Reply To: Holy crap! I just found this site. Please someone tell me if Im a fauxtog!

[CoastalTog]

Standard military wife Faux.  They were everywhere when I was in the service.  Entry level camera with a nifty fifty.  No lighting experience, post production is subpar (vignettes don’t count), and cheap pricing which tells us this is more of a hobby and taxes aren’t getting paid.  As mentioned above, all the gimmicks that come in the Fauxtographer handbook.

Your bio on your webpage tells us that you’ve only been doing this for a year.  That is hardly enough time to become a pro.  Your portfolio is limited and mediocre.  The one thing you have going is military spouses who like cheap photography.  You’ll always have work when living on Post.

Now that I’m done being brutally blunt, here are some suggestions:

1. Join the PPA and take advantage of everything they offer.  Attend some real workshops.  Get indemnification insurance because at the pace you’re going, you’re gonna need it.

2. Go to asmp and search cost of doing business.

3. Meet with a lawyer and draft up contracts and register your business.  You will find you will need to raise your prices significantly to turn a profit.  This will take you out of the cheap market and your skillset isn’t good enough to sustain in the next tier up.

4. Go back to the basics.  Check out Adorama TV or Snapfactory on YouTube for basic “how to” videos.

5. Invest in some good lenses.

6. Learn post processing.  This doesn’t mean kewl photoshop actions.  It means learning how to resize and sharpen your images for a variety of viewing.