Here’s What I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Photography Business | Photography Tips

Here are some things I wish I could re-do in my photography journey…
1. STOP comparing myself and my work to other photographers
2. Having a good camera lens is way more important than a camera body
3. STOP thinking I instantly need expensive camera gear!!! Focus on lighting, location & outfits

[jwork]

I think it sometimes important to see other people work for inspiration and composition ideas

[jillwolfe]

I’m just now getting into photography as a hobby, but I’ve learned from other creative hobbies that it’s important to:
1. Compare your work to your own past work, but not to compare to others
2. Look at other people’s work, but instead of comparing, learn from it

[GabrielKinney]

Spot on advice. I get better pictures with an intro camera and a good lens than most photographers with a 10k setup. Don't focus so much on gear but more on how to get creative and dynamic shots

[KarmaSwiss]

Personally I love comparing my work to other photographers because it’s something I can achieve with the right tools. It’s not like building a rocket. A bad photographer can get good shots. I love seeing where I stand in the game

[corykphotography]

So legit! This is what every struggling beginner needs to hear. I say that because this is all things ive realized in the last 6 months and I am finally getting somewhere

[MaxPots]

Cassidy the amount I’ve learned from I listen to every episode of your podcast it’s Thanks!!!!

[bradbonnema]

My Mom gave me her Elan 7 Canon with a higher quality lens than my Rebel T5 kit lens several years ago. That lens is on my camera about 95% of the time and the difference shows up when I enlarge photos. Camera kits are an affordable way to start, but eventually you'll upgrade. As far as comparing i took a photography course where the teacher had us print two 8 x 10 prints in black and white and then put on a stack with fellow student prints but mixed in. She came into the room having not seen any of the pictures and went through the photos pairing photos. The first two were mine and they were several photos apart, but my mine had a distinctive "look" although of different subjects. She urged us to follow our own style.

[pensdonterase]

I’m starting my second year of journalism/photography. Last year, right after the teacher taught us how to simply work a few buttons on our cameras, we were thrown out into the halls in the mornings before class, and we were required to take pictures of a bunch of kids in a badly lit hall. Not to mention, all the kids were 11-14, so of course they didn’t want their picture taken. It was so hard to fight with them so I could get a picture that wasn’t even that great. Also, yes, the journalism teacher continued to teach us what we needed to know about photography. We went on a bunch of cool field trips to learn about photography and take pictures too. She did put us out there within the second or third week of school though, which I honestly think was a pretty good idea, considering it made us comfortable with the setting quickly. Not to mention, the deadline for the yearbook always comes up quicker than expected. Anyways, I’m going into this year with a new perspective (and a better camera :D) I’m super excited to start taking pictures throughout our sad and depressing school now 😂😂😂

[calokid]

I think looking at other photographer's work and comparing was helpful. What's not helpful is beating yourself up.

I still use other photos to get the lighting right.

Otherwise, spot on! Priorities from outside in make the bigger difference!: Lighting, location, subject, lens, and THEN camera, seem to be the best order for photography.

[robertwalker]

I have a Nikon Camera & 3 Nikon lens, from Wide angle to Telephoto Lens, your Experience and Knowledge I would enjoy Hearing & Reading, I am a Senior Citizen, who has enjoyed Photography for 25+ Years

[pluggednickels]

Very good advice A good photographer can get good photography with a phone and a bad photographer can’t get a good picture with thousands of dollars of gear

[alejandrolopez]

I been trying out vintage manual lens and the quality of them ☺️ trying the different focal lengths...

[kultyurgeym]

I'm glad I'm not comparing my art to others

[bert]

I just retired so I thought I would give photography a try. I just bought the Sony A7RV, Sony 85mm GM 2 f/1.4 and the Sony 35mm GM f/1.4

Whenever I start a new hobby I hate upgrading later

[edhovrud]

Camera bodies are important depending on the type of photography you are doing. If I’m doing portraits or landscape, I can get by with a camera that doesn’t employ eye tracking, In body stabilization, nor things like number of frames per second. But if you’re engaging in wildlife, or sports, action, etc, having these things are advantageous and worth the cost so I don’t think discounting the importance of a camera body that provides the tools for your genre is something to ignore. Good glass is important as well but with today’s newer camera bodies you can save money on lenses just through the built in image stabilization of the cameras. There are many other things to consider as well. I agree with most the tips, especially comparison, because every photo is unique and is captured under different circumstances. As a beginner, I didn’t think about that and was always trying to figure out why my photos seem to lack. The more you are out, the more you will see, the longer you are out the more likely something will happen and you will have a greater chance of capturing something that is engaging, and just by doing you will hit challenges and learn how to deal with them. I do mostly wildlife, in particular birds, but love to dabble in any genre to keep things interesting.

[robertbarton]

Lens over body! 100% but all depends on some other features on the body itself. I went from a canon 4000d to an R7 and oh my there's deffo a jump in what it's capabilities are.

[lisajanene]

While I 100% agree that a good lens is priority over the camera body. SOMETIMES, you do just need to upgrade the body. For example, if you want to start getting into videography and you don’t have a body that is really compatible with that goal, you need to upgrade. Or if you want to get into sports photography or start taking images of very fast moving objects, you might need to upgrade the body if your current body is too slow in capturing the best moment. I tried capturing images of a gymnast mid jump, and we did it over and over again, and my body just couldn’t get enough frames quickly enough, so timing it was super tricky!

[sharkfilms_]

OUTFITS! I express how vital that is to clients/potential clients

[shueibdahirmotionpictures]

I just learned about the importance of lenses after i started shooting RAW video. You can literally see the softness, the chromatic abberation, the rendering of highlights and skintones way more than with normal video. My RAW videos are only 3.2MP.

Now shooting with 24mp+ camera that would become even more apparent. Unless you need specific features choose lenses first

[aperturefilm]

there is nothing wrong with comparing yourself with others, its a way to improve if you admire someone else work. Thats the better term for it sweety :)