finally made up my mind!

dukeboy1977

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The more I think about it, it's time I get off my butt and either do things the "proper" way or give up on this photography thing...NO more 1/2-assing this! I have learned enough by trial and error to be accepted by the normal "joe" who knows nothing about photography, BUT it is ME who needs to know enough to be accepted by other photographers! I have made up my mind on 2 separate issues. I'm finally going to succumb and become a Photoshop user, and get rid of my Corel. Corel works for the majority of things, but I know Photoshop definitely has the ability to make my photos even better. I'm going to just have to learn how to control it, so a-reading-I-will-be!! lol My 2nd issue is I have decided to sign up for photography school to learn what I don't know, AND to get a better grasp on what I "think I know". I'm going to do the online school through the NY photo college. NYI I think? I was going to do the school in Pittsburgh PA, but I feel the one in NY may be a better choice. I feel my photography has nowhere to go but UP from here! I'm going to start offering FREE portraits in my area for those I feel I can trust, which will give me photos to practice on, AND it might help to get my name out there! What do you think of my decision? All opinions and "help" will be thought over seriously :thumbup:
 
Jeff
Any time a person has a personal breakthrough is a good thing.

My only advice is to spend your time wisely and try to make as few mistakes as possible.
I also believe photography is something to be enjoyed, so go have some fun. :thumbup:
 
*forewarning*.... Im not a professional photographer, but like you I am working on it. I have been a photoshop cs3 user for about a 1.5 years and I love it. It can be a difficult program to learn thoroughly, but even the basic editing tools are great. I use, portraiture, and noiseninja plugins which are both great - to me a must have! Shoot in RAW to expand your photo editing capabilities. Im not familiar with any other photo editing software so I cant compare corel to cs3. Assuming you will be using cs4 - they should have "Adobe Photoshop CS4 Classroom in a Book". If in the long run you decided against going to photography school then definitely get the book (the school will require it anyways).

As for school I tip my hat to you for looking to expand your education in this field. As for me, and this is just me, I decided against it as:

1. I couldnt afford the time required to go to school
2. I plan to run a business.... not work for anyone else, so I decided my customers would rather see my work than me degree.

To replace school I read...and read.....when my eyes got tired I stared off in the distance for a few minutes and........read some more :lol:

Books offer valuable instruction as well as a glimpse of other photographers work.

Along with reading I practiced - brought my camera to every family event and pretended I was getting paid. Until enough people realized that the shiny black thing strapped around my neck wasnt an ugly growth, but rather a camera - and it was with my always. Friends, coworkers, and family associated camera, with Geoff. Once that happened I was getting called upon. Hey Geoff can you photograph my moms birthday, daughters wedding, newborn, daughters senior portrait, etc...

But this is the work we all have to go through to get to the point where - WE CAN GET PAID FOR DOING THIS!! lol. Photography is awesome, and if your good it pays well. I guess thats why every Dick and Harry goes out and gets a camera and tries to make this a living. Keep that in mind through your adventures - I just heard that 95% of all photography businesses fail within a year (that was posted somewhere on this forum). This is not to be discouraging, but rather just something to always bare in mind. Study business management, marketing, advertising, etc. too if you decide to go to school.

Good luck to you and keep shooting,

Geoff
 
*forewarning*.... Im not a professional photographer, but like you I am working on it. I have been a photoshop cs3 user for about a 1.5 years and I love it. It can be a difficult program to learn thoroughly, but even the basic editing tools are great. I use, portraiture, and noiseninja plugins which are both great - to me a must have! Shoot in RAW to expand your photo editing capabilities. Im not familiar with any other photo editing software so I cant compare corel to cs3. Assuming you will be using cs4 - they should have "Adobe Photoshop CS4 Classroom in a Book". If in the long run you decided against going to photography school then definitely get the book (the school will require it anyways).

As for school I tip my hat to you for looking to expand your education in this field. As for me, and this is just me, I decided against it as:

1. I couldnt afford the time required to go to school
2. I plan to run a business.... not work for anyone else, so I decided my customers would rather see my work than me degree.

To replace school I read...and read.....when my eyes got tired I stared off in the distance for a few minutes and........read some more :lol:

Books offer valuable instruction as well as a glimpse of other photographers work.

Along with reading I practiced - brought my camera to every family event and pretended I was getting paid. Until enough people realized that the shiny black thing strapped around my neck wasnt an ugly growth, but rather a camera - and it was with my always. Friends, coworkers, and family associated camera, with Geoff. Once that happened I was getting called upon. Hey Geoff can you photograph my moms birthday, daughters wedding, newborn, daughters senior portrait, etc...

But this is the work we all have to go through to get to the point where - WE CAN GET PAID FOR DOING THIS!! lol. Photography is awesome, and if your good it pays well. I guess thats why every Dick and Harry goes out and gets a camera and tries to make this a living. Keep that in mind through your adventures - I just heard that 95% of all photography businesses fail within a year (that was posted somewhere on this forum). This is not to be discouraging, but rather just something to always bare in mind. Study business management, marketing, advertising, etc. too if you decide to go to school.

Good luck to you and keep shooting,

Geoff

As for your "I don't have time" and "I plan to run a business" comments, I don't get much time either as I have my own home, a fiance', 2 dogs, 1 son and 1 due in August, AND work a full-time job. This school will allow me to study on MY time and they will instruct me on how to "run my own business" so I may do so in the future. I know you were only giving your opinion and reasons for them, but I have to disagree with you sir. I feel I have made some good decisions for myself and my family, as this is how I have wanted to make my living for a while now. I can make table scraps now from doing this "on the side" but I'm not happy "just scraping by", I need to make a real living and support my growing family. I really hope I'm not going to end up making a fool of myself with this, but I am a gambling man (per my billiards playing days) so I'm prepared to "put up or shut up"! lol Thanks for giving me something to consider though Geoff, it's appreciated!
 
If you would like to disagree with my reasons for deciding not to go to photography school - you may, I suppose its a free country.
 
I agree with the comment that customers want to see a portfolio, and not a degree. One could be the most educated photographer, and be able to tell you every possible darkroom technique, but that doesnt mean you can take a good, solid, meaningful photo. Sure, school can help, but a portfolio is more important than a degree.
 
I would not mind photo school either... I even looked into it as an option. Then, I realized that it is the photography that matters not the degree or certificate of completion. Now, I am not telling you that school should not be an option. I am saying maybe give something like www.kelbytraining.com a try. I use it and it is pretty cool. There are hundreds or thousands of videos on photography, business, photoshop etc. It is 25.00 a month or 200.00 a year. It is worth a look even if you decide to go the school route. Good luck and I am trying to make the same break-through myself.!!!

Oh, feel free to check out my blog as I do have tips on occasion.... Check out some of the well known photographer's blogs as well. They make a lot of mistakes for us so that we don't have too.
 

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