Need some critiques :)

[Gerbles]

To the OP- why is it acceptable to charge people money while you are practicing? Do you think it is right to for a mechanic to charge for practicing? Or a hairstylist? Why do you think you are entitled to people’s money after only a year of shooting? This is something that drives me crazy about photography! So many people have money on the mind when starting out and I feel like that poisons the art of photography. How ’bout this: go out, shoot, read books, attend workshops/classes/meetups for several more years, and maybe THEN, think about starting a business if that’s the route you want to go. And do it the right way (pay your taxes, get liability insurance, etc.), like other posters have discussed. In short- it is quite obvious from your photos you have only been at it a year, and unless someone is a photographic prodigy, a year of experience will never be enough to be prepared to start a business.

[CapturetheMoon]

Okay, since everyone is commenting on my focal issues, what can I do to improve it? Would you recommend the 50mm lens? I have been looking in to getting one. Thank you, Sassy for the individual critiques!!

[IHF]

A nice fast 50mm should be in any tog’s bag (jmo) but, it wont help your focus problems.  I wouldn’t invest more at this point.  It’s more important to learn the equipment you have first.  Read your camera’s manual.  Look up focus.  Learn and practice how to select your focal point, and how to set your focus, then practice how to lock your focus and  recompose.  Learn what all the auto focus settings can do for you as well.  I’d also google how to find your lens “sweet spot” (The widest aperture that can achieve the maximum sharpness) It’s never at the widest aperture and usually a stop or two away.  (Not that good sharp focus cant be achieved wide open, but it takes more effort). This test can be done with or without a tripod, but a tripod helps.

[dont.care]

I have a 50 1.2 and a 50 1.4. Guess which one I use more often… 😉 Your case DOF seems to be an issue; I’d recommend a 50 1.8..  Not a super easy lens to focus correctly wide open, but for the price.. It’s cost effective to be a practice thing.

 

Note: it also has great IQ too.. and it’s lighter than air

[stef]

So… which one do you use more often?

 

If it was the canon 1.2L, I’d probably use the 1.2 more often because it has nicer bokeh overall. But I do like my 1.4.
I have and use a MF 1.2 (no-element FD conversion) now and then.

 

[fstopper89]

On the discussion of charging while practicing- many professions have students offering discounted services to the public, but it is advertised as such. Think hairstylists for one example. The tech college in my town has a full salon where the students charge between $5-$7 depending on the service. The high school building trades club builds a garage for a low-income organization every semester. They are supervised of course, but the customers are fully aware these people are still learning. Now, can this relate to photography? Eh, maybe. If you’re truly a beginner, or don’t have any of the proper equipment, it’s not right to charge at all. At least get a solid amount of practice while you are ALSO studying/learning. If you’re working on breaking into the market, and maybe your skills are still improving, it’s not really wrong to charge a little for your time if people are aware that you are portfolio building. Fauxtogs truly believe they are among the ranks of the professionals and purposely undercut the good photographers in order to attract a high volume of clients, to make “easy money.” They often knock real photographers and say “Why pay a ‘professional’ for something I can do just as well with my less-expensive equipment and you get the disk with full copyrights!” That shit pisses all of us off. You don’t need to be practicing photography for several years before thinking about charging people. If you’re completely self-taught I can imagine it would take a lot longer to get the skills under your belt, so if you have taken classes in photography or worked in a photograph-related field you definitely would have a advantage. If your skill level is to where you can produce good-quality work, be consistent, be professional, and know how to use your equipment and software, people will choose you if they can see your images are good. Would I personally hire you? No. Not yet. But I think you could get there soon.

[Sassy]

may I ask what equipment you use?

 

i use a canon 50D I was using a ‘nift fifty’ 50mm 1.8 cheap but effective, although I found shooting wide soft and focal point to the side soft which is so be expected. I just got given a sigma 1.4 30mm which I’m now in love with 🙂 I also have a wide angle zoom kit lens which is utter crap. ill prefer prime lenses in general though.

 

you don’t need to buy more equipment just learn how to use it.

[dont.care]

Stef, I use the 1.2.. contrast, bokeh, sharper wide open, weather tight, so on so forth.. Although the 1.4 really does have it’s benefits when weighed with a budget.. 1.4 really is a contender in the scheme of things, but it’s no L lens..

 

p22

[IHF]

Browneyed,

I have to jump in and say, that both student examples you came up with don’t charge a red cent, the school does.  The money that’s being charged goes to cover  the school’s over head And/or the school’s profit. The student is NOT being paid to learn. Both students either use borrowed equipment, provided by the school, or they buy their own.  Most buy their own equipment gradually so they can easily get started after graduation.  In fact as a student it is not only illegal to charge for any services, but it is illegal to offer any services outside the school setting.  I have yet to come up with any profession that people get paid to learn.  But this is photography we are talking about here, its not regulated in anyway, so …

brown eyed is right though, about being honest with your marketing.  But I for one find it silly, and unnecessary to market as a student. I ask and sometimes pay for models, but not through marketing, just in person.  i don’t need a fb page or website to do this.  In fact even without advertising, or posting every shoot I do, i still have to say “no” quite regularly. lol believe me, all people need to hear, is that you have a camera and you’ll have them jumping at the chance (unless they have already been screwed by a faux, then they may be leery). If  I ever go pro, I plan on becoming legit first, before any money is exchanged, and will have my regular prices posted along with my port building prices while building my port.  If not posted, they will be explained in person.  Why?  Not only for legitimacy’s sake, but for my own.  I don’t want my crap student work associated with my name, and I don’t want to perpetuate the cheapening of photography.  I want my clients and future clients to understand the value of what I do, because if they don’t, I’ll never have a chance at making it.

[IHF]

Yep, you got me rambling now.  I apologize in advance, but I do feel what I have to say is very relevant, even if a little off topic.
I was a hairstylist for 13 years, and I relate to this comparison very well.  After school, like a lot of newbees do, I went to what many call a “chop shop”.  A salon where you get paid an hourly wage, and it’s all about high volume. ex borics, fantastic sams, super cuts…  It’s a job.  The business end is taken care of and you are an employee.  It also can give you a lot more experience very quickly.  It took about 4 years to pay off my education and start to hit a happy medium with maintaining my equipment, and my continuing education, which was sometimes provided by the salon, and sometimes out of pocket.  Then I went booth rental, at a more high end, full service salon.  I was in charge of my taxes, my equipment, my insurance, my wages, and my supplies, and paid rent for the salon environment that was maintained by the owner.  There was no limit to what I could charge for my services, but there was a minimum of $10 per haircut or treatment.  Not a written law or rule mind you, just a spoken and understood rule.  I could have charged $5 for a haircut if I wanted to, and snagged all the walk ins that came in the door with my low prices, but it would have been unethical to charge $5 and run my business as a high volume model when every one else renting there was using a different full service business model.  I could have not purchased insurance, or paid taxes, and used cheaper store bought products and equipment, and not take any classes, to lower my overhead and cashed in on my $5 haircuts, and potentially make more money than a hairstylists there who were charging $50 a hair cut.  Everyone working there would have hated me, and probably report me or have me investigated for taxes, and I would have been taking my chances without being insured (there’s no law requiring an independent hairstylist to be insured)  but… I could have made some serious money, in a very short amount of time.  Or I could have charged my $5 and insured myself, paid my taxes, my  rent, used the products I loved and trusted, and used top notch equipment.  I would have been busy as heck, but would have had a hard time breaking even, let alone making a profit.  Especially if I was offering full service at $5.  Shampoo, blow dry, razor cuts, and specialty cuts etc
Does any of this sound familiar?  Or am I just totally off the mark here?
Photography services may not be regulated, but it is our personal responsibility to learn how to provide this service and create the finished products BEFOREwe offer our services.  Its our personal responsibility to be legit and/or be honest about what we are offering, and to price for profit.  By not doing any of the above, you not only “piss off” other legit pro togs,(for reasons already explained) but you’re setting yourself up for failure.  The failure won’t be instant, but there will be no longevity to any of your success.

[IHF]

lmao!  Yes, I realize I’m being a little too much here, but I’m on a roll.

Now imagine that same booth rental salon, only there is 15 people just like me running their business there.  $5 haircuts, very little over head, no taxes, not insured, making our fast cash.  And here’s this hairstylist there who is insured, continually educates herself, uses and maintains the best equipment, pays her taxes, uses the best products, offers full service to her clients etc and needs to make a steady modest living to care for her family, and knows how to price for profit.  Is she getting anywhere in this environment?  Or is she constantly having to justify her prices, explain to people the real value to what she does over and over again.  Does she get walk ins that understand they get more for their $50 hair cut than they will for their $5 with one of the other hairstylists.  The clients walk out with wet hair, but their haircuts are good, and they seem really happy…. Hummmmm…. What happens to the hairstylist that is doing everything right?  What happens to the $5 hairstylists?  The $5 stylists come make their fast cash, and end up leaving, but 3 more take their place.  The $50 per haircut stylist who has everything invested in this and needs it to work???  What happens to her?

[fstopper89]

IHF, you have made a lot of good points as well. My analogy was more to illustrate that as long as the person is portraying themselves as what they are and not trying to lie to clients, they’re not a fauxtographer. If a person is willing to pay a small fee for that person’s time, and they’re not under the impression that they are paying for an established professional service when they are not, I don’t see harm in it. A lot of time friends and family are more than willing to pay someone a little bit of money when they are starting out to help support them. Before I ever advertised that I did photography, and was in college, my friend paid me a little bit to photograph an anniversary party for her parents. I had a camera, not a great one, and I “worked” for about 4 hours snapping pictures of the event and gave them a disk with edited photos. They editing was not top-notch and the photos were not spectacular, but she wasn’t looking to pay a real professional for it. I got a little money, some practice, and they got a decent/average record of the party.

[IHF]

You’re absolutely right beg the key words being “before I ever advertised”.  It’s just not necessary to advertise you are learning, have a price list, specials and all that jazz.  No need to promote or expose Or pretend to be a business or a professional when you are not.

[dont.care]

Buying a camera and going out directly there after to pursue business by taking money as a service for hire does in fact make a professional service-if in fact they are being paid freely by their clients; especially after said client sees the results :\.. Albeit, unethical and bordering illegal (tax evasion, business license if required, liability insurance, etc). I would never suggest to anyone new to any ‘service’ to assume they should go out and express professionalism whilst providing abysmal products; but it is what it is. And honestly, a real pro would soon rather leave those folks to each other. Fauxtog + Fauxclient = ignorant bliss.

[IHF]

Don’t care,

but all the hairstylists that work in the salon have had training.  Not as much or as quality as the $50 hairstylist, but they do mediocre/average to good work.  The hairstylists that weren’t trained, do haircuts in their kitchen, and don’t effect business at all, other than these hairstylists having to fix what the kitchen hairstylists have done.  Just something to think about

[Author]

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