Newbie and need some advice

[Bev_n]

Hey guys

I'm sooo happy I found this place!! Right, I'm 26 and am currently looking to change career direction, I'm trained as a primary teacher but there are no jobs and, tbh, teaching wasn't all I thought it would be.

So, photography has always been a hobby of mine, I LOVE taking photos, people always comment on my snaps and say 'wow you should do this for a living'. I recently took photos of a friends wedding (they were on a budget) and got a photo book printed for them and they were blown away, which I never expected because I was just doing it for fun.

So now I'm looking into it for a career but i could use some help.

1) Which camera would people suggest I buy? baring in mind that all i have now is an average digital camera. I've been looking at the Lumix G1 or G2 thinking a hybrid might be the way to go, what do people think?

2) Do you need any qualifications? What courses would people suggest? I'd like to have a certificate from an accredited course.

And does anyone have any other advice for a newbie, like the best ways to make money or how to find jobs, any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

Bev (Merseyside)

 

[magicaxeman]

I cant answer most of your questions but one I can.. forget the G1 or G2, you need to be looking at a pro DSLR set up, I would be thinking of at least a Canon 7D, some L lenses and 580 ex11 flash guns or the Nikon equivalents + accessories.
Good as the G1 is as a casual camera, even my lowley 500D with £90 50mm lens blows it out of the water on IQ.
You would also need to sort the PC side of things as well as far as processing software, screen calibration and back up.

 

[R.Y.K. LEE]

I work in education too, but because I only work term time only, I get alot of free time off during the year in which I do the odd wedding/event.

I had been shooting with the Nikon D700, Nikon 24-70mm 2.8, Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 VR, no flash. On one wedding I shot the whole day with just the D700 and the 70-200mm 2.8 VR.

Then I jumped to Canon and used a Canon 5D mkII, Canon 35mm 1.4L, Canon 85mm 1.8, Canon 135mm 2L, no flash.

Now I am shooting with Canon 7D, Canon 24-105mm 4L IS, Canon 70-200mm 4L IS, Canon 100mm 2.8L Macro, Canon 85mm 1.8, Canon 430ex II flash.

I'm not saying that these are the must-haves, just my experience with shooting weddings/events. Check out my gallery for some examples of what kind of look you can acheive. The pics are a combination of D700 and 5D mkII. I have not uploaded any shots from my 7D yet.