Hello from East Tennessee!!

A.M.Shooter · Feb 23, 2012

Hi everyone!
My name is Alison and I am a "new to the business" photographer. I have been doing photography as a hobby for about 7 years, and I studied photography at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.... GO VOLS!

I just recently found myself in a position in my life where embarking on the windy road into the Photo Biz would be a good decision. This has been a long time dream for me, and I can only hope that through lots of practice and advice that I will gain more and more experience over the years.
I love photographing children and people. I also enjoy beautiful landscapes and cityscapes.

I used to shoot film, but then I fell out of photography for a bit. When I refocused my attention back into it.. everything was digital. So I spend a lot of my free time reading, learning and practicing. In my not-so-free-time, I have 2 beautiful children, my son Jacob is 7, and my daughter Alex is 9. I currently shoot with a Nikon D5100, 18-55 kit lens, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, and Nikkor 55-300 f/4-6.5. My budget is tight, so that's as close as I could get to "pro-gear" right now. I plan to purchase the Nikon SB-700 or newer flash and a reflector in the coming weeks. I am hoping that this is a sufficient set-up to get me going. Let me know what you think. Or if you have any personal suggestions/preferences.

I'm very excited to be here among talent.. amateur and professional. Over the course of my travel down this road I will be looking to all of you for advice and guidance that I hope to find. I hope all of you will respond constructively, I;m happy to hear it. If I make mistakes, which I will, and I learn from them, then they were worth making, weren't they?

I believe that I have the talent and confidence to do good photography, but I also have the sense and discipline to know that I have a lot to learn.

i look forward to meeting you and becoming a more confident and experienced photographer. Thank you all in advance for your support, your time, your wisdom, and your guidance. Without it, I would still be at square one.

Please take a moment to check out my website, it's also brand new. I apologize that my portfolio is anorexic.. at best. I have some shoots scheduled over the coming weeks that will hopefully give it that something it's missing. Would love your feedback on the website as well.

Thanks all!
Alison

SCraig · Feb 23, 2012

Welcome to the nuthouse. There are a couple of others from Tennessee around as well. Take a look around, there is a lot of information around here.

A.M.Shooter · Feb 23, 2012

SCraig said:
Welcome to the nuthouse. There are a couple of others from Tennessee around as well. Take a look around, there is a lot of information around here.

Thanks Scott! I'm finding my way around pretty well so far

Thanks for the greetings!

2WheelPhoto · Feb 23, 2012

Welcome - I'll be dragging my knee in the turns on a fast bike in east TN/west NC in April!

Big Mike · Feb 24, 2012

Welcome aboard Alison.

sm4him · Feb 24, 2012

Welcome to TPF from a fellow East Tennessean; there are a growing number of us here! I'm in South Knoxville, just about 15 miles from Sevierville. I'm also a UTK alum; GBO!! BSBA, major in Marketing. MANY years ago.

Can't offer much advice on "going pro" as I'm not one, nor do I have any plans/desire to be one. I'm just loving getting serious about my photography, and shooting what I want, and improving my skills...TPF has been a HUGE catalyst for any improvements I may have made in the past few months.

I've got a similar setup to yours: D5100, 18-55 kit lens, 55-300 f/4.5-5.6, 50mm f/1.8g, plus a Yongnuo YN560 flash I just acquired along with wireless triggers, and some Kenko extension tubes for macro work.

I can really only give you two pieces of advice right now:
1. GET a flash, post-haste, and learn how to use it if you have intentions of "going pro." I just got mine last week and I've had my hands full figuring out how to use it appropriately!
2. If you don't already have one, get yourself a VERY thick skin, and then POST PHOTOS for C&C. You will, quite likely, have them ripped apart. There is not much "sweetness & light" here when it comes to telling you what you're doing wrong, but there IS great advice by people who know what they're doing. They are sometimes mean, sarcastic, terse, and even downright rude in how they say it, but that's just like real life. Listen and learn and it WILL improve your skills, no matter where they are now.