You'll Never Be A Great Photographer

[nesgran]

But doesn’t your assistant make things work much quicker than if you have to start fiddling with strobes hence increasing your productivity? So in reality it might not be as much a pay cut as his pay check.

[eruntalon]

I find ebi’s comments and critiques to be the some of the most useful on this forum.  Sometimes people equate brevity with lack of insight (or sometimes people are just offended too easily), but in many cases brevity will cause you to think and analyze more than receiving detailed explanations.  I initially came to this site to laugh at the photos on the main page and also to compare to my own to make sure I wasn’t just deluding myself into thinking my photography was decent.  I recently made the move from hobbyist to amateur, which for me was really just a change in mindset.  I wasn’t expecting much from this forum when I noticed it, but it has since become a very integral part of my personal development.

Anyway, I registered this account just to say thanks to the community here for trying to make us all better.

 

[ebi]

Nesgran said:

But doesn’t your assistant make things work much quicker than if you have to start fiddling with strobes hence increasing your productivity? So in reality it might not be as much a pay cut as his pay check.

Well, if i’m given three days to do a job and paid $4000 for the job and I pay my assistant $300 a day. I’m now making $3100 or $1000 a day instead of $1300. I could do the job on my own and pocket the $900, but $900 is worth it to me to not have to hassle with those things. Clients don’t really care about those things. They just want a bottom line. Normally, I would counter with $4900 to get my assistant paid for. If they don’t accept then I would do the job and see if my assistant will take $200-250, something that I hate asking them to do. If this is my only job for the month, then I am much more in need of that $900.

@eruntalon Thanks. I hope that i can continue to help.

[DRose]

ebi’s response to my photos that I asked for comments and “critiques” on was(“snapshots with watermarks are not professional, sellable or interesting…)”
I have sold a few of my photos and not because I tried to but because people wanted to buy them. I have one coming out as a book cover and I have donated 20+ to great causes and fundraisers in my area that have all done really well for the charity.
I’m not feeble or weak or easily offended but if this a proper critique of my photos than excuse me. I really don’t see anything constructive here in your comment. I’m not a pro nor do I sell myself as one, never taken an art class since jr. high school, never taken a photography course.
I got some actual critiques from others here on YANAP, no they didn’t say anything was great or even good but they gave insights and were somewhat civil and helpful. If I had your level of experience and skill I hope I would be a little more helpful in my critiques.
I too would love to see some of your work so I can be inspired.
Thanks again for your time, still looking for a link for your work.

[JLiu]

I’ve been meaning to comment on this thread for a while…trying to come up with the right words or anything really. I’ve sort-of been behind-the-scenes reading all the threads.

All I can really say is:  Thank you for being the voice that few people care to be, and even fewer can appreciate.

[ebi]

@JLiu – i’m not really sure how to take your comment based on the remark that you made in the other thread. It sounds a bit condescending.

BTW, I looked at your flickr photostream and your photos are absolutely gorgeous. Incredible attention to detail. Would love to see more of your work. You should make these available to license on Getty.

[JLiu]

Ebi – not meant to be condescending at all. I noted that I might have sounded a bit confusing. I originally typed up the response in the other thread to have an asterisk by the word “delivery” with a side note explaining that while I wouldn’t personally deliver news quite as succinctly as you, I do appreciate that you are – without a doubt – honest. That draft didn’t quite get saved before I hit the submit button…I blame the coffee. Apologies.

Thank you for the kind words! I don’t think I’m quite ready yet to move on to that phase with my photography…I still really consider myself quite amateur when compared to the other landscape photographers I know (personally know…not, like, Peter Lik). Hopefully I’ll learn enough along the way that, by the time I retire in about 40 years, I might have a decent enough portfolio that I can set up shop at an art fair or something.

[ebi]

thanks for clearing that up.

Personally, I think that if you continue to shoot, continue hone your craft, get published, get recognized for your work, produce books of work…and if you truly have a passion for photography (which shows in your work), the word “retire” will be irrelevant in your vocabulary.

[fstopper89]

ebi, I have to say, you’ve become much more constructive and friendly here. Kudos to that. It sounds like you do have a lot of experience in photography. You might have posted a link somewhere, but I’m wondering if you can re-post it here. I would like to see your stuff. (Not at all meant as a jab or a reason to discredit you, I am genuinely curious about your style and could maybe learn something.)

[JLiu]

I definitely plan on continuing to shoot and learn and grow in my abilities. As far as getting published and whatnot, that’s a different story. Right now, I’ll leave photography as one of my hobbies and keep on being an enginerd (better job security).

One of my many fears of making one of my hobbies my profession is that I will lose that passion somewhere along the way. It happened when I briefly considered life as a professional poker player. While that might seem ludicrous to some, it was very lucrative during the few years I played diligently. I found that when it became a job more than something to do for fun, however, I began to obsess over the swings, which made things worse. While this may or may not have the same effect on, say, moving forward with my aspirations to become a really good landscape photographer with a solid portfolio, I’d much rather know that I can pay the bills and live my lifestyle in my current profession. I feel that it makes my hobby more special since I have less time to do it.

Aaaand I’m rambling. In any case, thanks for the vote of confidence.

[ebi]

Thanks BEG. I’m trying. I’m still not showing my work though. I don’t think that will change.

[Sharra]

Ebi, I concur with BEG. I was intrigued by the iPhone-lit Tomatilla Mary in your “A lazy shot” thread, but it has since disappeared. 🙁 Are you sure a couple aspiring women photographers can’t convince you to change your mind about showing your work? I wouldn’t be surprised if there are others here who would like to see as well.

If not, please keep up the friendly nature and constructive criticism.

[Intuition]

I know what your worried about Ebi, or at least I think I do. I say you should shoot something just for us, that you’ll only share with YANAP, that way we can’t find you and stalk you 😉

[ebi]

LOL. although due to previous posts from certain crazy people, i’m not concerned about being stalked. But I like the idea of shooting something specifically for YANAP. I’m shooting all day tomorrow and Weds so I’ll try to shoot something just for ya’ll.

[ebi]

Sorry guys, I end up really behind each day and didn’t have a moment to shoot something for you. I’d love to post a shot that I took for the job but I’d could get in trouble for posting them publicly before the story runs. However, I may be able to post an outtake after the editor has made his selection, in which case I will gladly do that.

[Author]

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