Evoloution of a tog

foggy4ever

foggy4ever

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There is a current thread regarding requests for a wedding tog that has caused a great stir, which resulted in some heated posts:nono:

One comment came up that got me thinking 'TRUE PRO' :thinking:

What I would like to see is how you would describe yourself as a tog and have you a goal that you are aiming for. Also how much importance do you place on your the level of your kit compared to the results of your pics, is it your kit that needs improving or your skills?

I'm at the bottom of the evolutionary ladder of a tog. I never really tried anything other than Motogp/WSB/BSB with my Nikon coolpix8800. But since I bought a D60 and 'Understanding Exposures' by Bryan Peterson I have a much better understanding including buying an E series nifty fifty and using the manual setting. My goal is to never stop learning and to try new subjects, I'm just starting to explore the potential of my kit ,although theres still a few bits I'd like to add.

Thanks for reading(y)
 
I am purely amatuer and will never be anything else.
My aim is to keep practising and, hopefully, improving so I can come up with some results that I am proud of and my family and friends can enjoy.
This is something I love doing and frustrates the hell out of me in fairly equal measures.

I am currently saving to replace the kit lens and this is becoming quite important to me. I need something faster indoors for photos of two kids that will not stay still, but it is definately my skills that need improving.
 
^^^ i am all of the above also ^^^
 
Imho, i would say that nearly always its the skill we all need to get as even with a consumer kit a great tog can get really stunning shots. I for one am lacking in the skill dept and would say thats my goal to improve on my compositions and the use of manual mode to get better results.
Also want better kit but don't we all (y)
 
macky799 said:
Imho, i would say that nearly always its the skill we all need to get as even with a consumer kit a great tog can get really stunning shots.
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^^^^I agree 100%^^^

I am of the opinion that a good photo is one with artistic impact rather than one taken with good equipment. If a picture is composed well and exposed correctly, and is of an interesting subject, then I will like it, and can forgive a little Chromatic Abberation or other such effects caused by using "Consumer" equipment.

Obviously, once you have perfected your skills as a photographer, then expensive lenses etc wil make a difference, but you could have the best equipment available and still take awful pictures if you have no artistic skill.

As for me, well I am lacking in the skill AND equipment deparments, but I still enjoy taking photos, and thats the main thing!! I just like learning new techniques and taking photos I like at the end of it all!
 
I am an amateur, and always will be. I enjoy photography to document my hobbies - walking / climbing / watersports, travel and family stuff. I have a passion for birds and wildlife and due to my partners family living in Botswana, get to go on safari more often than most. :D

My goal is to take technically good photos of a good standard (nat geo style!), but I don't ever intend to sell any. I am slowly building up a decent set of lenses, the next on my list is a 300mm f4 L IS, and a 1.4x tc for wildlife / birds. I am happy with the kit lens for landscape and everyday stuff at the moment, but will get an UWA at some point in the future. Once I have kids, I may upgrade the kit lens to something faster to allow me to get the indoor stuff (nifty fifty too long indoors on a crop, I find).

I already have some shots I am very happy with, and just want to keep improving really.
 
Crocky said:
I am purely amatuer and will never be anything else.
My aim is to keep practising and, hopefully, improving so I can come up with some results that I am proud of and my family and friends can enjoy.
This is something I love doing and frustrates the hell out of me in fairly equal measures.
Click to expand...


Nicely worded!

I've been taking 'snapshots' (rememberances) for years. Since I got my DSLR a year ago, I've been trying to take 'pictures' -- Something with a bit of 'artistic flair' and/or technical excellence. Pictures that my family and friends will say 'Wow! Great picture. I'd like to put that on my wall'.

I hope to never quit learning and improving.
 
infinity said:
pro photographers earn a living from photography. Surely it's that simple.
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Maybe, although not sure how relevent that is in this topic :thinking:

For me, photography started out many years ago as something to do.
Never had huge aspirations to take either technically brilliant photographs or paticularly artisting ones. In fact I often commited the photographers sin of sayin my camera (SLR) take great pics.
It wasn't until I purchased a DSLR that I started really enjoying photography. This was about 2 months after the Canon 10D came out!
Since then I've found a niche, enjoyed it, made money from it and exhaused my passion for it. Now, my goals are simple.
Improve my fieldcraft for wildlife photography.

So learn something new every trip out. Understand why I miss shots - know that my equipment will NEVER be the weakest link.
 
Me? I'm an amateur and wouldn't really want to be anything else, I enjoy taking photographs and although I wouldn't mind getting a few quid or some new kit from someone wanting to buy or use my shots I couldn't see me going chasing for it. It is nice when someone wants to use you photos though and I do think too many people come into photography with only the idea of going pro and earning bucket loads of dosh.
 
Eh ... really ... think people need to be clear about what they saying, things are always open to interpretation. The post reads that the comment 'True Pro' .... got them thinking. Can't say fairer than that. Don't make sense if it's any other. Fact.

Oaf? Who you calling an oaf? Rude and totally unnecessary.
 
foggy4ever said:
What I would like to see is how you would describe yourself as a tog and have you a goal that you are aiming for. Also how much importance do you place on your the level of your kit compared to the results of your pics, is it your kit that needs improving or your skills?
Click to expand...



looks pretty clear to all the other members who replied.
 
I'm a plain and simple wannabe tog. Not an arty strand of DNA in my body, I'd just like there to be something other than a computer nerd inside me. My only goal is to enjoy what I do and hope that someone else enjoys it too.

I know full well that the tog makes the picture not the equipment, hasn't stopped me spending money thinking it will help though.
 
me? I take pics as something to do. I seem to get about 10% "reasonable" and 1 in 1000 "good".

When I thought I had taking pics cracked on the Olympus C4040Z I went digital with the 30D and have started learning all over again. New gear won't improve my photography until I think I have got the hang of the Nifty Mk II and the Kit 18-55 non IS version. I have a 70-300 on loan however I usually don't use that as I haven't got the hang of the camera yet.

Ask me again in a year or so - I may have changed my mind.

B.
 
RichardtheSane said:
No you oaf, that is just the comment that got him thinking!
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infinity said:
Yawn.
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Oh good god.

infinity your first post wasn't really relevant to anything, instead of admitting to that you have gone on to be belligerent and ever more pointless. Maybe think before posting next time?

RichardtheSane please try and not result to name calling.


Can this thread go back on topic now? thanks
 
Jimmy_Lemon said:
Oh good god.

infinity your first post wasn't really relevant to anything, instead of admitting to that you have gone on to be belligerent and ever more pointless. Maybe think before posting next time?

RichardtheSane please try and not result to name calling.


Can this thread go back on topic now? thanks
Click to expand...


Thankyou, I love playful banter as much as the next guy aslong as its playful.

Quick thanks to all replies :clap:
 
Good question. I'm reasonably new to photography (about 18 months) and soon after I started I decided that it was what I wanted to for a living.
Then I joined here and started looking at what others produced and soon realised that I wasn't even within shouting distance using a big megaphone of being good enough. So I now, more realistically, would like to get to a stage where I can make a few quid to put toward kit, prints and frames etc.

However, in a few years when I'm 55 (ish) and can reasonably expect to be thinking of retiring I would like to be able to top up my pension with photography, maybe portraits. This is of course reliant on my improving a lot in the next 8 years so its not a done deal. Whatever happens I can't see myself ever becoming fed up with it as its a hobby which grows more important to me all the time. (y)
Oh, and as to the kit question, I've got good enough kit to produce stunning images but I very rarely do, so its probably me thats holding the kit back not the other way round. :bang:

Andy
 
Only got my first DSLR in January 2008, and it has been a steep learning curve, and one that has been more expensive than I realised it would be, both in terms of equipment purchased, and time spent.

I am an amateur, and always will be, the hobby I have (military aviation photography) is my escapism, it is something I can do alone, but if there are others in the vicinity, lots of chatter goes on, more about aviation than photography, but I am never happiest than when I am at an airbase, and this year, am looking to go to a number of airshows too.

I am in this purely for personal enjoyment, I have posted pics on an aviation website, and the comments I have received have encouraged me, but even though I may improve in terms of technique and equipment, my 'status' will never change, I really can not see me being anything other than an enthusiastic amateur.
 
Amatuer and proud to be, I have really nice kit BUT don't want to be labelled as a pro as I feel they really don't know what the word means:shrug:(y)
 
I wouldn't see myself as a pro, although some people on here say as soon as you start selling you work you are technically a pro... But everyone I'm selling to knows I'm just a beginner and doesn't expect the very best results.

I know most of the faults come from my lack of experience and knowledge, but with my 18-200mm lens breaking... Being limited to 10-20mm and 50mm is a bit tough :p

I'll call myself a pro when I feel confident enough to call myself a pro :)
 
ive only had a DSLR for 3 months or so but ive fallen in love with it. i have a decent amount of time available (2 sometimes 3 days a week) and have been clicking friends and family non stop. it bugged them for a while but once i started to get a handle on what i was doing and they could see the results they were happier (not much) to have me firing away in the background.

having a manual 50mm helped immensly, no meter and manually setting aperture meant i was straight into the nitty gritty and learning a lot. in the short time ive had the camera ive bought a cheap 28mm to see which i prefer, 30 or 50 and whichever it is will see an upgrade. not because it will give me better pics as such but because the image quality i couldnt see 3 months ago seems glaringly obvious at times now.

also invested in a good telephoto, sigma 50-150 which is as good as i need and another body-the fuji s5 pro. an old model but ticks lots of boxes for me, quicker access to controls, good low light performance, more ISO steps and meters my old lenses. its not ideal, s l o w to write but for me its the best compromise and hopefully itll help me achieve what i want to do and which i struggled to do with my d40.

god im rambling. um a ´pro´tog is, for me, someone who gets paid. now that doesnt mean the quality of their work is amazing, ive seen some horrible stuff, but someone out there has laid out cash for it. now whether that means a lot of people on here could be pro, well id say they probably could but it takes guts to wade out into it and put your hand out to a person and ask for dosh for something most of us do for fun. i feel theres a dif between a pro and true pro though: a true pro is someone who delivers excellent, not good or nice, results consistently in all conditions and who isnt above sharing their knowledge with like minded hobbyists. no one as far as i know was pro before they were amateur.

and yes if my current uni application falls through im starting to wonder if i can carve out a niche in photography
 
Technically I'm a pro because I get paid.

Technically I'm a semi-pro as I also have a day job.

Technically I'm also an amateur in some areas I don't concentrate on or get paid for

But mostly, I'm an enthusiast still trying to improve every day

and by the way good equipment makes it easier, but you can still have a 1D with an L lens on and take a shot that looks like a monkey was behind the eyepiece
 
keirik said:
and by the way good equipment makes it easier, but you can still have a 1D with an L lens on and take a shot that looks like a monkey was behind the eyepiece
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I have a 40D with an L lens, and being 5' 5" and 16st, I'm more like a Gorilla behind the eyepiece :)
 
Although i've had my first DSLR for nearly a year, i am most definitely right at the very bottom of a steep learning curve (feels like a leaning curve if you've ever seen my horizons :D).

New kit would do very little to improve my pics, although i can see a marked difference even in my nifty fifty from my 18-55 kit lens now. I need to work on my technical ability first and foremost but, although it is a lame excuse, time is my biggest constraint.

I don't have any commercial goals, getting paid to take pictures would of course be a win-win situation, i just want to keep learning and improving for my own satisfaction for the time being.
 
The only goal i have is to make images that i think are on a par with the best wildlife images from the most famous wildlife photographers. I think that's just because i'm a perfectionist though.
I have no goals what so ever about selling images and in fact the very idea is a turn off to me. I want to keep photography special to me and private, but that doesn't mean i can't be 'pro' standard.
 
I don't really like the term 'professional photographer' as it really had no indication of the persons talent and anyone with camera can call themselves a Pro.

I just want to be able to take consistently good photographs, and hope that other people enjoy the end result as much as I enjoy taking the images :D

I was recently reading a website who's name escapes me and it had a quite on there: "The most important part of a camera is the 12 inches behind the viewfinder"

I quite like that :D
 
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