I'm thinking about going as a professional photographer

[tecboy]

There is nothing wrong posting the fashion show in flickr even though they have bad lighting. It is not like I'll get a job as a fashion photographer.

But you might not get a job because of them. Professional portfolios need to be rock solid.

My Flickr is not a professional portfolio. I said I'm thinking about going professional. I ask for thoughts. I don't use my flickr to get a job. My backyard is not good looking to be photographed. Where I live, dslr prohibits in many places.

Steve5D, say whatever you want, I'm done arguing with you.

 

[Steve5D]

I didn't say I want to be a professional photographer...

Really?

Your thread title betrays you...

 

[Steve5D]

My Flickr is not a professional portfolio.

That's evident...

I said I'm thinking about going professional.

Fair enough.

What makes you think that you might be ready to entertain such a move?

I ask for thoughts.

And when you got some, you got defensive...

I don't use my flickr to get a job.

Okay, what do you use? Do you have a website, or other page, that showcases the images which you think are indicative of professional results?

My backyard is not good looking to be photographed.

You missed my point entirely.

My point is that you don't have to travel to far away places, with fancy equipment, to get the results you want. A true professional would work with the environment he's presented.

What track is that in your photos? Is that Laguna Seca?

Where I live, dslr prohibits in many places.

Where do you live, Pyongyang? Tehran?

Steve5D, say whatever you want, I'm done arguing with you.

See, I'm not arguing. I'm just giving you some hard facts which you're afraid to digest.

I do this for a living. I'm almost 52 years old. It took me a long time to get to the point where I was able to honestly say to myself "Yeah, I'm ready".

It was even harder, though, for me to say "Steve, you're just not ready" in the preceding years. No one likes to admit that they're not ready. It took a very dear friend of mine, and one of the best photographers I've ever met, to snatch me up by the short curlies and say "Dude, wake the **** up. You're not ready".

So, if you want to just wing it on your own, and dismiss the "thoughts" that you solicited because you don't agree with what's being said, have at it, Chief. You'll likely never be much competition for anyone.

But if you want to stand a snowball's chance in Hell of doing this for a living, you need to be far more receptive to comments and criticisms...

 

[runnah]

Steve5D, say whatever you want, I'm done arguing with you.

Steve likes to argue but in this case he isn't arguing but rather giving you exactly what you wanted in terms of a reality check.

It may indeed be a very hard pill to swallow but you should listen more, make less excuses and be honest with yourself.

 

[bribrius]

capitalism has a way of sorting this kind of thing out....
you end up starving, you weren't ready.
Seems a lot do it has secondary incomes. Which might mean even though they been doing it years. They still aren't ready.
What is the standard everyone is using for "pro"? Living off the income or having a nice flikr? These aren't the same thing are they?
Lot of people with a lot of gear and really nice flikrs that wouldn't have a snowballs chance in hell of supporting themselves.
Local photographer here has a website worse than that flikr. They seem to be eating. dunno.
just sayn.
never can tell...
hang your shingle and see if you eat. There ya go. Most cut and dry, simplest way to find out. The market determines it, everything else is conjecture..

 

[gsgary]

There is nothing wrong posting the fashion show in flickr even though they have bad lighting. It is not like I'll get a job as a fashion photographer.

But you might not get a job because of them. Professional portfolios need to be rock solid.

My Flickr is not a professional portfolio. I said I'm thinking about going professional. I ask for thoughts. I don't use my flickr to get a job. My backyard is not good looking to be photographed. Where I live, dslr prohibits in many places.

Steve5D, say whatever you want, I'm done arguing with you.

Take a look at William Egglestone he loves bad looking place and makes them look good WILLIAM EGGLESTON
Same with Stephen Shore Stephen Shore

 

[Steve5D]

I think we've shown this to be a classic example of "Please tell me if you think I'm ready to be a pro, but please don't tell me I'm not or I'll get mad".

These come around every so often, and they're usually good for a laugh or two...

 

[imagemaker46]

Beside, I have hundred of thousands of crappy photos. I didn't post these in flickr.

Well, you posted some of them.

Look, I don't wanna' be rude, but I will be blunt. Looking at your Flickr page, there's just nothing there which really blows my hair back.You've got some good racing photos, and then you've got some very bad racing photos. The fashion show photos on the first page are horribly lit. That's not your fault, but it is your fault that the world can see them.

Stop making excuses about how you don't have "the resources and money to travel to far away places" to shoot. That's utter nonsense. Some of the best photos I've ever taken were shot in my backyard.

If you want to "make outstanding photos", you need to learn that money doesn't make the photograph. Since you seem to think it does, I would say, no, you probably shouldn't hang your shingle out and "turn pro" just yet. Nothing I've seen or read gives even the slightest suggestion that you're prepared to do that...

The racing photos, they have a bad race track. Is that my fault? There is nothing wrong posting the fashion show in flickr even though they have bad lighting. It is not like I'll get a job as a fashion photographer.

So what if the race track isn't perfect, to succeed in photography you have to be able to adapt and overcome the situations you end up shooting in. I've shot in more bad situations in the past 40 years than many will ever shoot in, but I have never used it as an excuse.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

 

[Civchic]

I think what Steve5D is saying, and you're not "getting" is that it doesn't matter if you use your flickr to get a job or not. It will be seen. Say you're an architect starting up your own business. You're going to specialize in wineries. Your website, your portfolio, your presentation materials, had better all be fan-freaking-tastic examples of wineries. And not just really nice, but unique and eye-catching. And even then, if you have a bunch of other stuff with your name on it - really ugly Russian dormitories or something - you'd better not show off those designs. They won't help you and probably will hurt you.

 

[sonicbuffalo]

I've known wedding and baby photographers that only knew what kind of camera they used. They also made good money in photography. That proves you don't have to be a wizard in order to shoot photography and make money. Just sayin'.

 

[photoguy99]

I spent an hour or so talking with a local PJ recently, and he has only the vaguest idea what kind of camera the paper issued him. The make and model simply didn't matter to him, and wasn't interesting. Canon 1 something?

This is an award winning guy who's been doing this for 20+ years.

 

[JacaRanda]

But you might not get a job because of them. Professional portfolios need to be rock solid.

My Flickr is not a professional portfolio. I said I'm thinking about going professional. I ask for thoughts. I don't use my flickr to get a job. My backyard is not good looking to be photographed. Where I live, dslr prohibits in many places.

Steve5D, say whatever you want, I'm done arguing with you.

Take a look at William Egglestone he loves bad looking place and makes them look good WILLIAM EGGLESTON
Same with Stephen Shore Stephen Shore

Those Stephen Shore photos just took me right back in time. Really nice references as to how old or young I am. 51 and I think I miss turkey, mashed potato&gravy t.v. dinners.

 

[MOREGONE]

My backyard is not good looking to be photographed. Where I live, dslr prohibits in many places..

You lost me here. You have San Jose, CA listed as your location which is one amazing area to live as a photographer. Public transportation is abundant. You have the coast and the redwood forest nearby. You're in the tech mecca of silicon valley. Google's HQ is down the street.

It is easy to find excuses when you are looking for them.

Check out this recent article that listed SF as one of the best cities for photography.
10 Best Cities for Working Photographers in the US

Sounds like you've got your goal. Now make it your motivation. Make a list of things you need to do to get where you're going and start checking them off one by one. One step at a time.

 

[Derrel]

I spent an hour or so talking with a local PJ recently, and he has only the vaguest idea what kind of camera the paper issued him. The make and model simply didn't matter to him, and wasn't interesting. Canon 1 something?

This is an award winning guy who's been doing this for 20+ years.

He must have amazingly keen powers of observation. I wonder if he knows what kind of car he drives, or which of the two restrooms he needs to use....the one with the stick figure with the skirt, or the one with the pants on the lower half. SO this guy, a 20+ veteran of photojournalism, he makes his living shooting photos with a camera, and yet has NO IDEA of the camera model he uses? I bet he KNOWS what kind of toiler paper he likes to use to wipe his a** with, and I bet he KNOWS what burger he prefers at any of five fast food restaurants.But he has no idea of what camera model he uses every day. Something seems amiss with this. Very un-believable.

 

[photoguy99]

Did I say 'has no idea'? Let me check.

Nope. I said a different thing.

It would be so awesome if, just one time, someone would disagree with something I actually wrote.