Hi there my name is Joel. And While I am not a "Pro" Photographer? I'm not necessarily a newbie either.

In High School, I played around a lot with Cameras. My Sister, who worked for a development studio that made film to large poster format adds...(Think Burger King Backlit Whopper Photos of the 70s-90-s before digital.) Taught me the basics of Photography and I thought I knew it all... My Dad Bought me a Minolta X-370 and I took a lot of racing Photos from the Stands...

I fell out of Photography when I got married... My wife and I could barely rub 2 nickels to make a dime.. Later, and after kids, I did what every wanna be "I know Photography" guy and bought a Nikon D40... Used that for a bit in Auto Mode just to grab Kid shots and family events... And Got disgusted when Every friend I had who could rub 10 dimes to make a dollar get a more expensive Nikon and proclaim themselves a pro photographer... Pfft... Whatever... Yeah, their shots were good... But a Pro?

So then in 2016, a combination of things happened... I could almost rub 5-dollar bills to make a 5 Dollar Bill... I   had a Motorcycle that I loved but had a very close if I was 6 inches to the left that would have been a head-on instead of my elbow hitting the person's rearview mirror on their door.. Thus, I decided to sell the Motorcycle and get a cool car that I could Bring to a Car Show maybe... And My favorite person to talk about cars with, my Dad, became housebound...

So I got a 1995 Corvette that didn't need too much work... And I started to go to car shows with my phone and showing to my Dad... But he could not see them on my phone... So I created a simple website to throw them up on and used his firestick to browse them on a big screen...

In 2017 I was getting Angry that I was missing a Car Show, or my wife would throw away the flyers for other Car Shows... So - I decided to create a website about Car Shows and I used a Calendar Add-on to post Car Shows and Automotive events not just for me but for Other Enthusiasts... I decided to Dust off the ole DSLR and take some pictures but I said to myself: "Self, You should really go into manual mode and take some awesome pictures of these Cars... This DSLR should beat your Motorola Smart Phone..."

I became Angry, that I thought I knew what I was doing but realized I had become so out of practice that I would not be able to make images as good as my phone... So I did what every Photographer who is in denial and blamed the old DSLR and bought a Newer Canon... And became even angrier when the same results happened...

So I google how to take better pictures...  And have some "Ahh Ha!" moments but I still feel like I'm not getting where I thought I was... I found this Couple in CT who have a you-tube Chael and They sell a Book... I tucked away my pride and bought the book and I started to re-learn photography and suddenly Pictures of Cars would come out better than my Phone while shooting in Manual...

I would Go to Car Shows, write up a blog of what I say at the Show and post a Galery of the Cars... People would walk up to me at shows and thank me for taking such a great shot of their Cars... In 2018 My Dad passed away and before he died he called me at work to say how much he loved my website and how cool it was and how nice it was for him to feel like he went to the show with me...

I was at a show in 2020 after events were slowly allowed to happen after COVID, where there was a "Calendar Model" contest and shoot happening... I had just finished taking photos of all the Cars currently there and looked over to see a photographer surrounded by 9 of the contestants... I figured I would go over. Take a few photos of the action and if they yelled at me. Meh... It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission right?

The Photographer was on the ground and there is another photographer with him as well... I'm taking shots of him and also a few of the models in front of the cars... So the Photographer gets up...Looks at me and my Canon 7D with my Got To Lens (Canon 17-40mm f4 L) (Oh I had upgraded a few times by this time.) and  he says: "Oh Cool 3 Profesional Photographers and 9 Ladies means 3 ladies per Photographer, this will make it easier." And I chuckled and I said: "Oh I'm not a Professional I just take shots for my silly website about Car Shows."

And the first time ever, Someone I didn't know, Knew who I was... And said, "Yeah Joel I know who you are, I hit up your website all the time, Your shots are awesome..." So he said to follow him and he began to teach me a little bit of how to take pictures of the Models who some had experience and some did not... He introduce me to all of them and I did my first ever Model shoot... 

I returned to that event a few times got to know the ladies just a tiny bit, and Got yelled at by my wife who saw pictures of one of the ladies I allowed to pose with her tush on the hood of my Car, (Cause I don't allow her to lean on the Car.) And I wrote 2 blog entries..One about the Cars and one about the first time I shot something other than Cars...

I realized I needed to up my Gear a bit...And found some uses lenses more conducive to shooting the models...  I began shooting portraits for my family...I did my son's Senior Portraits... His Prom Pictures... My Daughter went to Prom this year and we did a shoot with her and all of her friends at an outdoor location and the parents were static when I gave them the shots... My Daughter just asked me to do her senior portrait and we have been going through a few ideas...

And Here I am... I still have a lot to learn... My Portfolio is limited to some of those shots from that fateful day...I intend to add more including some of my Best Automotive Shots... I dunno what I want to do... Or what I intend to get out of here to be honest... I kind of Swore I would never call myself a Pro Photographer... Like I said I'm still learning...

I now shoot both Canon and Sony mostly with Canon Glass... And Now in Full Frame... Sonty Glass is soooo Expensive and the used online store I buy from does not have sony Glass any cheaper than brand new yet but I score amazing deals on Canon Gear... I have an Sony a7r mark I and a Mark II as my primary... But I just picked up a used Canon 5D Mark III really cheap and I dunno...I may go back to that... I have found that some lenses that work fantastic on the sony sometimes do not on the canon and vise versa so I may switch it up... SO we'll see

Anyway...That's my Long sordid boring story... I suppose I should mention I am in New Hampshire... New England...

Peace ou my Brothers and Sisters and all the others as well...

-=Joel=-

so-You enjoy taking photos of cars and You attended a Car Show where You also took some photos of some Car Show Models-You have purchased some expensive camera equipment but do not consider yourself a Pro

What are You seeking to gain from joining this site ?

Also you have learned that Sony lenses do not work on Canon.

"Pro" is just a meaningless word. Just relax and enjoy taking pictures. Don't worry about what people say.

Oh yes, take this out of your profile: "While I do not consider myself a professional Photographer".

Shock!!  You say "creepy old man" like it was a bad thing. :-)   When you have to wait 2 or 3 days to know if a shot is "hot" instead of just a good picture, your not just a creepy old man.

"Pro" is as much about attitude as it is about $. It's not something you claim to be, it's how you are regarded by the people you work with.

Lately I've been doing a bit of product photography on referrals, often in trade for the product. Some of that stuff is pricey.

"creepy old guy"

Most of us are old these days.

Just chill and don't be so hyper.

Most People don’t even know what they think of themselves -why worry about what they think of You.

I know next to nothing about Car Photography but if the successful formula for doing such photography includes having Models in the Shots -then wouldn’t it make sense to have Models in the Shots especially if You wish to monetize the site somewhere down the line …

But maybe You could try something different -how about shots of cars with their owners ?

I think though that if You go the Model Route it might work out better if You keep it classy rather than cheesy

Oh and I wanted to add that I’ve been shooting with a Canon Rebel for the past 15 yrs

This would probably make some other Photographers smirk

But I’ve never had any Model or Agency ask me what sort of gear that I use

So I guess that I am saying that I don’t believe that the type of camera you own makes you a Pro or not

To me the term Professional relates to whether a Photographer can earn a Living from their Photography or not

And to me the term is not synonymous with the terms trained, skilled or even successful ( I consider myself successful because I am shooting what I want to shoot and how I wish to shoot… creatively and not commercially )

Watch this, critique your work, and decide, which one are you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pw-bso3DJA

You guys actually read all of that??!

The word "Pro" when used to refer to a photographer simply means that they make money from photography in one way or another.
If you use it when referring to a model it may be interpreted as meaning something else.