Good morning! Now that we’ve got the website launch out of the way and the Labor Day holiday is over, we’re going to get down to business. (By the way – *I* worked all three days this weekend for 10+ hours per day. That’s how it is when you go into business for yourself. Please don’t be under the illusion that you will make full time $$ from part time work).
EDUCATION IS THE KEY.
Did you catch that? Read it again. And again.
You are not going to be a successful photographer because you have passion and a creative eye. Stop fooling yourself. Seriously.
All of your friends and family are probably patting you on the back and telling you how wonderful you are. Here’s the truth – first of all, stop listening to them. The cold-hearted reason that I say that is because when you actually DO go into business, these are the people that are going to want you to work for free. That’s the truth.
They love you and they think you’re good. And you might be. But everyone has room to learn, so just accept the fact that your education starts now and it will NEVER stop. Do not EVER get to a point where you think you know it all and have nothing left to learn. Photography has become a very saturated market and the only way to stay on top of your game is to constantly improve your knowledge and skills.
So – my first educational recommendation to you is this: READ!
Start with your camera manual. Get it out of the box that your camera came in (heh heh heh – caught ya!) and keep it in your camera bag. Always have it handy. Don’t guess at what the features and buttons and menu items are. Go through your manual one page at a time and study it. Do not skim through the manual and stick it back in your bag. Actually get out your camera and walk through everything.
The next recommendation I will make is for this book: Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. Used or new, it’s under $15. It’s a good investment and here’s a handy link to it at Amazon.
I think these two recommendations will get you off to a good start. Schedule at least one hour per day for reading/studying. At least. Most full time students put many hours per day into their studies, so one hour a day is entirely reasonable.
Get going!
It should be at the bottom of each post. Or maybe that’s the share link. I’ll check and make sure I put one in if it’s not there – thanks for the reminder!