How long did you take to become a REAL PHOTOGRAPHER?

tsaraleksi · May 5, 2009

Dwig said:
1. How long you are in photography?

All told, about 56 years; discounting my early childhood playing with cameras, which started around age 2-3, about 48-50. That's me with my dad's old flash gun digging in his gadget bag some 55-56 years ago that I use for my avitar.

2. At what age you started taking photography seriously?

No counting just using a manual RF camras and handheld meters for vacation snaps in early grade school, I'd have to set the start when I began to do my own darkroom work and shoot extensively, which was in the 6th grade (~11 years old).

3. How long did it take from real beginer (when your photos where too bad) to a matured one (when your photos started taking shape).

I started young, so photographic maturity has two marks. Technical skills became solid in one or two years from the 6th grade "start". Artistic growth continues to this day, as does technical knowledge, but I would say that my earliest pix that were worthy of hanging on the wall would be in late high school (age 15-16 or about 4-5 years from my serious "start"). A lot of the artistic delay, compared to technical, has to be marked off to my immature artistic eye at that stage in life. My visual artistic maturity was at about the same time that books, which had been merely sourced of data, became alive for me as artistic works of literature.

This sounds about right for me, though I'm not nearly as far along that path-- been at it for 7 or 8 years now, since middle school, but stuff only really started to take shape when I was a junior or senior in HS.

CyclonePWR · May 5, 2009

This is really interesting, would love to see some more before and after photos!

I know I seen it before but maybe also include one thing or a couple that you found most significant that you learned or what helped you improve the most.

thanks

Josh66 · May 5, 2009

Well, I don't have any really old pictures on the computer, so these are just going to be since going digital (September '05, but I can't find any that old). Pretty much everything before that is just snapshots anyway.

Birds:

Old

New

Portrait of my Dad:

Old

New

(This one is film - Fuji Superia 400)

Still not sure if I'm a 'real' photographer though.

coreduo · May 5, 2009

I studied the basics in university. I lost interest. Then the ups and downs. But once I read Ansel Adams' book THE NEGATIVE, it revived my interest with passion. I finally realized that I need something scientific to pique mine.

B Kennedy · May 5, 2009

I've been at photography for about 7-8 years now, having started back in high school (I am now graduated from college with undergrad and grad & out of school a couple years now). I would say that I started taking photography seriously since college, taking a few classes in film and working in the dark room. I think becoming a real photographer depends on what you do with your images. Do you market what you feel is your best work? Either through shows/website. I feel that someone who has a love for photography and displays them in their house for friends and family to see, but doesn't necessarily sell them, is still considered a 'real' photographer. If you like to express yourself through a lense and always have that camera at your side, you are as real of a photographer as anyone! Show your work, and be proud of it.