From time to time I get people who email me and ask me questions about photography, how I started, what equipment I use, how to do certain things, and just general things.
I decided that it would benefit more people if I went ahead and shared my answers on the blog. Hopefully this will inspire more people.
If you ever have a question please feel free to shoot me an email... it might take a little time to respond, but I will get to you, I promise!!
Cori emailed me a little while back and is an aspiring photographer. She had a great question that I thought I would share with everyone.
1. When you discovered this was something that you wanted to do, what did you do or what steps did you take? How did you get started? Did you start out with a studio and such or did you just photograph people until you began to get enough money to make it a business? Who are the people I should start talking to if this is something I am serious about?
Photography has always been something I loved as well. In High School my grandfather let me use a brand new 35 mm camera he had just bought. We were on a trip to Oregon and all I did is take pictures. I LOVED IT and was addicted. Later on he gave me the camera and told me to make good use out of it! I took a few classes in college and learned the basics of photography. I loved photographing people and just started grabbing friends to go out and do photo shoots. After awhile people knew I liked photography and some of my friends who were getting married asked me to be the photographer at their wedding. I was scared to death to do it, but I agreed. I did 4 or 5 weddings for friends and the last two I did got me addicted. I was in-between jobs at the time and was having a hard time finding something else to do, so I decided what the heck, lets go for it and start my own company. I had nothing to loose because I was finishing up college and about to get married. I figured that I would try it out and if nothing came out of it I would look harder for another job.
Well word spread and I got a few clients, then a few more, then a lot more. I had already booked 30 weddings in my first year; people wanted something different for their wedding, not the traditional posed pictures; they loved what they saw.
My story is similar to others that I have talked to, sometimes you have to take a leap of faith to see what will happen. My best advice is to take that leap with professionalism and quality. I made sure that I had a wonderful website and I had great work to show people. The more work I was able to do the bigger my portfolio got. I went into my photography with the mindset that it was a business and I ran it as such.
For some people it is harder to take this leap because there are other things holding you back, such as providing for a family or even just yourself. My suggestion is to do photography on the side for awhile, still create a professional business and work hard. Once you realize that you can provide through photography make the jump.
I did not start out in an actual studio. I worked out of my house for 4 years and just recently got a studio. Studio's are a big expense, so you need to make sure that you are really going to stick it out and do well before you jump into a studio space.
Talk to people that you know or respect and ask them for advice. Show your work to professionals and ask for critiques; however, be willing to take constructive criticism and learn from what people tell you. There is always more that you can learn, no matter what stage your photography is at.
Stay tuned for more Question and Answer time with Kimberly Jarman!
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