Interested in maybe a career. Chastin from Jonesboro, Arkansas :)

Chastin

New member
Hi all. I have always been fascinated by photography and figured it was my time. Yesterday I bought a Nikon D3200 and have fallen in love with it. I'm a senior in high school this year and haven't had a clue what to do with my life but I am starting to grow a passion for photography. I want to shoot just about everything but focus on cars and urban environments. What advice would you recomend for a youngster thinking about a photography career and just improving myself as my skills currently are less than acceptable. :p I have started to read my owners manual and am going to crack down on the basics like shutter speed, aperature, ISO, etc.
Thanks again! :)
 

pedroj

Senior Member
Welcome

Tough choice with all the camera owners...Get a good education and a trade/diplomas of sorts..

By all means learn all you can photography wise and who knows you may get a break
 

Stangman98

Senior Member
Study as much art as you can too. I think it will really help. Also make sure to hang out on Nikonites and ask any questions that you may have.
 

Dave_W

The Dude
If you want to be a photographer here's the advice I was given as a kid and I think it's still excellent advice -

-Go to school, become a lawyer, doctor or businessman, work for 20+ yrs and save your money and THEN you can afford to be a professional photographer.
 

Phillydog1958

Senior Member
You can also seek out a bachelor's degree in photojournalism. University of Arkansas might just have a Journalism school with a photojournalism program. Go Razorbacks! Suuuuweee . . . ;)
 

Chastin

New member
Haha thanks guys! A career is just a thought right now. It's just a thought. But I went to a local movie theatre that is being torn down and took some shots. I was happy with a few, considering this is only my 3rd day with my camera. I'll try to post some soon. And @phillydog, I think they do but I am going to ASU. ASU has photography classes but you have to have taken I think 3ish art classes BEFORE you can even start beginner photography. I haven't been in many art classes and that scares me away.
 

Ruidoso Bill

Senior Member
Haha thanks guys! A career is just a thought right now. It's just a thought. But I went to a local movie theatre that is being torn down and took some shots. I was happy with a few, considering this is only my 3rd day with my camera. I'll try to post some soon. And @phillydog, I think they do but I am going to ASU. ASU has photography classes but you have to have taken I think 3ish art classes BEFORE you can even start beginner photography. I haven't been in many art classes and that scares me away.

Many of the community colleges have great classes in photography and post processing like photoshop that are taught by experienced photographers. good place to start. Also check around and see if there are any photography clubs in your area. Great source for fellowship and learning also.
 

McNikon

Senior Member
Here are some things you can do right now that will help you massively with whatever you next step might be.

Start a blog to post your photos and stories. Not random photos, but stories with 3 or more photos. Get across your ideas. Make a twitter account and post about what you're doing. Don't be obnoxious and spam links. It makes people think you don't care about your work. Don't expect many hits, what's important is you practice presentation and ways of expressing yourself. People want to work with people they like. Your actual ability often comes second to that.

Get in contact with successful working photographers. People who are working where you want to work in 10 or 20 years. In the UK there's a thing called shadowing where you go and follow someone all day (with their consent of course!) to learn more about their job. Call and email people tell them who you are and what you want to achieve. If you're polite, straightforward, and focused, you'll be surprised how helpful very busy people can be. Bring some of your photos to show them. Who you know can determine where you get career wise. If you only mix with people in your local area, who themselves mix with local people, then you're not going to get very far.

Remember that there are many jobs which involve working with images not just pure photography. Try and get some experience of different 'image focused' work environments, for example art galleries, magazines, TV or whatever you can find. Are there any newspapers near you? Ask what events they will be covering and if you can take pictures for them. Tell them you will do it for free and they only pay you if they use the images. If people don't reply to your emails or answer their phone, call someone in the same organisation. The worst that can happen is you get a restraining order filed against you. No really the worst that can happen is nothing.

Don't waste time with those boring photography magazines. They're about technique rather than art; you can find all you need about technique on the internet. Those magazines are very limiting for your imagination.

Photography is something which is easy to teach yourself. Keep practising and studying other people's work. Only study the best. There's no need to pay for a photography course everything you need is online. Sounds like you've got a good camera so that's a brilliant start.

I would personally not recommend doing your bachelor degree in photography. Studying an arts or social science subject will give you a broader education which is essential for developing ideas. You can always write about photography related topics for your coursework. Remember it's the ideas you have behind the camera which count. You can have a beautiful picture but if it says nothing about a subject then don't expect people to show much interest. Look at this: one guy is taking pictures with Google Streetview How Google Street View is inspiring new photography | Art and design | The Observer

I'm glad to hear you went to that old cinema. That's exactly the kind of thing you should keep doing. Read newspapers and blogs and see what's going on - what stories do you see which could be told through photographs? Bookmark this page Photography news, reviews, comment and features | Art and design | The Guardian and this one New York Times Photojournalism - Photography, Video and Visual Journalism Archives - Lens Blog - NYTimes.com and you'll find many like those elsewhere.

Keep practising and expanding your horizons. Images are more important now than ever and you'll find many careers where an eye for a good picture is in demand. However there are few jobs for people who solely take still photographs. Practice with film too, and writing. You could write brief passages to accompany your photos.
 
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Chastin

New member
@McNikon I cannot thank you enough. You have given me so much inspiration, and ideas to work with. I'm going to take all of your advise. Iv been dealing with two deaths in the family and a cousin with a car wreck who has been in critical care for a while. You gave me something to look forward to, and it helps ease my mind a little. Thank you.
 
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