Advice and help needed, Learning photography

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Mini

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Mina
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Hi guys

I would like some advice and recommendations please. I’m currently a student, I’m 21 years old and don’t know what I want to do in life. I’m starting university again in September and looking for photography courses for me to get a degree in. But every course I look at, consists of art work and need an Art level qualification, Which I don’t have and cannot draw to save my life.

Ive always loved photography but I never really learned about it. I used to own a DSLR Sony A350, and what with being a student I had no option but to sell it.
Anyway moving on, I really want to get serious in photography and learn how to use a DSLR and understand the settings, exposure etc. I would also like to take it further and make a business out of it.

I’m conserding in purchasing a Nikon d7000, and starting on facebook charging £20 for photoshoots in a choice of client of where they would like it taking and putting all pictures on a CD for each client. (this is just the start) then I can further it and start in studios etc.

I cant find a photography course in my area that teaches me all this. Also what editing programme would I use?

Im from Cambridge and all advice would really help.

Thank you
 
I'm sorry but before you even start to think about charging people for your work, even small amounts, you need to learn how to use a camera properly. Once you know how to use the camera property you can think about charging people but not £20 for a photoshoot with a CD full of images. This is seriously undervaluing photography.

If you are charging people you also need to look at registering with HMRC and taking out professional insurance.

Have a search for threads in the business section on business start ups, it's not as easy as you seem to think.
 
Hi Mini
I'm a bit confused. You say you ARE starting university in September but it sounds like you don't yet have a course lined up. Is that correct.

What kind of photography are you most interested in?

A quick search on Google turned up this link on Photography course around the country.

I'm not a Nikon user but I just read a review by Ross Hoddinott who was so impressed with the D7000 he was considering buying one.

I'm also curious about your business idea of advertising your services on Facebook and offering to take pictures in a location of the client's choice. A bit more information about your idea might make it easier to offer advice.

Regarding editing software this depends on your budget. There are several free programs available, Gimp for example. You won't go far wrong with Photoshop Elements
 
I hit the post button before I finished the post but Mike has said much of what I would have gone on to say. Try meeting up with local photographers, maybe join a local camera club, hang out on photography forums and read all the posts. When you've got your camera go and start taking photographs. Lots of photographs. Photographs of anything and everything. Look at other photographers' work and see what you like/dislike, what inspires you etc etc.
 
Have you considered a business course instead? Maybe that way at the same time you could perfect your photography (maybe throwing in some short dedicated courses along the way). That way when you graduate, you will be fully equipped to run a successful business.
 
Should have added that £20 for a photo shoot is mentally cheap especially at a location of the customers choice. You could easily spend £20 on travel alone. Then there is your time for the shoot itself, say, 2 hours typical and then supply and post a CD. I think you need to think about seriously upping the £20 figure if you do pursue this.
 
Thank you guys for all your responses, Really helped.

Mike Jackson said:
Have a search for threads in the business section on business start ups, it's not as easy as you seem to think.
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I didnt think it was easy. Course not, i havent yet i shall be looking on there now, thanks

Greywolf said:
You say you ARE starting university in September but it sounds like you don't yet have a course lined up. Is that correct.

What kind of photography are you most interested in?
Click to expand...

I am currently at university in leeds met studying business and management but its not great and im restarting the year again.
Ive currently chosen business and management but at a university closer to home but im not keen on doing the same course again as it didnt really interest me.

I am into portrait photos, and nature scenery. i love focusing on an object of anything and blurring the background i think that effect looks awesome.

gad-westy said:
Have you considered a business course instead? Maybe that way at the same time you could perfect your photography (maybe throwing in some short dedicated courses along the way). That way when you graduate, you will be fully equipped to run a successful business.
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Im not liking the business course im doing at the minute but still want to stay around the business course idea. I think this may be my way forward. Go to uni and for the 3 years just play around with my d7000 and get the nack of using it properly.

gad-westy said:
Should have added that £20 for a photo shoot is mentally cheap especially at a location of the customers choice.
Click to expand...

Reaally? i dont want to ( if i did do this idea which is at 18% of me doing it ) scare people with hefty prices as im not a proper professional photographer.


Many thanks guys, I Think what ill do is i shall buy a D7000 and then play around with it. Go to uni and study business and then after once im sure this is what i really want to do.. ill go for it!.

Cant wait to get my D7000,! Need to read the manual which is annoying but i really wanna understand all the settings.

xx
 
Mini said:
Hi guys

I would like some advice and recommendations please. I’m currently a student, I’m 21 years old and don’t know what I want to do in life. I’m starting university again in September and looking for photography courses for me to get a degree in. But every course I look at, consists of art work and need an Art level qualification, Which I don’t have and cannot draw to save my life.

Ive always loved photography but I never really learned about it. I used to own a DSLR Sony A350, and what with being a student I had no option but to sell it.
Anyway moving on, I really want to get serious in photography and learn how to use a DSLR and understand the settings, exposure etc. I would also like to take it further and make a business out of it.

I’m conserding in purchasing a Nikon d7000, and starting on facebook charging £20 for photoshoots in a choice of client of where they would like it taking and putting all pictures on a CD for each client. (this is just the start) then I can further it and start in studios etc.

I cant find a photography course in my area that teaches me all this. Also what editing programme would I use?

Im from Cambridge and all advice would really help.

Thank you
Click to expand...



I started replying to this question but I am starting to wonder if you are just trying to get a reaction? :bonk:
 
Why start Uni again? What is going wrong with your current course? Can you not transfer the credits earned to another course?
 
Keebsuk said:
I don't wish to appear harsh but i know of very few full time students with enough disposable income to buy an £1100 camera body just to "mess around" for 3 years!
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Thats ok, :) i took a gap year and worked 2 jobs and didnt really have a social life. I Can afford one but im just shopping around. I really wanna know how to use all the settings and i know it wont take me 3 years, but i think if i buy a high end camera then in 3 years it wont be too outdated if that makes sense.


lawrie29 said:
Why start Uni again? What is going wrong with your current course? Can you not transfer the credits earned to another course?
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Lawrie29 i have really messed up this year and failed a couple of modules. i haven't really been attending but thats my own fault.
Shall start again this year before fees reach up to £9000 in 2012. :D
 
Have a word with the Uni and see if you can resit or sit alternat module, increase you attendance and not repeat the first year. If you could so this, it will sve you a fortune, not only in additional course costs and living expenses, but you would have the opportunity to work in what would be yr 4, so you have income, not expenditure.

You would be better off buying a lower spec body and learning to use it properly, using the extra cash for lenses and accessories. This will teach you a lot more and give you more scope in your photography.

Of course, you don't have to do Uni. Get a job (they are about) get a camera and get learning.
 
lawrie29 said:
Of course, you don't have to do Uni. Get a job (they are about) get a camera and get learning.
Click to expand...

I was thinking of just working, but if i have a degree i will be able to go into most jobs. i feel if i just work, then i would have to work for a company for years to become a manager etc.

Will see how i can sort uni x
 
Mini said:
I was thinking of just working, but if i have a degree i will be able to go into most jobs. i feel if i just work, then i would have to work for a company for years to become a manager etc.

Will see how i can sort uni x
Click to expand...

So having a degree means you can walk into any job at managerial level, unlike those who don't have a degree, they have to wait years for it??

Buying a camera, reading the manual, advertising on Facebook, charging 20 quid for a cd of images?? What an astounding business model, if I only knew being a pro photographer was that simple, I wouldn't have waisted all those years working my way up to being a purchasing manager... and I do have a degree, 2 of them in fact
 
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jovialjester said:
So having a degree means you can walk into any job at managerial level, unlike those who don't have a degree, they have to wait years for it??

Buying a camera, reading the manual, advertising on Facebook, charging 20 quid for a cd of images?? What an astounding business model, if I only knew being a pro photographer was that simple, I wouldn't have waisted all those years working my way up to being a purchasing manager... and I do have a degree, 2 of them in fact
Click to expand...

Sorry if this sounds rude... what is the point of your answer?:suspect:
 
I think he is trying to say that degrees these days count for very little and don't guarantee you a high profile job, not even a job at all.

He is also essentially being facetious towards your supposed expectations from all this.
 
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I was just questioning your grasp of how difficult the real world is. Thousands of people graduate every year and end up in low paid jobs and have to work up the ranks, a degree doesn't put you up there above anyone else, they've all got degrees too.

And planning a photography career without even knowing how to use a camera? Sorry, but life isn't that simple.

My comment was to question your logic, I wish you all the good fortune in the world at whatever you decide to do, but there are no short cuts and no easy options, some people get a break, the remaining 99.9% of us work long and hard at what we do.

If you are one of the fortunate ones, then fantastic and well done, I genuinely wish you luck.
 
stupar said:
I think he is trying to say that degrees these days count for very little and don't guarantee you a high profile job, not even a job at all.

He is also essentially being facetious towards your supposed expectations from all this.
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Not facetious of his expectations, facetious of how easy he appears to think it will be. As I said, good luck to him, I don't resent anyone getting on in life, or getting lucky, but I just don't think he appreciates how simplisticaly he's looking at it.

But that said.... we are nothing without ambition.... never lose that
 
Mini said:
I was thinking of just working, but if i have a degree i will be able to go into most jobs. i feel if i just work, then i would have to work for a company for years to become a manager etc.

Will see how i can sort uni x
Click to expand...



LOL. So with a degree you can just walk straight into the top job? I wonder what all the people with degrees who have been working there for 20 years will have to say about that ;)


You will have to pay your dues to some extent no matter what qualifications you have, you can often get a better job with a degree than without but it isn't always that simple. A straight degree isn't worth as much as it used to be, I did a degree, then honors, then a PhD, then I quit. I listened to people telling me it was sensible, but I spent more time learning about photography and taking photos than I did studying for my uni work.

You need to decide what will make you happy, that's the thing you will work hardest at and the money will follow. Just bear in mind that photography isn't an easy proffession. I love it but I work much harder than I did in other jobs.

And the facebook thing, just learn to take good photos before you start charging, you can't make any money with those prices anyway.
 
jovialjester said:
Not facetious of his expectations, facetious of how easy he appears to think it will be. As I said, good luck to him, I don't resent anyone getting on in life, or getting lucky, but I just don't think he appreciates how simplisticaly he's looking at it.

But that said.... we are nothing without ambition.... never lose that
Click to expand...


It's a common perception among people that age, I used to hear it all the time. I think universities propogate this thinking because they need to attract students, they need to attract students because of how government funding works.

I agree, ambition is everything, and I wish him well.
 
im a SHE guys not a HE :lol: :D

ok thank you for all your comments...

i wasnt thinking of starting a business on facebook.. i was suggesting and putting a price tag £20.. i didnt mean to offend anyone by price as i was just in general saying it...

Ive been told in my life that having a degree will get you far, cuts years off your life in working for an organisation and working up that ladder.
I even talked to big bosses and directors ( of the company i work for) and asked them would they employ someone with a degree or without.. practically everyone said the person with the degree..
Its just what im use to being told thats why i said it...

x
 
Hi Mini and welcome aboard. :wave:

Don't let these guys scare you off -their bark is worse than their bite, but what you're proposing and the way you're going about it is a bit like saying you're thinking of buying a piano, learning to play it and becoming a concert pianist.;)

Qualifications and knowledge are never wasted, but they don't really mean a flying ferret in the commercial photographic world - you'll stand or fall on the work you produce and whether people buy it or not.

Have a look in the Tutorials section here on TP - you'll find a lot of the basic info you're looking for, and instead of spending all that wonga on a camera, why not buy an old manual film camera and shoot a little old fashioned fillum - it's a much better way to grasp the basics and have some fun too.
 
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Ask your boss whether he would employ the person with the degree and no experience, or the experienced person with no degree. Takes the experience every single time.
 
A degree will certainly do you no harm, though it might not do you much good either. It will take a few years, and will certainly cost a lot of money. If you're at a bit of a loss as to what you want to do, maybe that time at uni will help you find your feet. Tough decision, so good luck with that.

As for the photography, we all started in your position once, and none of us ever walked into top jobs straight away. Nothing is ever that easy, and professional photography is arguably more about business than it is about taking pictures, but you have to be damn good at both.

For now, just get a decent DSLR and learn to use it. An entry level model with kit zoom will take great quality pictures indistinguishable from the most expensive, if you know what you're doing. Read, shoot, ask questions on here, shoot and read some more. You can easily learn the basics that way, see how things go.
 
I think the OP needs to get some idra what they want to do in life first, then pick a degree to allow you do that - if it makes sense.

far too many people think a degree is all you need, but what you need is the right degree or at least the right kimd of degree. if the degree holds little value in your chosen career the getting a job can be the best option - look up the stats for unemployed graduates. and being able to justify why you did any particular degree can be as important as the actual degree itself.

in my work a degree is mandatory, i know nothing about many other fields of work. find what your areas of interest require and go from there.
 
I certainly wouldn't want to scare yet off, just trying to be as blunt as possible without trying to offend you.

Others on here have put it more subtly, but the end result is the same. A degree isn't the step up it used to be, it puts you on level pegging with everyone else....

So my advice (which is why you came here), by all means, get that degree, you will need it in the business world, But don't think it will open doors, skill, ability and drive gets you to the top, and how much of those you possess will determine how quickly.

Another point to mention, if you're not doing too well on your business degree, what happens if you just scrape it and then compete with grads with a first?? This isn't meant to be negative, its a reality check... why not take a year out, go into the world try a few temp or volunteer jobs, try as much variation as possible, see if you can figure out what it is in life you're looking for. Then go for a degree that will help in that career. You will get fantastic results if you're studying something you love.... and that may well be photography.

Use that year out to go photograph everything you see, take your camera everywhere, put the results in the critique section of TP and learn from people's advice.

You sound like you're at a crossroads right now and don't know where to go, only you can decide, but whatever you do now will effect your life forever, make sure you concentrate on what will make you happy.

Never give up, never lose ambition, enjoy what you do and do it because you want to do it, not because you think you have to.

If only I knew all of this when I was your age :-)
 
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I have to echo what Chris is saying.
When I finshing my studies in 1997 I walked away with a degree in Civil Engineering with the intention that that was what I wanted to do as a cereer.

I must have applied for 40+ jobs with only two interviews.
Ultimately they all wanted experience before a piece of paper.
It's disheartening to think you have studied hard for virtually nothing but it is a sad fact of life.

I ended up starting a career in the Civil Service (nothing related to Civil Engineering) back in 2000. two years after that I managed to get promotion to a job that involves surveying (close to engineering) and decided that was my new path and stuck at it (now going for promtion again a further 9 years down the line)

Getting to the top in any profession (if thats where you want to be) takes hard work and dedication. There are no silver plates being handed out anymore.

I wish you well in your chosen path. The best advice I can give is start at the bottom like most others have done and build yourself up.
Buy your camera and take vast amounts of photo's, it's the best way to learn. Come on here and ask questions, we REALLY are a friendly bunch.

:thumbs:
 
If we didn't have students, who would serve us at KFC?

Mini, I can see where you are coming from and without meaning to sound harsh, you have the a degree is everything mentality.
As stated above, alot of people who have degrees can't get the job they want, i sometimes wonder if this is to do with the useless degrees that are now available and people doing them, just so they have a "Degree".

If i was in a management position and looking to employ somebody, i would take the person with experience every day of the week. It is ok studying it, but actual hands on is much more important i think.

With regards to the Photography, go for it, i'm a total newbee and reading alot of the threads, i think they are written in Cantonese.
 
Hello, I am not going to comment on the camera etc part as I don't really have the knoweldge myself yet... but if you take want to advertise on fb and take pics, maybe do it close to where you like and for free whilst you practice?

Anyway with regards to uni, I too studied a business degree many years ago and tbh I may as well have just left school after my A levels for all the good it has done me... I could have easily worked my way up to the position I am in now (maybe even further) without a degree. Anyway after years of being bored out of my brain in jobs I didn't like and with managers who didn't see my full potentail I am now going back to uni to do a Masters in Socail Work, something I am really passionate about... anyway what I am trying to say is, why not quit uni, go and work for a while whist taking pics along the way and then when you know what you want to do for deffinate go out and get it... because if you really want something bad enough, no art degree etc will get in your way. Look at me I am going from having a business degree to becoming a social worker, I worked had to ensure I could get the opportunity!! Just take a step back and think... you could even work for free with a local photographer? This may get also get you onto a course??

:D
 
As a recent graduate, I can say that a degree means very little nowadays. When I was at uni, everyone seemed to believe that we can just walk into a well paid job straight after we graduated and it was a shock for some when in reality this was not the case.
I was one of the lucky few that did walk into a job, but that was because I did a summer placement with the company when I was a student. Experience is key and I found it opened more doors for me. Don't rush into doing degrees because that is what you think you should do. Maybe find a job related to photography?

If you're thinking of starting a business, you need to think about what you can offer to the customer. With photography being so accessible these days, anyone can buy an entry level dslr and start shooting. You need to offer something different than the average joe with a camera.
I think that once you get to grips with your camera, learn more about photography, you will have a better idea in what is involved with setting up a business...but what do I know, I'm still a newbie! Best of luck to you, whatever you decide to embark on though!
 
Mini said:
I was thinking of just working, but if i have a degree i will be able to go into most jobs. i feel if i just work, then i would have to work for a company for years to become a manager etc.

Will see how i can sort uni x
Click to expand...

just like normal people!
 
Thank you for all your replies.
I think im gonna go to university and learn more about photography on the side. So after 3 years at university i should be able to have a clear mind of what i want to do.

Many thanks guys. Big help :thumbs:
 
ive recently took photography up as a hobby and partly as iam a mobile Dj i thought it would be a nice quirk to offer some picture opurtunitys alongside the music/karaoke etc.
whereas i consider myself to be a pro dj and have pro audio equipment, i am by no means a pro photographer.
This is why i didnt even consider a high end dslr to begin with,there was no point to spending that sort of money. So i opted for a used canon 400d which i have to say is agreat camera to learn on, if and only if the photography side of things takes of would i consider the sort of camera body you are looking at.
My advice start simple then see how things go.
 
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