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...

    My name is Jordan Coleman and I decided in early 2011 that I wanted to become a photographer. I felt that it might be a split decision since I had been in college for two years and still had no idea of what I wanted to focus on as a major, but after thinking about it for a while I found that I had always been the one behind the camera. Of course, the camera in question was just a  twenty dollar point and shoot from a store around the corner, but still, I had always been the one capturing the special moments in my life- a camping trip with my grandparents, or a field trip with my friends from school. Thinking back on these times, I knew I had created memories on cheap glossy print paper that I would cherish for years to come.


    Now, with these thoughts in mind, I really did feel that photography was my path and I wasn't just choosing it on a whim. I saved up every dollar I could and finally made a purchase of my new career path. This was the first purchase among many that have led me to this day. The camera I decided upon is the Canon Rebel EOS XS. I was so excited that I tore off the packaging and started snapping photos of everything around me! And of course, seeing as though this was the most expensive camera I had ever bought, every photo I took was AMAZING! This was going to be a cinch, I am going to be a great photographer with this camera-or so I thought.
   
    After a few weeks of snapping mediocre photos I found that I really didn't know much about my camera's functions. Sitting on the "automatic" feature I didn't even think that my photos could be better. However, I decided to flip through the pages of the manual just to see what I was missing. As it turned out; I had no idea of the meanings of the words in my book...White Balance? Shutter speed? Aperture? In other words I was lost; drawing a complete blank. Maybe I should read the manual and (dare I say it) buy more books. I went out and found myself a few books on my specific camera and some on photography in general. After picking out three or four books I came home and skimmed a few pages. Wouldn't you know it; I was even more confused than when I started...Lighting? Lenses? SD cards? Photoshop? I might have known the basics of these words, but there was so much more. To think you have to spend so much money just to learn about photography...maybe I was a little hasty.
   
    For a couple days I ignored the books on my desk and went on with my regular schedule thinking I would sit down again soon and start focusing on my new hobby. Finally, after googling a few photography websites, It was time to read. That was just the beginning...