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Model turned photographer... let's do this.
Greetings... it's your favorite person starting a new topic again... Anyways, it hit me today that I should look into becoming a photographer. I mean, modeling: I f'ing love it. Duh. Let's be real though, if you don't have an agent/manager/whatever, it can be hard as f*** to land consistent paying work... if you have limitations. That's a whole other story and not relevant to this discussion post. So photography seems like a good decision. I mean, you can shoot anything: people, landscape/nature/animals.. whatever. So being a model + learning photography/becoming a photographer and maybe someday looking into becoming a makeup artists, that should help to keep the work flow steady. Definitely steadier than just being a model. The reason for this thought is because I hate being bored... I'd much rather be doing something productive than just going on several walks each day to the walk of fame (I live right next to it). So this will be a great learning experience. Now, please tell me everything. The skinny, the 411, the 911. What camera is the best? What camera do I need that will create gold basically without needing a lot of props/equipment? I feel like there are some cameras out there that you can rely solely on a camera and natural lighting to create almost perfect images. I could be dead wrong. Don't start laughing... I'm here to learn. Thus, there shouldn't be a lot of criticism on this forum I wouldn't think... Educate me please and thank you. Nov 10 15 09:44 pm Link I have an old friend named Lisa Boyle. She started off as a model and has become a successful photographer. I get a little jealous that there always seems to be a click of models with girl photographers. She lives in LA and I'm sure if you look her up you can bond. Have fun. Nov 10 15 09:50 pm Link martin b wrote: I'll try to contact her. Thanks. Nov 10 15 10:06 pm Link As to gear, you should start with a prosumer level camera. This is not the high end "Pro" model, but one that has decent technical specs. but will also allow you to learn to shoot in Manual mode, if you really want to learn the craft. Spend your money on better lenses, good glass will transfer to higher end bodies if and when you decide you really want to go there. Next you need some schooling, I recommend Tri-Community Photography school in Covina, CA. They have classes for beginners in photography and Photoshop, which you will need to learn if you are really going to go somewhere with your photography. Depending on where you are located, there may be something nearer that will be more convient. The hardest thing to do is develop an "eye". You have to be able to see a good shot and have the technical skill to realize your vision. That is the one thing that is the hardest to teach. It helps if you have some art education classes in your background. Look at a LOT of photographs , especially by really fine photographers. Best of luck, and hang in there. Nov 10 15 10:18 pm Link Keep all options open, being a photographer now days is just taking a picture from your vision, go for it. Keep learning and changing and grow to your dreams that's what it's about. Wish you the best, and success . Robert Nov 10 15 10:20 pm Link The cameras now are much more capable than most of the photographers, including me You can get a camera and some lens for few hundred $. Example of my shot with camera and lens bought for 300$(new) - https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/36986920 Then IMO try to understand the basics - composition, light, see what you like. Then try to make what you've learned work for you. Good luck! Nov 10 15 10:20 pm Link Lauren E Poole wrote: Any DSLR or mirrorless camera with a 50mm focal length lens and proper tecnique is a nice starting point. Nov 10 15 10:27 pm Link Lisa is a great girl. She is also a good connection to lots of models. She hangs out with the Playboy crowd of models. If you find great girls to shoot it is much easier to get published. Also, a lot of girls have personal sites and being a female photographer gives you a great edge to be their photographer. Nov 10 15 10:55 pm Link WARNING WARNING WARNING! SARCASM ALERT: DO NOT READ!!! As a photographer, the first thing you need to do is pledge allegiance to a camera brand. After taking said pledge you must become a rabid fangirl of that brand be cause it's the best. Get a lot of stickers for that brand and just put them on whatever. Never wear a camera strap without the make and model of your camera. It's helpful to get a selfie with it for insurance purposes when someone grabs your camera. Be sure to take a lot of pictures of you and the model just hanging out so everyone knows how cool you are. This will earn you much respect from fellow photographers.Post them to twitter and blogs and your profile. MAKE SURE EVERYONE KNOWS! Never ever pay a model! Good photographers like you don't have to pay models! Yes, you are that good!!! Never trust a model. They are all thieves, drug addicts and prostitutes! Embrace mirrorless cameras. Every one knows they are the future! Get the Sony one, it shoots at like a billion iso and makes it so you don't need a good model or anything interesting because every image it takes is a work of art.. Sony is a great brand to go with because then your fangirlness is assured with the numerous non-photography related gadgets. Just think of the stickers! Sleep with models even if you have to pay for it. Sex is the only thing you should ever pay a model for!!! Don't worry, it won't be awkward at all later. It's cool to be a creeper, just go with it. You know a good photographer when there are photos of them having sex with models in their portfolio. What? What? Its art you perverts!!!!!! Have the biggest watermark possible. No freeloading assholes are going to be able to rip you off if you do that! Plus, it makes you look like you're a big deal. Adobe is evil! How dare they allow you access to tens of thousands of dollars of software for $59 a month. Find the easy button. There are some photoshop plugins that do perfect retouching for you. Imagine the time you will save! If you're a hipster, definitely get some speed lights. Sure they eat batteries, overheat, and were never designed to be used with any sort of modifier...... But you can get the cheap chinese ones and they cost nothing and are better than all the rest!! If you're rich, buy briese lights. They are so expensive most people won't know what you are talking about. Imagine how much they look up to you and how smart they think they stare at you dumbly. VICTORY! As a photogrpaher you are the boss and you get to tell the model what to do. Don't let her come up with stuff on her own. Youre the boss and YOU know best!! Always ask the model to bring everything they own with them so you don't have to buy props. Complain about what they bring. After you shoot with a model they're your buddy! Call them all the time and send texts. Most models aren't hard to find on facebook. Make sure to tag them in all sorts of stuff so all your friends will know how cool you are!!!! Oh, and never give models images or give them ones that are bad to teach them a lesson. Never let a model see any of your photos. That just incase you want to get pervy during the shoot. I recommend the 70-200, nobody can see you zoom! Well, I'm pretty sure that's the worst advise I have ever given..... I hope nobody is offended, i wrote it for LOLZ. The scary part is this is all stuff I have seen or read somewhere or was inspired by it. LOL Cheers! Noah Nov 10 15 11:05 pm Link the best way to make a small fortune as a photographer is to start with a large fortune. Nov 10 15 11:09 pm Link DougBPhoto wrote: Nov 10 15 11:15 pm Link Talk to Mariah Carle in Oakland, CA. She is a model who became a photographer. She is known as Death of Field. Nov 10 15 11:18 pm Link Lauren E Poole wrote: Best way use your phone Agues most everyone have IPhone or comparable brand Frankly don't see the reason to burn $300 $ 400 bugos If already have try and for some reason you want a more advance tool then post your shots. Nov 10 15 11:56 pm Link Modelographer here! I just use natural/ambient light in all of my shots - I started off by stealing my husband's Canon 40d and then ended up buying a 5Diii. To be totally honest, I haven't shopped around a huge amount so there may well be better options out there to start with but I just got some recommendations from photographer friends and played around with a borrowed camera to see if it's what I wanted. I definitely agree with learning to shoot manual - don't let the camera make these decisions for you. Like anything else, I don't think the tool is massively important. An oven doesn't make your dinner, it's the cook - you just need a camera that doesn't get in your way rather than one that does everything for you. I got really annoyed with the 40d since it's not a full frame and it took me a while to understand why I couldn't get the effect of a vast landscape or whatever. So pay attention to that since it'll really affect the kind of images you can get. My favourite lens is the 50mm. I probably rely on it a little too much but it's cheap (I think it was £60) and really versatile. Don't buy things until you have a reason to - you can blow a lot of money on photography. Get the bare minimum, work with what you've got, and only buy things when you actually need them rather than when you want them. And buy a reflector. They're really cheap and can make a huge difference to portraits/person photography. Pinterest is really great for finding out more about techniques/ideas/etc and I don't think you necessarily need tuition to learn - just go out there and shoot, adjust, learn. I shoot in RAW because it gives so much more flexibility - you can make a huge number of adjustments to a photograph afterwards and you'll be glad you have the option when you have an 'almost there' image that just needs a few tweaks. Good luck. You'll be surprised how much you picked up from modelling and it's a great foundation since know a lot more about how photoshoots are organised/run than the average novice photographer. Edit: Also, I have a strap that ties the camera to my wrist in case I let go of it. If you're a massive clutz, it'll save you quite a bit of money. Nov 11 15 02:55 am Link wait...to make money at???? hahahahahahahahahahahhahahaahhaha hahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahhahaha hahahahhaha Nov 11 15 04:29 am Link Check out Santa Monica Community College. Not sure about the courses but they have a really nice darkroom. Nov 11 15 05:45 am Link goofus wrote: Some photographers do make money. Nov 11 15 05:47 am Link I made the transition from model to photographer about twenty years ago. After a dozen years of working in Chicago, Dallas and Japan, I started hanging out with a friend who was a photographer. He ended up having a rather bad reputation, so I moved back home and started testing. I was lucky to have assisted a couple very talented photographers and learned a great deal. My suggestion is to read as much as possible about the technical aspects of photography, buy the most basic body and lens and put it to use. If you are still excited, find a working photographer and assist them on shoots. The beauty of assisting is that you learn from someone who is actually working, watch them interact with clients, delivering images and you can make a little money. It's not an easy career, you have to be organized, run a business and shoot marketable images. Truth be told, you will actually shoot a very small percentage of the time but it is a rewarding career. Nov 11 15 07:04 am Link Jerry Nemeth wrote: is that included in the printing course? Nov 11 15 07:13 am Link i often shoot in dark places so high ISO capability is key (1600, 3200, 6400). for the moment my canon 6D has me satisfied in that regard. it's not just about the camera. it's about knowing where to put the person (balancing foreground and background brightness, for example) and how to get some additional light on their face if necessary (via fill flash or reflector or photoshop). i would say that knowledge of light, weather and mastery of flash trumps the camera in many situations. my canon has something called highlight priority mode which helps preserve highlights. for me it's all about the highlights. rather than spending a ton on the gear i'd suggest putting some of that money into training. lindsey adler has some good videos on shooting in parks. some people love reflectors but i only ever manage to blind my model. much prefer flash although flash is more difficult to master. Nov 11 15 08:00 am Link I've been lucky to know a plethora of models who have become photographers, and are wildly AMAZING at it. I've even had a few shadow me on some sets, and learned some things even myself in time. What camera is the best? None. What do you want to spend? I like the Sony A7, A7 mkii, The 5D mkiii is fun. Pentax and Fuji have some nice options. It really does depend on needs and what features you care more about paying for. -My question to you, do you have any plans on output? do you want to print very large or stay strictly online? You need a vision and to develop that, you need experience. Start with your phone, and when you are ready, a DSLR. You won't get golden photos from a camera (unless shooting gold with a good white balance) and most are just fine in natural light (assuming you mean outside.) For some of your ideas, you may need to invest in more. Nov 11 15 11:51 am Link Noah Russell wrote: Love these suggestions, I hope that readers go all the way to the bottom of your list before getting offended. Nov 11 15 12:00 pm Link The camera doesn't matter that much. Any modern DSLR or Mirrorless body and one or two "fast" lenses, something with a maximum aperture of f2.8 or more (smaller numbers = "more") should be sufficient for you to get started and see if you have a knack for it. It sounds like your goal is to "make a living" as a photographer. Here's some information about photographer's income that you might find helpful: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes274021.htm Being a successful photographer, much like modeling, has as much to do with how good you are at marketing and networking as it does with how "good" you are. Is marketing and networking a current strength? If so, then you will have a nice head start. My advice (unless you're made of money) would be to buy some used equipment, preferably from someone that you know that will help you out and see what you can do. Consider taking some classes at the local community college, see if any of your photographer friends will mentor you, join some meetup groups, etc. and learn as much as you can about the technical side and shoot as much as you can. I have some seen a number of models make the switch and be successful. You'll never know until you try, go for it! Nov 11 15 01:37 pm Link Lauren E Poole wrote: It can be hard as F*** to land consistent paying work as a photographer too, probably harder, although photographers will generally have a longer career life. Nov 11 15 10:02 pm Link Eye of the World wrote: Nice. I'll check it out. Thanks. Nov 11 15 10:04 pm Link I would buy an inexpensive camera body and a 50mm lens (You shouldn't have to pay more than like $300). With the money you've saved invest in a few courses from creativelive.com. Sue Bryce has some great glamour courses, if that's your thing. Third is don't even try to make money from photography for at least the first year. Do only trade shoots and do a lot of them. After a year see where you're at, and decide if you actually want to do photography professionally or as an amateur. The great thing is that the skills you learn from photography will help you with your modeling. My 2c. Nov 11 15 11:16 pm Link Spend an hour each night youtubing videos on strobe photography and things that interest you in photography. Pick what interests you-by this I mean a field. The camera: you get the body of a D7000 for 300-400 bucks used; A good crop sensor camera that is excellent for manual shooting. Lenses, fixed (cheaper) a 50 and an 85mm. I have used an 85mm for product photography. Practice on weekends for several hours before entering your chosen field. Let's say you choose weddings: practice shooting under the conditions: low light--go to concerts and try shooting in low light. Practice shooting in interiors. Learn about bouncing light of walls and things. Practice shooting at different times of the day. Avoid working for free. Never do it. You don't need credits--you need a book but in weddings if people think you're a good photographer you can get hired in L.A. The leading way to make money in L.A. for photographers is headshots. Don't be cheap--offer quality and get to know casting people. There. Good luck. Nov 12 15 08:01 am Link Has anyone here ever heard of Stephen Eastwood? He was a fitness model who transitioned to glamour photographer and was very successful shooting for revlon and max factor and other make up companies. Google his name for his website and mm number. He's a moderator on here as well. He was a curious person who wanted to know how things worked and was fascinated with the cameras and lights of photographers that were shooting him. His ability to capture the essence of beautiful woman was the reason for his success. Also his technical expertise was flawless. But you must decide on what equipment and than use it constantly in order to know how it works under different conditions Nov 12 15 12:52 pm Link Lots of good and fun info here ,I will add a bit. Get a few books, most can be had from the library. 1 light science and magic- great how to. 2 Ansel Adams volume 2 on exposure.- digital camera shoot like transparency film this helps you understand what you need to do. 3 Scott kelby's 7 steps - on editing and it works for any editing program. Not just Photoshop. ( I use paint shop pro, still haven't found something it won't do for me) 4 Scott kelby's books on digital photography.- I have no idea what number he is up to now, but the 1st 2 are great and they are a fun read. On gear, get a camera that has full manual control. A interchangeable lens one gives you the best option because the glass matters much more than the body. The good news is you can rent a camera and lens to get an idea what fits you. Here is where I add a different way to chose. Pick the camera body that fits your hand and feels good to you when you use it. That way you can work on your images and not the tool. Next, learn the tool, I went through the manual and worked each setting till I knew what each control could do. Then you can work the camera to make the image you want or have been hired to make. Nov 12 15 05:23 pm Link and remember..the bigger the number..the little'r the hole Nov 13 15 09:21 am Link Lauren E Poole wrote: As others have mentioned, any current model DSLR will do. You can spend much more, but you don't have to. Nov 14 15 12:26 pm Link Models who are photographers are better models than average, and also better photographers than average. I think it's a useful skill to be able to understand both sides of the lens. A camera is like a car....there's not really a "best" car. Some cars are better in some situations than others. Start with a single camera that has a single lens. And avoid point and shoot cameras.....you can do that with a cell phone. But also, don't feel like you have to go for "full frame sensor" to be better, that's just more expensive, and won't make you a better photographer. Your physical and mental eye is where photography takes place.....the camera is just a tool. - Shoot film. At least have one camera that shoots film. This trains your mental eye and challenges your knowledge of light, and settings like aperture, speed and ISO. You can get a film camera for cheap, like $40 with a lens, or a better one for around $100. A roll of film costs about $4-5, and to develop it costs $8 at Walgreens, they can scan the roll for you for a couple more dollars. Learning to shoot film will make you a better photographer more quickly than any expensive digital camera could. - Polaroid Instax.....another alternative to a film camera, but it doesn't have the manual settings, still, it's fun and cool, and it will teach you about Parallax. - If you want something digital with SOME manual control, but in sort of an affordable range. Then consider either Sony A6000 or Fuji X30. Both are good, and around $500. But don't get this instead of a film camera, get that in addition to the film camera. Leaning the film camera will teach you how to use those digital cameras better. The downside of these cameras, however, is that you'll eventually want a digital SLR. - So, if you have some extra money and want to get something a little more legit than entry level, get a Canon Rebel (or Nikon equivalent) and put a 50mm 1.8 lens on it. This could be the last camera you will ever need. You can go pro with a mid-level SLR. That set up will cost about $750. But....still get the film camera. - If you happen to be a lady of means and want to just skip to an Audi camera, then get a Sony A7ii with a 55mm Zeiss lens. If you want to shoot fashion, then you'll never need another lens or another camera. This is the set up I have now and I love it, it does everything I need it to do. But I also still have a film camera, always a film camera. Nov 14 15 01:39 pm Link Best way for you to learn, is become a photographer's assistant. ( it's tough to find those jobs but worth the effort) THE VERY BEST camera for you to buy is; the one that feels the best in your hands and can allow you to photograph the way you need to photograph. CANON, NIKON, SONY, all top notch camera systems with amazing lenses available. TONS OF TUTORIALS online for you to watch and learn from. get your cute self down to a camera store and handle the cameras. DO NOT BUY. just feel and learn. Once you're more knowledgeable then buy, USED, equipment from KEH.com ( I recently had a NIKON 80-200mm F2.8 lens break. I had purchased it, from keh.com used, 5 MONTHS 3WEEKS AND 4 DAYS PRIOR TO THE LENS BREAKING. i NOTIFIED KEH AND THEY REPLACED THE LENS WITH NO HASSLES, AND PAID FOR RETURN SHIPPING OF THE BROKEN LENS!) Please excuse my capslock ,,, this damned keyboard is haunted..... Nov 15 15 01:03 am Link Like many said, any DSLR or SLR (35mm film) will work well for your purposes. Lenses often make the biggest difference in your image quality and are worth investing more money in since they often outlive your camera. (I often shoot with lenses I used to shoot film with & some of my favorites are lenses built originally in the 1950s that still outperform many modern lenses I've tested them against) 1) If I could go back in time I would give myself the same advice as I put here: start shooting only manual and preferable with primes (fixed focal length lenses). When I used to shoot auto and with zooms there was way more trial and error and my progress in learning & crafting my images (as opposed to capturing them) was a lot slower. 2) Take lots of notes when you first shoot and experiment. The more you know what you did for each shot then not only can you replicate it, but when you find something you really love it is easier to remember what you did and go back to understand why it worked & why it resonates for you personally. 3) Don't try to tackle everything at once. Focus on one thing at a time and get better at understanding & implementing it. 4) Watch what photographers you admire are doing on set. Observe what they do and even ask for mentorship. (if they already have shot you & you have a good dynamic then they may be more amenable to sharing their experience) 5) Have fun! If you don't enjoy doing it then don't bother. Honestly, there are a tons of other ways to make a living or spend your time, I hope this helps. Nov 15 15 04:14 am Link goofus wrote: This is very negative. Nov 21 15 05:56 am Link Despite the example quoted above, there is some decent advice on this thread. In my view you don’t need to learn very much and, as others have already said, you don’t need an expensive camera. But... if you want to make money quickly you need some sort of USP. This is very unlikely to mean lots of photos of other models however wonderful the photos are. You need some good ideas and to produce photos that people can’t easily get from anyone else. That’s the easy part. Then you need to find a market and a route to get there. Which is a little harder. With modern technology, if you can take some great photos today you can start making money tomorrow. Nov 21 15 05:59 am Link ValHig wrote: That's good advice. Like anything else, I don't think the tool is massively important. An oven doesn't make your dinner, it's the cook - you just need a camera that doesn't get in your way rather than one that does everything for you. That's about the best advice you can give anyone getting into photography... the most important part of the camera is behind it. I got really annoyed with the 40d since it's not a full frame and it took me a while to understand why I couldn't get the effect of a vast landscape or whatever. So pay attention to that since it'll really affect the kind of images you can get. That's bogus. I've been able to make vast landscape shots with 4x5, 6x7, 135, Super 35, and Super 16. And buy a reflector. They're really cheap and can make a huge difference to portraits/person photography. A reflector is my most used lighting instrument in stills and in cinema. Pinterest is really great for finding out more about techniques/ideas/etc and I don't think you necessarily need tuition to learn - just go out there and shoot, adjust, learn. I shoot in RAW because it gives so much more flexibility - you can make a huge number of adjustments to a photograph afterwards and you'll be glad you have the option when you have an 'almost there' image that just needs a few tweaks. Critiques are a very good thing. Learn to accept as well as offer good critiques. Learn the elements of visual design. Learn the rule of thirds and get over it so that you can learn to compose actual images. Also learn the Zone system. It will help you understand how to use exposure well, useful even if you shoot only in raw on a camera with 15 stops of dynamic range. Nov 22 15 11:48 pm Link 1) Find some local photographer you like their images. Ask them if you can assist them. Find one that loves to teach. or 2) Offer your service as a muse to a photographer who will trade for photography lessons. Wait to buy your photography equipment. Find that photographer, and get that brand. Then you have someone from whom you can borrow equipment. Nov 23 15 09:17 am Link Most photographers out there will tell you to buy this that or the other thing... At the end of the day all you need to do is have something that can capture an image... I often shoot on my iPhone and a shitty film camera that I brought form eBay for £4 and no one knows the difference between those and images that I shoot on my "pro" camera. These days there is so much competition in the camera world that pretty much any brand is comparable in the same price bracket. The best thing to do is start with anything and buy new gear when you come across problems that you can't solve with the gear that you have. There is no prerequisite list of gear that you need for anything only you know what you do and don't need based upon your personal needs. Try for less is more, learn each piece of gear inside out and back to front and don't forget that you can always rent or borrow before you commit to anything. Nov 23 15 02:15 pm Link Quite few models I know have successfully transitioned from modeling to photographer. I suggest not getting to hung up on equipment right now, whatever you buy now you'll most likely replace when you find what YOU want your equipment to do. A good used entry level or prosumer DSLR from one of the big two will be all you need right now. Their is no such thing as a magical camera, only magical photographers. You're a model, ask photographer's that you work with to show you the basics, most photographers you wont be able to shut up when you get them talking about photography and equipment. Just don't do it on their dime. When you are proficient with the basics, find a photographer who's work you admire and see if you can assist them or maybe trade modeling time for mentoring time. Get use to eating Top Ramen 24/7 for the next few years. Good luck! Nov 23 15 10:47 pm Link |