# Getting Published Etc.



## onedayillknowbetter (Mar 23, 2008)

So I would say that I am now a professional photographer.  I have a website, www.carolinedixey.com (I'm still working on my bio and constantly adding old galleries)  and I have business cards that match my website, and they look quite nice if I may say so.  Now the only issue I am having is clients.  I want to get into nightlife/party photography because I see that as an excellent way to get my name out there.  Getting hired to take these images would be even better.  
   I stopped going to school for photography for many reasons...but left in pursuit of self-education.  I've learned a lot since then, but sometimes people just want to know that someone else has told me "good job!" before they do.  I am interested in getting some of my images published because I think that this will add some credibility and maybe some jobs to my resume, but I'm not sure how to do this.

Any and all responses are appreciated!


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## SpeedTrap (Mar 23, 2008)

First I want to say that I like the design of you website, it is clean and nice to look at.
But having said that I think you need to do some serious work on your Portfolio.  I do not want to sound like a jerk by saying this, but you picture come off as snapshots for the most part, there are several in your port that are out of focus and have blown out highlights and are not up to the standards that that would attract the kind of work you are looking for.
If you want to shoot nightlife, you are going to have to show in your portfolio that you can shoot in that environment.  I can see that you are a very creative person and with some work I think that you can do it.  But I am not quite sure if you are ready yet.


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## onedayillknowbetter (Mar 24, 2008)

SpeedTrap said:


> First I want to say that I like the design of you website, it is clean and nice to look at.
> But having said that I think you need to do some serious work on your Portfolio.  I do not want to sound like a jerk by saying this, but you picture come off as snapshots for the most part, there are several in your port that are out of focus and have blown out highlights and are not up to the standards that that would attract the kind of work you are looking for.
> If you want to shoot nightlife, you are going to have to show in your portfolio that you can shoot in that environment.  I can see that you are a very creative person and with some work I think that you can do it.  But I am not quite sure if you are ready yet.





Thank you for the compliments on my website.

I am aware that my portfolio needs some work right now.  When I originally launched it, I was more trying to show EVERYTHING that I am capable of, not just nightlife, etc.  I shot for a company in clubs before, but as a stipulation of my contract with them (should have payed closer attention to that before I signed) I did not retain any of the images.  So all those thousands(?) of images I took, I lost before I never had.  I've been working on getting more nightlife images, but I still don't have enough, I agree.  I feel that nightlife photography is a good way for me to get my name out there, and could potentially lead to people coming to my website not looking to purchase my nightlife services, but one of my others.

Should I have a separate page for nightlife/party images?  Should I just put a couple of those in my portfolio?  

I stopped going to school before I had a portfolio class; any good recommendations on books/websites/any random knowledge is much appreciated.


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## Renair (Mar 24, 2008)

Hi Caroline, I knew a guy in New York, what he did was go around shooting people in Night Clubs and Various bars, got them to sign a release and then sent copies to the clubs for their own websites showing people having a good time.  They all had sample on them and then some of the clubs hired him to come shoot various theme nights.  Another thing you could possibly do is set up a 'Lifestyle' portfolio on your site and post the images of people you took, make sure you give them a card with the addy on it, then they come along, they might like the shot and buy a copy from you.  People are usually more then happy to pose for you in nightclubs and bars as they had drinks and are at ease a lot more.  Best of luck.


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## The_Traveler (Mar 24, 2008)

SpeedTrap said:


> First I want to say that I like the design of you website, it is clean and nice to look at.
> But having said that I think you need to do some serious work on your Portfolio.  I do not want to sound like a jerk by saying this, but you picture come off as snapshots for the most part, there are several in your port that are out of focus and have blown out highlights and are not up to the standards that that would attract the kind of work you are looking for.
> If you want to shoot nightlife, you are going to have to show in your portfolio that you can shoot in that environment.  I can see that you are a very creative person and with some work I think that you can do it.  But I am not quite sure if you are ready yet.



total agreement.
take out everything that would cause customers to think "I could do that"
take out everything that isn't a potential sale to someone.
be pro


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## Big Mike (Mar 24, 2008)

As far as a portfolio is concerned...less can be more.  You may be judged on your worst images, while you (of course) are hoping to be judged by your best images.  So I agree with the others, clean up your portfolio and only show the best of the best.  Maybe you'll have to go out and create some shots to fill out your portfolio...but sometimes that's what it takes.

After that, it's a matter of selling yourself.  Just like any other type of service or product...you have to get out there and sell.  Your personality and enthusiasm will go a long way, so find a way to talk to the people who can hire you and make them like you.


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## JIP (Mar 24, 2008)

Well I think generally before people aer able to get jobs they can put one positive thing on their resume and that is school and I guess you took care of that.  I think you will seriously regret that decision for the rest of your life.  You are only young once and now is the time to take advantage of the freedom you have to go to school full time get as much as you can out of it.


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## onedayillknowbetter (Mar 25, 2008)

JIP said:


> Well I think generally before people aer able to get jobs they can put one positive thing on their resume and that is school and I guess you took care of that.  I think you will seriously regret that decision for the rest of your life.  You are only young once and now is the time to take advantage of the freedom you have to go to school full time get as much as you can out of it.



"Freedom to go to school"??  That word "freedom" is misused far too much in this society.  I stopped going to school not because of laziness or lack of drive, but because I did not (and do not) agree with the education system of this country.  Even in art school, I was surrounded by people going to school to appease their parents, and cheating their way through college.  To me, it's much more important to show what you are able to do, than to pay for a medium to tell you what you have already purchased.  All the classes at colleges are accompanied by what?  A BOOK.  

A book= 1/100 of the price of a semester of college, and I'm no longer surrounded by idiots who are just spending their parents money because they can.

I'm not going to get deep into this because it isn't really related to the thread, but I wasn't asking for your opinion on what I have already decided for myself; I was asking for a general opinion on how I should move forward now.

I will just say that not everyone has the same goals as you, so for you to assume or judge what is good or right for another is impossible.

By the way, my goal for exposure is basically that.  Paying jobs would be nice, but they don't really matter for me.  My goal is to have as many different people view my website as possible, so that they become interested in what I do and come back to my site.  In November, I'll be living in Belize adventuring and exploring undiscovered Mayan Ruins.  Who knows what will be found, what I will be able to photograph and how that will effect people's consciousness.  I'm a humanitarian first and foremost, and photography just happens along the way for me.:mrgreen:


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## sgbphotography (Mar 27, 2008)

Hey Caroline--
If your immediate goal it to have as many different people view your website as possible, you need to do something about search engine optimization.  Your site looks nice, but Google is going to totally ignore it.  You need some text and lots of it--geared to a specific set of keywords.


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## JIP (Mar 27, 2008)

onedayillknowbetter said:


> "Freedom to go to school"?? That word "freedom" is misused far too much in this society. I stopped going to school not because of laziness or lack of drive, but because I did not (and do not) agree with the education system of this country. Even in art school, I was surrounded by people going to school to appease their parents, and cheating their way through college. To me, it's much more important to show what you are able to do, than to pay for a medium to tell you what you have already purchased. All the classes at colleges are accompanied by what? A BOOK.
> 
> A book= 1/100 of the price of a semester of college, and I'm no longer surrounded by idiots who are just spending their parents money because they can.
> 
> ...


 

Spoken like a true young person with nothing but time!!!!


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## onedayillknowbetter (Mar 27, 2008)

JIP said:


> Spoken like a true young person with nothing but time!!!!




Time I wouldn't have had if I would have kept going to school...


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## PastorDave (Mar 28, 2008)

Good for you oneday... I don't think college is for everyone either. Sometimes I wish I had considered another direction.

Dave

PS - I am 52 and have a PhD


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## ntempleton (Mar 28, 2008)

Caroline -

I love the layout of your site.  Easy to follow, and aside from the 3 missing icons under the Professional section, well designed.

However, I think that many of the galleries under the Professional section actually belong in the Personal section, or they need some heaving editing.  Many of the pictures look like basic myspace party snap shots - not unique to a professional photog to say the least.  Also, many of the photos strike me as personal; these are your friends at a private party, not pictures taken by a Professional shooting an event.

What you might consider doing is reorganize some of the galleries to a more basic topics, instead of "Sam's Birthday" and "Erica's Bowling", make a few subject related galleries.  "Parties", "Night Out", "Children", "Pets" and populating them with the best examples from the previous galleries. 

Good luck Caroline.  It looks like you've got a good start, just keep building your book.


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## onedayillknowbetter (Mar 29, 2008)

ntempleton said:


> Caroline -
> 
> I love the layout of your site.  Easy to follow, and aside from the 3 missing icons under the Professional section, well designed.
> 
> ...





Thanks, Nic.
   I know I have some work ahead of me.  After building the last two galleries (two of the missing icons you were talking about) I realized that this is going to start to look cluttered really, really quickly.  Yes, some of the galleries are at my friend's parties, but I figured that was a good way to start doing what I want to do.  Bar/Club/Party Photography has had a huge surge in popularity in the past two years in Chicago.  It seems like any time you go out there is someone taking your picture in that bar or club.  Likewise, there has been an increase in party photography, as well.  House parties are tremendously popular in Chicago, especially in the warmer months, and we're not talking just any house parties.  There has been an increase in the demand for a photographer to professionally photograph their private party.  It's kinda crazy...these people just want everyone to see them looking the way they spent 5 hours to look, by posting professional photos on their myspace.  I think they think it makes them look like models...or something.

Either way, I know they're my friends, and I intend on editing it down as I acquire photos of different people.  I agree, though, that I should have a separate page for all these types of images linked from the Professional section.  I think I want to change that too.  I'm thinking of a catchy name for my Nightlife section.


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## Harmony (Apr 1, 2008)

sgbphotography said:


> Hey Caroline--
> If your immediate goal it to have as many different people view your website as possible, you need to do something about search engine optimization. Your site looks nice, but Google is going to totally ignore it. You need some text and lots of it--geared to a specific set of keywords.


 
This isn't actually good enough. Go here and here to submit your site's url to various search engines. From there, it will take approximately a month for the search engines to process your website and have it start to show up. But sgb is right, search engines look at text aswell. (but they won't look until you submit)


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## eddie gunks (Apr 3, 2008)

JIP said:


> Spoken like a true young person with nothing but time!!!!



har har har!


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## Antithesis (Apr 3, 2008)

I have to agree, your website doesn't seem like it's really aimed at what your trying to sell. Your portfolio needs to contain atleast _some_ club images and maybe show your ability to work in low light. Plus, they need to be your absolute best, most polished images. Some of them look very good and a lot of them do not. For example, the dog image looks like it has lens blur which would be seen as a serious flaw to an employer. I'd recommend having images that show your most capable work, not necessarily images that you really like.


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## Mardynn (Apr 3, 2008)

There is many things you can do to get your name out there. Like everyone I started from little things. Then moved on to senior pictures and then I started selling my pictures at restaurants and buildings in chicago. You just have to take baby steps to get your name out there. 
As far as the website goes, Dont publish every picture you take, pick out the what you think is your best pictures post them on lets say this forum, or a photo critic website, or somewhere where people can look at your work and tell you what they think of it, so  you have some feed back, once that stage is complete post them on your website portfolio. So when people look at it, they can be like Wow this is good work. It all takes time and organization. 

I also noticed that you are from chicago, I live about 30 minutes from the city.


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## One Sister (Apr 3, 2008)

Some of it has rendered me speechless...and that's hard to do.

OneDay, I just joined TPF myself, so perhaps youd just like to take my advice with a grain of salt but here goes anyway:  You need to look at a *lot* of really great images and be inspired by them. Start here.   Then go out and make some of your own.  Look at the low light thread on TPFreally study the imagesask how the artist made themLEARN.  Although your web site is clean and lovely, everything that everyone has said before is spot on.  

  I took a little online course through lynda.com (Scott Bournes  the title was something like The Business of Photography).  Bournes has several sites and his images are jaw-dropping.  Hes retiring now.  RETIRING!  So he made a living in photography and now hes RETIRING.  I share this because it should give you some idea of who you should be listening to.  Your friends in bars?   Probably not.  Pick out the folks who are making a living and BE INSPIRED.  

  Delete all the images you have now.  Go out and shoot 10 really great photographs. Bournes and others have suggested that less is more.  It's all about quality.   Post them somewhere to get critiqued *before you post them on your site*.  These 10 will sell you.

I too am a student of photography and I aspire to get better and I believe we have both landed in a good place here at TPF.

  Enthusiasm, charm and youth might work in some mediums, but in photography youre only as good as your last image.


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## JIP (Apr 3, 2008)

One Sister said:


> I too am a student of photography and I aspire to get better and I believe we have both landed in a good place here at TPF.
> 
> Enthusiasm, charm and youth might work in some mediums, but in photography youre only as good as your last image.


 
Now now don't go talking to this girl about being a student she already _quit _school to shoot photographs in clubs forget being a student.


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## One Sister (Apr 4, 2008)

...in that we are _all_ students of photography...


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## onedayillknowbetter (Apr 6, 2008)

So, after about three weeks of posting this originally, I have achieved my goal.  I recently attended a Burning Man fund raiser in Chicago called Resonate 3.0, and took photos from about 11pm-5am (the party went from 9pm-6am).  I took photos of the things happening there, the music being made, and the people who came to party.  I was very happy with the way they turned out, and apparently everyone else did, too.  My website has nearly half the total hits it had for March, and it's only the 6th of April. You could say it's been going well.  My route of _self-education_ (as opposed to the more formal route of being a student) has served me well, once again.

I just checked my email tonight and received something from a student at a local art university who writes for their paper.  She asked for permission to include some of my photos in the school newspaper for an article she's writing about the party.  It's not a huge deal, but it is meeting my goal, and a great place to start, from the sound of what most of you say.  My question is do I have an o.k. to sell these images, if they include people in them, and I do not have model releases?  I know that commercial licensing isn't ok, but I don't know the realm of what that includes: advertising only, or magazines and papers that profit too?  Any help rendered is appreciated, as usual.  Thank you!


By the way, I'm working on my portfolio still.  I've kind of decided to take a different approach to my website, as far as the nightlife thing goes.  I think I'm going to start a separate page or sector of my website, maybe a different url for ease with people, where all my nightlife work will be stored.  from there, there would be links to my other work, contact info, etc.  I'm still working on conceptualizing it, so when that comes, so will the new portfolio.


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## Wozza (Apr 7, 2008)

Oneday - good for you, stick with it. I think JIP is being rather closed minded, formal education isn't for everyone. Everybody has a differant learning style and some people such as myself learn a huge amount more by just doing something. 

Education is fantastic, some of us have the self motivation to learn things for ourselves at our own pace. Most people here go to further education because it is expected, not because they want to. What ends up happening is huge student loans and a job that has nothing to do with what they studied.

I'm not rubbishing the concept. When I was a kid, I didn't know what I wanted to do. In hindsight I wish I left earlier and got more work experiance under my belt. 

After leaving school I did work for a few years before finding what my interests were and going to futher education. I did this on my own terms though and while I enjoyed my time there, I could have done it myself. I don't deny that some of the pieces of paper I got made life easier getting some jobs in that field later, but I could have worked hard myself and got the same result.

Now I have had a few jobs and a lot of work experiance and because I went to school and even my courses a fair few years ago now, I don't even mention education to employers. Actually comparing what people from school are up to ten years later can be quite interesting and very often the kids that did well at school are not the ones doing so well later on.

^All the above was just mainly to say - differant strokes for differant folks and there is no right or wrong way to get to your destination.

Let me ask you this JIP - If something is clearly not working for you and you see a much better solution, would you be a fool not to 'quit' what you were doing and try it? You can always get further education later in life. Sorry, it's just something I have experianced before and can relate to.


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## JIP (Apr 7, 2008)

Of course the people who tell you education is not important are a PHD and someone with education but and undefined level. I am simply suggesting that you might lok back some years ahead and wish you had. I really could care less what hppens to you but I know I at 37 wish that I had taken advantage of the limited time that I had to get an education. This is not meant as some kind of insult to you so please do not get defensive I am simply making an observation.


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## Wozza (Apr 8, 2008)

Hey I had a neighbour in his late 60's quit being a security gaurd and went to university for four years to train in computers so he could get into computer security - I don't see why there is a limited timeframe on education?

Sure you most probably have more commitments now and can't afford to take a step back, there is always learning by corrispondance, evening classes or hell even teaching yourself something. 

Sorry, I just find some of your earlier comments seemed like blanket generalisations. I just think if you are not interested in education when you are at school, leaving isn't a big deal. I think stepping away and getting some perspective, life experiance and hell, maybe getting some bucks before you rush into a huge student loan can be a good idea in many cases.


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## onedayillknowbetter (Apr 12, 2008)

Harmony said:


> This isn't actually good enough. Go here and here to submit your site's url to various search engines. From there, it will take approximately a month for the search engines to process your website and have it start to show up. But sgb is right, search engines look at text aswell. (but they won't look until you submit)



Thanks, friend, I did that after you posted this, and I'm just waiting for results!


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## ukreal1 (May 13, 2008)

Caroline, where did you get your website design, it is crisp, I like the opening flower )


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## onedayillknowbetter (May 13, 2008)

ukreal1 said:


> Caroline, where did you get your website design, it is crisp, I like the opening flower )



My companion, Kliint did all the graphic and web design for my site.  The opening flower is called the Seed of Life, the beginning phase of the Flower of Life.  The Seed of life represents all living things, but specifically the human body, because this is how the first eight cells in your body form.

Thanks!


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