6 Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming A Photographer

Things I wish I knew before starting photography!

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[foxtrot]

I’m 20 years in and still learning, still developing and redeveloping my style, learning new interests. This is my craft, it’s my baby and I nurture it. Slow process

[JorgeTamezPhoto]

The fake friends part resonates so much with me. I had to learn the hard way to distinguish who is there only when they need me

[dangilmore]

40 years into pro photography - listen to Jessica. She's nailed it spot on here!

[RyanHarville]

"The right people will stay in your life no matter what". I'm really happy you said that.

[AmadeAmaya]

When I started taking photos, I was delighted with how friendly and nice the environment was... and then I started taking better photos :D it turned out that many people don't like the fact that someone is developing and doing well.

[BardouWolfVideoEditor]

My favourite tip is 5:37...I actually sold all of my expensive digital gear, bought myself a decent film camera (Minolta 7s), and that's actually what has made me much better. Less to focus on, less moving parts, I choose my angles and compositions more wisely...etc. It's allowed me to concentrate on the experience and joy of it all so much more.

[drrtyhrry]

I have to agree with "buying expensive gear won't make you a better photographer." It's all about experience! I started doing photography since 2015 using a digital compact camera, switched to a beginner type DSLR which is a Canon 3000D with only kit lens and a nifty fifty back in early 2019, by then I started doing pageant portraits, pre-debut, and pre-nuptial shoots with only natural lighting. And finally last month, I was able to upgrade to my dream camera, the Canon EOS R6 Mark II. So happy and grateful!

[Reason-fgik]

I once took a hobby, 30 years ago, I loved and made it into my profession, and got really good at it. Now I hate anything to do with that hobby/profession.

I will never do that with photography. I'm a photographer because it brings me joy capturing an image, at a moment in time of the whole universe, that no one else will ever be able to duplicate.

[treidizzle]

“Save your money, buy a pizza, rent a movie” 🙌🏽

Love what you shared in this portion, amazing gear won’t make a great photographer - but time and experience can. Thanks for sharing!

[zetalure]

You were my inspiration, back when I started photography 5 years ago, keep doing your thing ❤️

[hannahmoore]

Been watching your videos for years and you always give the most comforting advice as a young female photographer!

[andywu]

I'm really so so glad you stay true to yourself along this journey.

[ronaldlee]

Jessica: From your discussion, i can tell you are a very passionate photographer and you are really young, I am 60+, and I am still learning. I started my photography endeavors with a Kodak Brownie Camera shooting 127 Kodak Verichrome B&W film. Everything you mentioned in this video, absolutely true, I also experienced, I experienced much of what you experienced.

[skfineshriber]

I’ve been in business as a graphic designer and photographer. I’ve found dealing with things directly related to producing the work is the easy part. How do you feel about the business aspects? Tracking expenses, taxes, other bookkeeping tasks. What tools/apps do you like for those things? I think you do excellent work! “Taking bad photos on an expensive camera.” 😂👍👏🎯

[dilinocasteneda]

its the person behind the camera that determines the outcome. be yourself and you'll never go wrong

[SilveradoNomads]

I've been shooting for a couple decades and what you said about not everybody is your friend rings 100 percent true. I recently stopped talking to a person because they would get upset if I mentioned anything about the work I was doing, but they could talk to me about everything they did with no issues. Which was crazy to me considering they helped me refine how I shot over the years. It's all good until you get more work than them.

[GeorgeTua-olod]

You hit the nail on the head. Great advice! So tired of these “reviews, ”gear pushing folks. Then seeing their images that completely lack any story or emotion.

[SarahVueDesign]

Thanks for posting this video. I’m 2 years in and love real estate photography, but def want to get into other areas like fashion photography and street. Your advice and suggestions are helpful and enlightening. Thank you ❤

[SewTubular]

I think it all depends on talent. At the beginning I traveled to London, England from Canada, and trained for a year under an advertising photographer. ( shooting cars in car studios and on location, building sets in the studio and then lighting and shooting those sets, and occasionally shooting fashion model portfolio work ) When I came back to Canada I found that my one year in England put me far ahead of friends who spent four years studying photography at college. In England I had shot with 35mm / 6x6 cm / 6x7 cm / 4x5 inch / 8x10 inch cameras, and could produce equivalent images with all formats. I also worked with large 6000 joule flash systems, and learned how to light almost anything.

So while I had pretty good mastery of the technical end of photography, I never learned how to sell myself and my work, so finding work was 100 times harder than the photographic side of things. In hind sight I wish when I returned to Canada I had trained with creative sales people, who could have taught me the people skills necessary to keep a steady stream of high paying projects coming in. Canada is also not a great country when looking for large photographic projects. Some of our most successful photographers had to move to the US or Europe to find the work they wanted. ( Walter Chin is the first name that comes to mind. He spent quite a few years in Toronto trying to establish himself, but later became famous when he moved to Europe and started shooting for the top fashion magazines. He currently resides in New York city. )

[KennethStringer]

Enjoy your honesty and practical advice. Refreshing to hear someone being honest and straightforward. Thanks!