Slightly wobbly newcomer

[Sheila Smart]

For the first time ever, I was THAT close to giving a red arrow to Jan's first post but as Jan has taken the "road to Damascus", I welcome her to the forum.  Unfortunately, like others have already advised, in my opinion she has missed the boat as far as "stock photography" is concerned.  Uploading images which are sharp, well exposed and no dust bunnies and using good gear is the easy bit!  Obtaining fair and reasonable prices for images is the hard part.  

 

Sheila

[Zigzagmtart]

I fear the stock business is now similar to the local pizza shop`, if that does not translate internationally then think tiny take out restaurant. The capital cost of starting up is tiny, by far the lowest of any small business. Which leads many to think they can rent a space, buy an oven and get rich. I know of one such that had 4 owners in 3 years. The landlord laughed all the way to the bank as each successive starry eyed entrepreneur poured all tbeir money into a losing business.

 

With cost of entry so low the differentiator is whether the entepreneur has the skill and business savy to rise above the rest and actually make money. Most don`t, but they make it harder for anyone to succeed as they drive prices down. Just basic economics.

 

Jan, good luck in your venture, it is hard work with a steep learning curve but lots of fun too.

Re software, unless you have good photoshop skills consider using lightroom it is designed for photographers and is easier to learn.

[losdemas]

 

(and treat any advice from anyone with fewer than 18,000 pics with caution)

 

Good luck.

 

What a totally amazing coincidence! It just so happens . . . coincidentally . . . that you have about 18,000 images!  By golly! So I guess the rest of us poor fools should just shut up? 

 

 

Ed, - and Phil, forgive me butting in here - I believe that Phil was in fact gently deriding his own advice with a little humour, judging by the fact that he too has fewer than 18,000 images.  Thus he is advising the OP to take his opinion with a pinch of salt.  I don't think he was in any way trying to be rude to anyone with any lower quantity of images on Alamy.

 

Sorry if I'm jumping in unnecessarily, it's just that this thread already seems full of misunderstanding and more arrows than Sherwood Forest on a bad day! ( - ducks!) 

[Ed Rooney]

Yes, Danny, I did assume that, and my post was more of the same.  Hey? What's that sticking out of my back.  Another coincidence: I just watched the opening episode of the newest Robin Hood. 

[Guest]

I'll assume I'm the "Ed" in question, and your apology is happily accepted. We all have bad moments.

 

As it turns out, your choice of the Nikon D5100 with the kit zoom is a good one. It's a very reasonably priced DSLR, and I've found Nikon kit optics to be surprisingly good. The newer Nikons are very good at controlling noise, too. YouTube is a good place to quickly learn all kinds of things about digital photography: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Nikon+D5100&sm=3

 

The FNG Syndrome: In Vietnam, when replacements would report to a Company HQ, they would be assigned to various platoons. (The last two letters of FNG stand for New Guy.) The troops in place were not helpful or welcoming to FNGs, the reason being (or at least the reason stated to me) was that FNGs would probably not make it through the first day, and so the "veterans" did not want to connect with them emotionally. After a few days, these FNGs would become one of their own. (I was a PJ, not military.) I'm sure that you now relate to my metaphor.  Icon stuck his head up too soon, and the Red Snipers got him. 

Hi The Ed in Question

Yes, I did a fair amount of research before deciding on the Nikon 5100, it seemed to offer the best balance between quality and cost and the majority of reviews I read about it were overwhelmingly positive, including some from pro photographers.

I think FNG Syndrome operates wherever people foregather, it's almost inevitable, especially perhaps on t'internet where all inflection, body language etc. are absent. Although, sometimes it's just simply that the status quo has been upset.

And I made it through the first day! Fairly tough, even if I do blunder about naively from time to time.

Jan

[Guest]

I have found Lightroom much easier to use than Photoshop and it is specifically designed for photographers. It will allow you to keep track of your photos as well as process them. If you like to see instructions on the written page Scott Kelby's books are excellent. Martin Evening goes into more detail and I use his books more as reference and when I can't find something in Kelby's book. There is a lot of instruction online. I haven't used Lynda.com but have been told by many people that it is good. It is a subscription. Julianne Kost is the Lightroom "evangelist" and she has videos up on all parts of Lightroom. I find she goes too fast but I can stop the video and go over things. Just Google a question and there will be lots of video instruction on everything. You'll figure out who you learn best from.

 

Good luck. Digital can be a steep learning curve.

 

Paulette

Hi Paulette,

Thanks, will bear all this in mind although, for the time being, I really can't justify any further expense.

Jan

[Alamy]

Hi guys,

 

This thread has run it's course - some great advice in here mixed with some unfriendly comments which is a shame...

 

Time to lock it down.

 

Alamy