Hey, how’s it going? I’m Andy Jones and this is episode 62 of the Photography Q&A Podcast.
Over the last week or so I’ve been going through a few Facebook groups for photographers just starting out. The thing I've noticed is the advice that is given is not always accurate.
So this week I’m going to cover …
Photography advice you should ignore
Let’s start with a doozy.
Or concentrate on just one type of photography. There are two reasons this isn’t good advice.
Telling someone that is just starting out to concentrate on just portraits and nothing else is just wrong. New photographers need to try as many genres as they can. You might have the creative talent and ability to learn all the skills needed to be a top landscape photographer. If you don’t give it a try you’ll never know.
Countries with all four seasons restrict how long you can shoot weddings. Here in Canada, most people get married on a Saturday, from April to October. So you have a limited number of working days to make your money. So telling a wedding photographer that from November to March they have to put their camera equipment away, is ridiculous.
If you want to fill your year with bookings you will need to shoot a second type of photography.
When you are starting out the best way to get experience is to offer to shoot for free. The experienced pros that tell you not to shoot for free are worried you will take work from them. I really don’t think so, someone booking a photographer that charges $3000 isn’t going to consider a newbie looking to get experience.
My first shoots were for family and friends and I did them free of charge. There is nothing wrong with this method of building a portfolio and getting started. Businesses in lots of different industries do it to break into new markets. So don’t listen to insecure photographers on Facebook.
These types of answers drive me crazy. I saw one that said, “don’t shoot in manual mode, I use auto and it’s way easier”. Yes, it is easier but you have no control. You need to learn how to use manual mode to understand how to use your camera. If you find manual mode difficult try aperture priority mode, it’s a little easier.
Always use a tripod
Try shooting a soccer game using a tripod. You wouldn’t get many good shots. You need to use a monopod or hand-hold. At a wedding taking the group shots, you can use a tripod, but for the rest of the day, you would have to hand-hold. For landscapes, you could hand-hold but for longer exposures, you do need a tripod.
A tripod has its place but not for every type of photography.
Only shoot JPGs
This is a simpler way to go, but your images will be so much better if you shoot in RAW. When you shoot JPG you are letting the camera process the images. In RAW you get to decide how it looks, and the results are way more professional. So don’t shoot JPGs.
Some photographers think every aspect of an image has to be perfect. Don’t listen to them, I watched a youtube video by Simon Booth, he’s a landscape and wildlife photographer. He took a photo of some giant ferns out of focus because the result was pleasing to the eye. So experiment with your photography, everything doesn’t need to be in perfect focus. Having a bit of graininess is fine if you like the look of it that’s all that matters.
No, you don’t. There are plenty of areas where you are better off using a crop sensor camera. I’m shooting a lot of macro and a crop sensor is perfect as the small insects fill more of the frame.
Look at any image and you can’t tell if it was taken on a crop or full-frame camera. So don’t worry about it.
Absolute nonsense. Editing has been around as long as cameras. Film photographers changed the exposure, and dodged and burned images to get the effects they wanted when they were developing the images.
If you shoot JPGs the camera is editing the image for you from the RAW file. So editing images has always been a major part of photography.
It’s definitely not cheating. Create images that make you happy.
I have said many times on this podcast “don’t just sell the digital files”. The reason I say this is because I want you to get as much money from a session as possible. Doing a shoot for $200 and giving the customer all the files is fine, but if you hold the files and sell them products you will make way more money. There are top-level portrait photographers that only provide the files and make a ton of money, but if you are just starting out you can’t demand high prices so don’t limit how much the customer can spend.
If you shoot Real Estate or Commercial Products your clients only want the files, they have no use for the prints. For everyone else make selling prints and products your goal, and if you do sell the files charge a high amount, or sell them at a reduced rate if they spend over a certain amount.
Ok, that’s it for this episode. If you are listening to this on an iPhone or any Apple product I have a request. Please leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts or iTunes. I’m trying to get more downloads on Apple podcasts and a few good ratings will help me out.
In fact, whatever app you use to listen to this podcast I’d be forever grateful if you gave me a 5-star rating.
Alright, that’s it, I’ll be back next week with more waffle. Bye for now.