For the budding photographer...websites!

[Nikato]

So I am a budding photographer. Bought myself a Nikon D3100 camera and kit plus a 50-200mm lens the other day. Got myself a mac mini and am upgrading the ram to the max (8gb) and getting a 7200rpm hard drive put in it. Going to learn how to use Ap 3 and will have external hard drives for picture storage.

So, hard ware side i am doing well i think. My question however is portfolios and websites. I have seen several links for making your own website but i don't believe i had enough skill or am "pro" enough to have my own. I was thinking more like, free places to get my work out there.

For example I will be signing up for the model mayhem websites. I have a few friends that model and found that their are quite a few photographers on the site. Another idea I had was making a facebook page (or what ever) and linking it to my main facebook so I can promote myself.

Does anyone know of any other websites similar to the above that i can use to get myself out there? Also, are the above two mentioned ideas any good?

The only other thing besides that that I need to do is come up with a name. I was thinking of using my name and then "photography" but it sounds so plain. I do want to sound professional though. How did people end up with the names they have now?

 

[Rekd]

You forgot the most important part... getting good at photography. Might want to schedule a couple years for that...

 

[cliffy13]

Get your photography quality sorted first but if you do have an urge for a website try Weebly.com its free and so easy even a website dummy like me set one up

 

[Nikato]

You forgot the most important part... getting good at photography. Might want to schedule a couple years for that...

No, I don't believe I forgot anything. Photography is a form of art. It requires preparation and time. You can have been shooting for years and not know how to properly set up a shot. There are people who have taken photos for years that are horrible at it because they have no artistic bone in their body even.

I'm not saying I am great, nor that I will be better then person a or e. I'm just saying that there are some people in the world who have a natural talent for something and some who don't but do it anyways and makes up for thd lack of talent with years and years of practice.

You wouldn't know anything of what ive done personally mind you and I understand that. Just bringing this up since I was just asking about places to put up photos. I like being prepared with research. Flying by the seat of your pants usually ends up with bad investments and time wasted.

Oh and one more thing. Not looking for a stand alone personal website yet. Like I said places like model mayhem or Facebook pages. a personal website may be good for some, but I feel it's more for people that has established a good clientele and is known. Until then it just a waste of money.

MM and the fb page however are both connected to social sites where people of similar interests can find each other and word of who you are can spread quickly in your area.

Wooo. I hate typing a lot on my itouch but I felt like it. Maybe their are no other photo type social websites? I was sure their would be. If not I suppose I'll just stick with those now.

 

[zoogirlbc]

Flickr and Smugmug are commonly used. Flickr is free. Smugmug is relatively cheap and has the advantage of being able to password protect your galleries for clients. They also offer a free trial period. I have used it myself and the only annoying thing is it often times out when uploading so you have to upload it again but it's fine for someone just starting out.

 

[bigtwinky]

The only other thing besides that that I need to do is come up with a name.

There is way more besides "that". I totally agree photography is an art form. And knowing how to technically make a great picture, combined with an inbourne artistic talent are key elements to being great. I know many who are very successful and are just good photographers.

Knowing to setup a shot and taking the shot to consistently record a great image are hard to do, and take years of practice. Anyone can have a camera setup in auto and get a great capture here and there.

So dont put the card before the horse. Its great to have a plan, but make it a complete plan.

To the subject at hand, more things to consider would be decent equipment for every situation. A knowledge of light and knowing how to properly get that light off camera (even more important when shooting models).

On the business side, places like smugmug and zenfolio offer good hosting and client galleries. Also look into the laws of your area, model releases, contracts, insurance(!!!)...

But yeah, skill before anything

 

[Nikato]

The only other thing besides that that I need to do is come up with a name.

There is way more besides "that". I totally agree photography is an art form. And knowing how to technically make a great picture, combined with an inbourne artistic talent are key elements to being great. I know many who are very successful and are just good photographers.

Knowing to setup a shot and taking the shot to consistently record a great image are hard to do, and take years of practice. Anyone can have a camera setup in auto and get a great capture here and there.

So dont put the card before the horse. Its great to have a plan, but make it a complete plan.

To the subject at hand, more things to consider would be decent equipment for every situation. A knowledge of light and knowing how to properly get that light off camera (even more important when shooting models).

On the business side, places like smugmug and zenfolio offer good hosting and client galleries. Also look into the laws of your area, model releases, contracts, insurance(!!!)...

But yeah, skill before anything

Thanks . Although you said something similar to the first reply, you also gave advice on the subject at hand and reasoning behind your initial response. That i like .

I do know of course that there are things like the lightning, setting up boxes to help with it, umbrellas, getting the right location, setting the right ap, shutter speed, and iso, etc. I actually don't plan on doing much "basic auto" shots. I have been reading a lot into the manual modes and playing with the various settings and i honestly like the idea of having more control of my shot then the camera does in auto mode .

Thank you for the advice though. I live in Alaska which is why the whole idea of MM appeals to me. We are a great state for landscape shots and nature, but its hard to find people who want to model outside in -20 weather xD.

I was also looking at some apps on the apple store for setting up waivers and what not for models. Is there a website that has good templates for the various paperwork that photographers require so they don't get sued?

 

[bigtwinky]

If you want to avoid being sued, talk to a lawyer. Templates on the web are iffy, and they rarely are specific to the laws in your region, which only a lawyer can help you with.