Any professionals out there???
 

i am looking to start photography as a job, any idea where i can train or any body willing for a young devoted person to work with them for a week (free of charge) inordwer to gain experiance and see whats its like doing it for a full time job???

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

First.. I am not a proffesional and I dont take pics full time. But I do know that you need to add more info... Have you got your own equipment is the biggest question (most photographers are freelance).. What level are you at now.. done any photography courses... I would say add some more info if you want to get a bite.. Also what type of photography are you interested in... eg wedding and sports are totally different and require different equipment and skills.


Have you been to the accy camera club friday nights?

Contact the local papers accy observer and telegraph... no idea if they do this or not..

then find some photography forums that are UK biased and ask in there.. always lots of students asking to go with wedding photographers ect

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

There are some online photograpy diplomas, a friend of mine is doing one. he feels it was value for money and does make you learn the basics properly before letting you go off all creative like.

I love photography as well and in a perfect world I think I'd enjoy it as a job but I fear it wouldn't pay me anywhere near as well as what I do currently so its one of those 'when I want to wind down near retirement' things. I'd love to spend a day with you Kipax to get a feel of what its like trying to capture live sport.(I think people would think I'm a bit weird if I just turned up at Wilsons playing fields one day).

I keep meaning to get to the camera club meets but never seem to get there. Do you still go?

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

thats why I said he should list what he already has done... the post he made makes it look like he woke up this morning and thought.. hmm photography.. that looks easy i wanna do that :)


Some get paid very well :)
But once you take the step from hobby to paid.. all the fun goes.. your suddenly under preassure to get the picture absoloutly right.. just changes it:(



they would :) and your welcome to anytime mate.. but sports is a whole different thing to say a wedding.. the key is know your sport and know your players... i went to american football the other week and if i hadnt latched onto the photographer already there i wouldnt have got a single shot with the ball i fear.


Nope... but only because I ahve so much on fridays.. mainly my tasks as the family taxi driver with trips to boys brigade, footy practice..blah blah

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

I noticed that at a wedding i went to willow :D:D

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

Yeah they were a rebellious rabble weren't they? :D

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

And press photography is a whole different thing as well. That's what I do a lot of.

There's also product photography - quite lucrative but you'd need a studio for that.

I'm happy for you to come to either Rhyddings Fun Day or the Mela in the next few weeks and you can shadow me for a short while whilst I take some press style shots.

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

have I been sacked ? :) :)

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

No, you haven't been sacked :) - you know you're the best at taking live action stuff and I wouldn't even presume to compete - grovel, grovel.:D

Just thought I'd concentrate on taking a few 'press' type shots myself.

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

hehe... I am looking forward to photographing my 3rd mela.. However on a less happy note.. I see the blackburn one is cancelled :(

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

I've done a couple of weddings over the years(when on film as well so extra pressure to get the shots 'right' but neither were 'pressure' ones with any expectation of the output) and enjoyed the whole experience. I do believe its important to get one of the 'family' allocated to do the ushering of people so you don't end up being in the bad books with everyone, they seem to accept it from a family member but not from some stroppy photographer :D

Tony, I'll PM you about coming with you sometime....

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

Yes, they've made the decision early because Witton Park is so waterlogged. Good decision for us though! :)

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

You ahve to be brave to do a wedding.. Theres no second chances and the happy couple will expect perfect pics.. How would you feel if you got home and the film was ruind (spello) or the memory card corrupt and because of you the couple have no pics... thats the scary bit.. ruining someone wedding memories.... it happens.


I am at cricket most weekends ATM . KSH joined me the other week at ossy immanuel.. dunno if he got any tips off me though :).. maybe womens footy on sunday if it goes ahead this weekend... ya need a fast lens for sport though.. currently have the happy ability to use f4 in this light..... cricket needs the obvious long lens... i have 420mm at my disposal :)

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

my longest at the minute is 200mm f4. I have teleconvertors but I don't like using them. I'm keeping my eyes open for a nice 300 f4.

I'm busy this weekend as I'm oncall from work and I know I already have a load of stuff to do. (Friday night/sat am I've jobs at 9:30, 11:30, 1:30 and 6:30 so not much sleep for me that night!), I'll PM you when I have a weekend free to see what your up to.

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

I don't know if this is any use to any of you photographers but Jessops in Blackburn is closing down, all stock must go etc so their could be some good deals there.


I keep thinking of trying photography but don't know where to start, good starter camera etc.

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

have you been on holiday samF theres a thread on jessops closing down about a week ago :)

deciding on a camera pretty much depends on what its needed for..

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

Jesus that's two out of date pieces of information in 2 seconds :( I'm on a roll I'll tell ya.

And mainly stock photo's if you get what I mean, still people or objects.

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

Your doing right on asking to go with someone but I think you might consider doing it for longer than a week just to make sure its what you want to do full time, not for me either, I love it as a hobby, seen many togs at weddings and I wouldn't have that hassle if someone offered me a gold clock :)

Tony - might go again this weekend as not doing much Saturday after working Fri night, who's on this weekend?

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

not got my list of games from the telegraph yet so no idea where i am.. BUT its 20/20 semi finals friday night and i have beEN invited by enfield to go along... if paper doesnt have a set game for me friday will be there.. dunno about weekend yet...

been rained off last two weekends every game... i wouldnt hold my breath for anyhting played this weekend TBH

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

I've just come back from St Annes where a friend of mine is doing Photography in college. She has a Canon 350d with the standard lens that comes with it I presume.

I had great fun taking shots with it, the manual focusing is great. :D

I'm deeply tempted to purchase one and go on some random trips to take pictures!

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

Its not the camera that costs.. its the lenses.. there a bit expensive for decent ones... cost a lot more than the camera

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

If you aren't doing Sports stuff(or things where you need fast AF) you can get good quality lenses for not a lot of money.

Canon DSLRs will easily take the old Pentax M42 thread lenses which sell on eBay etc for a fraction of the cost of the equivilant Canon AF lens. I have two adaptor, one is a basic one with no electronics which means I have to judge the focus by eye. I've actually become quite good at this. the second has a chip on it that enables the cameras internal AF confirmation. i.e. you have to turn the focus ring yourself but the camera confirms when each focus zone hits focus by flashing the indicators in the viewfinder. The basic one was £6 teh electronic one ws £30.

Up to know I prefer using these lenses than my two Canon AF ones

For reference I have

Mir1B 37mm F2.8 lovely old thing, came straight from Ukraine wrapped in 1970's Russian newspaper £17 delivered

Pentacon 50mm 1.8 - cost a tenner delivered, nice portrait lens and good on tubes

Chinon 55mm 1.7 - my fave general lens, superb colours and tack sharp above 2.8

Porst 135mm 2.8 - another cheap fast tele lens, good colour
Jupiter 37A 135 3.5 - lovely again, in my top three lenses, cracking bokeh and very good with macro tubes on

Asahi Super Takumar 200mm f4 - my most expensive buy at £65 and its quality is unbelieveable. Another one that performs really well on tubes

I keep looking for a nice 85mm and if I can get one a decent 300mm F4 (Garth Dawsons has one in but its got some dust inside on the internal lenses and he's a bit expensive at £125)

There is no way I could afford such a range of lenses if I bought them in Canon or even Sigma/Tamron.

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

just looked at one of those m42 adapters on ebay, got a few m42 lenses from my zenit 11 and pentax s1a, So I might aswel invest in one! :)

As for places to study photography, try Blackburn College, they offer a fantastic National Diploma in photography. It's a 2 year course, you learn the basics, (not just digital, but silver based photography too) and you will get set live assignments! I took the course 04-06, (Prior to that I studied at rawtenstall,) The course really boosted my skill and confidence. Since then I've gone onto my foundation degree at Blackburn, (I'm on my second of 3 years) And I'm working as a photographer to pay for it :)

I don't think being a "jobbing" photographer takes the fun out of it. You've just got to think like, "This is time for work, and this is time for play" the shots you take when your on a commission have to be exactly how the client wants them. But your artistic talent and unique style should still be somewhere in there! And the work you do for yourself is what you do to satisfy those artistic urges :) either way Whatever i'm shooting I'm very happy. And I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else as a career.

As for the money, it's not crazy amounts of cash that I do the job for.

Showing people the way I see the world is far more important!

Weddings, should never be scarier than photographing anything else. I've done a couple of them now, and even though I knew that I had "Only one chance" to get the shots right and to the clients liking. I worked in the same way I would shooting anything else. If you let everything get to you then your just going to mess up something simple or miss an important shot. Or the end results may lack the "character" that your personal work has.

Coolness and confidence and a little bit of cheekiness is the way forwards! :)

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

heh, my list of lenses has changed a bit

37mm MIR
50mm 1.8 Pentacon
50mm Carl Zeiss 1.7 Planar (Contax fit) - this is pure class in glass
55mm 1.7 Chinon - still a lovely lens
135 3.5 Jupiter 37A
135 2.8 Porst - not as good as above but not bad
200mm F4 Super MC Takumar - still stunning
300mm F4.5 "Photosniper". This is a really quirky piece of kit, I'll let Google be your friend

Re teh M42 adaptor, teh last one I got was froma chinese guy in glasgow. good eBayer and fast delivery. Its one with teh AF conf chip on and it works really well.

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

that the zenit photosniper? with the stock and pistol grip that turns your camera into a "rifle"

I heard a story about a photographer "shooting" birds with one of those near an RAF base who was arrested for having a "firearm" on MOD property :S

Don't know if theres any truth in that but it's an interesting story :)

Re: Any professionals out there???
 

yep, thats the one. lovely kit. Tair 300 lens, not one for taking on your hold abroad though, that is unless you like teh old rubber glove treatment :D