New and Aspiring Photographer Here

[JanJan]

Hi everyone! I’m a new and aspiring photographer. (My portoflio – http://www.photosbyanjanette.com/) I have been taking pictures of people for only 4-5 months. Prior to this, I used to only take pictures of landscapes for years, so I had some basic understanding of aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc. It wasn’t until 4-5 months ago that I started to build my equipment and invest in lenses.

I started off doing TFP shoots through postings from Craig’s List and Model Mayhem, but this one particular person took advantage of my time. She entered in a calendar contest for an online store that only gears to a certain type of clientele and she won to appear on the cover and the month of January. However, the company expected her to submit the photos. Because this was my first photo shoot ever, I agreed to it for exposure and portfolio building. I did a series of photo shoots that totaled up to about 6-7 hours on 3 separate days. I also spent about 2-3 hours editing photos in Lightroom and retouching in Photoshop. (I work full-time as a graphic and web designer, and have 7 years experience working in Photoshop.) The only money that came out of her pocket was $5 to pay half of a $10 admission for a festival where SHE wanted me to take pictures. When the calendar came out, she didn’t even bother to get me a copy.

About a couple months ago, I placed a post on Craig’s List advertising $60 for up to 2 hours to ensure that no one takes advantage of me. I only do TFP shoots for models who I actually believe has a shot of getting agency work (for example, a wannabe male model with a 6-pack and nice face will take priority over someone who is too scrawny and has a decent face). I’ve been getting very good feedback from friends and every person who has paid me $60 for my work were very happy with the results.

I don’t want to be associated with fauxtographers on this website just because I charge $60 for 2 hours max. Whenever I book a shoot with someone, I make sure to tell them that I’m new and have limited equipment. If you’re wondering, my equipment is as follows: Nikon D3000, 3 Nikkor lenses (35mm f/1.8 DX, 18-55 f/3.5-5.5 kit lens, 50mm f/1.8G FX), a Tamron 18-200 f/3.5-6.3, Nikon SB-400 speedlight, and a Yongnuo YN560-II speedlight.

Again, here is the link to my portfolio. Let me know you think! http://www.photosbyanjanette.com/

[soaringturkeys]

How much you charge isn’t the litmus test of what makes a fauxtographer. However a lot of people here will argue that charging small amounts of dollars actually hurts the industry.

You have to assess to yourself now, whether you want to use your website to be a gallery or to be a portfolio. A Gallery is where you just upload photos of whatever without thoughts on anything. A Portfolio is one where you are trying to get people interested in your work for job, recognition or status.

If it’s the latter, if it’s something that you really want to pursue. then Get rid of all the mediocre photos that you have.

http://www.photosbyanjanette.com/joanna-at-fremont-street-2/
http://www.photosbyanjanette.com/joanna-at-binions/

Work on lighting. Now that you have two speedlights, experiment with slaves.

Anyway good luck. If you have any questions, let me know

[KarynLee]

Like the PP said, it really doesn’t matter how much you charge, and charging so little does devalue other professionals work. (Why pay someone who knows what they are doing when I can pay this person $60?)

That being said, I think you have a lot of potential. The guy on the car is good (but it looks like you airbrushed or softened, which is kind of a no-no with men!). You posing is creative, and I already am seeing you start to go out of the box with your posing. However, the edits on them are a little boring. You really need to focus on use of light, so play with those speed lights. Also, you’re a chronic under-exposer, so make sure you’re bringing that up. You’ll find that will help a lot of skin tones. Watch for blue people. And really work on nailing the photos. A lot have soft focus, and that could be from any number of things (to slow SS, to wide aperature).

Good luck!

 

[JanJan]

Thanks for the feedback everyone and KarynLee, I’m glad to hear that that I have potential. Soaringturkeys, I took your advice and removed some of the pictures that are mediocre.
To address the $60 fee, to make sure I’m not devaluing the industry, I do warn people that I’m new, I have limited equipment, I work best in the daytime with natural lighting, and I tend to turn down people who wants to take pictures at night or places with low lighting (because I know my limitations). I also turn down weddings (even very small elopements) or events where I know if I don’t capture the moment correctly, I will be screwed (like surprise parties or surprise engagement proposals). And because of my full-time job, these are limited to only weekends. I keep in mind that a more experience photographer can handle all these elements. Majority of the night shots on my websites were TFP shoots and for the most part, I offer free photoshoots to friends and family to practice.
KarynLee, I agree that I have underexposure problems, I mostly see that when bring my shots into Lightroom. I have to work on that. As for the guy on the car, I didn’t do any airbrushing or softening. I just did adjustments in Lightroom. See screenshot here – http://www.janjanspage.com/images/lightroom_screenshot.jpg
I also know I need to improve on lighting and utilize my speedlights well, but here’s my dilemma…most of my shots are done on location. I live in Las Vegas and I get requests to shoot on The Strip or in Downtown Las Vegas. Because these locations have tourists and other people (especially pretty unruly people in Downtown), I really don’t want to take a whole lot of equipment with me. Also, I think some of these places require permits to set up photography equipment and lighting. Regardless if it’s an amateur or professional setting up equipment, they will see it as commercial shoots regardless. Do you have any tips on lighting when you’re only limited to just your camera, lens, and one speedlight attached to your camera?
Thanks for your time!

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