If you’ve never been to PhotoWhoa.com, you need to check out their site. It’s a photography blog/store with lots of great stories along with lots of great deals on photography stuff. Well, a while back, they asked if I could do an interview and sent over some really thoughtful questions about landscape photography. Questions that really made me think about my photography, like:
How did you get your start in photography? How would you describe your work?
When did you become confident of your abilities? Were you ever unsure of your skills?
Anyway, here’s the link to the full interview if you want to check it out. It’s probably a 5-10 minute read if you have some time this weekend.
Also, while I have you here, I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be roaming around WPPI early next week. I’m teaching a Masterclass on Tuesday from 11:30-1:30 called Photoshop Compositing Secrets. After that, I’m jumping on a plane to head to LA for my Lightroom seminar on Wednesday. So if you’re at WPPI, I hope you can come by to check out my class (here’s the link: just search on my name or on Tuesday, March 4th to get to it). And if you’re in LA, there’s still time to grab a ticket to see my Lightroom seminar.
Have a good one!
I love teaching and photography... In that order. I feel that enjoying photography, and photo editing can get WAY too complicated. So my personal mission (and favorite thing to do), is to create education that simplifies the process of taking great photos, and how to edit them to get the results you’ve always wanted.
Alexandra. Perhaps you’d get more critiques if your commercial site wasn’t set up as private. May I also suggest you shoot for yourself and not “likes”. If you’ve read Matt’s story persistence played more of a role than luck.
What are you talking about Glenn? What do you mean “private”?
I do shoot for myself now…when I can…
My site is visible to everyone…
acorner.net
Do you have a screen shot?
I clicked on your name (the blue Alexandra’s Corner and got what appears to be a link to your twitter page which then said your activity was private. Perhaps it has to do with how you have your Disqus set up. It did not go to your website.
I agree with Matt, your interior work is good stuff. Viewing that as a slide show appears to be the only option on your site. If you have other work you might want to consider giving viewers the option to select what they see rather than limited to the one non-stop slide show.
That’s weird! I’ll have to check that out! Why is it blue? It should show my logo! Hmmm…thanks for pointing that out, I had no idea.
My business is only interiors now. I will add food when I’ll have a complete portfolio, so far I only have a few shots…the rest of what I shoot is on my blog, along with all sorts of other things…
Great interview. Full of good info. I always enjoy seeing the image of the totems…since I was standing near you at the time and have a very similar image.
That was a fun trip. I want to go back and camp up on top of one of the buttes for sunrise. 🙂
Me too, by helicopter though. Not sure I could survive another ride in a Suburban free of shock absorbers to get there. It was great though. Sort of like the drive to the Racetrack in Death Valley, an hour in you’re wondering why you’re doing it but glad you did once you get there.
LMAO! Dude, that was a horrible ride out there. I thought I was going to get car sick at several points. I’m with ya!
“I always made it a point to ask for help though. I’d ask for people to look at my photos and I constantly asked for critiques. I think anyone who’s ever had a critique before will tell you the same thing”
To bad more people can’t have this luck/chance/opportunity (without spending thousands of dollars, so we stop wasting our time trying to break into an industry that slowly becomes just for the 1%). Last I was quoted for a critique was $1500. I have asked many times for help, critiques to no avail. (No answer that is), and I have zero likes everywhere. So, judging by the # of “likes” I have, I should probably sell my gear at this point.
I liked the interview very much! Congrats. You are truly part of the 0.000001% of photographers who actually get to photograph what they enjoy, so consider yourself beyond lucky. Most of us stopped “dreaming” of photographing what we want.
Thanks… I think… in a back-handed compliment kinda way :-/
You know Alexandra – I have lots of people come up to me at a seminar and ask if I’ll look at their images on a break or afterward. I always do it and I do it for free. Scott had a seminar in Tampa the other day (I know you live here), and he as well as lots of other good photographers were there. Did you ask any of them to look at your portfolio. Google Helpouts offer portfolio critiques for as low as $60 for a half hour.
I looked at your portfolio and I’ll tell you this. Your photography is not holding you back. You’ve got beautiful interior work. So it’s got to be something business related that’s not clicking. I don’t know if it’s the market, your business marketing, your prices, your clients or lack of finding them. I don’t know that industry, but from looking at your work, the photos are not the issue if you’re having trouble.
I’ve seen your comments many times and I’ve seen many reasons why it’s hard for you. You make reference to your accent, your financials and your location in many of your posts. I don’t know what to say other than to say I never said it’s easy. I guess you can call what happened to me luck. Heck, even I call it luck sometimes. But I hope to think that it’s a combination of really hard work, a lot of preparedness, and a little bit of chance thrown in (which always seems to happen, the more prepared you are).
It was a compliment…It did came out backwards…the car line started moving…LOL 🙂
“Your photography is not holding you back. You’ve got beautiful interior work”, Thank you for that. I appreciate that very much.
It is business related, and also “people” related…I wrote a blog post about it earlier……I do get hung up on a LOT though…I have been finally defeated by that, because I hate cold calling, and “mass post card sending” is useless because what I do is a small market filled with nepotism, which seems impossible to break through, and I don’t know anybody in this town still (as in “connections”), and you know how it is…it is “who you know” most of the time….6 years now…so I am stuck between “offering to do free stuff for portfolio”…(to keep going on shooting what I love to shoot), or just “give up”, because every time I did something for free I was taken advantage off, and never called back. I am not a jerk, really…there are 3 people who can tell you that who know me and worked with me…I do get aggravated when I am asked to do something for free repeatedly by people who have no intention to pay. (& it is not even portfolio worthy stuff). Then…..I’ve been looking for a food stylist, emailed the 3 that show up in all of Tampa, all of which blew me off! I offered to buy the food and compensate them…nada!
I was saying you’re “lucky” because you have the “freedom” to travel, and shoot in these wonderful places; I lost my ability to travel after I moved here from Europe, and I am not happy about that. I used to travel everywhere around Europe, and Asia…so, I feel like I am being held back a LOT by not having that freedom anymore, and it is not because of babysitters…that can be arranged, it boils back down to connections! I NEVER meant is was somehow “handed” to you…no, no, no,…that was NOT how I meant that. You know I love your work, and as soon as we get through the big ticket items here, I’ll be decorating my walls with your landscapes…