Nina Paget
TPF Noob!
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2005
- Messages
- 3
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- 0
I appreciated your post. I was just at another new forum website that had similar context. I'll include the main authors article here, and a link to the website.
:thumbup:
Hi, I am photo daughter. I was raised, quite literally in a photography studio. Till the end of time, I will associate the smell of developer and fix with being with my father. My father dropped out of college to follow his dream of owning his own studio. By doing so, I remember him being, forever the blacksheep. He had two brothers, one a doctor, and the other a priest. A photographer? Definately the black sheep.
But what did it mean to my dad? It meant that he could take the world by storm, doing what he loved to do most. I think that originally it was the photography itself that my dad loved. I don't know for sure, though, because although I've seen the black and white photos that my dad shot while a teenager, I wasn't there. Was it the love of the image? Capturing the expression? I think it may have always been something more.
I think my dad loves people. And when he is taking their picture, he searches for the very best part of each of them. He wants to capture their essence to save for their children, and grand children.
Everytime our family has any sort of get together, you guessed it. The inevitable point of the gala would always bring us into a large clustered group, waiting for dad to "cock his shutter." (He'd often have us all ready, counting to three, only to pull away from his camera because he'd forgotten to "cock his shutter."
When dad first opened his studio, his first order of business was to sell, sell, sell. Dad would turn on the charm, and within a few years, he had contracts with nearly every school in the Denver Metro Area. Thus began his life as a school photographer.
Now, let me tell you, there is some pretty decent money attached to this. But there is so much more. A this point, it is easy to feel like you are no longer an artist, capturing a person's essence; but a machine - a talking, focusing, machine. You get about 30 seconds to take each shot, and your lines can go on for hours and hours. On top of that, Dad had to remain charming for the principals, teachers, and custodians. Even then, if one parent is unhappy (and vocal about it) with their child's picture, dad stood to lose a contract. As the city of Denver grew, the competition amongst photographers became fierce. Not to mention the national companies that moved in. The stress became a constant part of my father's life.
Schools, seniors, little leagues, reunions, and everything in between. We were a family business. I lived through it all, and by the time I turned 19, I was ready to retire.
Believe it or not, now my husband and I own a business that creates backdrops!!! We began this company by doing our sales on the road. We'd take turns staying home with the kids while the other one was out visiting studios and meeting with photographers. What an education we both got!
There are some special qualities within most photographers. They are independent, creative, risk-takers. Photographers are self-starters who have a tendancy to learn things the hard way. That is why I wanted to start this web page.
Photographers are not alone! Although this is a vastly competitive field, their are other people out there who can share the good, the bad, and the ugly with you. I'll start the forum out with a few topics, and a few short articles; but there is so much to be gained by sharing with eachother. So, register with freewebs and sign in to post with us. How did you get started? What are some of the biggest mistakes you've made? What is your funniest experience as a photographer?
For Example: I will use my dear old dad
Dad went to a wedding early in his career. He was dressed in his usual, black dress slacks, white button down cotton dress shirt, and a black tie. (I think this was his uniform... oh yeah, and black shoes... in case you didn't guess). Anyway, he'd shot the pre wedding bridal party shots, but everyone was waiting for the groom. Finally, dad stepped into the grooms dressing room to find the young man in a panic. The black tuxedo had been delivered, but the pants were missing! Well, everyone immediately noted that my dad was roughly the same build as the groom, and dad's pants were, of course, black. So dad ended up dropping his drawers and handing them over to the groom. Dad missed just a few shots until my mom showed up with another pair for him. The things he did for a job...
http://www.freewebs.com/photodaughter/
:thumbup:
Hi, I am photo daughter. I was raised, quite literally in a photography studio. Till the end of time, I will associate the smell of developer and fix with being with my father. My father dropped out of college to follow his dream of owning his own studio. By doing so, I remember him being, forever the blacksheep. He had two brothers, one a doctor, and the other a priest. A photographer? Definately the black sheep.
But what did it mean to my dad? It meant that he could take the world by storm, doing what he loved to do most. I think that originally it was the photography itself that my dad loved. I don't know for sure, though, because although I've seen the black and white photos that my dad shot while a teenager, I wasn't there. Was it the love of the image? Capturing the expression? I think it may have always been something more.
I think my dad loves people. And when he is taking their picture, he searches for the very best part of each of them. He wants to capture their essence to save for their children, and grand children.
Everytime our family has any sort of get together, you guessed it. The inevitable point of the gala would always bring us into a large clustered group, waiting for dad to "cock his shutter." (He'd often have us all ready, counting to three, only to pull away from his camera because he'd forgotten to "cock his shutter."
When dad first opened his studio, his first order of business was to sell, sell, sell. Dad would turn on the charm, and within a few years, he had contracts with nearly every school in the Denver Metro Area. Thus began his life as a school photographer.
Now, let me tell you, there is some pretty decent money attached to this. But there is so much more. A this point, it is easy to feel like you are no longer an artist, capturing a person's essence; but a machine - a talking, focusing, machine. You get about 30 seconds to take each shot, and your lines can go on for hours and hours. On top of that, Dad had to remain charming for the principals, teachers, and custodians. Even then, if one parent is unhappy (and vocal about it) with their child's picture, dad stood to lose a contract. As the city of Denver grew, the competition amongst photographers became fierce. Not to mention the national companies that moved in. The stress became a constant part of my father's life.
Schools, seniors, little leagues, reunions, and everything in between. We were a family business. I lived through it all, and by the time I turned 19, I was ready to retire.
Believe it or not, now my husband and I own a business that creates backdrops!!! We began this company by doing our sales on the road. We'd take turns staying home with the kids while the other one was out visiting studios and meeting with photographers. What an education we both got!
There are some special qualities within most photographers. They are independent, creative, risk-takers. Photographers are self-starters who have a tendancy to learn things the hard way. That is why I wanted to start this web page.
Photographers are not alone! Although this is a vastly competitive field, their are other people out there who can share the good, the bad, and the ugly with you. I'll start the forum out with a few topics, and a few short articles; but there is so much to be gained by sharing with eachother. So, register with freewebs and sign in to post with us. How did you get started? What are some of the biggest mistakes you've made? What is your funniest experience as a photographer?
For Example: I will use my dear old dad
Dad went to a wedding early in his career. He was dressed in his usual, black dress slacks, white button down cotton dress shirt, and a black tie. (I think this was his uniform... oh yeah, and black shoes... in case you didn't guess). Anyway, he'd shot the pre wedding bridal party shots, but everyone was waiting for the groom. Finally, dad stepped into the grooms dressing room to find the young man in a panic. The black tuxedo had been delivered, but the pants were missing! Well, everyone immediately noted that my dad was roughly the same build as the groom, and dad's pants were, of course, black. So dad ended up dropping his drawers and handing them over to the groom. Dad missed just a few shots until my mom showed up with another pair for him. The things he did for a job...
http://www.freewebs.com/photodaughter/
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