Am I good enough to make a career out of it? C&C!

S40T5Lover · Nov 14, 2008

Hey guys, here are a couple more of my pictures that I thought I'd share, have a bunch more coming. I'm 17 and looking to go to art school for photography, eventually I'd like to become a proffesional, I've been shooting for about two years, but only the last year I have really gotten into it. I would love to hear what you guys have to say. Thank you very much!

JerryPH · Nov 14, 2008

1 - C&C section has been reserved for the beginners section. This has nothing to do with "beyond the basics"

2 - Courtesy states that you post one or two pics MAX for CC that are under 640 X 480 in size so that people with slower internet connections are not penalized.

3 - If *you* cannot tell if you are ready to turn pro or not... how can anyone else??

If my opinion matters any... I don't really see anything that impressed me of pro quality. Doesn't mean they aren't nice... I just do not think you are close to ready to fight with the big dawgs.

S40T5Lover · Nov 14, 2008

JerryPH said:
1 - C&C section has been reserved for the beginners section. This has nothing to do with "beyond the basics"

2 - Courtesy states that you post one or two pics MAX for CC that are under 640 X 480 in size so that people with slower internet connections are not penalized.

3 - If *you* cannot tell if you are ready to turn pro or not... how can anyone else??

If my opinion matters any... I don't really see anything that impressed me of pro quality. Doesn't mean they aren't nice... I just do not think you are close to ready to fight with the big dawgs.

1- Sorry about that.

2- IMHO, that should be a choice of the poster, if they only want their pictures C&C'd by people with "Faster" internet connections, then let them make that choice.

3- How am I supposed to tell if my pictures are "Pro" quality or not if I am not a pro or anything close to it? I'm 17 years old (Not an excuse) and I haven't been into photography for that long, and I wanted to see what the more "experienced" photographers thought.

Is there any way we can relocate this to the "Beginner forum?"
Thank you for your help....

chrisburke · Nov 14, 2008

S40T5Lover said:
2- IMHO, that should be a choice of the poster, if they only want their pictures C&C'd by people with "Faster" internet connections, then let them make that choice.

thats just rude... i tend not to even look at threads that have more than 4 pics when the poster is looking for CC.. and I have a really fast connection...

and i have to agree with Jerry.. i dont see anything here that really stands out as "pro quality" but the truth is, you have to make that decision.. i didnt come here and post pics to say "should I go pro" i went out, took pictures, got gigs, built a quality porfolio... i didnt wait for photography to come to me.. i went to it

S40T5Lover · Nov 14, 2008

chrisburke said:
thats just rude... i tend not to even look at threads that have more than 4 pics when the poster is looking for CC.. and I have a really fast connection...

I don't exactly see how that is rude, I think it should be up to the poster if they want to post a bunch of pictures or not. People that don't want to "waste" their time looking at that many pictures, should just skip over that thread.... Just my thought, I just wanted to voice my opinion.

Another thought, if a thread has more than 4 pictures, the poster should add the number of photo's in the thread to the thread title. That way if people don't even have to open the thread to see how many pictures are there... By no means am I trying to be rude or disrespectful in any way....:mrgreen:

S40T5Lover · Nov 14, 2008

chrisburke said:
thats just rude... i tend not to even look at threads that have more than 4 pics when the poster is looking for CC.. and I have a really fast connection...

and i have to agree with Jerry.. i dont see anything here that really stands out as "pro quality" but the truth is, you have to make that decision.. i didnt come here and post pics to say "should I go pro" i went out, took pictures, got gigs, built a quality porfolio... i didnt wait for photography to come to me.. i went to it

When you put it that way, it does make more sense that you have to decide if you are "pro" level or not. I should have titled it something else, and NOT have posted it in the "Beyond the Basics" section. I am just looking to see what more experienced people think about my photography.

bigtwinky · Nov 14, 2008

As stated, the pictures are nice. Some interesting subjects, nice angles, clear focus.
And you are 17, so you have a ways to go and time in front of you.

I definatly think that some studies in not just photography and visual arts will help you get to where you want to.

Can you go professional with these? No.
Are these are good start for someone your age who wants to go professional? I think so.

But I'm not a pro myself.

Start researching some of the real pros and see what they do and then compare yourself to that and strive to achieve what they do.

Quick C&C... I don't like the plan picture, too busy, no picture focal point. Golf ball picture has too much crud in the pic, but nice colours. I like the coin op one. Not sure what you were doing with the oil spill / rainbow one. The candle is too out of focus,the fence and the car are too tilted in my opinion, I like the closeup of the ropes and the water on the dock

As for the posting of pics, its common courtesy on forums to post a small number of pictures. I have a slow connection, how am I supposed to know that this will take forever to load?

Patm1313 · Nov 14, 2008

I like your pictures, but I get the feeling that they are "posed". To me, photography is all about capturing memorable things in life, which means taking pictures of things that just sort of "materialize" in front of you. The more natural you can make the subject seem, the better.

Keep working at it.

On somewhat of the same note, photography, being an art, requires an "eye" for it. The best photographers are able to instantly recognize a good picture, or at least see the opportunity for a good picture and are able to adjust to make it a good picture.

I'm going to be honest, I don't think you have 100% of that eye, but you are close. It's a skill that easiest to have naturally, but it can be acquired to some extent. If you want to develop this, then start thinking of photo ops as you walk around every day. I do it, and no, it will not make you insane. Or maybe it will...:mrgreen:

chrisburke · Nov 14, 2008

well if your looking for GOOD CC.... the people who can give GOOD cc are the ones who have been here for a long time.. and we all live by the same premis, 2 or 3 photos per post.. so if you want quality CC from the people who know their stuff, you should follow that rule, otherwise you'll just get CC from random people who will say things like "looks good" which is NOT good CC...

S40T5Lover · Nov 14, 2008

bigtwinky said:
As stated, the pictures are nice. Some interesting subjects, nice angles, clear focus.
And you are 17, so you have a ways to go and time in front of you.

I definatly think that some studies in not just photography and visual arts will help you get to where you want to.

Can you go professional with these? No.
Are these are good start for someone your age who wants to go professional? I think so.

But I'm not a pro myself. Start researching some of the real pros and see what they do and then compare yourself to that and strive to achieve what they do.

Quick C&C... I don't like the plan picture, too busy, no picture focal point. Golf ball picture has too much crud in the pic, but nice colours. I like the coin op one. Not sure what you were doing with the oil spill / rainbow one. The candle is too out of focus,the fence and the car are too tilted in my opinion, I like the closeup of the ropes and the water on the dock

As for the posting of pics, its common courtesy on forums to post a small number of pictures. I have a slow connection, how am I supposed to know that this will take forever to load?

THANK you for the great feedback. I must say that yes, most of those pictures I posted are staged, but thats only a SMALL fraction of my photography collection and most of my photos are not staged. I agree with the statement that things should occur naturally. I know I need a lot of room for improvment, but I need to start somewhere. I will follow the rule about only a couple pictures to be C&C's, I was not aware of this before I posted this.

JerryPH · Nov 14, 2008

S40T5Lover said:
THANK you for the great feedback.

Definition of "great feedback"... something that makes you see your pics in a different light and offers opinions that assist you in improving. Some of the best CC is almost always brutally honest, and not something you will feel like thanking someone for very often.

Facts are that 90% of people asking for feedback are looking not for a sincerely honest critique, but a pat on the back... what are you looking for?

Fact is, with all due respect... you have a LOT to learn and a LONG way to go.

Five years from now, you will likely remember this and even at that stage, if you are in an open and professional frame of mind... see that after this much time, there is still a lot more to learn and perhaps even chuckle a little about this whole thing.

Patm1313 · Nov 14, 2008

JerryPH said:
Definition of "great feedback"... something that makes you see your pics in a different light and offers opinions that assist you in improving. Some of the best CC is almost always brutally honest, and not something you will feel like thanking someone for very often.

Facts are that 90% of people asking for feedback are looking not for a sincerely honest critique, but a pat on the back... what are you looking for?

Fact is, with all due respect... you have a LOT to learn and a LONG way to go.

Five years from now, you will likely remember this and even at that stage, if you are in an open and professional frame of mind... see that after this much time, there is still a lot more to learn and perhaps even chuckle a little about this whole thing.

I agree 100% with above.

Now, there's a lot of people who are gonna say "nice!" or "good" or something along the lines of that for what I call the +1 post. They post, give not constructive criticism, and they get another post on their tally. This isn't going to help you. Respect those that are honest, even if they say your pictures stink, because these people will help you to advance your photography.

S40T5Lover · Nov 14, 2008

JerryPH said:
Definition of "great feedback"... something that makes you see your pics in a different light and offers opinions that assist you in improving. Some of the best CC is almost always brutally honest, and not something you will feel like thanking someone for very often.

Facts are that 90% of people asking for feedback are looking not for a sincerely honest critique, but a pat on the back... what are you looking for?

Fact is, with all due respect... you have a LOT to learn and a LONG way to go.

Five years from now, you will likely remember this and even at that stage, if you are in an open and professional frame of mind... see that after this much time, there is still a lot more to learn and perhaps even chuckle a little about this whole thing.

I was quite aware that I have a LONG ways to go, even the "best" photographers can always improve. I was saying THANK YOU for the great feedback, because I appriciate their constructive critisism and taking time out of their day to do that. It's not that I WANT to hear it, it's that I respect and learn from it. If I wanted a pat on the back for the photos I posted I wouldn't have asked for C&C. :hail:

S40T5Lover · Nov 14, 2008

I do most certainly respect those who tell the truth about my pictures and give me honest and genuine feedback about them. I just dont think that people should be as harsh. But I am perfectly fine with it.