I personally started shooting when I picked up my fathers Argus C-1 in grammar school that he brought back from the Korean war........i loved that camera and that was what started me in photography....
..... I always had a camera in my hands as a kid, shooting friends.......graduated to high school sports and yearbook, college newspaper news and sports, editor, then pursued it while pursuing another career.......learning as i went along.........mainly photographing people....models............
Shot my brothers wedding ...........then was formally trained by a cousin who had a wedding photography business......................from there it was just a natural progression into mediocrity and hopelessness.

Sometimes I think I'm the only photographer that doesn't have some sort of warm-fuzzy "first picked up a camera when I was 5" story.

I didn't care about being a photographer until about 6 years ago. I was an adult... a stay-at-home mom... and didn't even know how to put a camera in manual mode, much less shoot that way.

OMG....A "mom with a camera'.............

mirek wrote:
Ha! Good grief. What a different place to other forums. Maybe this is good - one can get tumbled a bit once in a while
How do I reply to all this? It's the same question as "how do you eat an elephant? - one piece at a time".

No, I'm not a wedding photographer. And no, I don't want to become one. I shoot landscapes, nature & wildlife, and people (candid portraits). None of these are to make money, anyway. I post a little bit in other forums every now and then. I've had a good degree of success, if not showing in the selection in the forums (as some shots are on display there to experiment, or stir, or get constructive C&C rather make it a showcase). I've had two major photography exhibitions in Tokyo, and one in Sydney, though.

Do i know the basics of photography? I tend to think so.

I wasn't a wedding photographer on that shoot. There was an appointed Japanese "pro" photographer. I was visiting Tokyo at the time and got invited to a friend's wedding. The venue was Tokyo Disneyland - hence the Disney theme/surroundings. Clearly not a traditional Japanese wedding. I took opportunity to take some shots, as the B asked me - as a backup. They are more candid shots than wedding shots. I was working hard and fast I remember, following B&G and the other photographer. It was crazy I remember, and I should have slowed down and focussed on what I like doing the best. But I guess I thought that the B was serious about the "backup". It wasn't the best way to shoot a wedding - trying to avoid being in the way of the official photographer, and B&G. So - enough of the background. BTW - I shared all my shots with the B&G and their family (sent a DVD, and put together a website) and they enjoyed them a lot more than the shots produced by the official wedding photographer. For free

I have the feeling that this forum is different because wedding photography is such a competitive business. It shows here as well. In other forums, people just enjoy photography, enjoy the C&C, as most of folks frequenting those forums are enthusiasts, not necesserily making a lot of money from shooting. Well - I may as well be wrong.

I take all your criticism about my lack of skills without any offence. It wasn't a showcase of what I can do, it was more a pretext for a discussion here.

cheers,
-mirek






I too have noticed that there seems to be a tougher crowd here in the wedding forum than in other gear related forums. My guess is that it is probably the Alpha Male syndrome, everyone wants to be top dog and will nip at the tail of any upcoming competitor!

As others have probably mentioned (sorry, I didn't get a chance to read every response), you can be anything you set your mind to, but it requires plenty of work and sacrafice. No one here was born a wedding photographer, so I have absolutely no respect for for people who bash newcomers. Everyone had to start somewhere. If you really want to be a wedding photographer, try to go in as a second shooter and try to go to several weddings and observe the photographer in action. Get as many books as you can on the subject as well. The only reason I would suggest posting images here in the wedding forum is if you want to develop very thick skin. No matter what you post here it will be torn to pieces!

On the flip side, I was trying to remember where I had seen those outfits before, and yes, it was Beauty and the Beast!

p.s., you will probably get more helpful advice here regarding the business aspect of wedding photography, not so much the artistic aspect of wedding photography.

+1 to That JC. There is a small clique of people on this forum that live to put people down and do not understand that you do not need to be nasty to give an honest opinion.

Thing is, its the same people again and again that do this, you know who you are. Im not talking about the people that give extenisve and well thought out replies (they have offered something). Im talking about the 5 second put downs.

Remember:
Every day a newb tries to succeed, they should wake up a slightly better photographer than the day before. They grow. The serious ones make it.

However, if you live your life by flattening peoples ego's then you should realise that when you wake up in the morning, you wont necessarily be a better photographer but you will still be a tool.

So come on, flame me, I really dont give a sh1t. Im not so insecure that I need to shaft people's ego's in order to get through the day. My life is about helping people and thats how I get my kicks.


J. Consiglio wrote:


For those of us that are professionals here, let that show through our attitudes and the way we treat others. I am damn proud of what I do and it's not something that just any one can do. We are becoming more respected as a whole as time goes on and I want to keep it that way. Degrading others, FOR ANY REASON, takes that respect away from us.

Just for the record, I will never put any of you down, for any reason. Please know that!

Jonathan Consiglio

OP (Mirek). When I started doing this I would constantly compare my pictures to those that were posted on FM. I would ask myself what it was about their shots that was so different to mine. How could mine get closer to theirs? I kept reading and practicing for about 2 years before I had the balls to PM the odd shot to people.

You need to do this. If you cant see a difference then I would say that you may not have an eye for this. Comparisons with people like unblinkable, ed pingol and a few others who generate consistently perfect exposures and colour balance, again and again. Your colour balance is way off.

Try be an assistant/gopher for someone. Dont try it on your own for a while though.

Every one has to start someplace. Nothing wrong with that. But lately, a lot of folks seem to want to start half-way up the ladder rather than at the bottom. It's a trend in this industry that many have noticed. After you encounter a few brides that are in tears because some hack took such terrible photos at their wedding you start getting a bit touchy about the subject. People often set-up shop with no understanding of the serious nature of what we do. There are no "do overs." You get it right the first time or the client doesn't get their photos at all. Many new comers have no idea how to shoot in the wide variety of conditions presented to a wedding photographer. Others can't even properly compose an image. When you see something you take seriously and love to do being abused, taken too lightly and cast in a bad light over and over and over, you tend to get a little defensive.

The wedding photography board is a bit of a different animal than most others at FM. It is populated by pros as well as enthusiasts. That results in clashes. The idea of an amateur wedding photographer is a bit disturbing. It's kind of a major event, considered pretty important by most of us that have been married a time or two. I think you'll usually find that most "pros" are willing to provide some help and encouragement to those that display a good attitude and a genuine desire to learn. Unfortunately, being an open forum, we get trolls, hacks, and trouble makers mixed in with those that are sincere in their desire to learn.

The fact is this is an unregulated industry and anyone can claim to be a wedding photographer that wants to. Whether they really should is a totally different matter.

morganb4 wrote:
Remember:
Every day a newb tries to succeed, they should wake up a slightly better photographer than the day before. They grow. The serious ones make it.


If the OP was truly trying to succeed then he would have first THANKED those who offered critique. And maybe ask for additional suggestions for improvement. Instead he pointed out how rough we all are, and then reminded us that his photos have been exhibited internationally .. Tokyo & Sydney I think.

I can point to several other posts today by newer photographers where they asked for advice and will be better photographers tomorrow because of the advice given to them. It's all in how they ask and their reaction to critique.

Some come to learn & others just drop by looking for a free ego massage.

Yeah, I agree, some people dont make it easy but I believe that the OP has indeed thanked some posters...

In another thread you asked the question that I have not heard anyone ask but is quite relevant: "what motivates you to become a wedding photographer". I dont think that can be asked enough. So Mirek....what is you motivation?

PhotosByRDD wrote:
Every one has to start someplace. Nothing wrong with that. But lately, a lot of folks seem to want to start half-way up the ladder rather than at the bottom. It's a trend in this industry that many have noticed. After you encounter a few brides that are in tears because some hack took such terrible photos at their wedding you start getting a bit touchy about the subject. People often set-up shop with no understanding of the serious nature of what we do. There are no "do overs." You get it right the first time or the client doesn't get their photos at all. Many new comers have no idea how to shoot in the wide variety of conditions presented to a wedding photographer. Others can't even properly compose an image. When you see something you take seriously and love to do being abused, taken too lightly and cast in a bad light over and over and over, you tend to get a little defensive.

The wedding photography board is a bit of a different animal than most others at FM. It is populated by pros as well as enthusiasts. That results in clashes. The idea of an amateur wedding photographer is a bit disturbing. It's kind of a major event, considered pretty important by most of us that have been married a time or two. I think you'll usually find that most "pros" are willing to provide some help and encouragement to those that display a good attitude and a genuine desire to learn. Unfortunately, being an open forum, we get trolls, hacks, and trouble makers mixed in with those that are sincere in their desire to learn.

The fact is this is an unregulated industry and anyone can claim to be a wedding photographer that wants to. Whether they really should is a totally different matter.

As a lurker, coming here to learn, I have learnt the following from some of the posters here ...

If you believe you are the most important person at the wedding, then yes, you can be a professional wedding photographer.

It also helps if your business sense is stuck in the 20th century, preferable pre-web.

Hope that helps

(edited to make explicit the humorous (?) intention of this post, just in case you miss it on your first reading.)

Edited by ijameson on Mar 31, 2008 at 12:45 PM GMT

No, it doesnt help at all. In fact it totally invalidates the efforts of all here that have tried to make this a less intimidating forum.

Thanks. 'On ya...

ijameson wrote:
As a lurker, coming here to learn, I have learnt the following from some of the posters here ...

If you believe you are the most important person at the wedding, then yes, you can be a professional wedding photographer.

It also helps if your business sense is stuck in the 20th century, preferable pre-web.

Hope that helps.

You know, I always thought that, at the least, my fellow Australians would get humour.

I guess that's why those little emoticons are on the reply window - like this one

I didn't know you were joking, now it's funny!

Jonathan Consiglio

It's double barreled in the sense that it implies I have learnt nothing.

Don't worry, I will stick to my day job and leave real humour to the pros.