> You are shooting in RAW, right?
No. I'm really bad at photo editing and try to invest my time in learning photo composition instead of editing. I feel that for me the results will be better.
The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
21–30 of 30 posts
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#22I really like the content, as it's all about the artistry of photography. Too often so much photography content is about gear, which always does scratch an itch I must admit, and does matter a little bit, but is highly context-sensitive to the mission you have in taking photos. I'm still a noob in photography, but one of the most helpful things in my learning has been youtube videos where other people's photo submiss…
Some other good channels:
aows: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDvq7BPaphEIhBlyDN19rvQ
Gary Gough: https://www.youtube.com/user/redfivestudios
Rob Blight: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6apPoUi2QPN4X_ZPZdz7iQ
Steve Perry: https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrygallery
Mark Smith: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyGYUrC2IvaHWoX6dwEsrMA
Mango Street: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5bp5_6h-ZxkBz6S_33ZUVg
All are more focused (see what I did there?) on photography rather than gear.
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
How do you define "any kind of audience"? It's very easy to get hundreds and even thousands of followers on instagram. Can you get into galleries? Eh that's really really hard you're right.
> It's very easy to get hundreds and even thousands of followers on instagram. How? I post new photos every few days and my follower count actually goes down. I get a bunch of accounts following me automatically and unfollowing me after a few days, just to get me to follow them back. Maybe my photos are terrible, but I don't think so? https://www.instagram.com/stavroskorok/
This is what many people do. Using a bot which automatically does follow-unfollow, likes or post pointless spam comments. Forget Instagram. It’s a place of spam and bot. Also: what’s the point of having Instagram followers? Your photos are nice, but earning money with it is an entirely different thing.
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#24> You are shooting in RAW, right? No. I'm really bad at photo editing and try to invest my time in learning photo composition instead of editing. I feel that for me the results will be better.
Unless you have a tiny SD card there's not much to lose by shooting in both. If you get a shot you love but it's just a tiny bit under or over exposed, with a JPEG you're out of luck.
I don't really do any 'heavy' editing, but slight exposure adjustments, straightening and selective sharpening can turn an ok photo into a very good one.
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#25> You are shooting in RAW, right? No. I'm really bad at photo editing and try to invest my time in learning photo composition instead of editing. I feel that for me the results will be better.
Unless you have a tiny SD card there's not much to lose by shooting in both. If you get a shot you love but it's just a tiny bit under or over exposed, with a JPEG you're out of luck. I don't really do any 'heavy' editing, but slight exposure adjustments, straightening and selective sharpening can turn an ok photo into a very good one.
Exactly! I shot in RAW when possible and most often do minor adjustment directly on Adobe Lightroom Mobile. It's free and powerful and takes about 2 minutes to do.
You can even re-apply your edit setting of one picture to a whole set.
Before: https://i.imgur.com/c6SRXQQ.png After: https://i.imgur.com/B6q1h82.png
Editing pictures is definitely one of the most useful skill I've learned from my last relationship.
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#26What I've realized about photography is that it's all but pointless. Virtually every single person on earth is a photographer, there's so much supply of great content that it's unlikely that anyone will ever give a damn about your photos. So, just do what you like. Express yourself, shoot what you like, when you like it, and don't worry too much about the rest. Maybe I'm too pessimistic (or just bad), but I've relinq…
You can say that about any creative work now. There is an incredible glut of new books, music, painting, and even film. Unless you’re willing to make self promotion a full time job you will release your work into obscurity. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be creative of course. It just means you should approach it in such a way that the enjoyment you get out of it is its own reward.
Agreed, that's how I approach it now. It would just be nice if people beyond my immediate circle would be interested too, I guess.
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It's very easy to get hundreds and even thousands of followers on instagram. How? I post new photos every few days and my follower count actually goes down. I get a bunch of accounts following me automatically and unfollowing me after a few days, just to get me to follow them back. Maybe my photos are terrible, but I don't think so? https://www.instagram.com/stavroskorok/
I like your pictures. (I'm not a photographer, just someone who can look at some stuff and say "I like that" and not necessarily know why.) But I find some of your comments odd. Such as: "Another shot of the lighthouse in Chania." Well, yes, it's a picture, so I can see that it's a lighthouse, and it's obviously a shot. The only information in that sentence, then is "Chania," but where is that? From the tags, I guess…
Hmm, that's good feedback, thank you. I don't write descriptions a lot because I consider my photos' value to be the aesthetic and not so much the story behind them. I'll try to write something more descriptive from now on, thank you, I wouldn't have thought of that before you mentioned it.
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It's very easy to get hundreds and even thousands of followers on instagram. How? I post new photos every few days and my follower count actually goes down. I get a bunch of accounts following me automatically and unfollowing me after a few days, just to get me to follow them back. Maybe my photos are terrible, but I don't think so? https://www.instagram.com/stavroskorok/
I like your photos. That being said, I think it's hard to succeed on Instagram specifically unless you have a very well-defined theme or style. There's nothing wrong with trying a little bit of everything, but I think it's also understandable that the people who initially followed you because they saw a great portrait you took may not be interested in your landscapes. I have an Instagram account that's private and ma…
I've been wondering that as well. Looking at every other photographer, this is true, so I think you're right. I like to experiment with many different styles so the photographs don't look "samey", but I guess that for an Instagram account having a defined aesthetic is an advantage.
I'll try to shoot more "my style", thank you for the feedback!
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It's very easy to get hundreds and even thousands of followers on instagram. How? I post new photos every few days and my follower count actually goes down. I get a bunch of accounts following me automatically and unfollowing me after a few days, just to get me to follow them back. Maybe my photos are terrible, but I don't think so? https://www.instagram.com/stavroskorok/
Your photos are very well executed and pristine. I think it depends on what you want. Do you want followers? Do you want originality? Do you want to get in galleries? Do you want clients? Do you want to have fun? Are you documenting your life or someone else? These are all different goals, I'm not sure which one you're prioritizing for. I admit I don't know about getting followers on Instagram. For example, gallery a…
Thank you, I think that's the more important question. My photos are for me and for what I like, it would just be nice if people liked them as well.
Since my goal is to have fun, I'm not going to ruin it by forcing myself to take photos, even if that doesn't get me followers or any recognition. Thank you for your feedback!
Re: The Newbie Photographer’s Survival Guide
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It's very easy to get hundreds and even thousands of followers on instagram. How? I post new photos every few days and my follower count actually goes down. I get a bunch of accounts following me automatically and unfollowing me after a few days, just to get me to follow them back. Maybe my photos are terrible, but I don't think so? https://www.instagram.com/stavroskorok/
This is what many people do. Using a bot which automatically does follow-unfollow, likes or post pointless spam comments. Forget Instagram. It’s a place of spam and bot. Also: what’s the point of having Instagram followers? Your photos are nice, but earning money with it is an entirely different thing.
That's true, and I don't want to turn photography into work either, as that will take all the fun out of it. I won't bother with Instagram beyond posting my photos, thanks for the feedback!