Reply To: I asked once before but I'm asking again

[Trainwreck]

Well alllllllllllllrighty then VK!

I really didn’t think you would come up with answers on here but am impressed that you gave the questions some thought. That speaks well of you. It sounds as if you have given the whole situation a good bit of consideration. There is nothing wrong with not knowing something and admitting as much.

Right or wrong, what’s done is done. It would be counterproductive to dwell on what education you received or didn’t receive in the past as regards whatever school/classes you attended. You at least should now know enough to know that there is always a lot you don’t know! And that is a beautiful thing because you are now in a great position to really kick in an awesome learning experience.

VK I hope you realize that you are getting some excellent advice here (and not everyone does) from some capable folks. Also note the excellent educational materials that have been recommended. That cameraclicker went to the trouble to give us (and others) that little demo speaks volumes.

So here would be my general suggestion at this point. In your Photographic Journey, take each of these facets of photography one by one. Practice and practice each one until you master it as it relates to the genre you want to shoot. Then (and only then) move to the next one. Learn good techniques for hand retouching a portrait (and Kelby has an excellent book on that you could keep on your desk for reference). Practice your lighting. Get your flash off-camera and when you have to have it onboard learn how to bounce it to get short/broad, whatever you need to have at the time (rather than a full-on nuke!). And the list goes on. Once done, then (and only then), you can shoot successfully in any situation. And that is the definition of a Professional.

As I said before, the best investment you can make is in yourself. It will take time. It will be huge amounts of fun. It will be unbelievably rewarding. Play for the long game. Shoot second for an established wedding shooter in your area. Set yourself above the fauxtographer. It seems to me that you have both the desire and the potential. Everyone sees things other people don’t. What everyone can’t do (as seen constantly on this website) is translate that into a beautiful photograph.

Make that your mission. It will be worth the effort.