Reply To: Why I'm here

[kbee]

I think you did the right thing, though others are hypocritical and too afraid to speak up and give their honest opinion to your friend. My own FB friends are very ‘supportive’ when I post shots, but I try to take it all with a grain of salt. These guys are, after all, raving about Instagram and posting oversaturated blurry pics of their painted toenails. What I posted 6 months ago, I now wince at. Bad white  balance, blurry, bad cropping. I have a private Discards folder for my photos, and there’s more in there than my public folder.

As for the rest, this is why I am here. I’m still in the learning stage, understanding the ins and outs of my camera, looking at new lenses, trying new settings and subjects. I could never dream of charging someone while I am still learning the basics; the thought of doing so goes against sense of decency. I could start calling myself a pro photographer like those featured on YANAP; I feel I have better grasp than those, but am I up to par with a true pro? Hell no. I spent four digits on my equipment, I’m going to make sure I know how to use it, and make it pay for itself in quality before I make clients pay for it with mediocre crap.

I wish I had someone I knew in real life to talk photos with in an open and honest fashion, but I don’t. As of yet, I don’t have anything I think would stand up to honest criticism from folks here. In the meantime, I’m a lurker, so to speak, learning from everybody else’s input. Guess I’ll put off the ‘pro photographer’ title for a while yet. 😉