Important facts

• There are many factors that go into becoming a portrait photographer.
• Lighting, posing and location play huge roles in capturing a portrait alone.
• There are options between working for other companies(like JCP or Target studios), other photographers who need assistants or branching out on your own as a freelancer.
• When you work for someone most things are decided for you (what your job description is) but when you work for yourself there is a lot of work to be done. when you work for yourself you have to give it your all otherwise your business will not be going anywhere
• when you're self-employed you have to set up appointments and go to them. You have to own your own equipment or be able to rent it when you need it. You have to advertise yourself. You have to photograph and edit your own photographs or pay someone else to edit them for you.  You have to go out and find people to photograph because the clients will not always find you.
• A college education is not a requirement but is highly recommended because it's never a bad idea to improve on your skills. 
• If you do not wish to attend college, you can always get a job assisting a professional photographer to learn all that you need to know or get some type of internship with a photo company to learn all the basics and more
• A typical work week for a portrait photographer can vary depending on your appointments, any editing you may have to do, any advertising you may need to do, equipment you have vs what you need and so much more. 
• Your work week may change based on a clients schedule, wants and/or needs.
• Pricing structure may vary as well based on what you value your time, equipment usage, the material you are giving away as well as how many photographs your client needs or wants.
• Pricing structure will also vary regardless of whether you are self-employed or work for another person. If you work for another person or company than the pricing may be fixed based on hourly, for the whole day or based on any packages they may offer.
• According to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) the average annual income is $40,280 for a photographer. You can make anywhere from $9.00 an hour to $36 dollars an hour. 
• Different organizations you can join include ASMP (American society of Media Photographers), PPA (Professional Photographers of America), PPGNY (Professional Photographers of Greater New York),  and WPPI (Wedding Portrait Photography International)
• The purpose of these organizations is for networking and getting yourself out there. It's to educate yourself on your legal rights and so that you have a community that will stand up for you if your rights as a photographer get violated.

When one cannot think of something to capture then one should look closer to thy self.

A day in my life consists of these and many more.

    

My love life.

Rafael

Suffolk Community College in the evening. 

My cat Jack playing slaps.

I've decided that for now my project will be to take a few photographs of my day to day life and see where that may lead. Hopefully it will be somewhere adventurous.

Projects? I need to find one myself...

http://www.upworthy.com/a-husband-took-these-photos-of-his-wife-and-captured-love-and-loss-beautifully  

This brought me to tears. I've lost many people close to me to cancer. Never had I had the chance to capture something so raw though. It's so beautiful.

I've been looking at lots of different series of photograph or one could say photographic stories. It's only made me yearn to create one myself. I've decided that this week I'm going to look for a project to start on my own and see where it takes me. Please visit my page next week to see what i decide to capture.

You have to love a good quote when you hear one!

I came across this quote on Facebook by a Frenchman, war photographer: Bruno Barbey and it really stuck with me yesterday. This really is so true. You can take a picture of a person looking distressed while crying and all around the world people will look at it and know that person is upset about something. You can take a picture of a sunset or sunrise and everyone will know what it is. It's crazy how we all worry about how to communicate to others of a different backgrounds who speak different languages but one way we could is through photography. Through our images we can truly try to prove a point. No matter what that point may be. After seeing this quote, I'm really looking forward to the embracing our differences project in class. For those of you who don't know what that is you should google it because it is a really cool project that so many people have come together to create. It's about so many things and yet one simple thing. No matter what or where you come from, no matter what you believe in or who you believe in or where you are in life; we should all accept each other/we should all embrace each other for who we are.

Just something cool I found online.

https://photographylife.com/


I found this link while looking up photographer's rights for a project I wanted to do. The Project has to do with shooting in Central Park but that's for another day. I just wanted to mention this website because I thought it was really cool and informational about quite a few things. You don't even have to join and become a member in order to read their articles which is nice cause a lot of websites make that a requirement. It's run by a group of photographers from all over the globe. They give reviews on equipment, give tips on different types of photography & techniques, talk about different workshops, they have a form where members can discuss different topics and a lot more. Check it out, you never know maybe you'll learn something new.

Follow your heart. (Never give up)

Just throwing it out there. I deal with depression but I fight through it every day. Every day it's a struggle but I'll never let it stop me from doing what I truly love, photography. If anything photography is what gets me through the day most of the time. I thought that I would be graduated from school by now but for some reasons things kept coming up; obstacles keep getting in my way along my journey. I feel like life throws us obstacles for a reason, to help us grow. I've learned so much in the past few years about myself alone as well as for my passion.  Things do get to me a lot but I will not let them stop me. Yes it'll slow me down but nothing will stop me from becoming a successful photographer. Photography is, was and will be my life. I don't care how long it takes me to work on perfecting this career but I will succeed. I'm not giving myself any choice. No matter how many obstacles I face or how many times I may even feel like a failure; I will succeed in the long haul. I'm going to keep trying no matter how hard it gets because this is my life and no one is going to live it for me.I'm not exactly sure where I wanted this to go when I started to write but right now I hope that reading this somehow strengthens your own will to never give up on what you want to do whether it be photography, videography, photo rep, graphic design artist or what ever you may want to do, do not ever give up. Find the strength you need to and fight through each day.

Upstate NY is one of my favorite places to take photographs when those kinds of moods hit home.

Reaction paper #2 Photo Expo

On the 28th I went to the PDN's photo expo at the Javits Convention center in New York. It was amazing. I truly do not have words to describe how it made me feel. Like a good anxiety attack if it were to exist. I've never seen so many cameras in one place. It was a little too exciting. I tried to go to every booth. I bought warm matte paper and received a bunch of free paper as well. I also bought some decal photo paper as well. I got the chance to subscribe to PDN's magazine which I did for a year. I also learned a lot through a few of their lectures. They had all kinds of photo equipment there as well such as lights, tripods, camera bags, filters, etc.. There were insurance companies offering different deals for your equipment.  And professionals speaking about their work from here to there. I was in love with this place. Upset it only happens once a year but I already have plans to go next year.

Reaction paper #1 Library and research through the library

So a couple of Monday's ago on 10/16 our class had a trip to the college library. On this trip we were blessed to have a guide from the school teach us a thing or two or three about how to successfully research from the school library's data base and how to look up books both in the library itself and through the library's data base as well. I also learned how to use google's advance search, which i feel will definitely come in handy later on in the semester. Our guide taught us how to properly cite a website and/or book. This is important because we must show where we have gotten our information from otherwise it is considered a form of plagiarism. We were then escorted through the library where we were allowed to pick out a photography book or a few photography books to check out of the library. I usually just look up information that i'd like to learn online but i learned however that i enjoy holding and reading a physical book much better. There's nothing like real books, maybe it's the smell or just being able to read it without feeling like your eyes are bleeding after an hour like if feels when you're staring at a computer screen for an hour. In any case i'm really glad that we got to go because there is always room to learn new things especially in this constantly changing world of technology.

Check This Out!

https://www.kodak.com/US/en/Consumer/Products/Instant-Print-Cameras/Printomatic/default.htm?CID=go&idhbx=printomatic

Thought that this would be fun to play around with so I just ordered myself one in white. Then I thought that perhaps there are others out there who would enjoy it just as much as I know I'm going to. I love to try out new tech, especially when it involve photography.

Personal projects are the best sometimes they're just good for one's soul.

This is a project that I've been working on in my own time. I'm in love with the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas" It's been my favorite movie since I was 2. I got this Lego Jack as a gift from a friend and ever since then I've had it in my bag. Everywhere I go I see opportunities. I take those opportunities by taking my Lego Jack and taking photographs of him in different places (different spaces). I'll prop him up against a laptop or decal. I'll put him under candle light or stick him in a hole of a bench and snap away. I'm sure I'll post more pictures as the year goes on but I just had to share this project because it brings me a lot of joy and it's something to smile at I suppose. 

 

Yellowjacket attacking a green worm

Was going to go for a drive today but when I got into my car i noticed that these two little guys were fighting to the death on my windshield and I got a few nice photographs but this one was my favorite. Hence why I'm sharing it with all of you. you never know what life will throw at you; a sunny day, a shoe or a yellowjacket attacking a worm on your windshield.