot film professionally. Obviously if you shoot film you would NEVER take a job like you mentioned above - or at least I hope not...

[Groupcaptainbonzo]

OK to answer the question you asked... the " i dont know where to start , can anyone give me and advice, i also need to gain experience, please help....." bit that most people appear to have forgotten.

ASSIST !.


Find a photographer who needs an assistant. listen, work, learn. You will learn more in a week as an assistant than in a year as a photography student. When you go for your own jobs, your portfolio is more important than anything else . It IS your qualifications. what is more it is better quality, and more relevant than a students. (I know, I did both).

FIRST Find a good photographer to learn from.

[Seefutlung]

To be a photojournalist you need to be a reporter first and photographer second. Major market news organization are looking for journalists/reporters. Journalists who can write and journalists who can take photographs. Taking a technically perfect photo is less important than taking a single image which best describes the story. I doubt that most/all major news organizations/corporations will even hire a full-time person without a degree in Communications/Journalism. While there are some who are successful photojournalists w/out that degree, they are the exceptions and probably spent a decade or so working up the ranks from small newspapers to large.

Photojournalism has a few principle components required for getting the job and keeping a job:

Capturing the decisive moment is a catch phrase which means getting the shot that tells the story. You will need to digest the story and find the best image which will report the story and report the story with drama. Just like a reporter uses adjetives to enhance the story, a photog must use lenses, angles, lighting, et al to enhance the photo.

Speed is also very very important. You will have deadlines, some may be days away, some may be hours or even minutes ... regardless of the time span, the clock is always ticking and always ticking against you. You need to go digital. All major news organizations are digital, because of the speed. It is very common for fast breaking news and sports to send the images to the office (ultimately) from the field. At the Olympics for example, after the event while the crowds clear the venue the photogs and reporters are working frantically on their laptops and before the last person leaves the arena, the reporters and photogs will be sending their stories and images to the office. But I digress.

Without the capability to attend school you will have to look locally for opportunities to use your photography in a commercial manner (community newspapers, local theatre, local sports leagues, et cetera). Start out with baby steps ... small bites, work as an assistant (good suggestion ... even if it's for free). Develop an online photo site for your images. Don't take any money for photo work/images until you think you've earned it. Shoot, shoot some more and when your all done shooting ... shoot again. Look and apply for grants and scholarships which can be applied to community college (there are plenty, start by making an appointment with the college's financial assistant department). Take free photo classes online and don't give up hope or focus ... keep taking baby steps and with each step you will be closer to your wish.

Gary

[chris]

However, your current equipment will be totally unuseful from a professional point of view. Your lenses might be reused on a modern Sony dSLR because they have the same mount, although most likely they will not be autofocus.

I very much doubt if the lenses can used on a modern Sony DSLR at least without an adapter. The SRT range was around in the days of the Minolta MC series lenses and these were used with match needle metering cameras which required the photographer to set the f-stop and shutter speed manually. The later MD range included an index tag on the lens which allowed them to be used with Minolta's auto exposure SLRs which came on the market around 1975.

[DiskoJoe]

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