Are there any professional photographers on fluther?

i believe KnotmyDay is a professional photographer

BronxLens is a photographer.

I wouldn’t mind seeing some of your pics. I’m not a professional, but I can still take some pretty good pictures. I took photography at school and at camp, so I know a bit about cameras. Have you took any courses or classes or anything? What techniques do you know?

I have been doing photography for a long time, but I wouldn’t say I am a professional….still learn stuff everyday. If you have a good place to take courses (local community college, photography store) in your area I would start with that. Then just start reading magazines and talking with other photographers in your area. Oh, and practice as much as you can

I’ve taught at college level and done professional portrait photography as well. You are lucky to be in a digital age, where film cost, etc. are not an issue, as practice and observation, and critique are the best ways to advance. rockstar has some great advice.

It’s also great to go to online sites and observe whenever you have the time, and at least once a day, to make it a habit.

There are many great sites out there where you can get positive, feedback. State what your goals are on the site, that you are open to criticism and really want to learn.

My favorite is fotothing, which is a British based site. You can download 5 photos a day for free. It has a friends feature that you can link to photographers that you like and is very interactive. The homepage is buzzing with current photos as wll.

I’m sure other will have some other sites to suggest to you as well.

I also recommend some design courses, which will give you a better “eye” as well. Shoot both thinking and spontaneously as well. I’ve got to warn you, it’s an addiction, but a great one. Best wishes!

here is my blog. I’m new to photography in general. Critique away please Willbrawn. http://Blogspot.com

dang http://Willbrawn.blogspot.com

I’m sure there are ;) For beginning, get a hang on some of the basic basics

The best way to sharpen your eye is by taking photographs consistently. As often at time allows you (after a shoot, after the day is over) review them. You can be a very good critic of your own photos: Did you compose with the rule of thirds (or not – the are times when breaking rules brings not only satisfaction but also a very cool image. Did you compose feeling the frame with people’s faces or do you find yourself fitting people head-to-toe into the frame? Are all your images taken from eye level? Could you have found a better & higher vantage point or perhaps squatted down – particularly effective when doing photography of children or small pets.

Get a grasp of the three variables that you can control: shutter speed, ISO and aperture

Look at the work of great photographers (old and modern ones). The trick is not to look at their work with passive eyes, as if watching TV (oh, look how pretty, moving, grotesque, etc) but to use inquisitive eyes: On a portrait that you like, where does the light seem to come from ? Is there more than one source of light? Does the photo appear to be candid or is the subject posing? Could the photo be improved by cropping any given portion? Is color the best way to render this image or is black&white a better one?

A great book of ideas to guide you with some structure while having lots of fun is the Photo Idea Index A reviewers in Amazon says: “not necessarily a how-to book with lots of detail instructions—though there are plenty—but it’s more so a book of inspiration for those who want to take aesthetically pleasing photos. Krause pushes you take risks, shoot lots of subjects, and carry a camera around with you wherever you go. ”

Hope this helps Will & best of luck!

Hmm

I’m no professional but I am a hobbyist.

What you really need to do is just go out and shoot shoot shoot, you really want to find your median (what you like to work with, whether it be nature, people, architecture, macro, etc.)

Then you need to find your median in photo editing. Everyone has their own way of doing stuff, not to long ago there was a guy that just went around and shot everyday ‘stuff’ going on like a picture of a bar from the outside, just some plain boring picture originally, but he edited so much it was turned into art, and he got his own full section in PC Photo, wish I could remember his name atm.

The one think I really don’t like about your blog right now is the picture of the flower, and I will explain.
All the other pictures you have have not a lot of color, they are dim, and urban(ish), the flower stands out because it actually has a fair amount of color and is just way different from the others, making it stand out (in a bad way).

Also just a tip, when you’re shooting, shoot in RAW, unless you are doing a job for someone like an auction, just shoot in medium jpegs, RAW gives you a huuuuge advantage over jpeg, and with jpeg once it’s gone.. it’s gone, with RAW you can always go back and re-fix something.

Another good tip is.. always look for another angle, there are tons of generic photos out there, it’s the ones that people sit and look at and are like.. wow it looks so different blah blah, poses a new meaning.

One question, what camera are you shooting with, if it’s a (d)SLR, what lenses also?

@xcnuse thanks for the tip about the flower. I have some more that I am editing with that will be in brighter colors. And right now I’m in early stages. I shooting with a Sony cybershot. Picking up my slr soon though.

I wouldn’t call myself a proffesional photographer but I found that the thing that helped me most to ‘sharpen my eye’ was having a manual focus lens. It forced me to concentrate and take time with my shots.

William;
What I like about your photography is your use of available light.
You also appear to have an innate sense of composition. Where the subject sits in the picture is what makes it interesting…mostly. I encourage you to further expand your developing (no pun intended) skill by studying what is called the “law of thirds” and further, the “Golden Mean.” As a caveat, don’t let tutorials hang you up on the petty stuff, shoot what you like.
Explore sites like this one for insight, but books are truly where it’s at for serious learning. Especially books with high quality pictures.
One that I recommend, based on your photos, is Light in the Landscape, a Photographer’s Year by Peter Watson. The book is not only coffee-table worthy, but Peter also tells you how he took the pictures, and what equipment (lens, filter etc.) and settings for the result.
Also…a photographer’s best friend is (drum roll) a notebook. Write down settings and equipment, so you can refer to it later. Because you’ll kick yourself if you don’t.
Hope you get your SLR soon.

my mom LOVES to take pictures but i always erase the bad ones of me sometimes it wont let me erase it probably she figured out how to save it… but before anything get to know all about the camera like what you can do with pics and stuff because when you start to make progess of what you were doing it’ll come out alot better than you hoped!

I’m a professional commercial, portrait and wedding photographer that just joined fluther. You can check out my work on my facebook page www.facebook.com/symankaye. Hopefully I be be able to offer advice when possible. :)