The Official Photography Thread - Vol. 3

[jordansf]

 
Went for a drive along the coast today

Yours?

 

[justincrediblee]

Anyone ever invest in a 35mm L 1.4 from Canon? Wanna know if it's worth the true hefty price that it is.

I bought the first version a few months ago on Amazon for like $995 or something. I love it. Fits my style perfectly. I didn't really care looking into what the difference was with the new one since I knew this would do everything I needed it to, so I'd definitely go that route if budget is a concern. No regrets.

 

[Fong$tarr]

This is rad. Wedding shoot on Everest:

http://uproxx.com/life/mount-everes...d&utm_campaign=Feed:+uproxx/features+(UPROXX)

 

[picasso swerve]

Thats dope as hell.


Shot wih my T5 today with a 50 and a 24. Man I really do need that 35, switching between lenses and making sure the pics with the 24 arent too distorted is work.

 

[bjamez20]

 
Yours?

Yup, just traded in the BRZ for it prior to making the move to Portland. Should enable some fun adventures out here

 

[Fong$tarr]

^^^^You moved from SF to Portland? For a job or just different change of scenery?

 

[bjamez20]

^^^^You moved from SF to Portland? For a job or just different change of scenery?

Change of scenery. Job went remote back in October (which is why I was trekking out to Mt Tam all the time 

) and as soon as my lease was up I decided to switch things up.

 

[Fong$tarr]

Nice man. Just don't tell them you are from Cali. That west coast hate. Haha.

My cousin lives up there and his wife is an anchor for KOIN 6 named Jennifer Hoff. Good city. I would make the move if I didn't have family to deal with in the Bay Area. It really sucks here but it's hard to leave as well.

 

[bjamez20]

Nice man. Just don't tell them you are from Cali. That west coast hate. Haha.

My cousin lives up there and his wife is an anchor for KOIN 6 named Jennifer Hoff. Good city. I would make the move if I didn't have family to deal with in the Bay Area. It really sucks here but it's hard to leave as well.

The CA hate up here is real. It's funny because people are constantly complaining about traffic, congestion, and cost of living, but it's a joke compared to the Bay Area. People here don't realize how good they've got it 

I'd been debating making the move for a while, finally decided to take a leap of faith and just go for it. One by one my whole family had been leaving the Bay. No regrets so far, and a ton of new places to get out and shoot!

 

[Nawzlew]

Trying to schedule grad ports out here but it's annoying as **** when dudes be pricing their **** WAY below market.

 

[keko jones]

Trying to schedule grad ports out here but it's annoying as **** when dudes be pricing their **** WAY below market.

just curious, how long have you been doing this? How long have they been doing this? How you know what's market pricing? Just curious.

 

[djyoung08]

Trying to schedule grad ports out here but it's annoying as **** when dudes be pricing their **** WAY below market.

Be careful with blaming other photographers about you not getting booked.

I'm not saying that what you said isn't part of the issue but if you not getting booked is a pie, how big of a slice is other photographer's prices?

I can't find your website w/ your pricing and portfolio so im not saying you aren't worth what you're asking.

 

[Nawzlew]

Trying to schedule grad ports out here but it's annoying as **** when dudes be pricing their **** WAY below market.

Be careful with blaming other photographers about you not getting booked.

I'm not saying that what you said isn't part of the issue but if you not getting booked is a pie, how big of a slice is other photographer's prices?

I can't find your website w/ your pricing and portfolio so im not saying you aren't worth what you're asking.

Oh not, I'm not really complaining about the bookings, just the pricing themselves. I'm not even really talking about myself.

FWIW, the postings I see are on my university's marketplace groups. I'll see photographers who offer great work, where they charge more but they get very little attention.

But people that offer lower quality work at half their price get a lot of responses.

It's just frustrating to see, that's all.

 

[Fong$tarr]

Oh not, I'm not really complaining about the bookings, just the pricing themselves. I'm not even really talking about myself.

FWIW, the postings I see are on my university's marketplace groups. I'll see photographers who offer great work, where they charge more but they get very little attention.

But people that offer lower quality work at half their price get a lot of responses.

It's just frustrating to see, that's all.

Photography as a job is just terrible in general. It'd be super hard to rely on it solely as your number one income. I know people that did well but by the end of it, got a normal job and did it on the side. Too many people out there trying to do the same thing and honestly there is no market rate for prices. A photographer trying to get in the industry would just undercut everyone's prices. I've been to a few wedding fairs and there is that one person offering the cheapest price as if that is his window into getting work rather than showing his work in general. I hate to say it but with photos, people still want to pay cheaper than they would want.

By the end of it, if you work is good and you build credibility, the demand will be there and your price will ultimately be worth more.

 

[Fozz]

Man, I miss driving a 4Runner.

And I miss taking photos. 

 

[HankHill]

For something like college grad photos, people tend to go cheap. A lot of college students tend to have low budgets. They also have friends, or know someone, in a photography class or picking up the hobby that will probably be willing to shoot them for free. That's your pricing competition.

A sharp image with better quality than a cellphone and bokeh is pretty much the bare minimum a student wants. A new photographer can easily give them that with a T5i, a 50mm 1.8, and outdoor lighting by a school's statue. They can afford to charge low.

 

[Fong$tarr]

^^^^^^That's true. You don't need real top notch gear to get good portraits. If you understand light, you almost don't really need any additional equipment to get a good photo. Photoshop at one point was the key selling point where not a lot of people knew how to do it but now, almost everyone is good with at least using Lightroom.



I have a friend that tried to get into this as a side gig. He literally has his own camera store with 3 Profoto strobes, 3 camera bodies and all sorts of lens. He tried to get into doing engagement photos but just didn't have the patience for it. He later transitions to shooting sports photography and even bought the 300mm lens that is like $6K. His reasoning behind it was that the schools in SF have rich parents and shooting photos of their kids playing really was an easy win into getting decent money. He's doing a lot of pro bono work though but he's slowly getting clients here and there. All this can transition to doing graduation photos, senior portraits and more.

 

[djyoung08]

Trying to schedule grad ports out here but it's annoying as **** when dudes be pricing their **** WAY below market.

Be careful with blaming other photographers about you not getting booked.

I'm not saying that what you said isn't part of the issue but if you not getting booked is a pie, how big of a slice is other photographer's prices?

I can't find your website w/ your pricing and portfolio so im not saying you aren't worth what you're asking.

Oh not, I'm not really complaining about the bookings, just the pricing themselves. I'm not even really talking about myself.

FWIW, the postings I see are on my university's marketplace groups. I'll see photographers who offer great work, where they charge more but they get very little attention.

But people that offer lower quality work at half their price get a lot of responses.

It's just frustrating to see, that's all.

Very true.

More people shop at JC penny's than nordstrom.... there's a market for both.

Problem is photography is subjective and photographers who haven't really proven themselves try to ask for prices that are crazy.

Building a value proposition greater than a picture that is in focus and well exposed is what is necessary.

 

[wolf reynolds]

Hello all, 

I'm becoming pretty decent with my kit lens that came with my Nikon D3300, but my best friend has asked me to take photos of my godson for his baseball season. Not so much in motion pictures, but him posing so they can have pics instead of buying from a company lol. What lens would you all recommend? I've been thinking about getting a 50mm or 35mm anyways, so advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[djyoung08]

Hello all, 

I'm becoming pretty decent with my kit lens that came with my Nikon D3300, but my best friend has asked me to take photos of my godson for his baseball season. Not so much in motion pictures, but him posing so they can have pics instead of buying from a company lol. What lens would you all recommend? I've been thinking about getting a 50mm or 35mm anyways, so advice would be greatly appreciated.

Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G (if you want some awesome background blur)
http://amzn.to/2ni0vW0

For portraits I highly recommend 85mm. Nikons 85mm 1.8g is a great choice
http://amzn.to/2pENF90

For an all around upgrade to your kit lens --- Tamron Auto Focus 17-50mm F/2.8 SP XR Di II VC
http://amzn.to/2pEFYPV

If you got the $$$ to spend and want a phenomenal all around portrait lens:
http://amzn.to/2pBVGtl

 

[dragicon]

Hello all, 

I'm becoming pretty decent with my kit lens that came with my Nikon D3300, but my best friend has asked me to take photos of my godson for his baseball season. Not so much in motion pictures, but him posing so they can have pics instead of buying from a company lol. What lens would you all recommend? I've been thinking about getting a 50mm or 35mm anyways, so advice would be greatly appreciated.

What is your kit lens? A 35 would probably not be a wise choice as you don't want a wide angle for posed shots. With a d3300, you'd want at least the 50, and probably something even longer. Your kit lens could probably do what you are looking to do.

 

[kdawg]

The kit is 18-55 but the max aperture is probably 3.5 or something - really tough to get good object separation with that.

The 50 1.8G would be nice and is great value. You can also get away with a 70-300 at a bigger aperture - the increased length gives good bokeh and they're at cheaper than a really fast lens. Worth a look.

 

[djyoung08]

So in lieu of what Nawzlew was talking about yesterday w/ prices and being undercut...

I met w/ my first potential 2018 bride and they immediately jumped to my two highest priced packages... one for 4k and one for 6k. Neither of which include products for the engagement shoot other than save the dates

I've also gotten away from "giving" digitals away.

All of my new clients have to purchase prints and have artwork created through me.

I've largely transitioned into "in person sales" or a Full Service Photographer.

Its amazing what kind of prices you can demand when you roll up to a consultation w/ an 11x14 box full of matted prints and a 12x9 60 page/30 spread album.

They been acting like im a gawd amongst photographers.

One chick i met w/ 2 weeks ago is a graduating college senior and she's looking to open her budget from 500$ to $850 to afford my prices.

We out here growing in 2017 bruhs... Never give up on your dreams.

19 months ago I second shot and even was a lead photographer on a wedding for FREE

Now we cooking.

All about making these memories and artwork for clients

 

[djyoung08]

I have a Sony NEX-5 that I always just use on auto and do editing on Photoshop.

After seeing a lot of GREAT displays of photography in this thread I am interested in:
1. READING - to develop a better understanding of how DSLRs actually work
2. Improving my shots
2. buying a "real" DSLR... I'll be stuck with this NEX-5 for a while though. lol

Spoiler: Some of my mediocre shots

Bros... we've come a long way since my first post in this thread in janurary 2013

 

[doxen5703]

Bros... we've come a long way since my first post in this thread in janurary 2013

Repped both posts.