I'd hate to be a photographer!!

PaulieC

a full-time photographer that is!

I spent all day yesterday photographing an event here at work. We had 80 transition year students in for the day to try to get them to think about IT as a career. There were various talks, demos, workshops etc planned for the day. My brief was to attend all the events and document them, a few set pieces here and there and have enough material by 2PM to be used in a presentaion at 4.
The kids were great - usual mix of shy, quiet, confident, brash, super-confident - and they really seemed to enjoy the day, but I was bloody knackered by the end of it! And to give me a case of gear envy, there was an Irish Times photographer there with his 2 X 1D/L lenses etc etc! I kept an eye on him to see what kind of shots he was getting to try to figure out what kind of material he was looking for...

my arm is still knackered now!

City-Exile

I'll bet the day went more quickly than normal though!

thebaz

good man Paul - I was going to run a thread , on which would you prefer to be , work in I.T. or be a wedding photographer ?
tough one for me to answer

City-Exile

Wedding Photographer doesn't touch IT, for me.
Sports Photographer though, now that's a whole different ball game!

PaulieC

City-Exile wrote: »

I'll bet the day went more quickly than normal though!

I did get a lot more free treats then usual that's for sure :pac:

PaulieC

thebaz wrote: »

good man Paul - I was going to run a thread , on which would you prefer to be , work in I.T. or be a wedding photographer ?
tough one for me to answer

Deffo not work full-time in photography. I love it as a hobby and would hate to have to look on it as a chore

thebaz

cambo_gueno wrote: »

Deffo not work full-time in photography. I love it as a hobby and would hate to have to look on it as a chore

i probably would have to shoot a wedding first , before i could give an honest answer :rolleyes: - sometimes the unknown looks better

Cabaal

Did my first wedding in May of this year, wasn't totally on my own which I was very thankful for but it was stressful and I've learned ALOT from the whole experience which should help me in the future

PopeBuckfastXVI

I think I'd hate to be a wedding photog, I'd be so worried about messing up and ruining a couples big day (or at least their souvenirs of it), and I'd imagine there'd be a few bridezillas that would be stressful to deal with. I'd quite like the idea of doing portraits for people though, either studio or outdoor. I'm a bit of a gadget freak and my mouth waters a bit whenever I read about lighting setups! I think the main advantage of going pro would be having the money and excuse to take elaborate setups, something like advertising appeals to me, you get seriously cool looking photos in magazine ads. Anyway I'm a lifer in the IT game, so it's all academic, I'm happy enough to play with my strobist setup, now if only I could find more victims models to practice on than myself, I'm gathering too many well lit self portraits!

YogiBear

I don't think I'd like wedding photography at all, it must get very samey or like a chore..
Political news would be of interest to me, fashion & wildlife photography probably too. I'd much rather work freelance than go into an office everyday.

gaz wac

With the salary a full timer earns with a national paper....id have no problem taken it up

YogiBear

PopeBuckfastXVI wrote: »

now if only I could find more victims models to practice on than myself, I'm gathering too many well lit self portraits!

Interesting point! Seriously, how does one go about hiring out a person for a few hours (or even minutes) to sit still and not grumble about having their photo taken.. :mad: "I'm watching the telly".. like Jeeez!



Like helllooooo?

smelltheglove

I actuslly like weddings to an extent, as in when you dont have a groom that is trying to run away from the wife every 5mns and has to be treated like a 5 yr old boy.

I am being constantly pulled towards music and bosing, the pressure of the low lights and high speed movement and not missing that shot builds up the adrenaline something else.

I have very willing models for portraits though, lights and equipment but not hugely interested, although I have a promotions girls coming for modelling shots next week so I might get into it a bit more. I couldnt do poltics or news, I can never remember a face, I mean if I walked past Mary Harney snogging that Cohen I would never even cop on to it being a huge photo op cos I'd just think they were a [air of ol fogeys getting hot under the collar:D:D

YogiBear

smelltheglove wrote: »

I mean if I walked past Mary Harney snogging that Cohen I would never even cop on to it being a huge photo op cos I'd just think they were a pair of ol fogeys getting hot under the collar:D:D

Oh jeeesus!

whyulittle

In fairness, who in their right mind would want to see that! *shudders*

smelltheglove

;)lol, bet it would make a few quid though

I have a question for you all... (rather than make a new clueless thread)


What exactly is the hard part to photographing a wedding? Surely it can't be too tough?


EDIT: Note: Other than taking casual photos here and there, i don't deal with cameras at all, and therefore, i've no idea about what a photographers job would require)

smelltheglove

Well in my huge experience of 4 weddings for each one, the stress of getting the shots in enough time before bridal party start getting irritated, remembering exactly which shots you need to get, which people you need and when. Getting the required shots at the required time i.e. rings. Not messing up a 'money' shot.

Then you have the individuals, i.e. a wedding where groom is a grumpy so and so and will not look at you no matter how hard you try, one where you just cant get them to relax so you need to work extra hard at being the funniest person in the world, I had one perfect easy brilliant great fun one too where I went home on a high, and one where you have every guest out of 260 wanting a picture taken with the couple and you are pon a strict time schedule to get the pictures you need. Also being there from 11am to 11pm doesnt help especially when you are starving and tired and standing on a chair around drunken people trying to get the dancing shots.

Then you have the added pressure of the stress you feel on the way home and not being able to sleep until you check every picture and constantly worrying about whether or not the couple will like them, thats all off the top of my head, you still have to worry about equipment etc.

Why do I enjoy it again????

smelltheglove

smelltheglove wrote: »

Why do I enjoy it again????

Does it pay well?

Fajitas!

It's all about workflow, routines and personality.

And building upper and lower arm strength.

These days, I Wedding'tography!

smelltheglove

Deleted User wrote: »

Does it pay well?

Not yet as I'm not long at it. It might pay well in or around 2010 but my 4 weddings haven't earned me a grand anyway. Even when it does pay well though there aren't that many weddings for each photographer, and you also need to consider the likes of Jan / March / April / October / November are not big months for weddings. And the equipment costs a lot also, but I live in hope that one day I will earn enough from photography to feed the addiction.

One day...............

dakar

Deleted User wrote: »

What exactly is the hard part to photographing a wedding? Surely it can't be too tough?

This topic pops up fairly frequently. I've never shot a wedding, but I think Fajitas' post here is probably the best summary of why they earn their money:).

mikeanywhere

Cabaal wrote: »

Did my first wedding in May of this year, wasn't totally on my own which I was very thankful for but it was stressful and I've learned ALOT from the whole experience which should help me in the future

Defo the best way to learn in the situation you had as the pressure on the day was no where the same that you would have if it was a paying client. You did well and got some cracking images tho!!

ThOnda

YogiBear wrote: »

... hiring out a person for a few hours (or even minutes) to sit still and not grumble about having their photo taken...

I have never had a photo session with person sitting still. I was always trying to do everything possible not to have them sitting still! :eek:

YogiBear

ThOnda wrote: »

I have never had a photo session with person sitting still. I was always trying to do everything possible not to have them sitting still! :eek:

Huh?!?! What do ya mean Mr. ThOnda?
I suppose to make myself more clear, I meant that the person would pose or at least not run away when I take my camera out!

Burago

gaz wac wrote: »

With the salary a full timer earns with a national paper....id have no problem taken it up

Is see the smiley so I'm guessing you're taking the piss... any idea what a top press guy gets?

Cabaal

mikeanywhere wrote: »

Defo the best way to learn in the situation you had as the pressure on the day was no where the same that you would have if it was a paying client. You did well and got some cracking images tho!!

Certainly wasn't the "real thing" alright but still a good place to start I figure

I was happy with some of the shots alright but not all, but then I'm my biggest critic

Borderfox

I like working full-time a lot, the variety in my work means that it never becomes a chore. I had initally worried about that. Events and Weddings are very relaxing for me now, good upper body strength from the 70-200 too. If you were doing the same thing all the time then yes I would agree it would get old very quick.