Confession time....I'm broke. Stay-at-home Mom = single income, so that means I don't have the money to spend on fancy photographic equipment. Someday I will, but in the meantime, what do I do? What does a photographer who is just starting out supposed to do to? Its a vicious cycle....you use what you have and get OK shots that don't really sell, so you don't get the money needed to get new equipment, so you can't get the "money shots", so you continue to use what you have. Do you take out a loan? Maybe. But if you are like me and not want to go into debt, what can you do? Well, I stumbled onto a FABULOUS site for the photographer that doesn't have the cash to spend on expensive equipement, but still wants to up their game. www.diyphotography.net has some fantastic videos and suggestions for making your own studio equipment without spending the big bucks! Its something that will tide you over til the money starts rolling in and you can afford to buy the nice stuff! Personally, I can't wait to get into my basement and start building my studio!!

Encouraged, Yet Challenged

I have been plugging away at Stock photography, and I have been very encouraged by my success so far....and I use the term success loosely, as my definittion of sucess right now is to get pictures approved and into my portfolio at Dreamstime. I am currently at 13 photos, which to me is encouraging because I know the skill level that I am competing with, and so that is where I am challenged! I used to think I was a pretty good photographer, as I had a handful of pictures turn our really well, but the majority of them were "Crappy snappy's". As I began to learn about photography, and various techniques, I realized I really didn't know anything about photography. That was a painful realization, as I was someone who prided myself in having an interest in photography. Well, I have been learning a lot, and I look at pictures that are already on Dreamstime, and I see where I need to be in terms of skill level, and I take it as a personal challenge!! I can do it! I can be that good, and I can learn and become a wonderful, successful photographer! I really want this to become more than just an expensive hobby, I want this to be my career, and I want to be a success!

I am excited! I have been submitting photos to Dreamstime Stock, and now have 7 images up for sale! I have several pending, and a computer hard drive full of images that need to be edited and submitted, and more ideas for images filling up my brain! I decided to expand my microstock options and have turned back to Shutterstock in the hopes of getting some images up there also. I have been advised that different stock agencies cater to different markets, so my best bet of making some money in this business is to broaden my horizons and get as many images up on as many different stock sites as I can. Stock photography will likely never be a replacement income (too bad!) but if I can make enough to take trips and get new camera equipment once in awhile, that would be lovely!

More rejection...

Well, out of the 30 some images I uploaded to Dreamstime, I thought there were 2 or 3 that FOR SURE would be accepted, but they weren't. Every single one of them was rejected, and for about 10 minutes, I was kinda bummed, then I remembered the advice that I got from one of my Dreamstime pals.... "be prepared for rejection...a LOT of rejection!" and I made the decision to NOT be disappointed, but seize the opportunity to learn! I read the reasons for rejection, and it wasn't that they were bad images, they jsut weren't good stock images. I felt better. The rest of them had their own issues, but I am learning, and I refuse to give up! The successful stock photographers that I see on there are the ones that stuck with it, and refused to give up, even when their acceptance ratio was incredibly low! I realised that mine is very low, and that its a numbers game as much as a skill game, so I took some more pictures and practiced and experimented, and little by little, I am improving as a photographer! I WILL be a success, I WILL be skilled, and I WILL be happy!

"Mastering Your Digital Camera" workshop

Went to my very first photography workshop, and loved it!!! It was put on by some fabulous local photographers who have been published in almost every photography magazine there is, and it was all about learning what the zillions of buttons on the DSLR cameras do. Learned everything I needed to know about exposure, aperture, ISO, Depth of field, and shutter speeds...and that was just the morning! In the afternoon, we had the chance to play around with some specialty lenses, lighting, and learned the how-to's of light diffusers and filters. My Christmas and birthday list grew a LOT by the end of the day! It was such a privilage to be able to learn from some of the best in the industry, and to rub shoulders with people that I hope to be like someday!

The Greatest Day in My Photo Career (so far)!

Well, one of my dreams has come true today! I have been struggling to get into Stock photography for almost a year now, and I got my first image accepted this morning! I am so excited right now, because I finally feel like I am moving forward! OK, OK...I know it is only 1 image, but after a year of nothing, 1 image is a start! I know there are many more images to come, and as I learn and grow, it will only get better and better! Can you tell I am all euphoric? I can finally call myself a Stock Photographer! Wheeee!!! OK, enough of the craziness....I am not really crazy. Really! Just super excited, and ready to run out and take more pictures!

Shopping for a Macro Lens

So laast weekend, I went shopping for a macro lens. I was so excited....like, SOOOOO excited!!! I couldn't wait to buy one (I have been wanting one since before Christmas) and even had my gift certificates all ready to hand over. I arrived at McBain Camera, walked in, and when the young gent asked if he could help me, I proudly said "yes, actually....I am looking for a macro lens." He pulled out their vast array of lenses (I almost had a heart attack of joy) and he asked my price range. I told him....he almost cringed. Apparently, I had slightly under-estimated the cost of those suckers, and while there was one that was in my price range, it was a lower quality lens, and I knew that while I COULD purchase that one today, I knew in the long run, I wasn't going to be as happy with it as the one that was 1 step up (and almost double the cost!) I was crushed.....like, REEEEEALLY crushed....I had been expecting to walk out with one and take lots of interesting photographs that evening. So I was grumpy for a couple hours, then decided that waiting was indeed the right decision. I would rather wait and save my pennies and spend it on a lens that I will be really happy with instead of settling for second best.