Aspiring Photography

As an aspiring photographer I have made my way from only reading about the excitement to joining in the fun. I have taken portraits of my children, friends, and done a few promotion banners for my brother's music web page, simply entitled J. I have also photographed and blogged about From The Beginning, a band who I remain friends with today. But, what started it all was a Google search on photography that led me to Flickr.com. I uploaded a few cell phone shots and bam, I had a list of 52 contacts commenting on my "photography". What a way to build confidence.

I found that Kodak and Snapfish would allow me to use their services to print and deliver to buyers. They would also offer me gallery options to display my professional art work, for a small fee. Imagekind would allow me to display my photography in a gallery setting with a profile page and the ability to gain a friends list of fans. Their printing services are available with canvas and framing options. But of course, the prints come in sizes that require custom framing.

Finding an outlet to display my photography was a tedious task. It is discouraging enough taking inspiring photos of quality imagery with a 35mm automatic camera, or a cell phone. I had made it possible with a layman's easy Canon Power Shot, but one cannot be a presentable Professional Photographer without a Canon 5D, Nikon D300, or other single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. Not to mention a number of accessories. When it comes to editing photos, there is Photo Shop. A must have in the aspiring photography world. The cost ranges from six hundred to over a thousand dollars for such software. Without proper funds I opted for a free download of Paint.net I found on the web, which seemed to work well enough.

What it comes down to, as in almost every aspect of life, is that you need money to make money. Or, in the artists explanation, you need money to make anything worth someone’s time to acknowledge your work. Being friendly and taking the time to know your editors and peers helps, too. I suppose, the latter has a stronger effect when paired with an excellent artist of god given talent. It is true in any case, you must put the time and effort into that of which you wish to be successful. Sometimes, the rewards are greater than finance.