Are my photos good enough to start charging for sessions?

[beccaf91]

I'm just looking for examples and working on my recognition of good composition and bad composition/what I should be aspiring for.

Your reading assignment for the week:

Search

Only 10,400 results on "composition". I'll have those finished before the Walking Dead.

 

[Designer]

..do you or anyone else have any print reference materials you might suggest?

Books, m'Lady!

Amazon.com: composition in art: Books

 

[DanOstergren]

I looked to see if Meg Bitton has any video tutorials, and it appears that she does. I highly reccomend looking into this sort of content, especially when it comes from photographers that inspire you. I've purchased two different video workshops over the years; "Photographer Shootoff: Lara Jade VS Joey L" and the Creativelive "Fashion Photography 101 with Lara Jade" workshop video, and both of them completely changed the way I shoot and edit, and were incredibly helpful in developing my personal style as a photographer. Video workshops are an investment, but I think they are worth it, and more valuable than a new lens or camera. You usually get unlimited access to the videos after you buy them, so you can always get a refresher as well. I looked through Meg's shop and found this one which covers styling, pre-shoot, lighting and location, as well as editing. I would look into this.
https://megbittonlive.com/course/magic-in-the-forest/

Thank ya!

If you don't mind, I'll share some resources for inspiration. I think this stuff is very important, especially when we are self taught artists.

CreativeLive: Free Live Online Classes - Learn. Be Inspired. (free live video workshops which you can purchase after they've aired live)

Fashion Photography 101 with Lara Jade | CreativeLive - Learn. Be Inspired. ($129 is a steal considering how amazing this workshop is)

Experimental Portraits with Sue Bryce, Lara Jade | CreativeLive - Learn. Be Inspired. (two of the industry's leading creative portrait photographers)

Glamour Photography with Sue Bryce | CreativeLive - Learn. Be Inspired. (Sue Bryce is incredible)

Learn From Joey L. (fyi I believe you can pick this DVD up for much cheaper on amazon or ebay)

I know none of these cover anything in terms of maternity photography, but I believe the skillsets taught by these photographers are very universal in portrait photography.

Also, this isn't a tutorial, but I believe that visual inspiration and reference is extremely important, and this website is a goldmine of free inspiration and reference photos: Fashion Editorials

Yass. This is the stuff I'm looking for!! Also, do you or anyone else have any print reference materials you might suggest? I'm a nursing student by day and a travel agent by night so 99% of my life is in front of a screen right now. Not that I think anything will change if I can get this photography thing off the ground but, y'all, my eyes HURT. I'd like to just hold a book please.

Someone asked recently in the forum and got lot's of recommendations: Must Have Photography Books

yaaaaasssss

 

[OGsPhotography]

On air @creativelive at the moment;
The Creative Newborn Photography Studio with Julia Kelleher | CreativeLive - Learn. Be Inspired.

Julia quotes Picaso in her introductory ramblings;

" Good artists Copy, Great artists Steal"- Picaso

Then she concludes that new ideas are born from the marriage of old ideas.

I thought that was interesting advice.

Creative live is a free resource if you don't feel like paying, watch the " On Air" classes.

I will gladly pay for more of their classes they are great.

 

[beccaf91]

On air @creativelive at the moment;
The Creative Newborn Photography Studio with Julia Kelleher | CreativeLive - Learn. Be Inspired.

Julia quotes Picaso in her introductory ramblings;

" Good artists Copy, Great artists Steal"- Picaso

Then she concludes that new ideas are born from the marriage of old ideas.

I thought that was interesting advice.

Creative live is a free resource if you don't feel like paying, watch the " On Air" classes.

I will gladly pay for more of their classes they are great.

Haha thank you! Some of the introductions are a bit long winded but I have recently started watching some of the "On Air" webinars; if you think it's worth the money I may throw a few bucks at it.

 

[Gary A.]

That stuff is good, but if you can, find a mentor. Most importantly shoot. Shoot everyday. Shoot everything. Shoot all the time. At the end of the day when you think you're done shooting ... shoot again.

 

[pgriz]

I'm getting in late to the party, but what the heck. With respect to your original question, if the people who see their kids in your photos want to buy them, then you're catering to your audience. You do have the knack for connecting to the kids, and that's a powerful component of getting the image. On the flip side, there are lots of technical stuff that your audience won't necessarily pick up on (in terms of being able to identify and verbalize what is working and what is not), but will influence their appreciation of the photo, even if only subconsciously. For me, the easiest way to know whether I'm looking at pictures by an amateur vs. a pro is to see how the background is being managed. The second way is to see how the shadows are being used - amateurs tend to avoid them, whereas the pros know how to use them to create separation, depth, volume and texture. The points made by Lew (the Traveller) that I have in the sig area are valid and useful (which is why, despite the years, I still am quoting him).

 

[pgriz]

As for working with the expectation of your (paying) audience, it helps to know what truly makes an image memorable for someone. So ask each friend and family member and acquaintance to show you the most valuable and most cherished images they have of their kids and other family members. Ask them what makes that image (or images) so powerful for them and so worthy of being kept. In many ways, the image is just a convenient trigger of emotions. It's understanding what those emotions are, and how to evoke them will be the thing that makes YOUR images different from those they can buy from others.

Pictures of strangers, on the other hand, work on a different dynamic. You don't know the back story, you can only judge your like/dislike of the image based on the information contained therein. Having distracting or clashing elements can easily diminish one's enjoyment of a picture of a person. It becomes the photographer's job to assemble the visual clues we need (as viewers) to interpret the image. As humans, while we are all different and individual, we still have some more-or-less common ways of approaching an image - we tend to look at faces, and especially the eyes, and then we follow some patterns (bright areas before dark, sharp areas before blurred, defined lines and curves before less distinct areas) in quickly scanning an image to get our "first impression". Well-crafted images use these patterns to guide our eyes around the image and to build up a favourable response. Use yourself as a sample to explore this idea. Look at an image for a short period of time (say, 5 seconds). Then try to remember the exact sequence of your eye movements. Where did you look first? Where did you look next? What were you looking at when you stopped looking at the image (ie, what was your exit point?)? If you do this exercise with a number of images, you will see there's a pattern. Also ask yourself what was it about an image when you had the urge to look at it longer than 5 seconds - what grabbed your interest? For me, the images that make me look for a long time are images that are ambiguous and open to interpretation - I linger on them trying to decide what they are telling me, and which version or interpretation is more valid.

 

[pixmedic]

my opinion on this subject has changed a bit over the years...
ill start out by saying that if someone is willing to pay for what you are offering....then thats between you and the client, and noone else.
that being said, if you start charging for your work, even as a little side gig, you better have your legal business status set up first.
hardly anyone ever does though.... Tons of craigslist and FB photographers working "under the table".
it sounds fine... just taking some pictures for a little money. no harm no foul.
the reality is, the first person to take you to small claims court because they dont like the pictures you gave them, or report you, will cause you more trouble than you can imagine.
so get the legal stuff done FIRST.
in most areas it doesnt take much. in my county for instance, all you need to be "legal" is a registered business name and an EIN for when you pay your taxes. then, make sure you are actually paying taxes when you are supposed to....because the tax office WILL be watching. we paid quarterly. its not expensive at all to register a business and get your EIN.
most people think that if things go wrong, a refund will fix everything. very not true. there are plenty of people that, when they are unhappy, just want to see the world burn, and no amount of apologies or refunds will keep them from negative reviews and a report to the IRS. (anyone who works in retail will understand the "unplacatable" customer)
please dont think you are "safe" just because you are only doing some side portraits for FB people.

anyway...other than that, I say that if you have all the legal stuff in order, and can find clients willing to pay for your services....then go for it.
why not make money if the opportunity is there?
business sense and marketing are more important than the actual photography.

of course, there's all sorts of little things that could be mentioned...if someone were to nitpic..
backup equipment. the ability to shoot in any lighting condition. a consistent quality product....dont forget about insurance for the business (like liability)
but the truth is that most of that is subjective anyway, so as long as your clients are happy, thats all that really matters.

 

[thereyougo!]

I don't have much to add from the expert advice being given to you by the top people on this site, apart from to say that it's refreshing to see one of these threads not turn into a shouting match. Well done on taking things on board, and Good Luck. Most OPs with the same subject end up throwing their toys out of the pram because they don't like what they hear.

 

[runnah]

my opinion on this subject has changed a bit over the years...
ill start out by saying that if someone is willing to pay for what you are offering....then thats between you and the client, and noone else.
that being said, if you start charging for your work, even as a little side gig, you better have your legal business status set up first.
hardly anyone ever does though.... Tons of craigslist and FB photographers working "under the table".
it sounds fine... just taking some pictures for a little money. no harm no foul.
the reality is, the first person to take you to small claims court because they dont like the pictures you gave them, or report you, will cause you more trouble than you can imagine.
so get the legal stuff done FIRST.
in most areas it doesnt take much. in my county for instance, all you need to be "legal" is a registered business name and an EIN for when you pay your taxes. then, make sure you are actually paying taxes when you are supposed to....because the tax office WILL be watching. we paid quarterly. its not expensive at all to register a business and get your EIN.
most people think that if things go wrong, a refund will fix everything. very not true. there are plenty of people that, when they are unhappy, just want to see the world burn, and no amount of apologies or refunds will keep them from negative reviews and a report to the IRS. (anyone who works in retail will understand the "unplacatable" customer)
please dont think you are "safe" just because you are only doing some side portraits for FB people.

anyway...other than that, I say that if you have all the legal stuff in order, and can find clients willing to pay for your services....then go for it.
why not make money if the opportunity is there?
business sense and marketing are more important than the actual photography.

of course, there's all sorts of little things that could be mentioned...if someone were to nitpic..
backup equipment. the ability to shoot in any lighting condition. a consistent quality product....dont forget about insurance for the business (like liability)
but the truth is that most of that is subjective anyway, so as long as your clients are happy, thats all that really matters.

Seconded. It's a minefield out here for client based creative "businesses". I am currently quoting a job for a client that I just know is going to be a huge pain in the ass. Besides the standard PITA fee I am also documenting the crap out of the correspondence. Part of me thinks I should just decline the work because it will mostly likely end up costing me.

 

[beccaf91]

my opinion on this subject has changed a bit over the years...
ill start out by saying that if someone is willing to pay for what you are offering....then thats between you and the client, and noone else.
that being said, if you start charging for your work, even as a little side gig, you better have your legal business status set up first.
hardly anyone ever does though.... Tons of craigslist and FB photographers working "under the table".
it sounds fine... just taking some pictures for a little money. no harm no foul.
the reality is, the first person to take you to small claims court because they dont like the pictures you gave them, or report you, will cause you more trouble than you can imagine.
so get the legal stuff done FIRST.
in most areas it doesnt take much. in my county for instance, all you need to be "legal" is a registered business name and an EIN for when you pay your taxes. then, make sure you are actually paying taxes when you are supposed to....because the tax office WILL be watching. we paid quarterly. its not expensive at all to register a business and get your EIN.
most people think that if things go wrong, a refund will fix everything. very not true. there are plenty of people that, when they are unhappy, just want to see the world burn, and no amount of apologies or refunds will keep them from negative reviews and a report to the IRS. (anyone who works in retail will understand the "unplacatable" customer)
please dont think you are "safe" just because you are only doing some side portraits for FB people.

anyway...other than that, I say that if you have all the legal stuff in order, and can find clients willing to pay for your services....then go for it.
why not make money if the opportunity is there?
business sense and marketing are more important than the actual photography.

of course, there's all sorts of little things that could be mentioned...if someone were to nitpic..
backup equipment. the ability to shoot in any lighting condition. a consistent quality product....dont forget about insurance for the business (like liability)
but the truth is that most of that is subjective anyway, so as long as your clients are happy, thats all that really matters.

I've already looked into it and got some forms from my city hall and the state.

 

[beccaf91]

I don't have much to add from the expert advice being given to you by the top people on this site, apart from to say that it's refreshing to see one of these threads not turn into a shouting match. Well done on taking things on board, and Good Luck. Most OPs with the same subject end up throwing their toys out of the pram because they don't like what they hear.

Oh yeah, well I'm not here for a pat on the head. I want legitimately, useful critiques from people who give a fig about photography. Lol

 

[thereyougo!]

I don't have much to add from the expert advice being given to you by the top people on this site, apart from to say that it's refreshing to see one of these threads not turn into a shouting match. Well done on taking things on board, and Good Luck. Most OPs with the same subject end up throwing their toys out of the pram because they don't like what they hear.

Oh yeah, well I'm not here for a pat on the head. I want legitimately, useful critiques from people who give a fig about photography. Lol

Someone with your attitude will nearly always get advice on most if not all forums. When I saw it was 9 pages long on the most discussed section, I thought it was going to be one of those rabid (but let's face it, entertaining) threads where the OP decides they could out-photograph Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier-Bresson, and that they don't need any advice. Thumbs up!

 

[Vtec44]

Oh yeah, well I'm not here for a pat on the head. I want legitimately, useful critiques from people who give a fig about photography. Lol

My advice on listening to people on the Internet: You definitely want to look over their work and how successful their business is before taking their advice. It means they have successfully done it. There are a lot of information online, you just have to weed out all the bad ones.