Factoid of the day!

I want to put in a little fact here that I have read in many of the photography books I own.

Important Notice: To all of you future photographers like me out there. Do not, I repeat, Do not put up every photo you take. Now I know some of you are reading this and saying, "dduuuuhh, everyone knows that!" But I will correct you. No, everybody does not know that. I have seen some really pathetic excuses for PHOTOGRAPHY and don't take that to heart because I have taken some very pathetic excuses for photography. We all have to start somewhere and sadly that means many of us are going to suck- including myself (on multiple occasions).


I read a really good article in one of my many books and I would give the title if I knew which book it was from; but I don't. So I am just going to do my best to describe it...even though I really can't remember the article  verbatim, I'll just do my best here.

Lets say you have a photo session and you take 300 photos. You first delete the blurry photos and any others that might not have come out as you expected. That leaves you with 225 photos. Then you delete the half dark half light photos in which some faces are seen and some are not. Down to 175. Then you choose the absolute best photos-20. Then choose the top 10. Now go back and forth through these photos and choose the ones that people would actually pay for- 6. Here is where you stop. The six photos that you have chosen are the best ones of the 300 you took- these are the ones you should be proud of and that other people will be excited about.

Now I am completely sure that this is in no way written like the author of the book; so if they ever see it I offer my sincerest apology. Anyway, what I really wanted you to get from this article is that it would behoove you to only show photos that you would pay good money for, or no one else will. You should only show your best work or it will seem like you are just like anyone who randomly bought a camera and call yourself a photographer. Again, please, no one take this to heart. These articles are just about what I have experienced and read in books. I only wish to pass on the information that I have gathered from my sources.

In the beginning... part II

    For the next I don't know how many weeks, I read and I studied everything I could. I gathered information from books, websites, blogs, and other photographers. Needless to say, I was obsessed (and loving it). I was shoveling so much information into my brain that there was no outlet. I started to have dreams of photography; poses that I could use, the different styles of photography, things I would need to get done to start a business, etc. I was up at odd hours to write down everything that was going through my mind and it started to disrupt my normal schedule (not that I minded). Although everything was hitting me all at once, I was still very excited about photography and needed to learn more.

    I now know that photography is a never-ending process. Every year new products come out and there is always something new to learn and I hope to learn all that I can. However, I am getting ahead of myself. Lets begin again from when I started reading the first books...

    The manual that came with my camera was okay, information wise, but honestly you can only learn the very basics from a book with no pictures and tons of very...small...print. However, it was a good starting point for me. Once I had gathered all the information out of the manual I went out and picked up a three-book pack titled The Step-to-Step Secrets on how to Make Your Photos Look like the Pros'! By Scott Kelby. This man is a great writer and he kept me interested throughout my reading. The best thing about these books are that Kelby keeps things short and sweet. Therefore he offers a large amount of information  but only the basics of each topic; this way you learn about many things and you know enough to continue researching by yourself (or at least that is how I see it). I really enjoy all of the tips he gives, and I feel as though I have learned a lot from Kelby's advice!

     After I had read through his three books I wanted a more in-depth study of my own camera; so I went out and bought The Canon EOS Rebel XS Companion By Ben Long. This book was definitely a the most helpful one I bought. This book went further into detail on my own camera instead of just generic advise (most photography books provide information for the top brands of cameras- Nikon and Canon). This means that If you only have one of these cameras you are spending the whole amount of money for your book and only half of the information is useful.

     There is something everyone should know about me; I work fast at everything in life and photography is no exception. I see no need in waiting when I know what I want. So, about a month after I got my camera and started reading, I wanted to take photography to the next level- Showcasing! The first thing I did was go down to my local store and print off copies of the best photos I had taken so far. Then I bought a photo album that doubles as my portfolio. And, of course, since technology has become a major contributor in career expenditure, I created a website to show off my work. I know what your thinking, "You have no experience?", "what could you possibly be showing off?" However, the truth is that I just wanted to be ready and I was in the right mind too. For, not long after, I got my first opportunity to test my skills...