Going Pro (sort of)

[Kestrana]

Not that expensive gear = skill, but you gotta finance that somehow.

[Farktographer]

…we are supposed to get our digital prints on cd after 6 months (which is this month, still waiting)…

Hah! My brother had to wait over a year for his to finally arrive 😆

[olavf]

Well, don’t look at my site, because it sucks donkey nards right now. And, don’t look at Jarvie’s website, because although the layout is pretty good, the shots will depress you.

I wouldn’t go the full-flash route necessarily, but simple and clean would be a good thing. Everyone I’ve talked to that’s in that biz says word-of-mouth is ultimately key anyhow.

[Kestrana]

Talking about this reminded me to send a gentle email to my wedding photographer who says he’ll put the dvds in the mail next week, so huzzah.

I don’t like long loading screens so I probably won’t go full retard. I mean flash. But a rotating gallery or optional slideshow at the top and some nice hover drop downs should be doable.

[fluffybunny]

I believe you can do hover effects and menus without flash (using javascript I think), from what little I’ve done in Drupal (yet another free web building kit with lots of templates and add ons).

[ennuipoet]

Prints will be cost + some reasonable markup. I haven’t worked that all out yet, depends where I get them from. Hell, if ennuipoet or someone else here can deliver quality larger prints at cheaper cost, I might outsource to them and make some money for both of us (if he’s into that sort of thing).

Yup, we can work something out if needed. I think I have a handle on the cost ratios of printing (it ain’t in the paper, if you haven’t guessed) and how much ink per print. Truth be told it is cheaper for one or two large prints to use a service but for good tonal control and knowing that the photo you looks the same in the print, doing it yourself is the only way to go!

[zincprincess]

I have been thinking of putting a website together myself and am curious to see what you come up with. I am looking for something that is already set up but has cusomization options. I am not a programmer, and I don’t want to be a programmer. Some days, I’m struggling to be a photographer.

As far as drumming up business, several professionals I have talked to got started by volunteering their services in the circles they already travel – family reunion, office holiday party, kids sporting events and activities, etc. That puts your work in front of a variety of people. I have not done this yet because I think I need to have the website set up and business cards printed so that when I do meet people, I can send them somewhere other than my facebook fan page (with its 9 likes).

Best of luck.

[Kestrana]

zincprincess I definitely think G+’s photo community would be great for you to look at. Really, anyone here should check it out. I didn’t really get it at first but olav and kat were active there so I just kept at it. Now I get 10-20 people circling me a day, I get between 30 and 50 comments on my photos a day. It might not translate to work or $$$, but people are looking at and enjoying my photos, and that feels good.

In fact, I think I’m going to make a Farktography G+ page.

[ravnostic]

In fact, I think I’m going to make a Farktography G+ page.

Please do!! 😀

I’ll be the first to circle (or at least the first wanting to circle.)

[gambitsgirl]

I have been thinking of putting a website together myself and am curious to see what you come up with. I am looking for something that is already set up but has cusomization options. I am not a programmer, and I don’t want to be a programmer. Some days, I’m struggling to be a photographer.

As far as drumming up business, several professionals I have talked to got started by volunteering their services in the circles they already travel – family reunion, office holiday party, kids sporting events and activities, etc. That puts your work in front of a variety of people. I have not done this yet because I think I need to have the website set up and business cards printed so that when I do meet people, I can send them somewhere other than my facebook fan page (with its 9 likes).

Best of luck.

I do Apple Books for my family and volunteered to do one for the family of a friend. That led to someone asking me to do their Christmas photos. I’m skeert cause she’s a bit tense and I have NO CLUE what to charge but volunteering does sometimes work. 😀

[Yoyo]

…we are supposed to get our digital prints on cd after 6 months (which is this month, still waiting)…

Hah! My brother had to wait over a year for his to finally arrive 😆

I think these examples show that there is more to being a professional photographer than just taking good pictures.

[Kestrana]

Yeah unfortunately with artistic types sometimes the “professional” part of being a professional gets sacrificed for the art.

[bender16v]

Sorry I’m late to this thread, but it sounds like you are going in the right direction with WordPress. I mess with my own websites in my infinitesimally small spare time and have found templates made for WordPress to be great. I made a photoblog ( http://www.bender16v.com ) and have used another one that required a lot of editing for an online store for my side business of making fishing lures. It’s not live yet because I don’t have time to photograph our products. 😮 I’m no expert, but if you have any questions with it maybe I can help. Best of luck with the new business and don’t sell yourself short, your photos are great!

[Kestrana]

Thanks! And if you want to hire someone to photograph your fishing lures…

[Kestrana]

I can haz website?

http://buckwalterphotography.zenfolio.com/

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