I know for sure how confuse you are when just starting a business than you spend hours in the computer to find the best photography tips for beginners and end up with overload information that make you down.
First word for me, you’re not alone my friend because I’m seriously in your position back in 2008, the worse thing is there is no friend who able to teach me and guide me to become a photographer, sometimes they also don’t want to teach me because they think it would be good if they don’t have any further competitors, and that’s belong to me.
I’m so sad and felt down because no one able to teach me how to earn money as a photographer. You know that running this business is ain’t cheap cause we must spend hundred to thousand of dollars just to buy the photography gears like camera, lenses (must be more than 1), lens filter, camera bag, till other ridiculous gears that will make our money in the bank blow up, have you feel it too my friend?
I tell you that God bless you so much for sending the internet right on your hand, there are so many photographers who able to share their knowledge in a blog and Youtube just like me now, and that’s what I don’t have back few years ago when I just starting Bima Adhitya Photography.
It’s the Day When I Have to Pay Back!
It’s already 11 years since the first time I earn US$150 from 6 hours pre wedding and it continue to hundred of couple that belong to my clients than send me more money into my pocket and make me able to provide good living to my wife and kids at the present day.
By the way you’re not owe me something but this is me that owe to people around because I’ve got so many experiences and privilege by meet great photographer like Joe Buissink (this bald guy is high-end celebrity photographer from Los Angeles) than learn from other expert in this business. Today I also have a more ability to make a great blog which able to put my services on the first page of Google so that’s why I just sit down at home and I still receive enquiries from people around the world. It’s not because I’m the best photographer but because I work so hard to be better for the next day.
Due to this situation I just want to share everything that I know about photography especially because I’m a wedding photographer so majority of materials in this blog will be about wedding. But don’t worry I will teach my readers including you to know about camera, make a great composition, till doing a post production with Lightroom or Photoshop. My focus is inspire everyone in this planet to live well as a photographer no matter what niche they choose.
From a US$10 photographer till thousand dollars enquiries that I had in such beautiful location like in Bali and Maldives, there I meet so many humble couple who bring me to be their eye witness who document the most prestigious day of them and that’s truly blessed that God sent to me.
I know that somebody else travel more than me but I just nothing if I could not sharing any useful information to everyone. It’s not my focus right now because I’m still shooting but when everything done than I have plenty of time, rather than just sit and watch action movie than I will sit down in front of my computer and share this stories to you.
So are you ready?
5 Easy Photography Tips for Beginners
All right, now I’m gonna share to you about the most thing you must know about photography and in a short way is,
If you think that this is the fastest way to get rich than just go!
So what do you think, are you still with me so far? seriously by become a photographer you should put your feet on deepest determination and working so hard to be the best in this business. As a formal said than I would say that there is no short cut to be the best in EVERY BUSINESS, no matter you are a photographer, band player, doctor, basketball player than all of them are same.
So lets get back to the main topic,
1 – Buying Second or Used Gears are Fine!
Your gears is not represent your quality even it happens for professional but if you just begin your day for being a photographer than it would be better if you just buy a used camera and lenses on eBay or from your friend, just make sure that all the gears are works well especially the electronic part.
- Buying used camera – if you find some scratch on the camera body because of daily uses that it’s fine as long as you get everything on electronic works well than you could buy it. Try to switch the on-off button and try to make some shots with and without the memory card. Try all the feature like continues shutter, file type in S, M, L and Raw and also try to set the ISO and white balance, generally it just to make sure that all features on those camera are works well
- Buying used lenses – Some lenses are have an automatic mode so try to put that lenses on the camera body and try to shoot something. Change the focal length into the smaller one and set the aperture on the biggest one, once everything are works normal that you could buy those lenses (especially if you buy high-level lenses like L series in Canon or VR with Nano on Nikon)
2 – Make Your Own Portfolio
No matter in what niche you gonna working for, than go making your own portfolio. It’s the best time to walk and shoot everything that you love with through your style. You surely may copy and paste some other photographer style but try to put ‘yours’ in it. Let me share what I did to make my first portfolio
- Follow the friends – you could ask your friend to working together or just being an assistant, your friend may not allow you to work as a primary person but as long as you could join in his project than it’s a good change to create your portfolio from the real client
- Sign up in a studio – you may applying a job in a studio where senior photographer is working on and step by step you gonna have your own project under his control, some projects may be your own portfolio and some of them are not but it still a good chance yo create your portfolio
3 – Print Your Artworks
You must print your works no matter it’s on a fine art paper, large print, or simply on a photo paper. Trust me, by print your works than you gonna feel something deep and different through it, you may also feel your soul on that photo and it brings you into great imagination for all.
In wedding industry I always print my best pictures both in a photo paper or in a core board, it helps me a lot to give my soul into the photos and surely I could bring it again and again if I have a meeting with client.
4 – There is No Specific Information to Get the Best Composition, Just Feel It!
My previous mentor always telling me to shoot on one third composition, others tell me to give blank space on each side of the main object but there is a great mentor during my short course telling me that,
There is No Specific Information to Get the Best Composition, Just Feel It!
And I definitely agree with him!
Photography is about art and soul so to give the best result of our artworks than we must able to feel it with our heart. Technical is just an ordinary guidance but always improvise your work.
My picture above is coming from previous engagement session, it just an ordinary photo actually but when I took it in-direct than there is something unique on it. If you see in more detail this photo is just a mirror reflection, look at the green frame in more detail.
So I ask the bride to stand together with the groom and ask her to put her hand on the chick while the groom is looking at her smoothly. I turn my body and see there is a mirror just next to them so I want to make a mirror reflection effect on that scene.
5 – Calculate Your Cost and Create Your first Packages
I will remind you that you gonna run a business here so here you must calculate your production cost including your fee and create your packages. There are some parameters to calculate your cost such as:
- Your fee
- Assistant fee
- Decreasing of your gears economic value
- Fuel
- Internet
- Electricity
- Post Production cost
Just in case you wanna see in the details my previous article about calculating your pricing than please go here!
I will continue my article about another information in photography, so make sure you stumble upon my blog so often. Here I share hundred of stories that telling everything that I did back few years ago when I struggling to be a photographer.
It’s not only about photography tips for beginners but also how to make a great blog to your photography business which is include on marketing strategy that I did, so keep in touch and I will see you soon!
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