Photography Update
Discussion
Hi everyone.
I thought I'd post this for advice. I do use the Gassing Station quite a bit to look for car owners requesting photographs, however is Facebook a good site to advertise what I'm offering.
Also, it has been very difficult to break into photographing cars for companies and photographing at events. As i'm sure a lot of you are very professional in car photography, so can any of you think of the best kind of companies to contact to break into the industry and get jobs in photographing cars?
It is rather tough at the moment so if anyone can please give me some good advice then I'll appreciate it.
Thanks.
I thought I'd post this for advice. I do use the Gassing Station quite a bit to look for car owners requesting photographs, however is Facebook a good site to advertise what I'm offering.
Also, it has been very difficult to break into photographing cars for companies and photographing at events. As i'm sure a lot of you are very professional in car photography, so can any of you think of the best kind of companies to contact to break into the industry and get jobs in photographing cars?
It is rather tough at the moment so if anyone can please give me some good advice then I'll appreciate it.
Thanks.
After being an 'enthusiastic amateur' for the past 45-odd years, and having a daughter who was a professional 'tog for a while, I can agree that things are tough.
The proliferation of affordable digital gear hasn't helped the exclusivity of the job at all; to the layman, any Tom, Dick or Harry can pick up a compact Nikanon and produce pictures which look like the original scene or model. In the days of film, a rudimentary understanding was needed - which film to choose, how to expose it for the right results, how to develop it accordingly. Cameras today can do all of that for you and produce an acceptable result, so many, many more people are trying to offer their services for reward. Many are very average, however.
The trick is to be better than the rest, find a different angle perhaps, publicise yourself and be prepared for lots of hard graft. As Tony Jacklin (?IIRC) once said - "It's funny - the harder I work, the luckier I get"
Good luck!
The proliferation of affordable digital gear hasn't helped the exclusivity of the job at all; to the layman, any Tom, Dick or Harry can pick up a compact Nikanon and produce pictures which look like the original scene or model. In the days of film, a rudimentary understanding was needed - which film to choose, how to expose it for the right results, how to develop it accordingly. Cameras today can do all of that for you and produce an acceptable result, so many, many more people are trying to offer their services for reward. Many are very average, however.
The trick is to be better than the rest, find a different angle perhaps, publicise yourself and be prepared for lots of hard graft. As Tony Jacklin (?IIRC) once said - "It's funny - the harder I work, the luckier I get"
Good luck!
How much are you charging for those photoshoots that you offer to people? 
That's your answer - you're ruining the industry for yourself. Even if you will eventually decide that it's time to start asking for money, there will be five other "Will Aron"s happy to do ot for free for practice.
That's your answer - you're ruining the industry for yourself. Even if you will eventually decide that it's time to start asking for money, there will be five other "Will Aron"s happy to do ot for free for practice.
littleredrooster said:
After being an 'enthusiastic amateur' for the past 45-odd years, and having a daughter who was a professional 'tog for a while, I can agree that things are tough.
The trick is to be better than the rest, find a different angle perhaps, publicise yourself and be prepared for lots of hard graft. As Tony Jacklin (?IIRC) once said - "It's funny - the harder I work, the luckier I get"
Good luck!
It is very tough. I've considered giving up completely because this industry has changed so much. I wasn't expecting this industry to be so narrow. Plus I feel that some of the people who have got into this industry don't deserve to be in there anyway. The trick is to be better than the rest, find a different angle perhaps, publicise yourself and be prepared for lots of hard graft. As Tony Jacklin (?IIRC) once said - "It's funny - the harder I work, the luckier I get"
Good luck!
rottie102 said:
How much are you charging for those photoshoots that you offer to people?
That's your answer - you're ruining the industry for yourself. Even if you will eventually decide that it's time to start asking for money, there will be five other "Will Aron"s happy to do ot for free for practice.
I know what prices I'm going to offer. I've researched into what prices I should be offering. Be interesting to ask how much would you offer for a photo shoot? I do have practice photo shoots in the pipeline, however one always learns when it comes to photography whether money comes in or not.That's your answer - you're ruining the industry for yourself. Even if you will eventually decide that it's time to start asking for money, there will be five other "Will Aron"s happy to do ot for free for practice.
The question I'm asking is who are the right people to contact to start out small?
WillAron said:
I know what prices I'm going to offer. I've researched into what prices I should be offering. Be interesting to ask how much would you offer for a photo shoot? I do have practice photo shoots in the pipeline, however one always learns when it comes to photography whether money comes in or not.
The question I'm asking is who are the right people to contact to start out small?
As someone earlier said, there are lots of 'photographers' willing to do it to a relatively high standard for free - so the bottom of the market is a complete non-starter (unless your daddy happens to own a car firm). The only way to separate yourself from the flock is to take extraordinarily good photographs and then (as Simpo says) market yourself. You can be the best photographer on earth but if you don't know how to market yourself you can forget it - you need to be as good, if not better, at marketing than photography.The question I'm asking is who are the right people to contact to start out small?
If you really want your images to stand out, be prepared to invest in your skills and put your hand in your pocket. For instance, hire some MF gear and a proper car studio and learn how to light cars properly (because it's a huge skill in itself) it might even be worth paying someone to teach you how. At the same time, stop spending your life correcting errors in Photoshop, learn how to do it right in camera. It gives clients confidence in your abilities as a photographer who can deal with any eventuality. Besides, he can hire a graphics artist for less than a photographers anyway, so it's a blind alley if you want to earn proper money.
Do you have to photograph cars or are you willing to take on any assignment? Limiting yourself to one subject won't help you get a foothold. I never set out to photograph weddings, it found me - I just seemed to take photos people liked enough to pay for! (but I did also arrive on the scene at a time to make a USP)
Simpo Two said:
Do you have to photograph cars or are you willing to take on any assignment? Limiting yourself to one subject won't help you get a foothold. I never set out to photograph weddings, it found me - I just seemed to take photos people liked enough to pay for! (but I did also arrive on the scene at a time to make a USP)
I've actually spoke to a few people about this. A lot of people have said I should broaden myself more and I feel like it's the only choice I have. I do want to try weddings, pets and landscapes as well as cars. However I get all the criticism from photographers saying you can only stick to one subject which i feel isn't true. If you have the talent you can be good at anything. As long as there's good portfolios you can broaden yourself. Mind you many photographers telling me this are usually pretty jealous.Simpo Two said:
Do you have to photograph cars or are you willing to take on any assignment? Limiting yourself to one subject won't help you get a foothold. I never set out to photograph weddings, it found me - I just seemed to take photos people liked enough to pay for! (but I did also arrive on the scene at a time to make a USP)
True. Limiting yourself to one field won't teach you to be versatile, either. Lots of car photography involves shooting people and, if you can't handle that you need to work on your people skills. If you're a good photographer, you should be able to turn your hand to most things. As discussed on another thread; just because you're shooting the thing you love doesn't actually mean you'll enjoy it. Lots of photographic jobs, that ought to be a piece of piss, can turn out to be unpleasant and stressful.. I guesss it comes down to this:
If you're shooting for fun, shoot what you like shooting. Do that pilot's Aston Martin for free. You will like doing it and probably learn something as well.
If you're shooting for money, shoot what people will pay you for.
Getting paid to shoot stuff you like is a double bonus score, but be warned the fun may not last long. Still, every dog has his day!
If you're shooting for fun, shoot what you like shooting. Do that pilot's Aston Martin for free. You will like doing it and probably learn something as well.
If you're shooting for money, shoot what people will pay you for.
Getting paid to shoot stuff you like is a double bonus score, but be warned the fun may not last long. Still, every dog has his day!
The problem is that to be professional, to make a living, you need to be in the top 0.0something percent. How many people can make a living taking photos of cars? Ten? Twenty? It's not many.
You have to have something really special, GFWilliams is special, but as well as being very talented there is a lot of equipment, access to cars, locations and time required. Some of his shots look like they took a lot of time to set up let alone take and process.
I'm not saying you can't do it, but what you produce has to be really special to make it.
You have to have something really special, GFWilliams is special, but as well as being very talented there is a lot of equipment, access to cars, locations and time required. Some of his shots look like they took a lot of time to set up let alone take and process.
I'm not saying you can't do it, but what you produce has to be really special to make it.
WillAron said:
Too right. Most photographers I know hate it when someone new comes on the scene. I know many who've tried putting me off.
How is it jealousy? They already have what you want - paying contacts.It's called competition. Why do you expect them to advise you how to be a stronger competitor and give you their trade secrets?
You are young and part of the generation "I want it, I deserve it so it should be given to me".
Wait until you spend 5,10,20 years doing something for living, establishing contacts, becoming better by practice and investing A LOT of money in your gear, marketing etc and then we'll see what your reaction will be when another "Will Aron" comes asking "Who do I contact to get paid jobs"
We've been advising you for a while now and you keep ignoring the most important bit that we keep mentioning - being exceptionally good at photography. Best marketing won't help you if your photos are average and frankly, they still are...
WillAron said:
Plus I feel that some of the people who have got into this industry don't deserve to be in there anyway.
Interesting comment. Care to elaborate? I don't mean specific names (feel free if you like though), but what it is that makes you think they don't deserve...?In terms of 'who do I contact?' the simple answer is potential clients. So if you think your clients would be magazines, contact editors. Companies = MD or marketing director, etc etc.
But your work needs to be up to scratch, as has been referenced by a few including myself. Frankly - and I'm only going by your website, you may have spectacular stuff on file you haven't shown - I'd focus on improving your base skills before jumping to "I should be getting paid work".
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