Just starting out! Tell me what you think!

[MicheleAnn]

Hello everyone!

Im just starting out in photography this year! Although I have always been interested in the field just never set out to explore it! Well Ive decided to start now! Hopefully I can learn some new things from this site and I can get some advice/tips on how to really begin!

Im hoping to go look at cameras this week but for the photos Im going to share was actually taken with my Iphone5.

Also where you do begin to sell your pieces. Ive got a lot of people pointing me to Fine Art America but I wanted to get some reviews on it first before I take a plunge!

Sadly there one that just wont upload Ill have to figure out how else to get it on here!

 

[Designer]

Welcome! Nice photos!

 

[ronlane]

Welcome to the site. These are some good shots for the iPhone. My honest opinion would be to first purchase the camera (dslr) and spend time learning how to use it before I would worry about selling any work.

If you search this site, you will find plenty on what camera to get, techniques and how to use your camera. You will also find a lot of information and opinions on the business of photography.

Stick around and enjoy the process and learning.

 

[Derrel]

You appear to have a good location there for sunrises. I would say keep shooting, keep working at trying to compose good photos, no matter what camera you use. The iPhone 5's camera is not that bad, but it **is** a rather short, semi-wide-angle lens, so it's always good to try and have an interesting foreground subject when doing sunrises. The big metal corral, for example...not too bad of a foreground subject, but off to the right I also see a nice oak tree, which might make a really good foreground object.

I dunno...use the iPhone like a "real camera". Support it with a tripod. Focus with it by tapping the screen. Try using the HDR feature. Really WORK AT IT.

 

[LarryLomona]

Welcome I like pic 3, and 4.

 

[MicheleAnn]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments! Im thinking maybe ill start a blog or something to start putting my photos in! Im gonna lookin into a cheaper starter camera.. I was looking at this one.. Canon PowerShot SX160 IS Ultra Zoom Digital Camera with 16 Megapixels - Walmart.com

Whats everyones thoughts on starting out with this?

 

[annamaria]

Welcome. I like 1, 3, and 4. Dog is funny and cute.

 

[Designer]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments! Im thinking maybe ill start a blog or something to start putting my photos in! Im gonna lookin into a cheaper starter camera.. I was looking at this one.. Canon PowerShot SX160 IS Ultra Zoom Digital Camera with 16 Megapixels - Walmart.com

Whats everyones thoughts on starting out with this?

My first digital was a Canon Powershot A570 IS, and I still have it. Use it occasionally too. Having a pocket-size camera is good because you won't have any excuse to not have your camera with you.

Eventually, you will want a DSLR and a few lenses and other things as you continue the hobby.

 

[MicheleAnn]

Yeah I dont want to invest in an expensive camera yet till I know for sure I want to continue! I figured its something I can start playing with and hopefully learn more about lightening and such! :]

 

[e.rose]

First of all... concerning iPhone photography... A photographer here in town, who is a big commercial photographer (he shoots a lot of artists here in town, is great friends with Jeremy Cowart... who also lives here in town (fun fact!), etc.) has been working on what I believe will be an e-book called "iphoneONLY" to teach you how to leverage the tools you have within your iPhone to get great shots.

You should follow him on Instagram, if you use it.

His username is: d a v i d m o l n a r (or you can look up his name, spelled davidmolar -- yes, no space).

He posts a lot of his "iphoneONLY" photos on there.

He also has a newsletter you can sign up for to find out when his book is going to be released:

Newsletter | David Molnar Music and Advertising Photographer

---------------------->I don't work for him or anything. He has no idea I'm posting this. I just think what he's doing is cool and fun for people who really enjoy taking photos with their iphones. <--------------------

Thanks everyone for the nice comments! Im thinking maybe ill start a blog or something to start putting my photos in! Im gonna lookin into a cheaper starter camera.. I was looking at this one.. Canon PowerShot SX160 IS Ultra Zoom Digital Camera with 16 Megapixels - Walmart.com

Whats everyones thoughts on starting out with this?

Yeah I dont want to invest in an expensive camera yet till I know for sure I want to continue! I figured its something I can start playing with and hopefully learn more about lightening and such! :]

In all honesty... I was worried about getting my DSLR in the beginning too, because I have a REALLY bad habit of picking up hobbies and ditching them a few months later. I didn't want to drop all that money on a DSLR and then get bored of it.

But here's a few things to think about:

While you can practice with your powershot and what not, you're going to learn more using a DSLR because it has more capability... so you're not going to waste money on a P&S camera that you may quickly outgrow, only to go buy a DSLR, which you should have done in the first place.

If you get bored and decide you want to stick with iPhone photos and not really worry about actual photography -- eBay, Craigslist... they're both great places to unload unwanted, expensive electronics, ha.

You want to learn more about lighting and such, but if you're anything like me, hands on experience will be a huge part of what helps you improve.

Don't get me wrong, anyone who was here for my joining this forum can tell you how STOKED I was for my new camera, and how it took me a couple months to actually acquire it, but I was on here almost every day reading, learning, asking questions... So by the time I got my T2i, I already had an idea of what I needed to do. Putting it into practice was a WHOLE other ball game, but I was well equipped with knowledge starting out.

I'm glad I had a DSLR to start though, because I was able to mess with the things I was learning, because my camera had those capabilities. -- I could adjust my shutter speed, aperture, ISO, put it into Manual, Aperture Priority, Shutter speed priority -- I could trigger a flash... I could change out LENSES... There's a lot of benefit to getting a DSLR if you think you ACTUALLY want to learn PHOTOGRAPHY...

I would save up and make the jump. Maybe don't get a super expensive one at first. Get a rebel series, like I did. It doesn't even have to be the newest one out, but any DSLR will probably be more beneficial for you in the long run than a P&S.

-----------

This forum was crucial to my learning and growing in the beginning.

But what ALSO helped me was this site:

Find a Digital SLR Camera in 4 Easy Steps

I read this site like a book, before I actually ever had my camera in my hands.

It looks like that site may have changed a little bit, but it's definitely worth learning as much as you can, so check it out.

Good luck with everything

 

[bribrius]

buy a cheap point and shoot. Or just keep using the iphone. Dslr is pretty much a waste of money unless you have money to blow or are getting paid for pics.

 

[weags77]

Great post E rose. I'd second just buying a dslr and skipping the point and shoot. While the camera doesn't really matter at this point for you, and sometimes never does, I think you be encouraged to learn more using one.

Don't even worry about selling your photos at this stage of the game. If that's your only driving force you will quickly get discouraged when they don't sell right away. Or if you do manage to sell some you might regret it later due to you learning what actually constitutes a good photo and realizing the mistakes you may have made in the earlier photos you sold. Even worse would be your customers not being happy with a subpar print due to inexperience.

Selling photos when you are just starting out is kinda like expecting to run a marathon after you mange to run a mile without running out of breath. Just concentrate on learning the craft and how to use to express yourself. Or use it to allow you to absorb and appreciate your surroundings or things you see.

I'm no expert by any means and still consider myself very much a beginner. Almost two years in now and I'm still iffy about selling prints. And I actually have sold a few of them, maybe 5, but I know they weren't my best so in a sense there is regret. The customers were very happy and the prints came out pretty good but little things like sharpening for print, framing and backing of the print etc. or colors being off, stuff like that that as you learn you will understand.

Like I said for now don't even think about doing photography for the money. If you are a very good learner or a "natural"and start building some interest in your work then by all means jump in. As you learn more about the printing and selling, as well as the photography side I think you will know more about what I mean.

Don't want to discourage you from thinking about selling this is just my opinion based on my own personal experience so far. Good luck and I hope you keep at it. Most rewarding "hobby/lifestyle" choice I've ever made.

 

[MicheleAnn]

Lol some say point and shoot some say DLSR. Ohhh goodness haha! Ill have to price them out and really see what im looking at for prices! Im deffinately not in it just for the money.. I have a full time Job, and a summer part time.. so right now it would be just a hobby! Heck, Im not even brave enought to post my photography anywhere.. this is the first place Ive posted on!

Where do you store all your photos? Or where do you post them?