New comer to freelance photography - Freelance UK Forums

midvale99 · 03-02-2008, 12:59 PM

Hi I have just joined this forum and would like some feedback on what you think of my skills.

I am a trained Mechanical Engineer (bristol uni) and industrial designer (Royal College of Art) and have had over 2 years experience as an industrial designer before being made redundant. I have a very wide range of skills including product design, graphic design, 3d modeling/animation and photography.

I am currently freelancing trying to get work in any of these areas but in terms of photography Im not sure if Im good enough. Please have a look at my website and click thru to the photography section:
Nick Constantinou MA(RCA) DIC MEng

My main issue is that I dont have amazing equipment (Canon EOS 400D with 18-55mm lens, 70-300mm lens, some homemade studio lights and a 5in1 reflector) - I have done one freelance portrait job and some work for my old company in exhibition and product photography.

Does anyone think I have a future in getting much work as I stand now? I want to use photography to get some extra income so Im not gonna be spending much on more equipment right now unless I make some good money.

I think another problem is confidence. I dont wanna get myself in to jobs when I think I cant actually deliver....but then again maybe I should jump in head first to see how I cope?

All comments welcome

MickeyFinn · 03-02-2008, 02:47 PM

Love the website! Superb

Animations did not work for me? Have they been added to the site? If not would be good to at least go somewhere to say they are not there yet. If they should be there they do not appear to be working in Firefox.

I am not a photographer but can say I really do like your photos and if you cannot get something doing this then you will be unlucky!

Put of the skills you have though is Photography potentially the hardest to earn cash at? I am sure if you get recognised in the field then the cash is quite nice but would think it is a harder market to get into?

Best of luck! Only comment is the use of hotmail address, you owe it to yourself to get your own domain name.

midvale99 · 03-02-2008, 03:01 PM

Hey thanks a lot for your reply!! Glad you like the site.

My animations are up there but I have not tested it on firefox (rather stupidly). The button should open up a new small window with a quicktime player embedded. Pop up blockers dont usually block them but a firefox one might not.

Glad you like my photos too. It does seem like a tricky business to get in to. It seems to me that you really need to decide what *sort* of a photographer you are to enable you to sell yourself properly - ie wedding, portrait, exhibition, creative etc And I guess I dont even know that for myself yet.

With regards my email address - I have had my own domain name based address before and if things go down the pan, its more of a pain to change an email address and let all your contacts know than to keep a hotmail one. Its just for simplicity but I take your points on board.

MickeyFinn · 03-02-2008, 06:18 PM

Sorry, was my pop-up blocker! I clicked on something by accident a few weeks ago and it now only shows pop up alerts in the status bar at the bottom... They look sweet as well

I know what you mean about domains - just like a mobile number, an email address should only be changed if there is no other option. If you get one you like though there is no reason it should "go down the pan." And at a tenner a year or so for a domain name and email addresses from somewhere like 123-Reg it is surely worth setting up if you are serious about freelancing.

I think your photos are good enough to put into the stock photo market too, not sure what the returns are like, there are a few threads about these knocking around about these on here somewhere though.

the-baron · 03-23-2008, 05:10 PM

Yes I liked most of your photos.

03-02-2008, 12:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
midvale99 New Poster Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4	New comer to freelance photography Hi I have just joined this forum and would like some feedback on what you think of my skills. I am a trained Mechanical Engineer (bristol uni) and industrial designer (Royal College of Art) and have had over 2 years experience as an industrial designer before being made redundant. I have a very wide range of skills including product design, graphic design, 3d modeling/animation and photography. I am currently freelancing trying to get work in any of these areas but in terms of photography Im not sure if Im good enough. Please have a look at my website and click thru to the photography section: Nick Constantinou MA(RCA) DIC MEng My main issue is that I dont have amazing equipment (Canon EOS 400D with 18-55mm lens, 70-300mm lens, some homemade studio lights and a 5in1 reflector) - I have done one freelance portrait job and some work for my old company in exhibition and product photography. Does anyone think I have a future in getting much work as I stand now? I want to use photography to get some extra income so Im not gonna be spending much on more equipment right now unless I make some good money. I think another problem is confidence. I dont wanna get myself in to jobs when I think I cant actually deliver....but then again maybe I should jump in head first to see how I cope? All comments welcome

03-23-2008, 05:10 PM	#5 (permalink)
the-baron Regular Poster Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Europe Posts: 12	Photos Yes I liked most of your photos. __________________ The Baron

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03-02-2008, 02:47 PM	#2 (permalink)
MickeyFinn Administrator Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 290	Love the website! Superb Animations did not work for me? Have they been added to the site? If not would be good to at least go somewhere to say they are not there yet. If they should be there they do not appear to be working in Firefox. I am not a photographer but can say I really do like your photos and if you cannot get something doing this then you will be unlucky! Put of the skills you have though is Photography potentially the hardest to earn cash at? I am sure if you get recognised in the field then the cash is quite nice but would think it is a harder market to get into? Best of luck! Only comment is the use of hotmail address, you owe it to yourself to get your own domain name.

03-02-2008, 03:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
midvale99 New Poster Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4	Hey thanks a lot for your reply!! Glad you like the site. My animations are up there but I have not tested it on firefox (rather stupidly). The button should open up a new small window with a quicktime player embedded. Pop up blockers dont usually block them but a firefox one might not. Glad you like my photos too. It does seem like a tricky business to get in to. It seems to me that you really need to decide what sort of a photographer you are to enable you to sell yourself properly - ie wedding, portrait, exhibition, creative etc And I guess I dont even know that for myself yet. With regards my email address - I have had my own domain name based address before and if things go down the pan, its more of a pain to change an email address and let all your contacts know than to keep a hotmail one. Its just for simplicity but I take your points on board.

03-02-2008, 06:18 PM	#4 (permalink)
MickeyFinn Administrator Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 290	Sorry, was my pop-up blocker! I clicked on something by accident a few weeks ago and it now only shows pop up alerts in the status bar at the bottom... They look sweet as well I know what you mean about domains - just like a mobile number, an email address should only be changed if there is no other option. If you get one you like though there is no reason it should "go down the pan." And at a tenner a year or so for a domain name and email addresses from somewhere like 123-Reg it is surely worth setting up if you are serious about freelancing. I think your photos are good enough to put into the stock photo market too, not sure what the returns are like, there are a few threads about these knocking around about these on here somewhere though.