paula_malone

Just thought those of you who had participated on that thread

regarding the street photographer who was arrested at the Southlake,

TX Octoberfest for supposedly taking the photos for unsavory

purposes. Here is the update.

http://www.nbc5i.com/news/5221710/detail.html

Paula

Emily,

"Ditto" what everyone has said. Understand that I am still learning but here are my two cents: I have a "full-time other" career, but after hours and on weekends, I try to shoot as often as possible because photography will be my next career (in about 10 yrs) and I want to be an excellent, seasoned photographer before going out full-time on my own. The best advice I can give you is this: Educate yourself -- in a practical sense as in working in the actual industry. Too many bright college grads out there and no practical experience...(this is true in any industry!) You need practical application of the things you learned in college. For the past 3 yrs, I've shot as the 2nd photographer for free and for a small amount of money (the price of practical education!). I have also done a few weddings on my own (with my seasoned photographer boyfriend as the second photog.). It IS a totally different perspective and pressure...being the responsible person!

On top of practical "education", get involved in professional guilds. I am a member of the Dallas PPA and they are GREAT...so many people to learn from and the speakers teach everything from photographic technique and skill, style, trends to business practices and issues. The Texas PPA hosts (and the PPA sponsors) one of the largest (if not THE largest) school for professional photographers in the country. It is one week long held at Texas A&M (no requirement for experience level to attend; very worth your while AND fun!). I've attended the past 3 years and will do so next year. Highly-respected photographers from all over the country and world come to teach; and students come from all over the world to learn (you can learn alot from the students, too). I cannot emphasize enough -- educate yourself with practical experience but don't do it alone at the expense of someone's special wedding day.

Next...find a mentor. Also, try to work with different photographers to learn the basics, along with different styles and techniques! You would be surprised to find out how different people can accomplish the same thing but with their own style!

Equipment? Reliable equipment and a back-up is essential. Buying good used equipment will help. Bry Cox in Utah (an incredibly talented PJ type wedding photographer) was using, in the beginning, a few inexpensive digital cameras and his work came out great! If you have a chance...go hear him speak or look at his website.

One last thing...INVEST in a good pair of very comfortable shoes! Did I mention that you need practical experience?

Have fun!

Paula

Gosh, this is an interesting discussion that hits close to home. First, I am a Southlake taxpayer and have owned a business here. I think the reaction to Jenna's comment about (I'm paraphrasing) "upper middle class being 'more' conservative" was just a description -- I don't think she meant that they are more conservative and paranoid than any other race...they could be 'more' conservative than poor white people or the people in Seattle and Canada, for that matter (I don't know!). So, the comments made about this being racist was a bit of an over-reaction. I guess if I saw someone robbing a bank, I would just have to describe them as, uh, "well, officer, it was a "person" that robbed the bank". I couldn't mention gender, or what color hair or skin or comment on weight, lest someone would take offense. Ok...I'm off my soapbox.

I think there are MANY laws that are vague -- they're written that way to leave room for the laywers to argue their point in court! Southlake is definitely an upper-income conservative community and, interestingly, at least 75% of the residents are from out of state/country...California, New York, Midwestern, etc. It's rather "transient" as people move in and out within 2 to 3 years...mainly because executives are transferred in and out. I'm a rare bird here, being a native (that's native Texan!) So, the local government is voted in by non-native Texans and will be the ones supporting or complaining of the city services. Other communities are under the same Texas law, right? So, this situation isn't necessarily a "Texas" thing...it is a community thing.

That being said, this situation DOES concern me because I was just photographing the homecoming parade. I'll have my eyes and ears open about this story. It is quite possible the officers noticed something suspicious and that this guy was being very selective in who and what he was photographing (maybe he was doing "other" things that caused concern)...they may truly have had probable cause. We don't know. It's still disturbing, either way!

BTW, don't speed driving through Southlake...they won't care what color you are or how much money you have in the bank!

Paula

I like this question...as I've been developing a project of a series of photographs -- my first. It's still in the works, but I think about it often and what I've found asking myself as I invision each image is "what am I trying to say" or "what am I trying to accomplish?" You don't need a template, just ask yourself....am I shooting the community to depict a place to visit or a place on the map"...or am I shooting a "community" with daily, weekly, or special events of that community?" Whatever your answers are, that will determine what you may want to photograph (and to develop your customized "template"). I'm not a pro at this, but this is just my thought process as my project begins to materialize. BUT, I like the other advice, too...shoot whatever interests you because your entire vison may change or you may end up with yet another great set of images!

I like this analogy:

"(kind of like a jigsaw puzzle, when what is printed on the pieces may be rather obscure but together they fit and create an object d'arte"

~Paula M.

Mark,

I did the very same thing for my niece and nephew in 2004. We had a lot of fun! It was raining that day...off and on...so I pre-arranged the groups inside the house and told them to remember their places and when the rain stopped we were going to run outside...shoot, shoot, shoot and then back in... it was sort of like a "keystone cop" game! They were ALL for it. I got groups, individuals, couples and candids (and did a little PS artsy stuff on a few of them). The "groups" were fun...I basically let them do "what-ever", but suggested a few of the poses...like "group hugs" for close-ups. If you want to see a few them, go to www.previewgallery.com/innervisionstudio. It's only a proof site (no website yet). I'll load it under "Portraits" and just click on PROM. I'll leave it up for just a few days.<div></div>

Hello all...I'm a new member and found this topic personally relevant:

I haven't been photographing weddings for very long and have already found myself feeling bored and uncreative. But weddings typically are, well, typical! Personally, I love the PJ-style weddings. B&G's who choose this style are generally willing to give more creative license; but I've found that even most "classic" B&Gs are more than happy to allow me to add some not-so-classic "poses" to the mix. However, no matter how bored we feel or how "paint by number" we think the wedding photography is, we just need to remember one thing: It's ALL NEW for the bride and groom! My goal at a wedding is just to meet or exceed their expectations in capturing their special day!

Before getting involved seriously with photography, I had already

purchased Corel Draw 10 for graphics purposes, and only recently

realized it had a pretty good Photo-Paint module. I've been learning

to use the Photo-Paint module but understand that Adobe Photoshop is

the "industry standard". Recently, I got Photoshop Elements and have

very limited time on it (although I'm learning). I've been thinking

about upgrading to Corel Draw 11 which has more Photo features than

Ver. 10. Since I am still basically a novice, I am looking for

experienced users of these softwares.

Question: Are these two programs similar enough where I could just

upgrade to Corel Draw Photo-Paint 11 instead of purchasing the full-

blown version of Photoshop? Will Photo-Paint give me the same

features? I'm looking for a comparison of features and if it will be

worth it to convert to Photoshop.

Thank you!

Paula