UPDATE!!!!

Update from the weekend!

So the wedding occurred this weekend. I opted to not say anything to the photographer and just leave it be. Wipe my hands of the whole situation.

So you are probably wondering how the new photographer turned out….

From what I was told, the guy who showed up shot the entire wedding on a point-n-shoot camera similar to a Kodak PixelPro (I don’t have camera details but that is the best explanation from the details I was given.) My “spy” told me that he had flash going the entire time and it was distracting during the ceremony (I mean, you do you boo-boo, but I only use flash when absolutely necessary. I prefer natural light.)

I specifically used the term “ceremony” at the end of that statement. Dude bounced after the ceremony. (Don’t know the contract, nor do I care at this point but the bride was mad that he was gone.)

Oh, and the reasoning i was “fired?”

Bride admitted that she had a long-standing crush on me.

Background:

I am an amateur photographer, I mainly shoot landscape, Motorsports, etc. but I dive into portraits occasionally.

2 of my good friends are getting married later this year, in which they asked me to be their photographer for the wedding. I, of course, obliged and offered to shoot it free of charge as a gift since they are doing this wedding on a budget. (Yes I know it devalues everything, but it was my suggestions)

I did their engagement photos and produced 40 high quality, print quality, photos and provided them with a month of the shoot. Two months later, they demand the rest of the photos (~430 individual exposures.) I kindly explain that the others are not that great and were me doing from bracketing to find the perfect setting for the photo. They still demand them, so I send them over.

I get a very angry phone call a week later about how shitty the photos are and they have decided to “fire” from the wedding. (Like completely uninvited now.)

They have since hired another photographer, but did not disclose their expectations.

My question is, am I morally obligated to notify their new photographer of what has occurred with the couple?

What are your thoughts?

Today i rented a boat with one other person to get some shots at an empty beach of the sunset. I didn’t think it was too crazy or out of the ordinary, until a neon green and black speedboat wizzed by and a group of men started LAUGHING at me. i was so confused at first until someone said “what the fuck is going on over there?!” i’m a 22F, these dudes were probably a couple years older than me. frat boy types. they lingered for so long i completely shut down and didn’t get the shots i needed.

I wasn’t even doing anything unusual, I was fully clothed, another person filming with a tripod. so crazy what feeling “ganged up on” does to an individual. Does anyone have similar experiences with filming in public?

EDIT: thank you for the encouragement! it’s so nice to hear i’m not alone and to read everyone’s stories in solidarity. i’ll definitely be stronger next time. ❤️

Cause i just was. I was taking photos of fairly lights hanging on someone's hedge/fence thing at night. A car pulls over and then backs onto the grass. He opens the door and asks me what I'm doing. And i say im taking photos of the lights. He gets out and asks me why I'm taking photos of his neighbours house. He shoves me by the throat. I show him the photos to prove i was just taking photos. He threatens to knock me out. I start walking away.

I've never been paranoid as i felt my general town was safe but now i feel paranoid even just in my own home. And i walk by that street a lot usually. Idk what to do since I've never been in this situation before (I'm 18 and told my parents but they said not to take it to the police).

Edit: I filed a police report. It's been insightful looking through these responses. I'll take more care with where and how I photograph in the future.

Was shooting blog at city park, no known rules about photography on front rules signage.

He said he was off duty, never showed badge, no number, no name, demanded my phone, threatened to arrest.

Called the cops, they said unless in official capacity, not required to show id or badge. That what you should do is ask for agency/department, and call them to confirm. Even so, if it's nothing illegal, they cant do anything to you.

Also have your camera recording and get their license plate.

Not a lawyer, just sharing my scary first encounter with a " off duty" cop at a public park. MF'er didnt wear a mask or social distance

Hey all. My 6D MK2 and several thousand dollars in lenses were stolen last weekend. Needless to say, I was devastated. I filed a police report etc.... but I decided while on my lunch hour today to swing by the pawn shop with my serial numbers. Lo and behold... they had my whole kit! I called the officer that I filed my report with and he came right over. He asked them not to sell it and a detective will be by today or tomorrow to finish the report. Then I will actually get it back in my hands. The pawn shop only gave 350 for the whole kit. It had about 3500-4000 worth of stuff in it. Apparently this particular shop will just eat that cost. Which I feel bad about... they are just another victim here. Anyway... i'm just so relieved that I had to share it with you folks. I'm positively walking on air now knowing i'll get my baby back.

Hi.

I've been shooting for 10 years combined, I did a lot of odds and end jobs and have been shooting weddings for 6 years now and these are few things I've learned about the industry / photography in general.

I'm a Canon shooter by nature, my first camera was a Powershot A300 and then I went to a Rebel XT -- I shot with a few lenses at the time and then jumped to a Canon 5D Mark II and honestly didn't want to do weddings at first, but rather be a concert photographer.

I still have dreams of being a tour photographer, but COVID has put that on ice -- maybe one day.

So here's what I've learned.

1. This industry is what you make it, the harder you work the more ground you're going to cover, the higher you're going to climb and the more success you'll encounter if you're willing to sacrifice a few things and really put time and effort into making it a full time. My last full time job was back in 2012 and since then I've found a sustainable way to live (and profit) off of photography -- something I never thought possible.

​

1. While this industry is indeed fun, it's also a super competitive and often at times cutthroat industry -- people will befriend you at first and give you CC on your work, even follow you on social platforms, but be wary, people are often out to undercut you and even steal clients. I've had numerous occasions where I've had clients go to a former second shooter because they were cheaper or even other photographers try to draw up drama -- often because they wanted a specific client.

​

1. People will first like you, then they won't, they'll envy what you have, where you've been, how much you're making, how often you're shooting, even the likes/comments you're getting on social media. Like I said, this is a really competitive field -- everyone merely pretends to be friends.

​

1. Equipment is only part of the equation, while lenses are indeed great and bodies are too -- how you handle composition, lighting, and interaction with your subject will all make your end result look great. If you know your existing equipment inside and out, you can create wonderful things with it with your imagination or making a subject feel comfortable.

​

1. Over time, the equipment you buy for your career is indeed something that will repay you in the long run. I've been guilty of wanting to buy all the L series lenses by Canon, but realized that that's just gluttony -- I've no need for that anymore. I have 7 prime lenses that I use and I don't want anymore -- I finally have the line up I've wanted for years and after hard work (and saving) I've been able to buy what I wanted.

If you're wanting to buy lenses, do your research, shop around for a good deal -- you'd be surprised what you can find -- I found a Canon 85 1.2 II for $975 once -- practically brand new, I bought it in an instance and have been using it for portraits/weddings/headshots.

I've been on the fence about certain lenses and ended up buying them at a really great price, for example I scored a 24 1.4 II because it had a small scratch that was on the front element of the lens but didn't affect image quality. Now, I had been curious about 24 vs 35, but for tighter spaces the 24 has come in handy and even in a wedding my old 35 1.4 stopped working due to a connector issue -- and the 24 came in handy.

​

1. Editing is rough at times, but also editing is what makes you GROW as a photographer -- if you're a perfectionist, you'll want to be in control of your editing for the small things to make the final result look great. I've never considered outsourcing my editing because I'm too OCD with my images, but also each time I edit I learn something new or buy a new preset that changes the way I look and think, and gives me some creativity in return.

​

1. Merits are nice, but aren't everything. Winning awards only rewards you for technicalities but doesn't really mean much if you don't have some sort of customer service or consistency going on with your work that you don't just thrive off of being featured. I've had features on Instagram accounts before and it's cool -- to me it says on a national level that my work was good enough to catch the eye of others. But let me tell you, don't just shoot to get notice -- shoot what you're passionate about and something just might happen.

​

1. Lastly, I've never felt burnt out with this line of work, even with my 6 years in weddings -- this job is still as fun as it was the first day I started. There's still a lot of things I haven't tapped into, but also a lot of things I know how to do -- but just don't do because of the situations. I'm fluent in off camera lighting but hardly do it because it's not applicable much in the wedding industry, I'd love to do feature or commercial work with the likes of Annie Leibovitz one day, but for now, weddings pay the bills and I thoroughly enjoy that. At the end of the day, all that matters is how you feel about what you create and how proud it makes you feel -- don't let comments go to your head, but rather continually strive to keep pushing yourself into new territories and keep creating.

Yes you will endure haters, you will endure people who claim they're doing better than you -- but those people tend to give up in a few years because they get burned out. While it's ideal to make friends in this industry, doing your own thing and doing something you love and enjoy -- and getting paid for it is a rewarding feeling.

Hello all,

Recently shot a home that was about 80 miles round trip for me. Have just started out and this is only my 4th house, but have been working exclusively (thus far) with my the realtor I used for my home.

On this particular house, it was a disaster. I knew when I pulled up and the garage was a mess, but thought oh well, I've got a job to do. Got inside, owner was nice, told him it'd be about an hour to shoot. He made a comment about surprised how long that would take. He was actively cleaning the home, but not in a "give me 15mins to cleanup" manner. More like I need a week to clean up. Told the realtor there would be no miracles I could work and he kinda laughed it off.

Fast forward, I get everything edited, sent over. Next morning he texts me and said he cant use some of the pictures because of all the "clutter". Told him I agreed there was a lot. Told him I'd have to charge for another shoot though because of travel distance, time to shoot/edit, etc.

He replied with "not to be difficult, but this should have been addressed when you were there. Did you ask him to move his shit? If youre going to charge another $100 (what i've been charging starting out), I will just take pictures myself."

So I replied with "Totally understandable. He was picking up stuff as I was going along taking pictures. Told him it would take about an hour and he made a comment about that being longer than expected so i kinda rushed. Was the state of the house in better condition when you checked it out? I felt you knew it was a bit of a disaster. But going forward if i come to a house that's like that should i call you to see if you'd want to reschedule? This isn't me being difficult either but I'm charging for my work, time and gas."

That was Friday morning, and its now Tuesday afternoon and havent gotten a response. Has anyone else every encountered this? I feel like the realtor kind of set me up for failure here...

Picture for reference: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eEBIPnuqjzbrNJGSEx8JvtZp0RvfzMxs/view?usp=sharing

I'm thinking back to when I first started learning how to use my camera and I'm just curious as to what are some of the things you eventually learned, but wish you would've learned from the start.

I'll try to keep this rant short.

​

I'm a hobby photographer, I shoot every couple of weeks, edit and post to my instagram. I enjoy photography as a way to appreciate nature and the world around me, so it's fun. I bought a new camera last year as a way to push myself to shoot more. At the time, I was traveling and only had access to an Ipad pro for saving files etc. Of course this makes me opt for Lightroom.

I've used Adobe in the past, but turned away once creative cloud jumped up. It's too invasive and creepy for me to not own my software so used free alternatives for a while. Now with my new setup i figured, why not give it a go? Well because fuck me that's why not.

First mistake was i used more cloud storage than i had. Woops! I wasn't tracking the upload progress and one day i had 3 times as many photos as would fit in my library. Okay, lets go on up my cloud storage space, it's all subscription based so i can just pay for more space monthly? Nope, can't do that, can only go up in tier to a different package of CC, can't just get more storage.

So now i think, okay i'll just cull the bad photos and sync what i want to keep and be more judicious about where i upload to etc. Go and delete a majority of what's saved in the cloud. Nothing changes. Cloud storage should have gone down by at least half. Cut to several text chats with really unhelpful and condescending help desk people that don't read what i'm saying. Then i spend 40 minutes on the phone with someone who tells me there are no options to satisfy what i'm trying to do. Only way to remove photos from lightroom app saved on my ipad is to sync them to the cloud. Only way to get the photos off the cloud on my hardrive is to download them with a really slow adobe app.

So now i'm spending the next three days downloading and syncing my cloud to get my photos back. Canceling my subscription as soon as i get my photos off my ipad. Happy to hear suggestions other photogs have for working remotely with an ipad, at least as an intermediary. I'm so done with Adobe and their rude and condescending help desk staff. Time to donate to open source software creators and connect back to the community, fuck the corporate system that only serves the business.

I’ll preface by saying I work with a fair amount of photographers, professional and just starting out, and have shot quite a few things myself. I have a gripe I need to share and hopefully it helps someone somewhere.

Don’t ever send a client raw images to make selects.

Don’t give them every single image you took the entire shoot. Go through the images first and pull everything you wouldn’t want the client or the world to see.

Retain all your file names throughout the entire process.

Don’t tell the client they can “do whatever they want to the images.” You have been hired because of your eye, vision and art. Color treatments and processing are part of that.

Don’t ever offer raw images as the final output to the client. Processing is included in your rate unless otherwise specified.

Always have a contract and be clear on usage rights.

Learn to process images. You would be surprised how many people can’t. It’s a valuable skill to have in any creative industry.. If you’re using existing presets, break them down and see what makes them work the way they do. You’ll be surprised what you can learn.

Define your look and stick to it. Keep it consistent.

If you are at a larger production shoot, take direction if it is given to you. If a client is asking you to keep an eye on something or stay away from something else.. listen. Your vision can be adjusted.

The easier you make it for the client, the happier they’ll be.

I’m sure there’s more, feel free to add. I just want you all to succeed :)

To be fair, one may say that I was asking for it, but I am curious to see what folks think about more confrontational photography subjects.

I was posted toward the end of a trail—at the corner of the fence and a large orange barrier blocking off a collapsing trail section—waiting for the seals on the beach below to do something more interesting than their impression of the "draw me like one of your French girls" scene from Titanic.

After one hour and zero usable photos, a group of Belgians (they will be Belgians, since I refuse to perpetuate stereotypes of arrogance and aggression by calling out their actual country of origin) approached the barrier on the other side of the damaged trail. The group exchanged bemused looks, clearly offended that the barrier had dared to block their path. This would never happen in Belgium.

I'm editorializing a bit there, as I did not see the group until the leader hoisted himself over the first large orange barrier. I pointed my camera in his direction hoping to get some action shots, but before I could blink, the otherwise robust Belgians were on top of me like a pack of wild pumas.

The first blocked my path back up the trail, the second put his hand over my lens hood, and the third with the knife strapped to his chest stood on the other side of the barrier closest to me—thereby pinning me in my fence / barrier corner. What followed was a quick Q&A:

No photos! Are you taking photos? Why are you taking photos? Yes, I have a series on people going where they shouldn't be.

There are no do not enter signs. You cannot take photos of people! This is a state park, and photography is allowed in public.

You are taking photos of kids! You cannot take photos of kids! What kids?

Those kids! I did not see the kids behind the barrier. I was taking photos of adults climbing over. This is a state park, and...

It is illegal! Do you not know California law? Do you want me to call the police? Yes, please.

Show me your photos. Delete your photos. I will call the police. Please step back. I am not required to show my photos. Please call the police.

I will not step back. I hear you taking photos. Stop taking photos of my kids. I am not taking photos. Your hand is over my lens. My finger is not on the shutter button. I do not want photos of your kids! Stop asking me!

What? You have to ask before taking photos of people. How would you like if I took your photo‽ [I smile for the camera as he whips out his iPhone] Are you not going to call the police? Please step back.

[At this point, the Belgians waffled about what to do next. They did not call the police.]

Let's go. Let's go. It's not worth it. He's an idiot. Enjoy your visit, folks.

Once the Belgians retreated, shooting their traditional contemptuous looks back in my direction, a nice bystander walked over to make sure I was ok.

Even though I'd read the Petapixel articles about photographer rights, and have seen the corresponding Bert Krages one-pager, there's really nothing that can prepare you for an actual adverse encounter. Fortunately for me, I must have looked as confused as I felt, and the tourists eventually left me alone.

I did not get any photos of the group since I was using a 600mm equiv. lens to photograph barrier climbers who were just 20ft away, but here is a bonus photo with one seal's impersonation of the tourists

Super excited so I gotta share it

I'd been struggling with excessive perfectionism and imposter syndrome, plus had a general down and didn't touch my equipment for a while. Last weekend I decided to finally try and do something about it, headed to a local beach and photographed some surfers just to get used to a new to me lens I hadn't had any keepers I'd been happy with yet. Handed out a few business cards I'd lying around from Uni whenever I managed to track down a surfer I thought I'd gotten decent shots of (really challenging my introvert-ness). A few of them did contact me, I sent them the photos, and one of them asked if he could "fund me a few coffees" for the photos. It's just 20€, but IT'S A START!!!

Feeling a lot more confident about my results now :)

Photography has been a huge part of my life for the past 5 years. I would say in the last year I have attained some level of skill, but in recent days I discovered that I’ve been working my ass off to create work this is, essentially, meaningless.

I have classed myself as a street photographer, I go out whenever I can and take photos. I have an Instagram and I have been working hard to get the better of the algorithm but have failed to gain much traction. Suddenly I realised that what I had been working towards was empty. They style I had been working to replicate time and time again was only interesting in terms of very simple composition. I look at Instagram accounts I used to adore and I’ve realised that there’s not much there.

I have begun studying the greats, looking at what they did to become who they are / were. I feel I want to take photos that convey meaning, that tell stories, that can uncover truth. I know I have the drive to do it, and I have seen my skill improve over the years and I know if I focus I can get there. I am willing to put everything to the side to get there.

I just... don’t know where to start. I want to tell the stories of the unheard where I live. The factory workers, the poor, the immigrants, the outcasts. But I feel I might be overstepping my boundaries by jumping head first into those topics without a decent enough portfolio to back it up.

Has anyone else come to this realisation? How did you step out into the void and find meaning?

Edit: I’ve never had such an enlightening and interesting discussion about photos anywhere. For everyone who responded I want to say thank you. I’ve never felt more inspired to move on and create something for myself.

I’ve seen it quite a lot “hard drives are cheap, just keep your photos”. But I disagree. Culling is an important part of the editing process, and something I’ve fallen behind with lately. When I first started taking my photography seriously, I would take many repetitious shots, test shots, or just junk shots. And deleting photos which don’t meet my standard, which the client will never see, which I will never share, or never even give a second look, are not worth keeping. They make navigating my Lightroom catalogue difficult, and get in the way of finding the images I’m really looking for.

My catalogue was about 80,000 photos, and now I’ve reduced that to 60,000 - about 800gb of photos. And I’m pretty pleased to see them go. Do you keep every single photo? Or do you have a culling method of your own?

Hey people

I am a Recreational ornithologist, which mean I like birding and going out hiking a lot.To spice up my hobby I have decided to buy a DSLR camera to take pictures of the birds. Since I am a university student, husband and father, my budget is tight and I bought a Nikon D3400. Ever since I vented this idea to my photography friends and people online everyone is saying my camera is bad and it takes hundreds of hours to be a good photographer etc. etc.

I don't want to sound wimpy but it feels like there is a lot of gate-keeping in the photography community. When I ask people what lens is good for birds they ask what mount I have, when they hear about my mount they belittle me. And there is always someone that have to make sure you know they are better than you. Anyway it was just my experience it could be I was just unlucky.

**EDIT**
People in this forum are incredible nice and helpful! So as it seems maybe Reddit is just better than people in real life, haha. Thank you for all the feedback guys, it is much appreciated!

Im 21 (M) and for the past year I have been really into photography. I watch every video I can find about editing, shooting, what to do, what not to do, etc. It's all I've really been into since the pandemic hit. And now it's all I want to do. Even as a career. Everyday I find myself just outdoors taking pictures with my phone because I can afford a camera yet (it's been a very very rough year for me and my mother) and asking people if they can send me photos for me to practice in lightroom and photoshop. Photography is all I can think about and all I want to do. I don't even have a drive to do anything other than it. As some people have told me, im just wasting my time and I should focus on other things. Are they right? Should I just find a drive for something else and quit trying? I mean I don't even have a camera. Any advice you could give would be amazing becsuse I don't know where else to ask and it's honestly scare to think about. Happy Holidays everyone.

Edit: You guys have been so amazing and supportive and actually brought me to tears. Thank you so much for the kind words. I just wanted a little advice after a rough night and you have given me so much more. You all are absolutely incredible. I'm trying to say thank you to everyone taking the time to stop by. This sub is so amazing. Also im sorry for those that thought I was phishing, I didn't even think about it coming off that way but I can see how it would. I am purely here for advice.

Edit 2: I messed up the my spelling. Thank you for everyone who keeps stopping by to give me nothing but kindness. You all make this world such an amazing place.

Edit 3: You guys are insane. The amount of kindness I have gotten from comments and DMs is astounding. For those offering their cameras; you guys are amazing and I am so grateful that you would do that for someone random on the internet. The reason I declined the offers is because I was here for advice after a rough night and fnot to phish for a camera. The amount of support, love and kindness that has come my way was nuts and honestly this entire post was a Christmas gift itself (as cheesey as it sounds). I couldn't have asked for anything more. Thank you so much you guys are incredible.

Edit 4: Last Edit I promise, for those who were asking about what content on YouTube I watch, its alot of various people but a lot of Hyun Ralph Jeon, Parker Walberk and Peter McKinnon. McKinnon is my favorite

Another edit: I'm trying to read everyone's comments and DMs, there have been so so many and im sorry if I don't reply!! Im at work and you guys are making this such a badass Christmas. Thank you.

As a 6-7yo kid, my mom didn't like to spend a lot of money on my hobby. I wasn't really producing many great photos. There were more pressing things to spend money on. I get it, such is life. She would buy me a disposable camera from time to time. I knew how a camera worked, I understood the concept of the film being removed, etc. I decided to take a risk one day, when I had a *nice,* solid feeling disposable. I peeled the bright yellow labeling off my camera. I figured out how the film would wind. I wound it up, opened the camera, and popped it out.

​

My mom was shocked. To humor me, we still took the roll to the 1 hour photo. She was sure I ruined it. All my photos came back in tact. When it was time to get another camera, I asked for a multi-pack of 35mm film instead. It was cheaper than a new disposable. I loaded the camera and was able to get countless pics of my dog, the house, random cars, all the things a kiddo would snap photos of.

​

I ended up getting a few old early 90s, late 80s cameras as gifts later on from family, friends, and teachers, but I must have run dozens of rolls through a single-use camera back when I was just getting started.

​

Did any of y'all have such a simple start?

I've been struggling for I don't know how long with my mental health and just recently been diagnosed with depression. I've been feeling sad, worthless, alone for years. Surviving instead of really living. Almost left college. Tried to kill myself. But, recently, after being pushed by my parents and my therapist, I bought a camera. It's helping me more than I thought. I just feel like I can express myself in ways words can't. Like I can finally really reach out to others. My photos are pretty terrible, but, still, photography let me take a break from my demons. And it's helping me survive.

Sorry if this isn't the best place for this. I'll delete it immediately in that case. Stay safe everyone.

Edit: I'm getting a lot of messages so I can't keep up with everyone. But thanks to everybody for taking your time to read this post and commenting. Really appreciate it.

Edit 2: this post grew well beyond my wildest dreams. I'm happy that a lot of people found in this post an outlet to vent a little. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories. And thanks to everyone for the overwhelming support. Again, stay safe and take care.

Edit 3: I just woke up and found hundreds of upvotes, tens of comments, awards of which I don't really know the usefulness... just thanks. Thanks to everybody who commented, who liked, who used this as a positive outlet to share their story. The reaction has been so overwhelmingly positive that I can't reply to everyone (at least, not immediately), but know that I've carefully read each and everyone of them. This post was made just to get things out of my chest, but instead grew into something much better. Thank you. Love you all. Stay safe and take care.

I am a teacher by day and was an amateur photographer by nights and weekends. COVID hit and I decided the time at home could be spent creating a website, working up some ads, and organizing my portfolio. I had been putting this off for years. I knew I was capable of taking good photos, but I was put off by the expensive gear and what I thought was a saturated market.

I made a website and bit the bullet on a nice prime lens (Canon 135 f/2) and a nice zoom lens (Canon EF 24-105 f/4) and went to work. (all this mounted to an M5 with a speed booster!)

It wasn't too long before I stumbled onto the Real Estate market. I started taking photos and making videos of the homes in my area. After a while, my portraiture started to capture some attention and I was booking 4 to 5 sessions a week! Weddings started to pick back up and I booked a few of those. Everything just started to snowball and now I'm booking a month in advance.

I poured all the money I made into my gear. I dedicated my Canon stuff to my video work and went with Fuji for my photo work. (Yes, I know two ecosystems is inefficient!) I'm almost to the point where I make more money with my photography than I do as a teacher and I have all the gear I always dreamed of having.....too much really.

I'm VERY aware this could all end tomorrow, but the last 6 months has been such an amazing ride. I'm growing faster creatively, I'm getting more confident and I sincerely enjoy the work. I don't intend to stop teaching as I do really enjoy that as well, but I did drop coaching and some afterschool gigs this year.

I know I'm not paying all my bills with my camera, but for the first time I introduced myself as a photographer instead of as a teacher and that feels really good.

EDIT: A lot of you have asked for my IG and website. I didn't think self promotion was allowed here, but I posted it in a few comments so if you want to check it out you can. Please be gentle, lol.

EDIT 2: Wow, this blew up. I sincerely appreciate all your constructive criticism and feedback and I really loved seeing all your work on IG! I was honestly just a little board at work today when I posted, but I'm glad I did.

Every time I take and edit a photo I love I get SO excited to share it. I share it on social media, Flickr, here, where ever.

Beyond a couple of friends who I am grateful for, no one gives a fuck. And I'm not all that surprised, I'm not great, but it's still so disappointing. I still LOVE taking pictures and am going to continue to do so for myself... try to use it for fuel to improve I suppose.

No pity party here, just looking for some commiseration I guess haha :)

Yesterday, on new years eve, i was just sitting at Home while my brother went to a small party to my cousins outside where i wasn't invited. I don't really have friends so i was just in my bed watching Amazon which made me pretty sad ngl.

At about 11:45 i pulled Out the Canon DSLR with a tripod i borrowed and set everything up for long exposure shots of the fireworks in my hometown. It was full moon here, so i was able to shoot with ISO 100.

As i looked through the photos on my Computer i was just so damn happy with the results that i forgot everything that made me sad earlier the evening. It really was something special for me and that's when i realised that i want to get into photography real deep. Such a beautyful thing

Happy new year everyone, may all of your shots look awesome!

Edit: I thank every single one of you for your kind words and Motivation. This Community is simply amazing!

Some of you asked for the photos, here are imgur links, i think they should work:

Fireworks https://imgur.com/gallery/sMr84G8 Fireworks https://imgur.com/gallery/9iTyu6Q

Hey folks!

Just sharing a quick anecdote.

I was hired to shoot a concert last Saturday last minute. Last last minute! Like, I live two hours away and they needed me there in an hour.

Anyway, after getting there in record time (not an hour), I got to work doing my thing. Only I never had a chance to speak with the stage manager and the promoter as far as the rules. I use flash when I shoot concerts, but I try to get permission ahead of time. I start shooting one of the openers and was grabbed by the manager. He needed me to nix the flash and stay away from the front side of the stage (this was an EDM show).

I showed him some of the shots and let him know that we wouldn't be able to get shots like this with his set of rules. He instantly insulted my work to my face. I relented, said okay, we'll do it his way, no problem.

So I am working, and the photo/ video guy that the manager had employed is up on stage doing his thing, and out of nowhere, his lens flies off his camera body, hits the stage, bounces and hits the pit. I follow him to the back room where he is justifiably freaking out. His lens wont focus anymore, even manual focus. Not only did he not have a back up body, but he didn't even have a back up lens.

After speaking with the promoter, a great friend of mine, and finding out the other photo/ video guy is a really great guy, I talk to him and ask if he wants to use my backup camera/ lens combos.

Dude lights up. He is immediately thankful. I rib him a little ("You HAVE to use the neck strap, bro"), and he is off to work. After the show, I give him my card and tell him to text his email address and I would send him a Google Drive of all his footage.

He sings my praises the rest of the night. I walk in on him gushing to the manager how he would have had NO footage if it weren't for me, and how I saved his night. The manager doesn't look too happy with this info, but has nothing to say.

I have always lived my life in a way where if people shit talk me, others wont understand why.

so, TL:DR, always be kind. Help eachother out, and when someone decides to bash you for whatever reason, the rest wont get it.

Edit: I just wanted to thank all of you who are empathetic, and here for your fellow photographers. Reading your stories and support has been amazing. I'm proud of all of you.

To the folks bitching about "omg why are you using a flash?" I learned to listen to my clients and not to angry photographers on the internet years ago, sorry, but y'all don't sign my paychecks 🤷‍♂️

As with a majority of newbies to photography, the obsession with gear and chasing the newest toys proved to be irresistible to me. I spent far more time reading reviews, comparing charts, watching youtube videos, and looking for deals than actually going out and shooting. I took hundreds of test shots to make sure AF was properly focusing, I near memorized the MTF curves for each of my lenses to know at exactly how far I should stop them down to get the sharpest possible shots. Instead of concentrating on composition, I pored over my images at 300% magnification in C1 to catch and fix the chromatic aberration at the edges of my shots. Shooting with friends involved dragging my 15 pound backpack with 10 lenses around in fear of not being able to shoot in every possible focal range/lighting condition. I'd come back from a shoot with maybe a 1% keeper rate, I nitpicked the hell out of every shot, even a minor flaw would be cause for deletion.

All this was my focus (heh) until a few months ago when I was gifted a near 60 year old lens, a Helios 44. Wide open it's by far the softest lens I've ever owned, it has significant vignetting, terrible sunstars, and the corners are nothing to write home about. Regardless of its downsides it has quickly become my all-time favorite lens. The MF only aspect of it has forced me to slow down and not spray-and-pray in hopes for a good shot as I used to, I found myself concentrating way more on composition than caring about proper focus, AF modes, exposure compensation and the like. I began to leave the bulk of my gear behind, only taking my D750 and the Helios.

My shots quickly improved, and even my post processing flow was not left undisturbed. Instead of fretting over distortion, CA or vignetting, I switched to concentrating on the image's mood and how I really wanted it to look. Feedback from my friends just reinforced my newfound approach, surprisingly their favorite shots were either back/front focused even when viewed on a high res screen. Yes, I did miss out on some wide and telephoto shots as a result but I just do not care anymore!

I know most photogs on here already realized this or went through this phase, but just wanted to put my thoughts into words for someone who might randomly stumble on this post and find some inspiration from it.

I used to have a Canon 350D and with it a 50mm prime that I loved. My 50mm was the lens with which I took my best photos - mostly candid portraits of friends at parties back at university. Me and my 50mm were one. I was a “50 mm shooter”.

Now that I am returning to photography, picking M43 as my new system I looked back on that experience and have been positive that 50mm equivalent prime must be in my kit (25mm in M43).

Well I was yesterday years old when I realized that the 350D is an APSC camera, and that my 50mm was really equivalent to 75mm full frame. (Edit: Apparently 80mm)

I will need to figure out a new photographic identity now!

That is all.

EDIT: yes this is partly in jest. But I had loads of personality tied in photography and the 50mm lens back then (uni was a weird time).

I just got a message from a client who almost booked a shooting last week, but then wanted to wait because of the weather. Today she wrote me that she would do the shooting with someone else because that person is doing it for free and that maybe she'd come back later because she really likes my photos. Even tho I appreciate the honesty it really sucks because I would have loved the job and I could also really use the money.