The Official Photography Thread - Vol. 3

[Fong$tarr]

^^^^^Salute! That's dope. Wedding photography business seems like a beast of a thing to do but perhaps you are just a better person than I am. When I get married months back, it was just so hard to pick the right person and yet, we did pick wrong in the long run. There was no way a person would have exceeded my expectations anyways but then thinking about it, there is no way I could exceed someone's wedding expectations either. I guess you are a better person than I am. Congrats man!

 

[dvsonm]

Congrats djyoung08 you're living the dream man. Keep killing it

 

[djyoung08]

^^^^^Salute! That's dope. Wedding photography business seems like a beast of a thing to do but perhaps you are just a better person than I am. When I get married months back, it was just so hard to pick the right person and yet, we did pick wrong in the long run. There was no way a person would have exceeded my expectations anyways but then thinking about it, there is no way I could exceed someone's wedding expectations either. I guess you are a better person than I am. Congrats man!

Fong in all honesty you're a different monster than most. You're actually a really good photographer whereas my typical client thinks im an absolute wizard because I can make the background blurry and make them not look fat.

There are plenty of people who have expressed missing a mark in terms of volume of images delivered but whatever.. I've never missed any key moments and things like that... I love photography and the worst day as a photographer has been better than my best days as a programmer.

I appreciate the kind words though bro!

 

[djyoung08]

Congrats djyoung08 you're living the dream man. Keep killing it

Thank you bruh. I enjoy your ig feed a lot!!

 

[tokes99]

Big day y'all!

I put in my letter of resignation to my database software engineering / consulting career of 6.5 years yesterday to pursue to my dreams with photography.

I have enough weddings lined up to exceed my current income for next year already with no sign of things even remotely slowing down.

I've been working my *** of for this the past 24 months.

I cant wait to finally have the time and more importantly mental head space available to me to pursue even more!!

Thank you all for the support. I've been watching the thread more than posting lately. The past 3-4 pages have been insane with all the travel shots.

#dopeness! congratulations bruv!! what made right now the time? could you no longer feasibly do both??

 

[jkballer5]

Dude congrats! djyoung08 ! Great to see someone's hard work pay off and dreams coming true!

 

[dvsonm]

Thank you bruh. I enjoy your ig feed a lot!!

Means alot coming from you homie. Appreciate it

 

[djyoung08]

#dopeness! congratulations bruv!! what made right now the time? could you no longer feasibly do both??

not being able to reasonably do both and really my own personal happiness.

Its your typical story of not really enjoying my 9-5.

I finally broke a ratio of income where my main job was hindering from making more money AND doing something i love.

It became necessary to drop the thing that made less and i couldnt stand.

 

[Fong$tarr]

Fong in all honesty you're a different monster than most. You're actually a really good photographer whereas my typical client thinks im an absolute wizard because I can make the background blurry and make them not look fat.

There are plenty of people who have expressed missing a mark in terms of volume of images delivered but whatever.. I've never missed any key moments and things like that... I love photography and the worst day as a photographer has been better than my best days as a programmer.

I appreciate the kind words though bro!

That's the thing. I shoot what I know I can do. I mean I've gone out of my realm and shot things that are different than what I normally shoot but weddings are a no go for me. I've never caught any magic moments from the little engagement shoots I've done. I don't have the personality to bring out the best in a couple. It's really a different animal. Perhaps one day I can shadow someone but for now, I'll leave it to people like you....the pros.

 

[doxen5703]

I wanna get my girl’s younger brother a camera bag for his birthday. Can anyone recommend a backpack style one that’s budget friendly?

 

[Fong$tarr]

^^^^^Amazon has a lot of AmazonBasic bags that are really inexpensive. From what I've heard, they aren't terrible either but I've never seen one in person yet.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...ronics&field-keywords=amazonbasics+camera+bag

Lowepro has some budget stuff too that isn't terrible:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/co...wVgEAQYASABEgKX5_D_BwE&is=REG&m=Y&sku=1163441

And this is my go to Incase bag I use most of the time when I am not shooting serious. I love slings when I want to grab and shoot really quick and put it away after. If it is a more serious shoot, then I'll use my larger bags.

https://www.incase.com/products/camera/dslr/incase-dslr-sling-pack

 

[airnikesnhats]

Big day y'all!

I put in my letter of resignation to my database software engineering / consulting career of 6.5 years yesterday to pursue to my dreams with photography.

I have enough weddings lined up to exceed my current income for next year already with no sign of things even remotely slowing down.

I've been working my *** of for this the past 24 months.

I cant wait to finally have the time and more importantly mental head space available to me to pursue even more!!

Thank you all for the support. I've been watching the thread more than posting lately. The past 3-4 pages have been insane with all the travel shots.

Bro I am very happy for you. I dont know if I can find the words to describe how elated to read the news. You are great at what you do, and honestly I was wondering when you were going to make the jump. Wedding Photography to me is one of the more difficult things to do (I've shot a few, and I can only say it can be stressful LOL), yet you make it appear easy. I wish you continued success. You know the saying "do something you love, and you'll never work a day in your life"

 

[airnikesnhats]

On another note.......just seeking some feedback here.

For those who own the Sony 85mm 1.8, what can I expect (have one on backorder that I am expecting mid October)? I was looking at the Batis but that and 1.4 G Master are way out of my price range, considering that I am also trying to save for the A7II/A7RII as well.

One last question. Those who know me on IG know that 90% of what I post there is shot ultra-wide (10-18mm when I had the 70D, and more recently the 14mm Samyang on the A7). The 14 is actually much wider then Id like, and the distortion has been a pain to fix even with LR profiles. I was thinking of selling/trading the 14mm and purchasing the 21mm F2.8 conversion lens for my 28mm F2. Would I be losing significant IQ?

 

[yanky]

Big day y'all!

I put in my letter of resignation to my database software engineering / consulting career of 6.5 years yesterday to pursue to my dreams with photography.

I have enough weddings lined up to exceed my current income for next year already with no sign of things even remotely slowing down.

I've been working my *** of for this the past 24 months.

I cant wait to finally have the time and more importantly mental head space available to me to pursue even more!!

Thank you all for the support. I've been watching the thread more than posting lately. The past 3-4 pages have been insane with all the travel shots.

Congrats man!!! The sky is the limit!!

 

[jordansf]

That's dope dude congrats! djyoung08

Don't think I've posted since the update so here's some recent work

 

[highboltage]

Congrats, djyoung8. So cool to see you following your dreams and taking that leap. Hope all goes well!



Took a trip out to the mountains yesterday to catch the sunrise.

 

[manusousou]

Congrats djyoung08 !!

 

[ksteezy]

Congrats James, peeped that on your story the other day, couple of friends of mines also going full time, I applaud those of you who do, I personally never think I will been doing this 8 years and from my personal experience I much rather either slow down and take in less weddings or up my rates...no way I wanna do more than 15 weddings a year...I'm afraid I'll get burnt out and the stress of having to meet a quota would kill my passion for the actual art which is the motivation for it all...then again as my friend who's also going full time has told me, it's probably because I'm not miserable at my "9-5" and my schedule allows for so much....good thing you are focusing on video more and more and getting ahead of the inevitable, specially going full time....I said this before, the art of wedding DIGITAL stills is on its way out the door with the capabilities of video, it won't be long before the ability to pull perfect stills from video footage, makes hiring a digital photog absolete....I've been teaching myself film and getting used to medium formats in order to tap into the "fine art wedding photographer" niche as that's gonna be the other option that will survive when is all said and done, as I personally can't ever see myself tapping into video

Best of luck fam.

 

[bjamez20]

Congrats djyoung08 , came a long ways


trillium lake by bHandy Photos, on Flickr


mount hood by bHandy Photos, on Flickr


mount hood by bHandy Photos, on Flickr


mount hood by bHandy Photos, on Flickr

 

[airnikesnhats]

Random late night mission I decided to go on with a couple of friends. Snuck into the Seaview Farm Colony (Staten Island, NY). It was pitch black, and shot most of these with the Samyang 14mm 2.8. A lot of these aren't as sharp as I would like and for whatever reason I pumped the ISO between 3200-6400 for some reason even though I shot 20-30 second exposures on a mini Manfrotto tripod. We had a number of IR flashlights going so we wouldnt attract any attention. We didnt stay long because my friends GF tagged along and she was petrified LOL. Enjoy.

The Seaview Farm Colony. #newyork #newyorkcity #statenisland #nyc #abandoned #urbanexploration #urbex by Michael Rios, on Flickr

The Seaview Farm Colony. #newyork #newyorkcity #statenisland #nyc #abandoned #urbanexploration #urbex by Michael Rios, on Flickr

The Seaview Farm Colony. #newyork #newyorkcity #statenisland #nyc #abandoned #urbanexploration #urbex by Michael Rios, on Flickr

The Seaview Farm Colony. #newyork #newyorkcity #statenisland #nyc #abandoned #urbanexploration #urbex by Michael Rios, on Flickr

The Seaview Farm Colony. #newyork #newyorkcity #statenisland #nyc #abandoned #urbanexploration #urbex by Michael Rios, on Flickr

 

[bjamez20]

beacon rock state park by bHandy Photos, on Flickr


beacon rock state park by bHandy Photos, on Flickr


columbia river gorge by bHandy Photos, on Flickr

 

[Extrait de Minimalisme]

I've worked with three guys over the past 4 years at my insurance job that have quit to pursue photography or video full time. I would say 4 years ago, they were all run of the mill hobbyist, but it's amazing what a little go-getter mentality can do in a smallish market. I tip my hat to them, I'm not there yet, although I do make a little change on the side. I could feasibly quit, sellout and shoot weddings, family, maternity, events, etc, but I prefer to hone my craft or not do it at all.

I've been shooting straight black/white with my Fuji Xpro1 for five months now. I'm thinking about the XT-2 for a more dslr feel.

 

[auszero]

On another note.......just seeking some feedback here.

For those who own the Sony 85mm 1.8, what can I expect (have one on backorder that I am expecting mid October)? I was looking at the Batis but that and 1.4 G Master are way out of my price range, considering that I am also trying to save for the A7II/A7RII as well.

One last question. Those who know me on IG know that 90% of what I post there is shot ultra-wide (10-18mm when I had the 70D, and more recently the 14mm Samyang on the A7). The 14 is actually much wider then Id like, and the distortion has been a pain to fix even with LR profiles. I was thinking of selling/trading the 14mm and purchasing the 21mm F2.8 conversion lens for my 28mm F2. Would I be losing significant IQ?

I wouldn't waste my money on the 28mm f2. It's pretty distorted.

I would try to wait till Feb and pick up some of the Sigma Art FE lenses. There will be a 24mm in that line up.

 

[Fong$tarr]

I've worked with three guys over the past 4 years at my insurance job that have quit to pursue photography or video full time. I would say 4 years ago, they were all run of the mill hobbyist, but it's amazing what a little go-getter mentality can do in a smallish market. I tip my hat to them, I'm not there yet, although I do make a little change on the side. I could feasibly quit, sellout and shoot weddings, family, maternity, events, etc, but I prefer to hone my craft or not do it at all.

I've been shooting straight black/white with my Fuji Xpro1 for five months now. I'm thinking about the XT-2 for a more dslr feel.

What insurance do you do? I am in the same profession as well.

I know a guy that does this on the side too. Shoots videography for weddings. He works in insurance and makes about say $60K but makes like $20K with the wedding stuff. It's a good side job and especially if you need the medical coverage from you 9 to 5 job. That's if you need that or not. To do it as a stand alone gig seems tough just on paper unless you have no real obligations in life. My homie did freelance for his whole life and made real good money as a videographer but when he got married and had a kid, he got a deskjob as a videographer and makes good money but the job creativity is just not there.

 

[yanky]

On the subject of bags, anyone know of one that will hold a 70-200 , 24-105 and 35mm on the body? A buddy of mine can get Thule bags for manufacture cost but none of them can hold a 70-200.

Edit: So a local Ferrari dealership contacted me about shooting a 2 hour event for them! I'm SOOOO HYPEDDD!! It's an alumni event but I'm really just there for the cars lolll