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to all wannabe fashion photographer
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takkytak [deleted] says:
there are few exceptionals for sure. but my "personal" experience are here:
dont go to the expensive photography college,they are a ripoff for the posh kids. the most important thing i ve ever learned in college was the zone system, u can learn it in one week for under 20£. i spend hours and days in the darkroom. u can build a make shift darkroom for less than 300£. it cost me 6000£ in the end and delivering pizza with my lomo.
dont assist (specially those famous one)photographer or you will be shooting like him, only if u like to be copycat , or a short cut to the dosh, but believe me u will never be happy( maybe assist several diferent photographes, but then when are you going to do your own stuff??).
to learn how to light things up, just spend time dazing under the sun, you get a good idea about lighting for sure. the rest you will find a way to get it. i build a £50 kino flood or get a flood 500w tungsten light from a construction site, legally.
dont buy any fancy equipments, my £10 seagull twin lens works great with landscape. digital camera and computer are terrible inventions if you dont have the discipline to use it. shoot film first, black and white film and make some mistakes. absolutely no retouching, buy a computer later when u have a client.
have a very very good relationship with as many model agencies as you can.....be nice to your crews and let them create something for you as well. you should have a good feeling in the beginning who you are working with. feed them even just an apple and a banana. charismatic personality get you very far.
dont copy trends or up and coming stuffs or u will always be the one catching up with everybody else. find inspiration in some unlikely resources. if i dont have to, i prefer not to use models, instead my fav. are dancers, actors.....but some great models just had it all...
dont give a damn on what everybody said, photorgaphy comes first, fashion second then the model to fit in the shot, NOT vice verse, maybe equally important sometime but not more important than photography******(only if you want to create a picture with an unique signature of yourself and create a niche of fans and clients, then follow this path)
these are everything i did for the last 8years, and i realized its a long(*)road( not so hard and painful if you are passionate about photography and have some nice pictures sometime) .
make sure you have enough to pay your rent and food, or get your frineds and families to pay for it .... just for a while and dont piss them off, they are a life saver...
and keep on shooting and no retirement plans.
Originally posted at 3:05PM, 19 March 2007 PDT
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takkytak edited this topic 63 months ago.
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I was Skeptical, but your work is amazing!
I agree w/ a majority of what takky says here, but more importantly, you have to WANT it. And REALLY want it. No half-assing it, go out and get it. If you have a spare moment? Pick up your camera and shoot something, or work on fixing a photographic problem you might have.
I've watched too many people go to school for photo cause they think that's what they want to do and when it comes down to it they aren't willing to work hard to become successful and then can't figure out why they aren't famous yet.
That's ridiculous. You have to work for what you want and if you don't know how much you need to do to be "working hard" then you're probably not doing enough.
Posted 63 months ago.
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takkytak [deleted] says:
thanks and long live working-hard-class, horay! but nobody understand why i work 24/7, there was a time, one of my ex girl friend told me that i was directing someone in a shoot in my dream.....then she left me not long afterward....i i thought it was very funny at the time ;{
Originally posted 63 months ago.
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takkytak edited this topic 63 months ago.
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that is some splendid work you have there takky. surely you are not using your 10 dollar lens and construction site lights for these shots? but yea i agree on the part about getting your own style.
Posted 63 months ago.
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I know a photographer who makes his own lenses out of the most simple materials. He'll take an old lens and by using wood and various other easily obtainable materials will create the craziest lenses. The best I have seen is a 4x5 type lens w/ bellows extensions and everything (bag bellows, sewn together by hand) for a 35mm digital camera. It produces some of the most amazing photographs I've ever seen. He prints them 5 feet tall and the detail and drop off on the depth of field is absolutely and totally amazing. I have never seen anything like it. And yes, they make lenses that give a 4x5 feel for like 2,000 bucks, but this cost him something like 20 dollars and a little elbow grease.
You don't need to have the newest and most expensive equiptment to create amazing photographs. Even 10 dollar lenses can create something amagzing as long as the photographer knows how to use it.
Posted 63 months ago.
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takkytak [deleted] says:
heres my 2x 5£,10£ camera, my little hero holga( soft edge) and seagull(light leak due to my rough handling , the plastic door must ve been chipped! but i love it so much!
farm1.static.flickr.com/171/428549360_f9b4f765e9.jpg?v=0
Originally posted 63 months ago.
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takkytak edited this topic 63 months ago.
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bc.photo [deleted] says:
Hah. I like your style and approach, takky. You've got some truly spectacular photos in your collection. My hat is off to you.
Posted 63 months ago.
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takkytak [deleted] says:
thanks jarai....i tried my best but i think i am greedy and always wanting something more.....comebak again i will show more pcitures here.
Posted 63 months ago.
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takkytak: When I like somebody's photo stream, I usually favorite a few images. I liked yours so much I added you as a contact so I could see all the new photos you post as you add them. Your style is very different from mine, but your execution is spot-on. Very inspirational to somebody like me just starting out. =)
Posted 63 months ago.
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i agree... practisee makes the photographer.
Posted 63 months ago.
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Fantastic work and definitely some food for thought.
Posted 63 months ago.
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takkytak [deleted] says:
thanks everyone, so glad that i am a bit useful here...my next big shoot wont be till end of april, the rest of my photography ...hummm i wont be uploading, infact i wont be here at all... to be honest....it is a deliberated action putting up a few images i did over the last 5 long years.....i think there are only very very few very good one.....what about the rest of the stuff i do....hummm better leave it for now... thanks
Originally posted 63 months ago.
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takkytak edited this topic 63 months ago.
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wow - very inspirational!
really, though - what are you using for images like this one:
www.flickr.com/photos/takkypictures/428610651/
Posted 63 months ago.
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takkytak [deleted] says:
the sky was shot on one of sunset after a storm in my balcony. forrest was the next day where the storm wipe out everything, i found a patch of sand with no grass...model shot in the studio with sand on the floor. cut every thing out using mask pro and accidentally discover after masking it if you push the level upand down, you see a finer edge, then spending hours making a sandwich like painting it , brushing it, healing it, and cloning it as well,desaturated the color on the forest. also if you see closely on her foot, you will see there are grass coming out of her foot, i was painstakingly erase the forground to bring the grass out of her foot( could ve done better,if i manage to get some fresh grass but i only have 4 hours to set every thing up and shoot and packed...terrible low budget advertising champaign, but good practise. three shots i spend three days on retouching, so the model get pay10 times more than me by the hours. but i was very proud of my self with my most primitive way of using photoshop....like a painter (which happen that i spend more years as a painter...a little advantage:}). get a good pen tablet,once you get use to it, it plays the magic!! no way i can ever use a mouse again.
Originally posted 63 months ago.
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takkytak edited this topic 63 months ago.
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Hi Typographer Takky!
Thanks for your lot of words to encourage the new fashion photographers like me (in fact I'm not at all a photographer and badly wanna be fashion photographer).
I searched many discussions about fashion photography and becoming fashion photographer and all said thats not easy and don't come here like that.
I saw your words which is encouraging me to enter into the fashion field.
Thanks for ur words. if you have time just check my stream once.
Luv,
Sakthi.
Posted 62 months ago.
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takkytak [deleted] says:
if they all said its hard, its true, but they didnt say it is rewarding too, so dont listen to them, if they dont want to share the good bits.....and ask them for me please, are there anything is rewarding and easy????? believe me, the law of nature!!
Posted 62 months ago.
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I started developing film for Richard Avedon, many years ago, and have also done an Ansel Adams Zone Workshop. Interesting, but not that practical. Most of the important lesson is knowing what is a technically good photo. Having said that, i have not been in a darkroom, and have not shot any film, since 2000. In NYC there are no outlets for chemical images any more.
Posted 62 months ago.
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takkytak [deleted] says:
well who can say it make good or bad, but once u learn that as a beginning, at least it appear you have a little rules that you can break!! its great! i know someone knows nothing about photography (in a wider perspective and does not have a camera, he shoot with a disposable, but he shooting for id, face, i think vogue too, can remember......so here we go the post modern pluralism, anything goes!! what ever u do u find someone who loves it....what do you think about HDR pictures? i would like to get back to the dark though, it feel like more of a painter to me than a photographer, but the chemical is a bit of a problem.....
Posted 62 months ago.
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Remember, with the birth and growth of the digital medium, there is now the “handmade silver print”. Perhaps a dying method but I am sure a collectible one. Within the Photographic art world the handmade darkroom print will surely become the holy grail of any photographic collector. If the choice is between a digital print or a “double weight fiber based selenium toned black and white print” I know which one I would be purchasing.
Takkytak I love your views and agree with so much you have to say. I would just like to add that college or Uni for me was a great opportunity in my photographic life.
It gave me opportunity to create and explore methods which I would not have been able to without the equipment and teachers and tutors available. Schooling gives you space to create and entertain your imagination within a space occupied by likeminded people who I was able to bounce my ideas off. I live in Australia where University is free so money did not come into it. I guess I am just trying to say that if the opportunity is there take it.
my years of College (Sydney College of the Arts)gave me a much wider knowledge of many areas of photographic practice. From the practical mechanics of 35mm, 120, 5x4 as well as 10x12, combined with an understanding of the history and theory of the movement itself. This gave me good grounding to grow as a photographer.
Don’t get me wrong University is NOT necessary to become a photographer.
That is obvious, hey just get online search and read a few books and assist some photographers and do whatever you can to grow within your chosen photographic field. All knowledge is important in aquiring the methods to help you get what.
Originally posted 62 months ago.
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slm0n edited this topic 62 months ago.
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I aspire to be a fashion photographer
I'm just starting to get into portraiture as I've had no idea where to start but ive known for a while fashion photography is what I want to do
As im on my way to beggining ive taken this advice into account, and thankyou so much for posting it! :)
Posted 62 months ago.
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i agree with much of what you say, especially abouyt the film and cheap equipment. Digital is huge problem for photographers starting out. Learning the qualities of each film stock lets you preconceive the look of your shoot, where as digital leave it too open to experiment and over do the image. It takes an experienced and visually literate photographer to work with digital.
The part i don't totally agree with is, 1st photography, 2nd fashion... For me i like to think / plan all these things out and have them work together. But maybe i missunderstood.
Posted 62 months ago.
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Well this is good to hear seeing as how I just got my denial letter from FIT :(
The problem I have is no photographers want an assistant with no experience. I've been studying, on my own, photography for almost 7 years now. Yet I have not been able to get an assisting job other than for some crazy woman who did wedding photography with a point and shoot. She was constantly asking me how to do things. I figured I wasnt going to learn anything by working with her, so I bailed. (Correction, I did learn some things NOT to do, so it wasn't a complete loss)
This link kinda sums up my situation... Sigh
Posted 62 months ago.
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A lot of what have been said here's true. I moved down to NY to make it as a portrait/fashion photographer from Peru and I am living the whole experience. I am just starting to assist and test as much as i want to which is great...and all i can say is don't let money stop you, as long as you have a camera just keep shooting. I keep shooting with my old 5 mp D1x Nikon and i would keep shooting if i just had a disposable camera. And like everybody have said here already (i was taught this back in Peru as well), if you wanna be a photographer you really have to want to be one, otherwise you are not going to make it, and that means deal with whatever comes to you, like workin 24/7, like i am doing at the moment and sacrificing a lot of stuff for something that you love.
Posted 62 months ago.
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Thanks a lot for your info! Your pictures are impressive and your experience is cognitive.
Posted 62 months ago.
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I'am a high school student (in america, junior year 11th grade). And i have been pondering over what im going to do for the rest of my life. I enjoy art and its many aspects. I go to an Arts Highschool dedicated solely to the arts. I am a visual artist at this school. I trimmed my options in life down to Fashion Photography, But am doing immense research as to what it truly is in the world and what i can do for this industry, as well as what it can do for me .
I know for a fact that i would work relentlessly as a Fashion Photographer, because i am very dedicated to my work and how it ties itself into a business. i may sound like im coming off as a student interested in fine arts photography, but that is not the case. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to be a Fashion Photographer, which is why i took your message to heart. Being young im bound to have a difficult road set before me and at times will fail and be tempted by fate to give up, BUT i know i wont. Because this means more to me than almost anything else i could possibly do.
I also understand the aspects of art. Going to an Art Highschool has enlightened my mind on its many aspects, its purpose, our intent, etc. I also understand much about composition, value, colors, depth and the overall unity of a piece. Though i have never professionally worked with photography, i do still believe that i would do well in fashion Photography because of the many art skill i have aquired over my arts training. such as painting, printmaking, drawing, and design. I understand these concepts and its role in a work.
So do i go to a Fashion Photography school to be taught the ways of a camera? Do i go to re-learn the elements/principles of art? Do i go to learn about the industry ? Do i start off with a Film Camera though i understand the simplistic basis of it? Do i start of with digital, which shall vastly expand my creative opportunitites and chances at amazing work?
i want to hear what your response is to my questions. (you being someone familiar in this industry and obviously amazing in your work) . plz i would greatly appreciate it !
Posted 55 months ago.
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LOL! great finally somebody said it all
i've been telling all my friends not to go to photography schools but they think it'll help them.
Posted 55 months ago.
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