Becoming a new film photo professional

[wfe]

As others have said Ari, follow your dreams and be honest with yourself. Look in the mirror, what do you see? Look deep into your soul. The road will be rough, a strong commitment will guide you over the bumps and obstacles. never give up if this is your dream.

Regards,
Bill

 

[eddym]

If I no longer wish to live somewhere I would leave. I have lived a few places and never once regretted the move.

Get yourself spartan photography equipment, that is easily transportable and venture to where you think you would like to live. Contact local photographers there and try to get work assisting, to learn technique, both people and equipment wise. If not, just get a job, and in your spare time work on your projects and make yourself happy.

In my opinion, living somewhere you don't like, will stifle your creativity all the way to your soul. Follow your dreams and the world will part and let you through.

Michael

Michael, I grew up in Georgia, and I reached this same conclusion in 1984, so I moved to Puerto Rico. And you are absolutely correct. I make less money here than I did in the States, but I love living here, and my photography has grown as an art form since I came here. I'm not "successful" by most North American standards, but I am very happy!

 

[arigram]

Thank you Cate and Bill.
I was going to reply to Cate's post saying something in the lines of "what I want to is to make lots and lots of mullah, be more famous than Madonna and take part in orgies with supermodels", but Bill's romantic post made me step down a bit.
What I really want is to have a good life, have fun with it and if it becomes possible, do something important for the world. I am not sure about the latter but I am working on the former.
We shall see.
Now, lets milk those politians! Its my chance to get back at them!

 

[roteague]

Thank you Andre, but the polaroids I posted are just tokens of the session. We tried different poses.

You might try moving the camera a bit; having a low camera angle like you used, may look good for a woman, but not a man. FWIW, Blansky gave an excellent workshop on posing at the Toronto conference. You might PM him and ask what he thinks.

 

[BrianShaw]

Ari -- I read this thread with a bit of envy. I have no options like you do. Go for it and have fun! If nothing else you will learn a lot about photography and running a small business. When I was younger I ran a small business (not photography). That was an experience that changed my whole perspective on life.

Regarding Robert's comment on low camera angle... are you using WLF or did you get an eye-level finder? I just did a "portrait session" using my Hassy -- a custom motorcycle. Being not tall I found many handheld shots to be too low using the WLF. A decent tripod and step-ladder was my solution.

 

[arigram]

I don't know Robert and Brian, I -like- that low angle.
I bought many things for the Hassy but not once did I think to buy a finder.
I have used it extensivelly in my portraits and I find that slight low angle gives a bit of authority and pride to the portrait and I thought that would go well with a politian.
Honestly, all my photos have been made with the WLF, so its the first time that I hear negative comments about the perspective.
Anyway, those polaroids where just to check to see if the pictures come out and if the lighting is succesful, there were not to check poses or expressions or anything.

Anyway Brian, thank you for the kind words.

 

[Zen]

Hello! I've been reading the posts on this thread with some interest, I can relate to numerous things mentioned as I too wish to become a pro, or semi-pro at least, one day! All I can say is to reiterate most of what has been said already. Follow your intuition and your dreams. Visualise your goals, always try to remain optimistic and open to opportunities, you never know what will happen or when.

I hope you don't mind me saying, but some of the things you've said in your posts remind me of something I've read about in the past. Here's a link to a website that may be worthwile reading - Indigo. Please forgive me if I'm way off the mark, just thought it may be of interest.

 

[arigram]

I hope you don't mind me saying, but some of the things you've said in your posts remind me of something I've read about in the past. Here's a link to a website that may be worthwile reading - Indigo. Please forgive me if I'm way off the mark, just thought it may be of interest.

I don't mind you saying anything, especially about something interesting and out of the norm (litterally in this case). I am confused though. I didn't spend much time in the website as I was trying to find what the hell Indigo is apart from a color. So, Indigos are children of the latest generations with something different about that? And that relates to me? That would be surprising since apart from the ego trip that teenagers go through thinking they are special, I can't honestly say that about me really!
Maybe special, as in needing care in a special ward of an insane asylum...

 

[Zen]

Not to worry - it was just a thought from some of the things you had mentioned in your posts. Good luck with your new venture!