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Feeling left out

Sherlock77

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
I was at an event yesterday, doing lots of photography, at least trying to... A skijor event (horses pulling people on on skis or snowboards around a course)... I wasn't doing much if anything with the sports photography angle, but wanted some access to the horse trailer area...

But as always, because I don't have the right connections, I couldn't get there, I was stuck in the public areas, only "certain" photographers get into those areas, the areas that would have the best people photography, denied! I'll admit there was a brief argument and moment of frustration

Because I'm not a professional photographer, and don't really have enough connections, and struggle with that as an Aspie, thus I almost always get shut out of getting in behind the scenes

All I ever get is the crumbs from the public areas of events, which is never as good, I know they can't allow every photographer full access, and I shouldn't even expect that... But it frustrates me when it becomes a struggle to even get photos because of that lack of full access, where I question why I even bothered going in the first place... I felt a little like that yesterday, but I think got some good photos but could have done way better!
 
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This is where you make the best with what you've got. We all have limitations, and you have a good story to show some types of limitations. They are set by abilities and allowances.
Maybe next time, climb something and zoom in - might get some views no one else got. Don't let limitations limit you. :)
 
Why don't you declare yourself a professional photographer? Do some free publicity photos for a charity, print some business cards, and you're in business. I'm really not kidding about this.
 
Why don't you declare yourself a professional photographer? Do some free publicity photos for a charity, print some business cards, and you're in business. I'm really not kidding about this.

I'm not even close to that... I'm not leveraged enough
 
I'm not even close to that... I'm not leveraged enough

That's why she's suggesting you offer your services to a charity. It keeps their costs down and it allows you to build a portfolio. It's a win-win that probably won't require the leverage/connections you might think. You'll probably have a few duds where charities won't reply, perhaps they'll decline, but maybe one will email you back enthusiastically...

Business cards don't require leverage to be printed either! Well, other than a certain amount of money! :smile:

I've always gotten the impression that careers in the arts involve declaring yourself a professional before "becoming" a professional. Musicians, actors, artists, even photographers. It sounds to me like you're already a photographer so why not declare it and see what happens? You've already got the Instagram, so now you just need to remove the "semi-" from "semi-pro".
 
I know the feeling. In med school I was a good student with good grades, but I wasn’t in a sorority and I didn’t have connections with important people, so I got rejected for all student assistant jobs, traineeships and interesting research projects. Even though I was at least as qualified as the people that got hired, I was never even considered because I didn’t have the right connections. I was told so regularly so I know it wasn’t all in my mind. This made me incredibly bitter towards the medical establishment and my fellow students.

I hope this event doesn’t poison your attitude towards and your enthusiasm about photography. I love seeing your photos and I hope you keep up the good work, even though you don’t have VIP access.
 
I know the feeling. In med school I was a good student with good grades, but I wasn’t in a sorority and I didn’t have connections with important people, so I got rejected for all student assistant jobs, traineeships and interesting research projects. Even though I was at least as qualified as the people that got hired, I was never even considered because I didn’t have the right connections. I was told so regularly so I know it wasn’t all in my mind. This made me incredibly bitter towards the medical establishment and my fellow students.

I hope this event doesn’t poison your attitude towards and your enthusiasm about photography. I love seeing your photos and I hope you keep up the good work, even though you don’t have VIP access.

I hope this isn't too off-topic but that's another reason why I think Greek Life is poison.
 
Being a photographer too, I know many times how distance and angles are everything. I used to carry my camera everywhere and it would annoy the heck out of my wife if I asked her to stop the car so I could photograph something.

This kind of is one of the reasons I don't do a lot of photography anymore. Different situation I know, but led to similar results. (Crappy photos taken hanging out of a car window going full speed).

I'd say try and photograph things that have unlimited access, where you can take your time and not have to beg and plead with someone to take your photos.
 
The event also changed to a different venue which I think made it more difficult for the non-official photographers... Part of my frustration which is something I can't control
 
You have free time, your passion is photography. I would jump to offer my services to nonprofit. Just tell them what you can't do because of cost limitations. Offer a p/t wedding service or special occasions. Finally, the boudoir photography business is hot- making woman feel beautiful despite whatever. It's popular as a bridal shower party or wives giving this to their husbands, or woman celebrating divorce.
Another thing l noticed: assisted living homes: the relatives love beautiful photos of their loved ones, and you offer a package deal with you own interchangeable background.
 
...

Business cards don't require leverage to be printed either! Well, other than a certain amount of money! :smile:

I've always gotten the impression that careers in the arts involve declaring yourself a professional before "becoming" a professional. Musicians, actors, artists, even photographers. It sounds to me like you're already a photographer so why not declare it and see what happens? You've already got the Instagram, so now you just need to remove the "semi-" from "semi-pro".

I've never thought of it that way before, I rarely make money from photography, I have made some attempts, but at the same time mainly considered it be a hobby that I've done in my spare time, and my last job didn't pay much, I barely got by and even ramping up for things like a photo show was challenging in terms of the money

Photography is an expensive hobby!
 
You have free time, your passion is photography. I would jump to offer my services to nonprofit. Just tell them what you can't do because of cost limitations. Offer a p/t wedding service or special occasions. Finally, the boudoir photography business is hot- making woman feel beautiful despite whatever. It's popular as a bridal shower party or wives giving this to their husbands, or woman celebrating divorce.
Another thing l noticed: assisted living homes: the relatives love beautiful photos of their loved ones, and you offer a package deal with you own interchangeable background.

I hear what you're saying, but I have zero interest in formal portraits or weddings, don't really have the gear for that... In the past I have done some stage performance photography for festivals, but you have to get into the big leagues of music to make much money doing that...
 
Or maybe I'm just being too hard on myself, I did get this photo, a little messy with the crowd in behind, hard to avoid for a semi-candid stranger portrait...

Skijordue 02.jpg
 
"Fake it till you make it," as they say in show business.

If I recall correctly, you recently got laid off from your job? So it's not a great time to produce a lot of marketing materials, but you can print business cards on a home printer for no more than the cost of the specially sized card stock (probably available from Avery).

I challenge you to begin thinking of yourself as a professional photographer, since that's clearly the direction you'd like to head. Just accept that you can't "give up your day job" until you get that first lucky break.

But you do have some time on your hands, so you can begin to prepare a portfolio. Nowadays, you can have both a printed one to show prospective clients, and an online one. Protect your online images with a watermark.
 
Nobody's saying you have to make a living at photography from day one. In the arts, most people have a "day job" when they are just starting out, either working in their art form for free or very little. Over time, the income from their art grows and they can get by with less reliance on the day job, and then phase it out entirely when they reach success.
 
Nobody's saying you have to make a living at photography from day one. In the arts, most people have a "day job" when they are just starting out, either working in their art form for free or very little. Over time, the income from their art grows and they can get by with less reliance on the day job, and then phase it out entirely when they reach success.

I'm not familiar with that, maybe I should be, I've always thought of it as just my hobby... I sort of know what you mean, have seen friends and family go through a similar process... I haven't had much coaching in the process, if I even wanted to... Still not certain
 

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