[JCFindley]

The blue door is nice and is a great exercise in seeing other perspectives.

There is always something to shoot where you are and it helps to shoot shoot shoot everyday stuff. Even if there is no market for you it will help you “see.”  The technicalities are pretty simple to master with practice but it is the ability to “see” or to nurture the artistic vision that can actually lead to something unique and interesting and marketable.

I think I made about a grand last year just from shooting stuff that was on bookshelf when my car was broken and I was stuck inside for a few days.

[JCFindley]

Hi Rachel

You are doing just fine for your level and time and I have seen people with whole portfolios filled with much worse.

OK, I don’t know a thing about people shooting so will talk a little about your artistic shots. As night said, they are not bad just kind of lacking on the wow factor. The deer is probably my favorite of the bunch but would like to see a little tighter zoom on the deer since it is the main subject of the shot and would prefer it was bounding into the scene instead of moving out. On more than a couple of the animals you are shooting them from human height view.  What I mean is you are looking down on them which is how almost everyone with a cell phone camera will shoot their pet. Try getting down on their level more often and shoot them at their own level and that will generally improve the shot. (Hobbes is a nice shot that your standard pet owner won’t think to do all that often)

Speaking of pets, everyone starts out shooting them and has a lot of shots with them. Just be careful that if you do go pro, that your portfolio is not filled with them. To me, it says yeah, I got a camera and am going to offer to sell everything I shoot. (Not quite true, but is the impression it gives me.) You have a few other things in there that everyone starts out with, the flowers and ducks come to mind. Nothing wrong with flowers or ducks but since everyone has them and they are easy to find the shot has to be something beyond wow to get noticed and sell. There is one flower that has the brown spots as it starts to die and a couple others with a mix of bright and shadow. The dripping flower is more unique and would actually stand a chance of selling but again, the market is just saturated with florals and it is tough to get seen and if you do it has to be better than the other ten thousand images of the same subject to sell.

And the sunset is well done as is.

So, you are doing just fine but if you want to take it to the next level you just have to find the wow factor meaning getting the scene or subject the general public just doesn’t see that often or in a way they don’t see it very often.

[JCFindley]

If you want a really nice one for your camera, the 10-22 is a good one and WIDE!

I am going with a 20 prime myself as I need quality but also pretty cheap. (400 v 800 for the wide zoom)

[JCFindley]

The way I did it and would recommend is sticking with the camera you have until you find it limiting you in some way. Even then, for me equipment upgrades always get a cost benefit analysis. Will this new XXXX make me more than I am spending on it? If so, how long will that take? If It will and will do it within six months to a year, I buy it. If not, it is just on a “That would be nice to have” list.

I still shoot with a 5D classic as the MkII and MkIII simply will not increase revenue over what I have now to justify them, yet.

[JCFindley]

I also do some quality assurance work for an art site before images go to print and interestingly enough, right after I looked at your bluebonnets I reviewed an order for 25 different bluebonnet images going to a single buyer and most were large and expensive.

Anyway, in the art world it is hard to sell straight flowers. It isn’t that people don’t buy them but that so many people have high quality florals. To stand out there almost needs to be a little something extra. Bluebonnets along an old wooden fence, in front of a barn or with a few of those red or orange wildflowers yall have down there in the mix. Anything at all that will help your image stand out in the crowd.  Just something to think about if you ever decide to go that route.

[JCFindley]

Your camera will have multiple focus points that you can pick and choose. If you work on it enough you will be able to pick the one you want subconsciously. (I never use manual focus myself but will use the focus point on or close to the subject.)

[JCFindley]

I am a landscape “fine art” photographer kind of guy (whatever “fine art photography” is….) and would rather gouge my eyes out with a spork than shoot people so I have no clue on that.

I will say that your bluebonnets are quite nice and the reflective water shot is as well. You seem to be on your way.

[JCFindley]

Very well written clicker!

 

[JCFindley]

Well, this was an interesting thread to read through on my very first visit to the forum….

Simon, you are doing fine for a beginner. Better than I did at that stage. I have no critique beyond that but will say a little about taking critiques. I recall the first time I set up a booth to sell my stuff, one established pro walked through my tent and hmmphed me. That is not at all helpful. Anything beyond that is pure gold though aside from technical stuff is also purely opinion. Yeah, there are “rules” for composition which are nice to know so you know you are breaking them and why you might break them. My first critiques sent me running to google to look up “rule of thirds” and DoF.

Aside from rules, it is all opinion but that can be invaluable.  No need to defend your choices just listen and take away what you want from it. Heck, I even use selective color now and then regardless of the hatred of the technique. The great thing about “art” photography is you don’t have to please anyone but yourself. Now, if that also gets others excited you might even be able to make a little or even a lot of money doing it but really, it is art for art’s sake, so income is just an added bonus.

 

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