Need to buy a $600 camera and make moeny

[bratkinson]

Weddings...do weddings.

There have been posters here and elsewhere that have nothing more than entry level equipment and shoot weddings for a couple hundred bucks. They don't have much of a clue about what makes a good shot, a quality shot, or good post-processed shot. They "spray and pray" that they'll get enough pictures to satisfy the clients. From what I can tell, most of the clients would be satisfied with anything even a little bit better than what they or someone else could have done with a cell phone or tablet camera.

As illogical and impossible as what I wrote above seems to most people on this site, minimally experienced shooters can make some loose change...as long as the happy couple don't have any great expectations and weren't charged more than, say, $200.

 

[imagemaker46]

It's not difficult to shoot any event as long as the camera owner doesn't set the bar too high.

 

[ghache]

Give a man a fish. Feed him for the day. Teach a man how to fish. Feed him for a laugh time. Or something like that. I suggest reading a few books and getting an hourly job as all these fine TPF members already said.

We have that saying in new brunswick, Give a mad a fish, feed him for the day, teach a man how to fish, hes going on unemployement for 6 months, hhahaha

 

[Steve5D]

Wow.

I'm never the guy who tells people to forget their dreams, but that doesn't mean I can't be a little critical here and there. I know you didn't ask for a critique of your blog, but seeing as it's something that can help make you money, I'm approaching it from that perspective.

I took a look at your blog. I see a great deal of potential. Unfortunately, that's all I see: Potential.

Your blog is a reflection of who you are. It's something that people can look at to get a sense of who you are. It's where they can get a sense of not only what you do, but how you do it. If you're wanting people to hire you, you have to allow for the possibility that the content of your blog might be considered in the decision.

Your blog will guarantee that you're never hired by anyone.

Some suggestions: Use a spell check program. You have more misspelled words than I care to count. Learn the principles of basic grammar and capitalization. Learn how to form, and post, a paragraph. Learn proper punctuation. Learn to use the proper words for the thoughts you want to convey. For instance, you have this statement on your blog:

Hello my name is Ben and I just moved to Alaska to peruse my dream of living a self sufficient life off grid.

"Peruse"? I think you mean "pursue". While you may attribute that to a simply typo (well, two, actually), a reader won't. A reader; a potential client, will look at your blog and will quickly lose count of all the red flags going up. They will go elsewhere.

Whether your goal is realistic or not is going to be impacted by many things. Having a nice camera and a knowledge of photography are only two of those things, and those two things are rarely enough...

 

[raventepes]

Who's to say he can't make quick money in Alaska? He is in a remote area. Perhaps he has a specific photographic skill set. I don't expect there are hundreds of photographers currently working there. He could get a good digi cam for less than a $1000, read a few pages and shoot weddings, portraits etc. Geez people really like to dump on people's dreams for quick cash.

I will. I live 170 miles from where he lives. I grew up in the city he lives in and know it all too well. I also try to get there at least 4 times a year, for whatever reason I may come up with. Yes, Alaska is pretty remote, but there's a lot of competition in this state for photography, just like any other. You really do have to find a niche, or go somewhere that has few to no "pros" in the area.

I'm not saying it can't be done, per se, but I will say that given his original post, it leaves me with the feeling that he has no idea what he's doing. As pointed out, it takes years to hone a craft of any kind, and again, just seems to me that he's starting from scratch and complete zero knowledge of what he's trying to get into. I'll be waiting to hear what he has to say though. And hey. I live fairly close to him. If he wants, he can PM me and maybe I can point him in the right direction.

 

[imagemaker46]

Who's to say he can't make quick money in Alaska? He is in a remote area. Perhaps he has a specific photographic skill set. I don't expect there are hundreds of photographers currently working there. He could get a good digi cam for less than a $1000, read a few pages and shoot weddings, portraits etc. Geez people really like to dump on people's dreams for quick cash.

I will. I live 170 miles from where he lives. I grew up in the city he lives in and know it all too well. I also try to get there at least 4 times a year, for whatever reason I may come up with. Yes, Alaska is pretty remote, but there's a lot of competition in this state for photography, just like any other. You really do have to find a niche, or go somewhere that has few to no "pros" in the area.

I'm not saying it can't be done, per se, but I will say that given his original post, it leaves me with the feeling that he has no idea what he's doing. As pointed out, it takes years to hone a craft of any kind, and again, just seems to me that he's starting from scratch and complete zero knowledge of what he's trying to get into. I'll be waiting to hear what he has to say though. And hey. I live fairly close to him. If he wants, he can PM me and maybe I can point him in the right direction.

Thanks for posting this, it does give us a better idea of what it is like in Alaska. I really don't think he has a clue either.

 

[Light Guru]

Wow.

I'm never the guy who tells people to forget their dreams, but that doesn't mean I can't be a little critical here and there. I know you didn't ask for a critique of your blog, but seeing as it's something that can help make you money, I'm approaching it from that perspective.

I took a look at your blog. I see a great deal of potential. Unfortunately, that's all I see: Potential.

Your blog is a reflection of who you are. It's something that people can look at to get a sense of who you are. It's where they can get a sense of not only what you do, but how you do it. If you're wanting people to hire you, you have to allow for the possibility that the content of your blog might be considered in the decision.

Your blog will guarantee that you're never hired by anyone.

Some suggestions: Use a spell check program. You have more misspelled words than I care to count. Learn the principles of basic grammar and capitalization. Learn how to form, and post, a paragraph. Learn proper punctuation. Learn to use the proper words for the thoughts you want to convey. For instance, you have this statement on your blog:

Hello my name is Ben and I just moved to Alaska to peruse my dream of living a self sufficient life off grid.

"Peruse"? I think you mean "pursue". While you may attribute that to a simply typo (well, two, actually), a reader won't. A reader; a potential client, will look at your blog and will quickly lose count of all the red flags going up. They will go elsewhere.

Whether your goal is realistic or not is going to be impacted by many things. Having a nice camera and a knowledge of photography are only two of those things, and those two things are rarely enough...

Oh you don't even need to read the blog to not want to hire the guy to photograph anything. There are 5 photos an 4 of them are extremely out of focus.

 

[terri]

Thanks so much for respecting my request to wait to hear back from the OP before going on with this thread.

Guess some of your mouths can't help flappin'. :er: