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Post by smoothpete on Oct 23, 2023 13:24:02 GMT
Just for fun really. I have done several weddings but unless you're already friends with the people it's not all that much fun. I had a good run with a colleague of mine, doing a kind of double act for some of her friends' weddings and that was pretty cool but we charged fuck all and ultimately we both did it more for enjoyment than anything else. Then at her own wedding she paid for an actual professional but invited me as a kind of unofficial (free) photo bod. That was ideal really! All the fun, none of the stress. Here she is in fact 
I've never actually "sold" photographs or prints. I dunno. Stuff that people might want to buy I guess is stuff like landscapes which is not something I generally do all that much (curse the thames valley and its flatness)
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Binky
Junior Member
Posts: 1,126
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Post by Binky on Oct 23, 2023 13:31:35 GMT
Candids at weddings with no stress because someone is the official photographer is definitely the way to go. My sister asked me to photograph a cake smash thing for my niece at the start of the year which I enjoyed, but the idea of charging for something like that is a huge step which I'm not ready for. I'm definitely thinking more about the around town (I live on the coast) stuff that I shoot. I'm not a landscape photographer by any stretch, but I've taken a few of the town that I get a kick out of. This sort of thing I guess. https://www.instagram.com/p/CuoZ3eLgdAH |
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Post by erniewhatbert on Oct 23, 2023 13:42:13 GMT
Candids at weddings with no stress because someone is the official photographer is definitely the way to go. This is what I like to do for friends. Taking candids at parties and other family/social events is great fun and is always hugely appreciated by everyone. I spend a lot of time on the dancefloor myself and sneaking in photos without a flash in the middle of that is a fun way to tell a story of the night. That's kind of why I didn't go for a Fuji X100 camera, the Sony full-frame ones appear to be much better at the low-light stuff that I enjoy doing the most. |
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Post by smoothpete on Oct 23, 2023 13:47:06 GMT
I wouldn't know where to begin tbh. I see stuff for sale in cafes and that kind of thing, I guess that could be somewhere to begin?
I did joke with a friend about starting a sideline in really bizarre stock photography, just for LOLs.
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Lukus
Junior Member
Posts: 2,723
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Post by Lukus on Oct 23, 2023 19:20:38 GMT
I was watching a YouTube video on this the other day and I've already forgotten most of it, but the biggest takeaway seemed to be that real estate photography was one of the easiest paths into making money from your skill/equipment.
I've half heartedly made steps towards doing more wedding photography in the past, but I'm useless at marketing myself and doing all the necessary networking and SEO, and basically haven't done any of that stuff in two years or more. The jobs I did do were through recommendations and work colleagues mainly. It is definitely a little disheartening when you're trying and failing to get work, especially when you see successful wedding photographers whose work is really basic and even sometimes a bit shitty.
In terms of prints and stuff like that, I sell the odd one here and there, but again, I'm my own worst enemy and hate all the background work you need to do (so don't).
I probably should think about licensing images out through those image sites, but, yeah. Ha. Bloody apathy/fear of failure.
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Tomo
Junior Member
Posts: 3,542
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Post by Tomo on Oct 23, 2023 19:55:22 GMT
I'm looking at the photography on show in this thread and wondering - how many of you have made money from selling your work, or is it all just a bit of fun for you? I'm wondering because I've looked at stuff in galleries around town before and thought, "I'm sure I've got better stuff in my camera roll than on that wall." I don't mean that in a big headed way, I'm just thinking how one goes about monetising a hobby. Getting better at it is clearly the first step, but after that...? I've made maybe 20k over the years as a side hustle. I learned my way around a DSLR on the student newspaper, then moved into club night and gig photography. Made a bit of money out of this from student union. Then got a few paid jobs doing party events. Following this a friend asked me if I'd photograph there wedding. Absolutely lucked out with venue and couple. They were super chill and it was a farm wedding. Got some decent snaps. Did a few more and then realised at my 3rd wedding that shittttt, if this stuff goes wrong, then that's not good. My photography at that wedding was alright but there were a few moments where I thought it was close to disaster. So off the back of that I paid 300 quid to attend a 2-day wedding photographer workshop. It was amazing. Completely eye opening. Changed my approach entirely, met a guy who I second shot with a few times and then applied everything I learned to my own weddings. Wedding photography is about planning and knowing your settings for me. Most weddings follow the same order and hit key beats. You need to know how to manage the situations to get the best results. So, know where to stand during the ceremony, get a sense for when the kiss is going to happen so you don't miss the fking shot, tell the couple you are going to do X group photos and no more otherwise they will take an hour, etc etc. I never advertised and I was hitting 5 weddings a year through word of mouth. I could've easily had more clients, but I couldn't really manage it with full time job. I jacked it in a few years ago as a result. I see my pictures when I visit friend's houses and that's super satisfying. I do kinda feel like I 'completed' wedding photographer. At least on normal mode. Wedding togs tend to crank their prices to attract more and more ridiculous clients not just to get more cash but relieve the boredom of doing the same golf courses and country estates. I hit a kind of point where I was satisfied I could do them well, so didn't feel too gutted about winding down. Still got my camera gear though... Devaluing in the cupboard. But I love my 5Dmk3s. |
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minimatt
Junior Member
hyper mediocrity
Posts: 1,693
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Post by minimatt on Oct 23, 2023 20:22:54 GMT
This doesn't remotely help, but - and please, don't get too starstruck - you're actually looking at Olan Mills Photographer Of The Year. Can't remember which year, maybe 98? Exploitative model which existed to extract cash from new parents before decent digital photography & easy internet printing.
Anyway, the only relevant advice in the 21st century is something life has already taught many of us - that babies puke. A lot. I'd take two spare shirts to work and most days I'd need both.
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Post by smoothpete on Oct 24, 2023 8:17:49 GMT
Please tell me you did stuff like this (I am aware this is a recent parody but there is shit like this out there)
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nexus6
Junior Member
Posts: 2,536
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Post by nexus6 on Oct 24, 2023 8:58:58 GMT
He's the cat
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minimatt
Junior Member
hyper mediocrity
Posts: 1,693
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Post by minimatt on Oct 24, 2023 10:31:03 GMT
in many ways it was worse - they had a set of poses we had to run everyone through with very exact rules - kinda like "rule of thirds" they can be a starting point but shouldn't be restrictive, only here they very much were - everyone was sat/stood at 45 degrees to the camera, half head height staggered, one back light, one key light placed high and a low fill light, run through a bunch of groupings, left/right, different backgrounds - including the oh so cheesy "forest" and "library" backgrounds, jangle keys just long enough to stop the baby crying, get puked on by baby as you hold them while doing mum & dad shots the cameras were good though - 35mm in long reels (dunno how long, a couple would last a day) SLR with the viewfinder replaced with (I'm guessing) a CCD which output to a TV monitor just out of shot over subjects' shoulder, and up/down/tilt/left/right motors & shutter on a remote control it was a churn with 21yr old photographers & everyone else payed minimum wage (actually think this was before minimum wage legislation) but occasionally got the freedom to do something a little bit different, local bands etc.
edit: in fact the more I look at it, smoothpete that's exactly the stuff I did, except nothing as adventurous as a double exposure, naturally. chop out the double exposure, lower & dim the fill light, add a back light, and either sit the woman a little higher or the man a lot higher and you'd have an olan mills photo shot to code.
edit 2: jesus christ just done a google image search for "olan mills photography" and oh my god, yeah exactly like that. That exact same libary background, think we had a different forest background, and clearly the US studios got to do double exposure stuff that we weren't allowed. But yeah, that staggered head height thing was VERY IMPORTANT for some reason
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Post by henroben on Oct 24, 2023 11:16:31 GMT
in many ways it was worse - they had a set of poses we had to run everyone through with very exact rules - kinda like "rule of thirds" they can be a starting point but shouldn't be restrictive, only here they very much were - everyone was sat/stood at 45 degrees to the camera, half head height staggered, one back light, one key light placed high and a low fill light, run through a bunch of groupings, left/right, different backgrounds - including the oh so cheesy "forest" and "library" backgrounds, jangle keys just long enough to stop the baby crying, get puked on by baby as you hold them while doing mum & dad shots the cameras were good though - 35mm in long reels (dunno how long, a couple would last a day) SLR with the viewfinder replaced with (I'm guessing) a CCD which output to a TV monitor just out of shot over subjects' shoulder, and up/down/tilt/left/right motors & shutter on a remote control it was a churn with 21yr old photographers & everyone else payed minimum wage (actually think this was before minimum wage legislation) but occasionally got the freedom to do something a little bit different, local bands etc.
edit: in fact the more I look at it, smoothpete that's exactly the stuff I did, except nothing as adventurous as a double exposure, naturally. chop out the double exposure, lower & dim the fill light, add a back light, and either sit the woman a little higher or the man a lot higher and you'd have an olan mills photo shot to code.
edit 2: jesus christ just done a google image search for "olan mills photography" and oh my god, yeah exactly like that. That exact same libary background, think we had a different forest background, and clearly the US studios got to do double exposure stuff that we weren't allowed. But yeah, that staggered head height thing was VERY IMPORTANT for some reason
This is pretty standard for kids / school photography firms in my experience. The work is often seasonal, e.g. no work at all in summer holidays for a school photographer so they tend to have a lot of churn. They'll have stripped down and simplified the shooting set up & styles for a variety of reasons, to make it as idiot proof as possible and for the results to be as consistent as possible i.e. lights go HERE and subject goes HERE etc. So not only do you end up with a shot that looks like what you're advertising but you've also got a more streamlined process going from photographer to lab to finished print. It also frees up the photographer to deal with what is often the hardest part of the job - dealing with children! Wrangling hundreds of unruly schoolchildren or an out of control toddler is bad enough without worrying about the setup as well. Just set it, forget it and take the photos... |
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Post by henroben on Oct 24, 2023 11:37:02 GMT
I'm looking at the photography on show in this thread and wondering - how many of you have made money from selling your work, or is it all just a bit of fun for you? I'm wondering because I've looked at stuff in galleries around town before and thought, "I'm sure I've got better stuff in my camera roll than on that wall." I don't mean that in a big headed way, I'm just thinking how one goes about monetising a hobby. Getting better at it is clearly the first step, but after that...? I've made a bit over the years, certainly enough to pay for all my camera gear and several holidays, which is all you can really ask from a hobby I think. Anything more than that and you're starting to get into actual 'job' territory and that's something I actively avoided for photography, as I wanted to keep it just a hobby. I've done weddings, but they're hard work and too much pressure to be much fun, especially if you're the only or the principle photographer. Working as an assistant doing candids etc. is much more fun, but having to do the groups etc. is just a pain. I'll occasionally help out a friend now, but I don't do them for strangers any more. I've done some product or location photography over the years as well. Flowers for florists, or room shots for hotels, that kind of thing. Can be technically interesting, but again, usually a lot of work behind the scenes as it were e.g. set dressing & clean up for rooms etc. The micro stock libraries can give you a small steady income, but unless you're prepared to amass a huge amount of photos and keep refreshing them / updating stuff it's unlikely to ever be more than pin money really. Local shows / exhibiting in a local cafe etc. is usually more of an ego boost than a money making venture. You'll usually sell something, but it's very variable as to how much. If you had some lights in the old days you used to be able to make some money doing head shots / staff photos for local businesses but nowadays most don't bother hiring a photographer and just do it themselves with their phones etc. |
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Post by jeepers on Oct 27, 2023 16:53:24 GMT
smoothpeteI finally got around to claiming my broken x100t on insurance. Was going to replace with the x100v but stock is a disaster; where’d you get yours from? Ta!
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Post by smoothpete on Oct 29, 2023 6:42:36 GMT
Clifton cameras. I had to wait a while, just fyi.
In the end I actually decided I didn’t like it for some reason so I’m back to my X100F, and traded in the V against a used X-Pro3 and an X-T3
Sad news though. I bricked the X-T3 yesterday. We got caught in torrential, god awful rain for quite a while. Camera was in my bag but I didn’t realise rain was getting into the bag and was pooling in the bottom. So the camera was sat in a puddle for like 2 hours. I’ve tried drying it out but it’s totally fucked. I just bit the bullet and bought another used one on eBay.
Literally took 4 photos with it then killed it.
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Post by jeepers on Oct 29, 2023 8:23:59 GMT
Thanks Pete - and really sorry to hear about the XT3; that’s really shitty luck.
Re the X100V - I think you mentioned that there was something with the images that it produced not having the “feel” of earlier X100s. Is that what drove you to swap it back?
Given the scarcity of the X100V I was considering an XT3 with the 27mm pancake lens. How’d you find that camera in terms of size, handling and image quality? I was drawn to the X100 because it was so simple and so focused so wondering what I’d gain(interchangeable lenses) vs what I’d lose - any thoughts appreciated!
Thanks!
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Post by smoothpete on Oct 29, 2023 8:41:24 GMT
I’ll write a full reply once I’m back home 👍
You’ve made me wonder though. I might be able to claim the X-T3 on my house insurance
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Post by jeepers on Oct 29, 2023 8:57:07 GMT
Thanks again Pete.
Re the home insurance - I claimed against my x100t a few days back - they paid out with no fuss and valued the new-for-old replacement x100v at £1650 given the lack of stock.
Well worth a call I reckon - good luck!
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Post by smoothpete on Oct 29, 2023 10:28:30 GMT
On the subject of the X100F vs X100V
There’s an Aldi near my house. I shop there all the time and I’m extremely familiar with it.
Last week I went to the newer, nicer Aldi on the other side of town. It is better than my Aldi in every category you could think of. Friendlier staff (this is not hard, my Aldi sets a very low bar here), more produce, overall very very similar but better. However I think there is a kind of Aldi uncanny valley thing happening because I prefer my local one. Subtle improvements but so similar as to make it extra weird. And the eggs were in the wrong place.
I don’t need to go across town to the better Aldi as my one is absolutely fine and I know where the eggs are.
Analogy over.
FOR ME the V felt different in the hand, the shutter button had a different feel, few other things. I felt much more digital overall which wasn’t what I was looking for from it.
In terms of your needs:
The X-T3 does feel very nice in the hand. I can’t personally vouch for the image quality but people generally rave about it. If it were me I would not get the pancake lens but instead the 23mm f2 R WR
Also though you might want to consider the X-Pro3. Obviously depends whether you use the screen much (I do not). If feels like a natural upgrade from any X100 model. Familiar but different enough plus great build quality and interchangeable lenses. Also it’s just cool as fuck
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Post by jeepers on Oct 29, 2023 13:43:10 GMT
Thanks Pete - that’s a useful view. Interested in what you were saying about the V feeling more “digital”.
Good luck with the XT3 insurance claim!
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Lukus
Junior Member
Posts: 2,723
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Post by Lukus on Nov 13, 2023 17:07:54 GMT
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Day
New Member
Posts: 117
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Post by Day on Nov 13, 2023 17:33:38 GMT
Nice, reminds me of Sugimoto's Seascapes, with the sea being at moments of tranquility! |
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askew
Full Member
Posts: 6,831
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Post by askew on Dec 10, 2023 17:29:45 GMT
Has anybody used Clifton Cameras? I purchased a lens, which I understood they needed to order in, but it's been radio silence since. I've emailed asking for a status update.
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Post by freddiemercurystwin on Dec 10, 2023 20:33:17 GMT
Hmm, look a bit dodgy to me, the street view of their address does not bode well, their reviews are 99% 5* which is also a giveaway. They have a phone contact - have you phoned them? If not why not?
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Lukus
Junior Member
Posts: 2,723
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Post by Lukus on Dec 10, 2023 20:50:13 GMT
Clifton are legit. They've been around for years. Just email them for an update. Wex are the same when something is out of stock.
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Post by smoothpete on Dec 11, 2023 5:56:28 GMT
Yeah they’re legit, no need to be concerned but worth contacting them for an update
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askew
Full Member
Posts: 6,831
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Post by askew on Dec 11, 2023 11:12:24 GMT
Hmm. Didn’t realise the release date would be so nebulous. Not happy having them hold the full amount for an unspecified length of time.
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Post by freddiemercurystwin on Dec 11, 2023 11:55:47 GMT
Hmm, look a bit dodgy to me, the street view of their address does not bode well, Oh my mistake they're shop is legit, google maps failed me yesterday. |
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Post by smoothpete on Dec 11, 2023 12:03:21 GMT
I tried to buy something off them once but it was back ordered so I only paid a £5 deposit at the time. In the end I found the item elsewhere and they refunded the fiver.
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Post by smoothpete on Dec 29, 2023 18:20:44 GMT
So I did a dumb thing recently and bought a 2nd hand Fuji GFX 50R (medium format) because it seemed like a good deal and I'm fairly sure it's going to be a future cult classic camera. I've just been playing around with it a bit and took this snapshot of my friend. Not a good photo or anything, I'm posting it just as an example:
I've never really been one to pixel peep but fucking hell the detail is just extraordinary. |
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Rich
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Posts: 1,994 
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Post by Rich on Jan 7, 2024 19:02:16 GMT
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