>PROFITABLE PHOTOGRAPHY Apart from Photojournalism and being

In times of need I've made posts on Facebook/forums and sold landscape prints. It's not something I keep up with, but rather once every year or two...so it's not exactly sustainable long term or anything.

Photographs of random people probably wouldn't sell too well unless their identity is pretty obscured.

>>2885349
>Photojournalism
>make money off of
You've been replaced by millions of people with smartphones, they are always there before you are and send the stuff to news agencies for free.

>>2885349
You could try and get into the monotonous world of stock photography, you'll need to shoot a boat load of generic shit that can easily be used in the creation of ads and web content, and it will sell for pennies, but at least you'll have something every month.
When you wish to step up your game, you'll learn to photoshop items to turn them from brand-name products into no-name products that can be used anywhere. For instance taking a photo of a tube of Colgate© toothpaste and just writing the word "toothpaste" in the same font where it used to be.

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I offer to take photos of food for restaurants and charge them $100 for the job. They put it on their menus or advertisements. I know I'm low balling myself but it's better than not working. Most of the time they feed me too. I've made about $5k doing this this year.

Pic related, something I did this weekend for a mom and pop cake shop.

>>2885388
You've gone overboard with the bokeh. You should have all of the fork in focus and the tablecloth should be more in focus.

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>>2885390

Thanks anon. Been using f2 because why should I stop it down when I spent so much on it, but there's a need to stop down on occasion. This being one of those times.

I make a profitable living off photography. I started off shooting pretty much any job I was given. Then it's up to you to network and get to know the right people. I mostly shoot fashion stuff and anything else that pays well enough. Recently I've started doing bigger jobs for companies like Nike. Once you get to know the right people it all takes off by itself, of course your work has to be up to par as well. There's a million photogs out there, you got to know how to sell yourself

>>2885392
>>2885388
What f/2 is it? Renders nicely

>>2885392
>>2885388

>I CANT SEE SHIT

>>2885392

How do you approach said restaurants and cafes??

>>2885403
>walk into said restaurant
>request for manager/owner
>ask

stop being an autist

>>2885406

h hey, give me $100 and ill take pictures of food you are going to prepare right now
>fuck off kid

>>2885388
>>2885392

these are pretty bad mate, why the fuck did you blur it so much

>>2885392 >>2885388

Looks like you took this with a smart phone and then used selective focus in Windows Photo viewer or some shit. Terrible. Nobody paid you for these, that's probably you and your friend eating out and instagramming that shit.

>>2885388
>>2885392
>why should I stop it down when I spent so much on it
Oy vey, this really kek'led my shekels!

>>2885395
Sony 28mm f2

>>2885406
'Hey I'm a photographer and noticed you didn't have any pictures of your food. For $100 I can take some pics

>>2885420
Because it was f2 and people say why would you stop down when it's f2 and bokehlicious and

>>2885455
These are photos I took during the session but not that I submitted to the restaurant. Didn't want you guys google searching :^)

>>2885462
>bokehlicious

Thanks for the feedback mates, will stop down from now on.

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>>2885489

Use a macro 80 to 100mm for food shots.

Control your lighting. Use a bounceboard and buy a fucking flash. Learn three point lighting. Lighting is what separates us from the rest.

Too much bokeh is the sign of an amateur who just found out how to do it. The depth of field should cover the entire plate.

Sharpness of the subject is everything.

You suck and make us look bad.

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>>2885349
disgusting

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>>2885349

Short answer: no.

Photography, although necessary, is a dying profession kept alive by hobbiests.

Stock imaging, high level fashion and ((le)) famous arteest are some of the last few areas where you can be relatively rich.

The money to be made is in commercial work as a protog for hire, cinematographer and general video expert because shooting/editing video is still difficult.

Narrative doesn't pay unless you get at least 300 a day as a camera operator.

Side jobs like art photog doesn't pay unless you're already famous. Even then, nobody pays for prints these days unless your work is exhibited as one time prints. Again, you need to be well known.

Being a photog is like any other contractor profession. Its difficult and work isn't steady. Large corporations are usually in need of trick photographers and cinematographers, but that's all internal connections if you can get one.

Tldr, its a shit industry that's only going to get worse.

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>>2885504

Interesting note on the macro lens. Didn't even cross my mind. I just used the window lighting but thought about buying a reflector because I didn't want to carry a flash everywhere, because I've actually never used one.

>>2885520

I'm glad you made a few bucks but you are in no position o be making money off of photography yet.

Buy a cheap flash from amazon. Make sure you can slave it via wireless. They are like 50 bucks for the mandarin express ones. Watch tutorial videos. Learn. A cheap foam core white board is 99 cents at Walmart and works as a bounce board. Buy a diffusor for your flash like a chimera softbox and keep it away from your camera. Consider hot lamps too, like daylight adjusted tungsten to match your flash. Bounce that off a board or through a silk and you'll see a major difference. Seriously, lighting is EVERYTHING.

>>2885505

u gey brah?Miley is raw sexual energy

>>2885504

So do you do food photography full time? How much do you charge?

>>2885504
Ok, now I'm hungry. Nice work anon

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>>2885715

More than you can afford, pal.

>>2885504
I use to work at a major hotel chain and they would send these giant enlargements of items that weren't that appealing to look at in the first place like runny eggs. We were suppose to hang them up in the elevator. But they were so ridiculously strang at the size we were getting everyone stole them to keep them as a gift for those christmas gift exchanges. It then became more involved where we were trading with other hotels. These in focus photos of gross things legend. This was the early days of the internet so it may not have the same impact but it was so funny imagine someone taking a picture of a sausage link and blowing it up to this giant wedding portrait size.

>>2885349
why is that man have manboobs when he's not that fat?

>>2885840

u gay breh?

>>2885850
>>2885840
Yeah the titties are nice but the girl is trash.

>>2885393
There's a lot of personality that goes into knowing the right people amirite? I'm hoping to take off running when im done with my time shooting onboard cruises.

>>2885851

Trashy is hot bro, I would fucking destroy Miley

>>2885378
THis. Unless you're dodging bullets in the desert with the military or relief work behind the lines you ain't getting it now thanks to social media and smartphones

>>2885413
you're pretty dense and sheltered. Any respectable photographer has either a physical booklet of his work or some sort of online database storage connected with social media

it isn't that much of a stretch that some owners would jump at the chance for cheap advertising if you don't come off as some autist

>>2885875
I would say its important to move within the right circle of people. People skills is also big part of the business. It always depends in what field of photography you want to work in. For me, I've always had a very diverse social group, a lot of them in the creative field.

>>2885909
Totally agree

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>>2885526
I'm doing my second restaurant shoot tonight (at the same restaurant) and this is helpful.

first shoot I did two off camera flashes and it looked good but the shadows were fucked but the only people who cared were other photographers. clients didn't even care when I pointed it out

now I don't have a second flash but I recently bought a strobe. any recommendation for what my lighting setup should be? I like bright flash/overexposed and that's what the owner likes as well

pic related but it's old as hell and it kinda makes me cringe a little

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>>2886821
Stobe placement should be consistant. If the client loves the bright, blown highlights look I would personally buy a large modifier (a giant softbox, or umbrella, place it wherever as long as the plate cast a visible shadow (just like your pic, since it brings constrast), and use black flags (cut foamboard) to bring back shadow detail

You should also clean the plate

I saw a dude doing this once:

Get one if those portable photo printers, and an led light umbrella. Mount them to your body, and carry a battery in your backpack to power it all. Walk round popular clubbing streets in your city taking photos of people coming out of clubs, print it off and charge them. Drunk people will pay for shit like that.

>>2885413
Yeah maybe if you are a kid. Hold you head high and walk in there as if they fucking need your photos. Do you know how business works, they can't want or need your product until they know they need it, make them need it, be the alpha. God you won't get far with this mentality.
We had a random person walk into our music store and we hired him on the spot to do our photography that is literally how it works if you know how to speak and present yourself well.

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>>2886832
tfw your umbrella comes late

>>2886965
eh i think you can get away from rotating the strobe away from the food, depending on the diffusion of the paper, or bounce the light off the wall - which acts like a modifier

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>>2886991
it ended up coming in but I'm pissed

it's my friend's restaurant so they're paying me via paying for the equipment I bought plus a fat ass gift card

only problem is tonight ended up being busy as shit so I'm just sitting here doing nothing. ah well

>>2887004
Anon... I... That's a shoot-through umbrella, not a reflective one.

>>2887004
Oh geez

>>2887018
>>2887039
oops lmao

second day having a strobe first day having an umbrella we all make mistakes I'll own up to it

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>>2885349
>Be a hipster
>Hire a sexy slut with big boobs and big butt for a naked photo shoot.
>Shoot on film in a small room with low light.
>Label it as art.
>You will be recognised as an artist in next few months.
>You will easily get tons of followers on hipstergram.
>Label yourself that you're fighting with depression and mention it in your bio.
>Projects will come to you at God-tier speed.

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>>2887165
proof?

>>2887322
Why would that anon lie?

>>2887165
kek'd

>>2885392
Man fuck shoot at F4.0 or something, the detail is fucked and everything is blurred

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>>2886965
did I do good?

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>>2887697
borrowed a 50mm macro from my dad and it was all I used

food photography is fun I'm gonna try to shoot for restaurants I'm not friends with now

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>>2887699
You really need to get the whole meal in focus.

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>>2887165
Kek

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>>2887697
>>2887699

are you the same guy as before

this is much better shit

>>2887710
this

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>>2887165
Literally soft core pornogrpahy

>>2887710
I kinda like the out of focus. I did the same thing on full meals and had the focus on the main entree. the owner loved it so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

>>2887800
no I'm some random dude

posted this one tho >>2886821

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>>2888111
here another

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>>2887165

>hire

Shit, they'll do it for free.

Also topkek sadly this is true.

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>>2887165
Top kek, sadly.

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>>2887697
>>2887699
much better my dude