advice from professionals

[MLeeK]

The reason i asked this "loaded question" was because i thought this was a beginners forum. i was asking everyone their professional opinions. noone will ever know the answer unless they start from the beginning and ask stupid questions. didnt realize it would get the sarcasm that it has gotten. sorry if i stepped on anyones toes. i was only wanting helpful advice and people took it as a slamming session.

You asked the PROFESSIONALS, not the beginners. Yes, you're a beginner but the question wasn't to other beginners. You asked for professional information and you got it.
You got some excellent and detailed answers, yet you threw your attitude around-and still got more help. What didn't we answer for you?
What gear do you need: that depends on you and YOUR style, YOUR business and YOUR budget. Basically you need a camera body-top grade crop sensor or preferably a full frame sensor. A back up body.
Wide angle zoom f/2.8, telephoto zoom f/2.8 would be the minimum, but for portraiture you may prefer primes in which case you'd need a wide, medium and telephoto prime at the very least. F/1.8 or faster.
A dedicated speedlite for the camera.
A back up option for your lenses and flash.
Studio lighting: that's extremely variable, but a full, basic setup would be 3 lights with stands, softboxes, speedrings and a radio slave setup. You'll want a few accessories for them like eggcrates and gels, weights for the stands and other odds and ends.
Memory cards-GOOD ones, not the $5 wal mart specials CF or SD will depend upon the camera.
A computer designed to handle PhotoShop and/or Lightroom
A monitor that is designed for editing
A monitor calibration tool and software
A back up system for saving your files, raid is much preferred, but not exactly NECESSARY.
Accounting software system
File system

Should you take a photography class? Well, we did mention that you'd need an education in photography. A class would be a start. There are MANY classes you should have. If you take them at the college, on line or learn them by buying books and doing it on your own are up to you. Each person learns differently.

I don't know what else you want here. We've answered you and given you much direction. Start your education and your business plan. There are tons of resources out there to help you with that. We can help you if you want or you can do it on your own.

 

[pixmedic]

 

[KmH]

The forum you started the thread in was not the correct forum. Beginner's don't start photography businesses. You made an invalid assumption (ass-u-me) rather than doing the required due diligence.

Had you scrolled down to - The Business District - An area to discuss the business of photography and share your professional work -
you would have found the forum in the Business District section the thread was subsequently moved to:
General Shop Talk
Looking to make your hobby into a business? Already in business? This is the place for you. Discuss marketing, pricing, legal issues and other ideas relating to the business of photography.

 

[sm4him]

FTW!! Thanks for doing what I was too lazy to bother with.

 

[lawpaws]

Im not ready to LAUNCH anything....just needed advice on where to start.

 

[pixmedic]

seeing Vizzini laugh and fall over never gets old!
i cant say HOW many times ive watched this movie.. one of my all time favorites.

 

[sm4him]

seeing Vizzini laugh and fall over never gets old!
i cant say HOW many times ive watched this movie.. one of my all time favorites.

Mine too; I can pretty much quote it from memory. The book is even better, though. I'd read it several years before the movie came out, and it's one of the extremely rare instances where I actually LOVED a movie when I'd already read the book.

 

[pixmedic]

still my favorite scene!

 

[The_Traveler]

I lover her more.

May I watch?

 

[The_Traveler]

Im not ready to LAUNCH anything....just needed advice on where to start.

Buy a camera, start taking pictures, learn to take good pictures, then you are ready to maybe start a business.

You may not realize just how insulting it is for you to 1) ignore the fact that this is a difficult craft that takes time, energy and skill to master and 2) to just barge in without looking around and finding the umpteen similar threads and 3) get exercised because we won't write a book for you.

Let me repeat.

Buy a camera, start taking pictures, learn to take good pictures, understnd if you like it and are any good and then you are ready to maybe start a business.

 

[12sndsgood]

Im not ready to LAUNCH anything....just needed advice on where to start.

If you wanted to be a professional race car driver where would you start? Probably with learning how to drive. You might want to learn how to take photos to see if you even have the ability to do that before you decide to start a business

 

[panblue]

Im not ready to LAUNCH anything....just needed advice on where to start.

Deciding what you are passionate about photographing, even when it's a sh*tty scenario.
Identifying who might pay for those pictures..if at all, there is a paying market for what you want to do.

From there, copy those who do it well and make money from it. Once you find you are attaining the minimum
standard required to be credible, to make the business self-sustaining ...don't slack-off! Try to grow your business with innovation and professionalism.

 

[imagemaker46]

The reason i asked this "loaded question" was because i thought this was a beginners forum. i was asking everyone their professional opinions. noone will ever know the answer unless they start from the beginning and ask stupid questions. didnt realize it would get the sarcasm that it has gotten. sorry if i stepped on anyones toes. i was only wanting helpful advice and people took it as a slamming session.

Perhaps only 1% on this forum are full time working professional photographers and the question was directed at getting advice from professionals. I am one of the 1% that does this for a living and I wouldn't suggest that anyone even attempt a business in photography unless they have spent a few years with a camera, just learning photography. When I see these type of questions, I just look at them as another person thinking "hey I can take pictures, how tough can it be, and then I can then get into concerts and sporting events free"

There are a lot of amateurs on this forum that know more about photography than I do, what they may not have is the skill and experience to translate that knowledge into creating great images consistantly everyday, and the majority don't want that anyway. They enjoy photography as a hobby, and some are very good at it.

Your question comes up on this forum every week, and the answers are all cut and pasted.

 

[Rwsphotos]

Beginners don't generally start a business so wrong question in the wrong forum. NO this is not the beginners forum so what you got were answers from professionals who have done their du diligence and research. Answers that apparently arnt to your liking due to the attitude your have given us for answering you. The fact that a bunch of photography professionals were willing to give you professional info is something that I find is a rarity but you snub it because we were honest and didn't pull any punches. What more help can we give you with out buying your equipment and writing your business plan for you?

 

[Tee]

Don't forget a Facebook page advertising 50 hi-res images for $25 with full copyright and printing rights.

But in all seriousness the first question I am asking is how much annually do you want to make from photography? I think focusing on the business side of his question would be a better start to explaining why this isn't a pick up a D3200 from Best Buy and hang out a shingle in 2 weeks.

A favorite timeline of mine:
http://www.honghuazheng.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/A-photographers-learning-curve.jpg