Magazines and Competitions

As a beginner I only really knew the simple things about photography but in May I decided why I don't I collect a photography magazine. I sort of felt lost about what I was doing and had no idea about some things in photography at all until I came acorss Practical Photography Magazine'.

There were many magazines to choose from on the stand but they didn't seem right to me. I would look on the covers and think they may be too complicated right now or thats not what I am looking for, but Practical Photography I felt that I could easily understand what was being showed and that I could learn efficently.


So I read and found some useful tips abot shoots, types of cameras, photoshop ideas and ways to enhance your photography that have really helped. Annoyingly I don't have enough money to buy a professional looking camera, so when I read about "shooting raw" etc I can't use that with my tiny digital camera. Although I am keeping each months magazine for when do eventually own one and can use the tools to my advantage.

One thing that bothered me when I began photogprahy was the lack of views and comments on my Flickr page. I wanted feedback and to be noticed. I began to feel that no one wanted to look at my photos, as if they wern't important. The thing was, they hadn't been discovered. Even so after 14 months of Flickr, comments, feedback and views are on the gradual increase. It is a good feeling to be noticed, so I put my photography to the test and have entered two competitions in my magazine.
The first one was the topic of Action with the photo oppersite. I didn't win or become a runner up, but out of the seven stages i got to the fifth, with a feedback card. "Technically good but lacks impact". I was slightlly dissapointed as I thought maybe i had the chance of winning, but i had no idea of the range of photography there was, so in last months competition "Creative Colour" I sent in this photo. I havn't got any feedback yet as the closing date is on the 15th of August so next month i will found out. I am not getting my hopes up too much but i tried to add some more depth into my work so hope it goes well.

Competitions are an acheivement, whether you win or not. You never know what impact it will have on your career. So have you entered any photography competitions? Get very far? Or do you read a photography magazine. I would be interesting to see which ones you do read.



[both photos used are for competiton use only and cannot be re-entered into any other competition]




Want to visit my Flickr photostream with the featured photos in my blog and more then click the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brown_eyed_dreamer/

Styles of photography

Another day, another blog.
Learning about being a photographer is not just about taking pictures but also finding a style that you feel comfortable with. My style at the moment is selective colour, if you may not have guessed. The colour on the photo is my main focas. On my slideshow above you will able to see what I clearly want to stand out. Some photographers just use colour, making the whole photo important. What i mean is that the black and white section of the photo is important but i don't notice it as much as what I edit in colour.
My definition about being a photographer is to let your audience see what you see. To invite you into their imagination and how they view the world. One of my Flickr contacts has lovely dream-like quality to her work and named a world after her name. Photographer's show their personality and true soul in their photography and it is very inspiring.
So what is your style of photogprahy?
If you don't know yet if you have just started off, experiment with lots of editing tools and you will find one soon enough that is right for you.

Introduction - Photography Aspirations

Every photographer starts of small, even if their dream and aspiration feels like the size of the world. Patience is the key. Whether there is more well known as you or a famous photographer you aspire to be like; they started off small once.

At the moment I am starting off small. My idea for a photography career only started a few months ago in May at my cousins wedding. I loved the idea for meeting new people and capturing their special day for the newlyweds.

In June 2008 a friend introduced me to Flickr. I wasn't looking to get interested in photography, just something to do in my spare time. My early work is pretty random, there isn't really any aim or anything.

I would experiment with editing tools on Picnik and loved the black and white with a touch of colour edit. My first try with that tool was of a flower. It was okay but there was something that just wasn't right. I had another go exactly a month later after I began my Flickr account and got better results, even a group invited me to add my picture to it "Selective Colour award".

I have continued alot with the selective colour photos and seen and felt my improvement along the way. I also love black and white photos and sepia. I find the classic look very inspiring. Flickr and

taking photos has now

beceome a big part of

my life.

So why did i start a blog?

Well I wanted to follow my photography developments to becoming a photographer. It will take a while to become a wedding photographer but I am sure it is worth the wait.

If anyone is a wedding photographer or wants to become one, it would be interesting to see how you got to that point or why you want to become one.