I am excited to announce that I am starting to venture into photography. Some of you may have seen our previous post about the session I did with the Toral Siblings. That is just the start of this adventure. I already have another session with that family on the books. I also have a session with my best friend, Amanda and her family scheduled. This is something that I’ve wanted to get started in for a while now. Several things had to happen in order for all this to be possible. I want to start off by saying though, I am not a professional. This is not a real business yet. This is a hobby as of now. I hope one day that it will grow into something more but for now, it is just for fun.
I’ve always loved taking pictures of things. Everything. From my lunch to my best friends. I like to capture it all. Up until this last year, I was just taking pictures on disposable or point and shoot cameras or on my phone. If you’re interested in the types of cameras we have now, check out this post. You can also check out this post to hear which one is Justin’s favorite and why. By process of elimination, you know that I favor our Canon. It’s kind of like an introductory to DSLR camera. This has allowed me to learn more about photography and how to take better pictures. Again, I am not a professional. Maybe one day, but not yet. I have a lot to learn still but I am willing to do it and excited to do it. So let’s get into how to get started in photography.
First Things First
The first thing you need in order to get started in photography is a love for capturing experiences. There are several types of photography so you don’t have to like taking pictures of weddings or babies. You can like wildlife. Or you can like sports. There is so much beauty in the world and so many people who don’t get to see all that you see. You need a love to want to capture that moment and share it with the world. If you don’t like capturing those moments, you won’t be capturing them for long. At least in my opinion. I know many people do things they don’t like to for the majority of their lives but in order to do well as a photographer, I feel like you have to love what you are capturing. If not, it will show and your business will not grow.
Find Your Niche
As Justin and I started this blog, we heard a lot about niches. Everyone said we had to pick a niche in order to have a successful blog. People want to go to a blog for one type of posts usually. They keep returning to that blog to get more posts about that topic. Sadly, we have so many interests we weren’t able to narrow down our niche enough for it to be just one. So we settled on doing three types of posts, Faith, Family, and Adventure. Photography is the same way. Photographers usually end up liking taking a certain type of picture more but that does not mean you have to only take pictures of that. Some photographers specialize in weddings, family sessions, sports, or nature. Sometimes photographers specialize in food or products. My point is, there are so many things that need photographing. If you love multiple niches, you can work in those. You don’t have to give up one to do the other. I follow some photographers on social media who mainly do weddings and engagement shoots but I’ve seen them do photos for neighborhood events, family sessions, landscapes. It’s okay to be interested in more than one subject.
Find Clients
The best way for you to start getting clients is to put yourself out there. If you don’t then how can you expect to build your portfolio and client base? This is something that I am still working on. Like everyone else, I fear rejection so it has been hard for me to put myself out there and ask people to let me take their pictures. Some of you may find that strange because you know me and you know that I am a people person. I can talk until my lips turn blue, usually. Since I am attempting to get into photography in hopes that one day I can make some money off of it, the idea of people not liking my photos is terrifying. I mean, it took me a year since getting my camera to get the nerve up to ask people on Facebook if anyone wanted to be a model for me so I can work on my skills. Start off by asking your friends and family to let them take pictures for you. Sadly most of my family members absolutely hate getting their pictures taken so I had to go to my church family and friends.
Find Your Platform
All of the full-time professional photographers that I know of, all have websites. They also have Facebook pages, Instagrams, Pinterest. They are all over social media sharing their work. Now that you have some clients and some beautiful pictures to share, share them. Post them on Facebook, Instagram, wherever. You can start off by just putting them on your personal page or you can create a new one specifically for your photography. The important thing is to get it out into the world so people can see it and you can get more clients. This is how you will grow your hobby into a business. Or if you want it to stay a hobby that’s fine too. It will just help you continue to gain clients and therefore let you make your photography into what you want it to be.
Finally
Now that you have those things, it’s up to you to grow as a photographer. Continue to learn and improve your skills. Continue to improve your equipment. I mean, if you want to you can say that I’ve been a “photographer” for years. As a teen, I was constantly taking photos of my friends and editing them to the best of my ability and sharing them with the world. It’s just now that as I am improving my equipment and skills in hopes to make this more into a job than a hobby that I’ve been shy about getting out there. In hopes to inspire you, I will share some of my older photos and some of my newest ones so that way you can take encouragement in my growth. Start where you are and work to where you hope to be. If you can’t afford a “nice” camera, work with what you have. Work on your composition. With today’s technology, it’s pretty hard to tell if a photo was taken with your phone or with a fancy camera. Especially when you are looking at it on your phone.
Older Photos
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Newer Photos
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Thank you so much for reading. I hope this has helped and inspired you to go after your dreams. Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Youtube. We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a comment about how you got started in your field or message us on social media! If you’d like your photos taken, let us know! I’d be happy to see if we could schedule something. Thank you again for reading and God Bless!
