Curious as to what everyone's hardships were when they started out. As i'm a photographer this is geared more towards other photographers, but is open to models, retouchers, designers.
Currently the hardship i have is how to pose the models. I've only been doing this for a few months, and have relied on my MUA to give me pose idea's as she used to model a bit when she was younger.
Another hardship is collecting the gear. As this is a hobby for me, some of the gear is a little harder to acquire then others.
So i'm interested to hear what everyone else's hardships were.
getting models to show up without paying them. setting up the lights so the models can move around freely and still be in the light (switched to umbrellas for that).
a decent model should know some poses. for zivity strip-teases we just work it down in a progression from standing to sitting/squatting to being on the floor.
umbrella's helped that much eh...interesting to know. currently im checking out a few local studio's that offer reasonable hourly rental rates. i want to kinda take away the background as much as possible to concentrate more on the model and perfecting my technique without having too much to think about all at once.
that makes more sense in my head then it does typed out btw lol
Coming up with poses still kicks my ass. Most of the people I work with already know what they want, so that makes it a lot easier on me. I'll look through magazines or on here for ideas a lot.
I started out shooting surfing, and wildlife. Then got hooked up with a micro community newspaper and did about 70% of all their photography. Good glass doesn't come cheap, it's easy to drop between 2 to 4K on a lens depending on what you shoot. If I was just starting out with model type shoots I'd probably start with a cheap 50 or 85 prime.
ya i started out doing landscape/urbanscape and then started editing photo's for my MUA friend. and realized that i liked doing that and that i was extremely dissappointed that it wasn't me taking the photo's. so i decided to try my hand at it to see if would like it. and yup liked it, which brings me to this point lol.
currently my main lens i use is the canon 50mm f1.8, which i love for portraits. pretty good lens for a reasonable price. im also using an older Canon XTi if that puts my gear into any perspective at the moment lol.
Photo editing. Even with the 2 photography clubs I'm in when they critique images the comments are always, always, always based on what should have been done in photo shop ie remove that distraction in the background, darken the bright spot, edit out blah blah... and so on.
I took up photography to distract me from my computer addiction and kill time with something productive. No matter how hard I try, when I sit down at my computer to look up tutorials on how to do photoshop processes I end up looking at facebook, you tube funnies and lol cats. I think my attention spa..... oh look squirrel!
LA StarShooter
Posts: 1,034
Beverly Hills, California, US
Just financial, the cost of gear. To do the kind of shots I want requires certain kinds of lighting and to get the most out of shoot on a location I hire an assistant. When I pick up parking and provide water, and buy batteries, and pay for an assistant, I hit a hundred dollars of financial pain for an outdoors shot. Otherwise it is all rock and roll.
I agree that posing is one of the hardest parts of photographing models in the studio. There is nothing worse than two people looking at each other and neither one knows what to do next.
I suggest looking through the fashion mags and tear out poses you like and are possbile to do. Also looking at MM ports and keeping a copy of the poses you like and want your models to do. I have a folder with poses if I need them.
Generally if you are able to show a model what you want them to do, they will come close and you just need to fine tune the pose. After a while you won't need your cheat sheets any more.
Oh man!
I had a few really big ones that were hard for me starting out!
Learning poses was a difficult one and how to direct a llama that was just starting out.
Getting gear and learning the difference between each of my lenses and why I should use primes or zooms in certain situations
learning off camera flash lighting and lastly really learning editing techniques well enough to have a good work flow for clients.
I had a really rough start in photography
i didn't think people were still posting in here lol.
photoshop hasn't really been an issue for me as i've been using it off and on since photoshop 6. learning the differen't techniques for editing photo's was pretty easily picked up.
and i agree, i work as a desktop service technician for an oil company and spend all day working on computers, i've been slowly tinkering and stream lining my workflow so i don't spend all my time on the computer editing....i mean right now its winter and cold out but i still like to do other things lol
There are always new hurdles and they are always a pain in the ass. First it was all the exposure tech stuff and composition basics. Then using available light, then manufacturing light . . . all the while trying to develop a personal point of view.
I'd say my current challenges are casting and styling. Might have to take a trip to Croatia.
outtamymind photo wrote: Curious as to what everyone's hardships were when they started out. As i'm a photographer this is geared more towards other photographers, but is open to models, retouchers, designers.
Currently the hardship i have is how to pose the models. I've only been doing this for a few months, and have relied on my MUA to give me pose idea's as she used to model a bit when she was younger.
Another hardship is collecting the gear. As this is a hobby for me, some of the gear is a little harder to acquire then others.
So i'm interested to hear what everyone else's hardships were.
I learned early on that in order to support my photography habit I had get paying gigs. So I started shooting weddings at age 16. I borrowed my dads Canon F-1 system back in the 80's to shoot weddings for $300 which was good cash to a high school kid. I also had a side line of touching up IDs. The biggest Hardship in college was working and being a full time student and also convincing family, yes I am majoring in photography in school.
While working as a stringer for one paper, a part shooter lab tech at another paper, and working for the college information office, I learned you can't Spell Cheap without AP and you can't spell Stupid without UPI.
In college when I started to shoot the NFL I learned the importance of solid reliable gear. It does not have to be the latest or best but solid and reliable.
trying to establish myself as an actual creative artist and NOT a pathetic douchebag sociopath with an expensive camera who is just trying to hook up with girls on here.
this site is loaded with them and I wonder if I am outnumbered.
LcD wrote: trying to establish myself as an actual creative artist and NOT a pathetic douchebag sociopath with an expensive camera who is just trying to hook up with girls on here.
this site is loaded with them and I wonder if I am outnumbered.
to help minimize this assumption there's certain genre's i won't do until i've established myself locally. with that being said, i've learned that until that happens everyone can potentially be seen as just another one of those guys/girls with an expensive camera.
I think once you conquer one obstacle you will encounter another. If you get new equipment, you have to learn that. If you get models who can't keep you on your toes you have to make that happen. Your marketing is a hurdle, how you charge is another. I'd say for the most part, almost nothing is just handed to you where you are top notch right off the bat.
Oh lord don't focus on gear, its not that important. The biggest issue starting out for you is posing? OK there are resources for that, heck creative live dot com is running and end of year special on their workshops. Some really amazing workshops have been done this past year, they are inexpensive to buy after the fact and free while live all year. Be on the look out for what they offer in 2013 as well.
Find magazine, photographers, and other visual media that inspires you. Save it, copy it, or whatever and keep it around. Have it at shoots, have it on your wall, whatever it takes to keep you thinking.
I feel I'm still starting out.
My biggest problem here on MM has been and still is getting models to work with me.
This is not unique to me, most photographers here have the same problem from what I read.
I just learned not to take it personally and just shoot out an email and hope for the best. I do have to say that the models that I have had the luck to work with were nothing short of great.
As far as posing goes, I just have a plan of certain shots I want and some posing ideas. Then the model just starts rolling and posing her own ideas which fit her personality the best.
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