There was a time when I dropped out of school to become an actress.

Since that time, my life has shifted dramatically. My focus is not all set on me, my dreams and aspirations. i have someone else's to consider too. Acting...it's just not plausible at this time.

But I don't want to give up on my dreams entirely.

and I've always had an interest in photography,

I am considering switching to a job that actually pays less, but has better benefits AND tuition reimbursement.

So maybe I will get a degree in photographing and marketing/sales/business.

Just want to see if anyone else here has experience in this field

to be honest, i think you screwed yourself for dropping out of school.

Nah. I believe everything happens for a reason. Had I not dropped out of school I wouldn't met my future hubby, who wouldn't havew met me if he had not gotten fired from his job.

He makes me happier than a degree could. I am not someone obsessed with money. And I believe anyone who is thrifty and who has a drive can become successful, you just have to find the right path to pursue.

i love photography but i need some mentor to guide...lol

wow.. geez alexa.. lol are you serious? hahahaha you're not the innocent girl i thought you were. you sounded so innocent in your posts..


well my friend is a photographer and he says he enjoys it so i guess go for it

I believe I do have some photography talent but I am not interested in it

^ me too.. i think.. XD hehe

being a photographer get u alot of money? or what

Ask awol.

How many white broads from the midweast and east coast live in skid row in LA.

They all had that hollywood dream.

Now there heroin junkies living with a nazi low rider.

Alexa, you truly are amazing!

Remember the last time you mentioned careers in a thread and it was about ESL teaching?

This morning, (Sunday in Perth), my own Mum invited me to breakfast at 10:00, and for the first time in 40 years I mentioned my thoughts on the idea of turning to picture-taking to save all this goddamn typing!

I've been thinking of this option all year, and recently bought a little digital camera that I've used to post quite a number of snapshots up here on the forum, although I'm still to read the user manual yet.

The advantage of photography, if you know how to mind your Ps and Qs, is that you have no need for anything short of an asthetically-pleasing portfolio to be considered fully-formally-qualified, and that is why my New Year's Resolution for 2009 is to let a picture paint 1,000 words.

<I think I might get RSI if I keep up all this chatter to the ignorance of the shutter! >



<NB: The combination of ESL language teaching and photography is yet in its childhood!
When God smote the Babel Towers he never cleared the rubble...>

eg.:

PICTURE YOURSELF IN A BOAT ON A RIVER
WITH TANGERINE TREES AND MARMALADE SKIES
SOMEBODY CALLS YOU, YOU ANSWER QUITE SLOWLY
A GIRL WITH KALEIDOSCOPE EYES


CELLOPHANE FLOWERS OF YELLOW AND GREEN
TOWERING OVER YOUR HEAD
LOOK FOR THE GIRL WITH THE SUN IN HER EYES
AND SHE´S GONE


LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS
LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS
LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS


FOLLOW HER DOWN TO A BRIDGE BY A FOUNTAIN
WHERE ROCKING HORSE PEOPLE EAT MARSHMALLOW PIES
EVERYONE SMILES AS YOU DRIFT PAST THE FLOWERS
THAT GROW SO INCREDIBLY HIGH


NEWSPAPERS TAXIS APPEAR ON THE SHORE
WAITING TO TAKE YOU AWAY
CLIMB IN THE BACK WITH YOUR HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
AND YOU´RE GONE


LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS...


PICTURE YOURSELF ON A TRAIN IN A STATION
WITH PLASTICINE PORTERS WITH LOOKING GLASS TIES
SUDDENLY SOMEONE IS THERE AT THE TURNSTILE
THE GIRL WITH KALEIDOSCOPE EYES


LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS..

'anyone planning on becoming a photographer?'
*raises hand* Here! i deeply hold intrest in photography and im planned to be a photographer but now that i am studying science as a major subject i might deviate my motives but no matter what i'll always stick with photography if not as professional photographer as a passionate photographer i will

take a look at my photo gallery--who knows i might purify your motives but it's not that bad
http://www.flickr.com/photos/minutesalone

unfortunately there are no recently taken photos my camera is ill...ain't got no coins to get it repaired,it costs too much besides no time to engage myself with camera in hand..im busier than ever,omg! i Knever really knew what it was like to be busy


Not much but photography is a really vibrant job and launching exhibition gallery is a good way to lure visitors and to make money too i guess

I agree with this statement. You were getting straight A's. You could've just joined a local theater program while studying whatever you were studying.

It's really hard to discover what type of person I am from posts here. There are a lot of different aspects to my personality, as it is for everyone. However I think my indecisiveness make me an even more complex person to get to know. I constantly play devil's advocate with myself. And I am rarely not dreaming. I guess i have a lofty goals and there are only a few fixed points in my life. But i am geting old, lol, and I need to actually make a decision and I think photography is it!



Not a lot but I'd say it can be a profitable business. I don't think you go into a photography business for monetary reasons though. It's an art as well as a craft that must be perfected and honed. People need to see your vision speak to them through the photographs. And I don't think someone can have vision with passion.




Unfortunately that is all too true. I still might try out for an indie film once in awhile, and continue to do community stage work, but it is a very hard business to break into...and often takes a long time...



Yeah, I'd still like to be an ESL teacher someday. I don't think it's the right move for me at the moment. but someday! I'd like to try it once.

Even though you don't -need- to go to school I still think I am going to get my associates degree in photography as it's sooo much easier to get be accepted into a studio with one. I want to open my own studio someday, but I won't have the money to do so from the get go.

I really want to open a wedding and event photography studio because weddings make me sooo happy. I love going to them! I dream about capturing those emotional moments on film. I think i would be the happiest person alive if I could run start my own wedding photography studio because weddings make me so happy!

I really want to travel the world with my camera, but I'd do that in leisure time. I'd rather have a stable business rooted to one central location, for the sake of my children =)

You should get a flickr account and show me all your pictures!



I think your pictures are awesome! I think if you had applied yourself to photography you could have made a successful career out of it. But sometimes it's better to leave something your passionate about as a hobby too =)

Do you have an SLR by chance???

My camera's currently in the shop, I broke it at a concert. But I had a 4 year warranty (cost me an extra 200 USD for it) so no matter how much I break it...it's all good =D






Yes, I do think I made a mistake. That's what I get for being impulsive I guess. But it's not all so bad. I've grown up a lot these last 2 years.

Well, so far in my life, I think this one was the best one I've ever been fortunate enough to take, and it was at arpound 08:30 on a Saturday morning after a night of sleeping on the beach until getting rained out and taking shelter in a rangers' hut up on the hill, and with a Kodak 35mm el-cheapo camera using 200 asa film.



The rest of my gallery from the Thai adventures are still on the little low-volume Geocities site here if you click on the button that says GALLERY, and I've got a fair few from the bicycle tours of the Suoth-West of Australia too, although those once again suffered from the same old 35mm 200 asa distortions. Now with this digital camera; the mighty Canon, I'm set once I get the opportunity to run amok on the World taking pictures of things that hapen, but we don't want to fall into the papparazzi trap either now, do we?

I'm waiting for these headaches to subside once more and I'll have all the photos up across onto the new high-volume site as soon as I can get the gap in the pain to concentrate enough to remember what I'm trying to upload the next day.

Also, I'm sorry about that stupid colourfuol song thing before. I was actually getting a little high for the first time in a week on Sunday arvo, and the surprise of your coincidental thread in combination with that old ESL thing from years ago did tend to send me to Strawberry Fields for the rest of the evening, but I apologise if I went a little overboard with the double posting. I'm rather embarrassed still.

Let it said that judging by some of the threads you've threaded already here on the forum, I'd say that anyone who says you have a promising flair for picture-taking has their head screwed on right, and if I had the opportunity to study any further diplomas or degrees (which I do not without millions of dollars and a ticket to a civilised couintry like Zimbabwe) I'd go with the credentials in vision too, but considering that such paperwork is not going to be a part of your final product, then it would seem to be purely related to employment by capitalists, and for that sacrifice, one may as well work a drive-thru counter at MacDonald's.

Just my own opinion, but the pictures I take belong to me, and if I'm doing something for someone else for money that they promise to pay me afterwards, then I'd rather drive one of their trucks than shoot one of their cameras, but I reckon you'd succeed either way at that, and good on you!

You and I need a third party to form a company! We can call it Weddings, Parties, Anything ... and you can take the former department on as the CEO and I'll run the latter.

Gracious words care to share your photos/gallery?

Actually i am trying so hard to be okay with the choice i made because i was into photography so deep and out of nowhere 'science' i hold no intrest in it besides it's boring and a bit hard and without enthusiasm it's hard to pass

SLR Nope! Actually i don't have 'cool' toys--those shots,most of them were taken by Canon Powershot S40 which is a museum model lol but i love it, i know mechanism of s40 model very well so im more comfortable and 'pro' with s40 in hand, i also have Nikon Coolpix but still sticking with 4MP well... I don't believe that boys with most toys win,any gun is enough to snipe down the enemy if you know how to shoot properly something like that hahas im weird and classical

Ouch! My the one and only camera is too precious for me,i always hold it very tight xD -

P.S I'm collecting money for a new camera,im going to get a killer camera and get back in business

Um, getting a business or marketing degree is kind of useless in America. Everyone gets them cause its one of the easiest major's to go into and you really don't learn much from the classes. My bro majored in those fields his first sem and found out that is was leading him now where. If your really into photography, I wouldn't waste spending money on getting a degree on it. I'd search for schools, mentors, or anyone that is currently in the field to give me 1st hand experience in it, kind of like trade school or something. Seeing how the market is getting its a$$ handed to it now a days, it might be a little easier to find or get experience in the field because alot of people are looking for work.

Hey Alexa, your photos are really nice so I'd say yes, don't hesitate to pursue photography. The passion is what's most important; the money is a lesser priority.

However I don't think I'd be a photographer alone. I'm studying graphic design now, and I'd like to major both in graphic design and photography. I don't know if it is possible where you live, but here in my city if you're a photographer alone don't expect to get much out of it - don't forget the money you're gonna spend on purchase/mantainence of equipments (camera, camera lenses, light box, reflector, flash gun etc).

I guess it also depends on what kind of photographer you want to be. There's sports and event photography (also under photojournalism), and then there's fashion photography, wedding photography, commercial photography...

Okay I re-read your post and you said you'd like to go into event and wedding photography.

Then take into mind the demand and the market saturation in your area, or anywhere you want to pursue your photography career. My photography lecturer identifies as a commercial photographer. Here in Kuching people have that hop-on-the-bandwagon mentality, which is why you see so many wedding studios here offering wedding photography up to the point it's getting quite pathetic. Not to mention the wedding photography market is very saturated here, so it would be wiser to go to a different area of photography. Competition is good, but it's best to eliminate unnecessary ones.

You might also like to consider your photography approach. My lecturer told a story of a friend of his, who opened a wedding photography studio in Kuala Lumpur. There were also other wedding photography studios around, but she took a different approach - offering black and white wedding photography only. And it was a success.


In a nutshell, in an increasingly saturated market like photography, you'd like to have three things before diving in: Passion, Talent and Edge. Which I think is not a problem for you. : )

You dropped out of school and met a guy who got fired from his job.
Whatever makes you happy, dear.

I don't have a gallery yet and the pictures I have online are already floating around here somewhere on the forum, unfortunately I have been rather busy lately so photography has been on the back burner (just moved - blah) But I am going to create a gallery once I have somewhat of a portfolio =D

I bookmarked your gallery so I'll be looking forward to updates!





Well the school I am contemplating on attending is a technical/trade school. From what In read the school is pretty good about setting you up with internships too. I'll find out more when I tour the school, th tuition isn't outrageous so at the very least I'll come out of it more competent photographer.




Sooo true. I am not sure how much competition there is in my area in wedding photography, but I don't plan on starting a career out here. I want to head to one of the coasts.

I'm not set in stone about wedding/event photography. I was contemplating fashion/commercial photography too. Especially after my friends wedding. it was stressful, and everyone seems to want to take direction, or no one listens. I wasn't very authoritative and people were everywhere, getting in front of my shots too which was super annoying. If I do decide to stick with wedding photography then I know I am going to have to develop a stronger backbone and sit down with the bride and groom and explain to them that unless I am in control, I cannot deliver the pictures they might expect from me.

Besides, I love fashion too. I have a billion photoshoots in my head....I sew clothes, I used to want to create an online store, and I always created photo spreads in my head for the "collection" I had made. I would sit and sketch and take a billion notes and when I closed my eyes I could see a clear picture of exactly what I wanted. I discovered that I loved doing that more than making and designing clothes!

But thanks for the tips. I helped my sister scope for photographers for her wedding and came across a few that offered only black and white photographs, there prices were quite steep so i imagine they were quite successful! I don't think I would want to take that approach, but there definitely would be a specific style and mood to the pictures I take. I don't particularly like posing formal shots, and I would be upfront that they should not expect traditional photographers. Its my personal opinion that the best moments are the ones that occur naturally, without specific instructions. I am not a "and 1-2-3 say cheese!" gal, I want to capture genuine emotion, and I think I can only do that will little intrusion.

But thanks for the compliments! I know my passion is there, I am not quite sure about talent (There are many things I still must learn about the technical aspects of photography) and edge, well I hope I have edge =)




He wasn't unemployed for long, 2 weeks I think? And he works a great job now. And I am happy

I worked in the photographic industry.
For 12 years I had a job for motorsport identity Ian Smith at Custom Colour Photographics.
It was my first big job after highschool, and it taught me how to manage a business.
Ian Smith was a great boss. At the time I thought he was a bit of a slave driver, but he taught me the meaning of hard work, and the rewards were there as long as I could rise to the challenge.
For anybody considering this field, bear in mind that it requires not only an eye for images, but also discipline and excellent communication skills.
Back in the days, my communication and time management skills were not so good, and I had a hard learning curve.