peter_mclaughlin1

<p>I recently completed the Pro course. I found the course to be very good. It took me about one year to complete because I am a father, husband and a professional firefighter. If you applied yourself you could complete this in (about) nine months or so. The course takes you from photography 101 to the advanced. The communication between student and teacher was pretty good. E-mail is the best method to contact the teacher. I averaged about three days for a responce. I entered the course with basic knowledge and finished with much more. I now have a part-time photography business and plan to make it my full time business upon retirement in three years. If you can work/study on your own, finish the assignments and apply yourself, you'll finish a better photographer. <a href="http://www.harmacphoto.com">www.harmacphoto.com</a></p>

<p>I like the shot but the photography assistant is a big distraction and the crop doesn't do it justice. I think if the camera had panned a little more to the left, removing the assistant things would look better. I agree, it's not a portrait piece but not every wedding photo is or should. I'm wondering....Is this taken in Atlantic City on the boardwalk?</p>

<p>You get what you pay for. If you get a free photographer, expect snap shots. Just put throw away camera's on each table and let the guests snap away. Frankly, I don't want to deal with the person that expects a $10,000 photography wedding gig if they're paying me $2,000. You Get What You Pay For !</p>

<p>Jesse, I can't agree more. I'm a professional firefighter and will soon retire in three years, ending a twenty-five year career. My plan is to have photography as a business after I retire. I'll have a pension check in my account every month and the photography gigs will be icing. If I had to rely on photography as a business, I would be better off dealing cards in the Borgota Casino. As a part-time business, as it is now, photography is a dog eat dog business. There are many photographers in my area, southern N.J., and I manage to grab a few weddings each year and some family portraits. I also do other events, school sports, children recitals, stuff like that. If I had to put food on my families table via photography, I'd be on food stamps.</p>

<p>I've been with Smugmug for one year and I agree with Carol C, it's not user friendly if you want a pro looking site. The products offered are nice but I've come to think that no one buys the aprons, mugs, ect. I've sold enough photographs to cover the cost of the site then some. I looking at Zenfolio, now. It has a more pro look and feel to it. Here is a list of the other siyes I have concidered:<br>

Pictage.com, BigBlackBag.com, PhotoReflect.com, Foliolink.com, Photoshelter.com (I like this one, too) and iFP3.com.<br>

Check them out and see what you think.</p>

<p>I would love to own the Nikon D3 or D3x Canon 1DIII, so on but I don't have $5,000 or $6,000 available just for the body. Then I still need another $3,000 or $4,000 for a few good lens. Starting out in photography your tell this guy he needs about $10,000 to get started. That's bad advice. Nikon D700 nice camera for 3K, or D300 for $1600. Start out with a middle of the road camera. As you get better, make money, then buy the 6K camera. Just start out by buying good lens that can be carried over to the best quality camera body. But if you have 10 grand sitting around collecting dust, then spend it !</p>

<p>I completed the NYIP course April 2009. My situation: I work full time, have a family (I'm 49 yrs. old) and the nearest college is 45 minutes away. The photography course offered at the college was Tues. & Thurs. in the late morning. No way I can do that. I had already taken the community college photography intro course five years ago, and that is all they offered. For me NYIP fit the bill. The 1st few units were topics that I already knew but it made for a nice review. The remaining units were informative and I did learn a lot. My instructor was fast with the return of assignments and reply to e-mails. True, there is no 1 to 1 contact. The questions you must ask yourself are: Can you work alone ? Is there a school close enough to take advantage of the 1 on 1 contact ? Are you disciplined enough to complete the work and stay focused ? NYIP isn't a bad school. If fits into peoples lives that don't have any other avenue for a photography education. I have just started a photography business, have 3 weddings lined up and a few beach portraits as well. For me, it was a good investment. Is it for you ?</p>

<p>Agree! Faster is better. Save your cash until you can buy the lens you want. This is the one day in the couples life that will live forever. Don't blow it on a cheap lens.</p>

<p>I just finished the complete course. Personally, I feel that it was a very good course for the money but there is room for improvement. I'll explain. The material is a bit dated but as far as the education of photography goes, it hasn't changed. NYIP was just at the middle of it's make-over when I completed the course, so they may have up-dated the material now. My instructor was excellent. I have no complaints with the instructor I was assigned to and the manner in which it was delivered. The photo assignments are related to the material in the unit and the critiques were given on a recorded CD. Each photo was critiqued and I gained insight from each critique given. The basic education of photography hasn't changed, like I said. NYIP teaches film and digital photography, both need to be taugh and understood to have an understanding of photography. The price is right. If I were to go to a college for the same material, it would have cost me three times the amount (or more) and I would have to drive to school once or twice a week. I'm a father, a husband and a full time firefighter. NYIP fit the bill for me. I now have a small photography business and have four weddings under my belt. I completed the course in March 2009.</p>

<p>Put everything in the contract. Without that, your bucket will leak.</p>

<p>This is my first post and I just give you my 2 cents. My wife and I have done weddings for three years, not long. We have been somewhat successful with this approach. As part of the package, we give 600+ high res photos on a DVD with all copyrights given. When we visit with our finished work we have with us large prints of finished work from our past wdddings. We also have examples of prints from the disk, 4x5 untouched. We explain to them what a professional print looks like compared to a print from your home or a print of CVS. Usually, they like to have a few of the exceptional prints, printed by us. Just an idea.</p>

<p>I finished the complete course in March 2009 and I have no complaints. I feel Jane may have expected to much from a correspondence course that is priced under 1000 dollars. The reason I took this course is because 1) the cost was within my budget 2) I can work the course around my schedule, I work and have a family 3) the materials, though dated, are exceptable. The NYIP information even stated that the materials are a bit dated but the education of photography hasn't changed. I think if Jane wanted a photography education like that found at a university, she should have enrolled in an university. This is by no means a college course. If you require student / teacher interaction on a week to week basis, then go to a standard college. If you can work by yourself and are motivated to learn, NYIP will foot the bill. My photography has improved greatly and I have opened a photography business.</p>