As I have mentioned I also dabble a bit in photography. I used to shoot weddings, events and senior portraits but it ended up being like chewing gum, the more you chew it the more it loses its flavor. The old film cameras I understand because you made all the decisions not the computer and it takes years to master it. An average wedding on film would take around 80 exposures to cover it but today with the megapixels being free, 500 + exposures would be about average. I remember a story about a famous photographer who took 3 thousand shots of the same subject to get it right. The law of averages would dictate that I could get it right also and I'm not famous.We manipulated prints in the darkroom by development, dodging and burning. Now you almost have to have a degree in computer science to understand some of the photo editing programs.
Today there are more photographers than there are attorneys and the only difference is that photographers usually don't run for congress after they fail in private practice. The clientele's attitude about photography has drastically changed over the years especially with the advent of digital cameras. Anyone can become a professional photographer today, all you need is a digital camera, computer, and a Facebook page. Experience is not really necessary because you can always post a question about how to use your camera or your editing program on the internet and somebody will always bail you out.
A few years ago I decided that weddings, events and senior pictures was not the way I wanted to go since I'm not a spring chicken anymore. A good wedding photographer worth his salt has to be 3 shots ahead in his head at all times and changing camera settings as he moves to different locations at the church or at the reception. I can get the camera settings but getting to those locations to catch a shot is where I would have trouble. If I was to get down for a different camera angle, I would need a Life Alert button for somebody to help get me back on my feet.
Now I'm a Pet Photographer, I don't know if you have to have any special qualifications but I still have all my fingers and my face is still intact. Owning a couple of dogs helped me to make this decision, I seem to get along well with them and they put up with some of the crazy things I want them to do. I'm not the Dog Whisperer and they have me trained, not the other way around. The pay is not that great being a pet photographer but a wagging tail and a lick on the face makes up the difference. I have yet to have an animal tell me that I took a bad picture.
Here is a lighting diagram and settings I used to take Bella's Picture.
Camera- Canon 60D
Lens- Canon 18-128 f3.5- f5.6
Flash Units- Canon 580ex 1/4th power
Softbox- 30"x30"
Backdrop lights- Foxpro LED's Full Power
Aperture- f8
Shutter Speed- 1/100 sec
ISO- 100
Background- Chromalox Green Screen
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