photographic career

maggie797

I would love to change career and I am thinking about a doing a photographic course and I am researching it now.. I have always had an interest in photography and tend to be behind the lens at family and social events. I am picking up bits and pieces from websites and forums but would love to do formal training. What courses would be the best ones to go for? I have a canon EOD 400 that I treated myself to last year.. no accessories yet.
one thing to consider before I seriously consider changing career is my eyesight, i am short sighted in one eye(which when taking photos doenst make that much of a difference) however I had an accident in my other eye when i was a child and have only blurred vision in the other eye so blurred, I mentally dont use the eye.. would this be detrimental in a photo career?

would appreaciate all advice..

Ricky91t

To put it shortly,It's tough and expensive and you have to be in it for the enjoyment :pac:

MagicMarker

I dunno, it's kind of like me saying I want to change careers and become a movie star. It's not quite so clear cut.

Obviously, by all means, do some formal training if you wish, learn the ''trade''. But I wouldn't consider it as a career move for a while yet.

smash

I'd say if you have the chance, then go for it. I'd love to do it but there's just not enough money in it to keep me going

smelltheglove

maggie797 wrote: »

one thing to consider before I seriously consider changing career is my eyesight, i am short sighted in one eye(which when taking photos doenst make that much of a difference) however I had an accident in my other eye when i was a child and have only blurred vision in the other eye so blurred, I mentally dont use the eye.. would this be detrimental in a photo career?

would appreaciate all advice..

I have always loved photography but since it is so expensive it was very hard to get into. After a year I have made a bit of profit, not a huge amount considering the amount of gear you need to buy, insurance, websites, advertising and a million other things I cant think of right now but there is a bit of profit in there, nothing worth changing career though I am afraid.

I would not drop a career to get into photography, it is hard to make money out of, not only do you have to be good at it but you need something else, something that will sell you to people. You could be amazing but not get any work, its a big chance and you need to build a reputation.

Eyesight wise, I have BRUTAL eyesight, quite bad but I dont think it hinders me, I wear plastic glasses for work as with metal glasses and constantly using the camera you will see your frames damage quickly, if they are painted the paint will wear away very quick. With regards to your eyesight though, it may not affect you, I mean you use one eye to look through the view finder and often as a photographer you just forget the other eye so that should not make much of a difference really. Also you can actually get attachements for the camera according to your eyesight so you dont need to wear glasses, I have tried these but I couldnt get used t them.

AnCatDubh

[personal thoughts]


what might your expectations be in terms of what a change to such a career may do for you?

Whereabouts on your current career path are you? (apologies if i'm being too inquisitive - a rhetorical question)

Personally, I'm a firm believer that you should have at least 2 solid careers in life (3 if time permits) to keep you fresh in your personal actualisation (see maslows hierarchy of needs) so this might be the option for you.

There's one poster around these parts who is an excellent photographer - as good as any professional that you'll come across, but he reckons that he couldn't do photography as a profession as the daytime job pays too well. It is a real pity from a photographic point of view. This may or may not be a consideration for you.

There is a reality that many around here admit to which is that they love doing photography for themselves, for the enjoyment that it brings both personally and to family and friends, but that is sooooooo different to doing it professionally. It is a big undertaking but never an impossible one.

Be brutally honest with yourself - how good is your photography at this point in your learning (self or other as described?) - again a rhetorical question.

In terms of courses, there are a number of them which some around these parts have partaken in. The NCAD is one which will get referred to quite often as is quite good in so far as what is reported back. And if they have a formula which can turn out students of the quality of some of the characters that we've seen then you'll do just fine.

I've said it before on the forum, I personally think that when you begin with photography you begin with an audience of one - yourself. Thereafter, you build your following - your family and friends who will view your work with loving eyes, your benefactors who will like you as a person, your audience who will admire your work, your sales targets who you just want their money, your corporate commissions who will eventually value your name while you will value their wallets, etc.... But from all accounts thus far as the story has been told on this forum, it is not an easy thing to accomplish - but far from impossible. Incredibly hard work is the order of the day. But if you are passionate about photography and are explicitly aware of your strengths and weaknesses then you will find the way for you.

I so want to encourage you to head this track but I know nothing of your personal circumstance (again a rhetorical request on a public forum) so I need to stop short of saying yeah, you'll be grand and will excel at what you do. It is exciting and brilliant to be in there. If circumstance is right for you - current career, family commitments, life commitments, etc... then go for it with all your heart.

My thinking with regard to career is that you should follow your heart. Simple as that.

If photography is in your heart then absolutely 100% follow that dream. You will be inspired to make it work. If it is something that is just hopefully going to pay the bills at the end of the day and meh about the art form and the passion you have for it or if its just a convenient escape from what you are currently doing then i'd look deeper into the heart to see where your true desires lie as photography in this case should remain a hobby - something that will continue to bring immense joy to you, but don't depend on it for a future.

Hope that helps.

[/personal thoughts]

Ballyman

AnCatDubh wrote: »

There's one poster around these parts who is an excellent photographer - as good as any professional that you'll come across

There are a lot more than one!

maggie797

thank you for your replies and your opinions and thoughts. I really appreciate them. I always knew it was an expensive profession in terms of training and equipment, but some of the detail and specifics is really useful.
It has been my dream for a long time to do photography and i love being behind a camera,I drive my family mad as when we all get together they rarely see my face as I am usually having conversations with the camera attached to my face:D . I get great pleasure in getting the best possible photo of people,I understand the difference between doing it as a hobby and turning it into a profession. In terms of my current career I am a manager and have been doing that for YEARS and I must admit getting a bit fed up with it. I know now is not the time to be getting restless in a career. but i am getting a bit burnt out doing something that pays well but does not make me happy.
I may start doing an online course and take it from there. can anyone recommend any courses?

Borderfox

I find it so liberating as a career, I thought that when I did it all the time that I would become bored of it but it still has a tight hold of me and the enjoyment level is off the scale. You can make good money when you target where you want to work but there is still a lot of time and effort to put in but all in all well worth it.

PCPhoto

maggie - do you have any samples of your work for us to look at ?

do you have a particular area of photography that you want to get into ? Sports, reportage/news, weddings, PR, Industrial, Landscape, Commercial, Macro etc etc

As mentioned earlier - lots of expense at the start and little money from lots f work.

melekalikimaka

want any info on the gcd diploma/degree, fire away a pm

Pinarello

maggie797 wrote: »

I would love to change career and I am thinking about a doing a photographic course and I am researching it now.. I have always had an interest in photography and tend to be behind the lens at family and social events. I am picking up bits and pieces from websites and forums but would love to do formal training. What courses would be the best ones to go for? I have a canon EOD 400 that I treated myself to last year.. no accessories yet.
one thing to consider before I seriously consider changing career is my eyesight, i am short sighted in one eye(which when taking photos doenst make that much of a difference) however I had an accident in my other eye when i was a child and have only blurred vision in the other eye so blurred, I mentally dont use the eye.. would this be detrimental in a photo career?

would appreaciate all advice..

I recently did a course with Peter Cox and found him fantastic.I learned more in the two days spent with him than i did reading the internet for the last year. http://www.petercox.ie/photography_courses.php The internet is great for information but there is no substitute for a hands on approach.

maggie797

Great tips there thanks.. i am also planning to join the limerick camera club as I can imagine sharing ideas is one of the best ways to learn... Great tip about peter cox, i had a look at the site really good.Will look into doing some of his workshops.
I love photographing people both posed shots or natural (reprotage) style shots.. like action photos, landscape, animals... really like post processing though as I am feeling my way I may tend to be a bit heavy handed with this. I particularly really enjoy photos that become a work of art.. amazing. Will put up a few shots and you can let me know what you think...

As a manager I have a strong business focus which I am sure would be very useful if i became self employed, it is my creative side that I want to develop now!!

thanks again for tips and veiwpoints, really appreciate it:)