How do I take my photography to a proffesional level?
I have been into photography for quite a few years but never pursued it further than for fun. I have people tell me all the time I should do it for a living. I am just wondering what kind of ways I can earn money with my photos? I am teaching right now but will be taking maternity leave in a about a month. One of my main loves is infant and newborn photography and I will be doing alot of that once my baby is born so I am hoping to build a pretty decient portfolio. I am looking into all my options for after the baby is born and I seeing if there is anyway to make some cash doing what I love so I can stay at home permanately.
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Tagged with: alot • maternity • money • photography • photos • wondering what kind
Filed under: Baby Photography
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Don’t listen to the lady talking about borders and crap in you portfolio! There is no reason for this. Prospective employers or buys are not interested in fancy crap around the pictures. They are interested in you photos. Don’t distract them!
A portfolio should consist of 10-12 singles. One photo essay and one photo story-each consisting of 6-10 photos. PDF slideshows of them against a black background on a CD in the newest and most popular way of spreading your work around. However a hardcopy version in a portfolio with each photo matted plainly. Let your photos speak for themselves. Don’t make a scarpbook looking piece of crap, that is the most annoying theing you could do in this industry. Be professional looking if you want to be taken seriously.
I’m no expert on photography but I do know a few things. One is to organize your work in a portfolio so that it looks presentable. All your photos must have borders in order for it to look more professional. Have something written explaining the significance of each photo you have taken. Allow the photo to also tell a story because pictures can mean a thousand word, even more if taken right. Take a picture in various angles to get a new image even when your taking a shot of the same thing. That’s all I can really think of.
Consider taking a photography class that focuses on portraits and lighting. Lighting in portrait photography can be tricky, particularly when different light sources are present (natural, fluorescent, incandescent, etc.), so the environment will have quite a bit to do with the end result. Knowledge in photography software (Photoshop, for example) is also very helpful.
I had the same problem… still do in fact.
Here are couple of tips I have been given:
- what kind of photography do you want to do? commercial? artsy? personal? do you want to do commissionned work? for people? businesses? if so, which type?
The point is, who do you want to sell to, and what is it that you want to sell?
Here are a couple of examples of what you could decide:
- I love my photos. I want to sell them as art. For that, I’d decide who your pictures appeal to (mothers, grandmothers, baby products, maternity wards, newspapers). Accordingly, you could: contact galleries that target this market, do a show at the maternity (especially if you can take photos of other babies), do postcards; or contact businesses with a portfolio; or go on stock photography.
- I want to do photos of other babies: you can do yellowpages ads, try to contact your local newspaper, find directories for moms in your area, count on word to mouth, go to your local chamber of commerce, try to find other related but non competing businesses to do some promotion together (co-marketing)
- I just want to live off taking photos, and can do a lot of portraits: consider wedding photography, graduation, anniversaries, retirement parties… you can also contact local businesses that have company events.
This is a mouthful, but the gist of it is: find exactly what it is that YOU are willing to do without disgusting yourself of your passion, who would be interested in what it is that you are doing, what these people do, eat, where they go to find the kind of stuff that you do, and make sure you’re there.
Good luck!