Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="aroy" data-source="post: 572547" data-attributes="member: 16090">Yours is a classical dilemma of those who want to change their profession (to earn more or to get better recognition). You have the confidence but have yet to ascertain whether you have the capacity to excel in the new profession, and go further than you can in your present profession. Many of us on this forum are amateur photographers, who do it for the love of it. For us it is more of an enjoyment, rather than a profession, that is why there is such a wide spectrum of suggestions.You have to realise that to achieve the capability of selling images/prints takes time and is a pretty crouded space. It is similar in any profession. Take your case as a Pastry Chef. You do not become a chef just because you have bought the best knife, equipment and fancy pots and pans. Neither do you become one just because you have watched a few videos. You become one after you have worked hard in assimilating both the theory and practice of cooking. After that it is practice, practice, and practice creating mouth watering dishes patrons would die for. One thing to note is that for each profession,  some people have it and some do not. No matter how much you read or practice, if you do not have it in you, you will never become a chef who is in demand, and will remain mediocre. Similarly some people have an eye for images and some do not. Just because you want to and can get fancy equipment does not result in your selling images to make money. There are thousands of people who have a camera and are willing to post excellent images, and some of them even give it away free. So in order to make money from photography you must. Know what people are willing to pay for. Most important know who will pay for what you offer.. Offer the clients some thing they will not get from the competition.. Initially  specialise in a niche which is not overcrowded.Though it may be uncalled for, I would suggest that you get the least expensive camera kit - D3300 with kit 18-55 lens and the 35mm F1.8 DX, and practice for at least a year with this kit. You start with what is familiar to you - food. Pastry photography is a fascinating subject and there are very few photographers who are good at it. Read up as many articles on food photography as you can, and study the images that are selling. Then try to duplicate them with what ever equipment you have. Remember that fancy high end equipment will just make your photography easier as a professional, but the D3300 is equally capable body and if your images are not eye catching and stand out from the snap shots of the general public, then they will never do so with more expensive equipment. After all it is the person behind the camera who matters most.</blockquote>

Verification