How to get more practice on real live people /getting strangers to book free sessions

[supercool2]

I learn by doing , and learn from my mistakes by doing. I am in the " trying to take good pictures " stage ,which involves being able to know how to use equipment like flash,camera, wireless remote, and many other things that may be needed. Knowing how to use the exposure triangle ,how to work with light . blah blah blah. That's the stage I'm at. I like shooting people (with a camera of course !) . Here is my stages of learning right now :

*Learn photography by reading books&articles, watching tutorials, youtube, real life photo sessions of my own children, my neighbors& child,my friends & their kids, and lastly strangers too. ~maybe a college course~ in the near future, but its not possible at the moment.

*While I'm doing the above: I will be trying my hardest to figure out how to make use of all Light room features that can help me to post process & edit my pictures. That will be learning curve in itself. And VERY time consuming . Since I have 4 kids and a family to take care of a work at home job on top of that, I have to divide my time, and learn the computer stuff when I can, like when my youngest son is taking a nap, or if my mom can watch him etc... SO with that said, I have to choose my time wisely,and personally I feel its more important to be learning photography (not the after the fact, editing of photos part of photography) when it comes to practice ,practice,practice all the techniques and things i will be reading about doing. Practicing how to work the settings of a DSLR while taking pictures under different lighting situations, different locations. And I'm sorry but my husband & kids can only take so much !

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So I have been basically spreading the word that I am really passionate about learning photography and need REAL PEOPLE to practice on, so if they don't mind giving me a little bit of their time, I will give them the digital (edited to the best of my abilities) images for free to do whatever they want, but also still retain photographers rights. (I will have a contract for them to sign stating the agreement,etc.. ) as my 'payment' or 'trade' for them.

So far my neighbor took me up on the offer. A friend of a friend is in the process of setting up a date for some maternity pictures (she already has some,but is open to getting more & letting me practice on her) .
I don't know a whole lot of people. The other people I do know personally I already asked and now it's up to them to take me up on the offer. So I'm not going to ask them again. Instead,with those people might very occasionally mention a free photo session I am doing/have booked or share a couple photos that were taken. So far I have had ONE free photo session/practice round. It was my neighbor's little girl. She was happy to get several pictures on disc as "payment" for allowing me to take their pictures.

I do plan to do this for $ one day , but that is a long way off in the future . It could be a year, or several years from now or more. I don't know. It all depends on fast I learn and other factors. I'm not even building a portfolio yet, but I will be saving all images I take so when I get the editing skills, I can have a bunch of pictures to at least choose from ,that were already taken if some of them are worth using.

So would it seem creepy if I stroll through the local park where there are families (what I want to practice shooting) and just start going up to people and after introducing myself ,explain that I am trying to improve my skills and am giving free photo shoots with free digital images ? I of course can have my tablet on me,and share a few that have already been taken so they can get an idea of what I can do. I could have my own kids with me,or my husband nearby with my kids so they know I'm a mom too and not some weirdo wanting to take pictures of them/their kids for no reason. It would be done formally, like a real photo session at a location of their choice in the area, or in their home/back yard on a set date of course. But they can also have me do some on the spot too,if needed. I am thinking of making "contact" cards . Like business cards, but basically a way to contact me, since I'm not trying to do a business .

 

[pixmedic]

craigslist of FB is a pretty good way to look for interested people.
at least with a CL ad, you know only people interested are responding.

 

[supercool2]

Thanks ! I want to make sure I'm going about it the right way.

 

[tirediron]

Consider registering on Model Mayhem; you will encounter everything from very skilled, to brand-newbie, and everything between.

 

[vintagesnaps]

It might be worth taking time to enjoy the learning process and enjoy photography. It seems like you're learning camera skills, how to get a proper exposure in various lighting situations, etc. - you can photograph just about anything and develop your photography skills, you don't necessarily need people all the time to get in some learning and practice.

If you have a friend, neighbor etc. who will let you take their picture just for fun and experience that's great. If you're out and about with your family taking pictures there might be opportunities to strike up a conversation with someone you meet, ask to take a few pictures, give them your contact info. etc. If you start setting up shoots then you might need to look into insurance etc.

I think it's necessary to develop skills first and it sounds like you're trying move into doing 'shoots' when you might need learning opportunities and practice. Taking a course might be a good idea and might give you an opportunity to learn how to set up and use lighting equipment etc. Or you could look into camera clubs or photography meet up groups in your area. It seems like you have a lot of enthusiasm, it takes time to learn everything involved in being a photographer including business skills.

 

[DiskoJoe]

Grab people off the streets.

 

[12sndsgood]

Model mayhem was how I started, high flake rate. but if you pay attention to responces and how people repond you can easily weed out the flakes.

 

[supercool2]

I posted on craigslist, and got replies . Due to my very limited spare time I booked some people within the next couple weeks. (so about 1-2 a week). My first one is tomorrow.

On the 4TH, I did maternity pictures for a friend of my sister's friend. And it worked out great !

I knew posting on craigslist would get some flakes/no replies/no show people ,since it is something for free. How can you tell by their responses if they are serious?
When I schedule something I make sure it's a place I feel will work, but also that I don't mind being or checking out if they were to not show up.
There were a couple I did stop emailing/texting because they couldn't decide on a date and one girl didn't show up at all and tried rescheduling twice. I just erased her number off my phone .

One lady scheduled a time and day, but never got back to me to confirm the location so I hope she isn't just going to show up where she thinks we agreed on. I did email her explaining I needed to know where she wanted to meet out of the three location choices I gave her. Next time I should just made the ad for one specific location only.