[turboast4]

So a little background... I work full time as an engineer. I "discovered" photography a few years ago when I semi-inherited a Minolta X-570 (which I love). I'm currently going to school to finish my engineering degree but I couldn't stay away from the photography electives and eventually signed-up for the photo minor. I love that the classes not only have taught me new technical skills (Photoshop, studio lighting, etc) but they also have pushed me considerably from a creative point of view. The classes also end up being somewhat immersive in that for the duration of the class, there's lots of shooting and discussions about our work, our classmate's work, and professional's work.


Now that I'm nearing graduation (one more summer class) I'm trying to figure out how to continue with my photography in a more serious way than what a typical hobbyist might pursue. I've taken a liking to fine art photography; sports, wildlife, event, and product photography don't really interest me. I could of course continue to shoot and work on my own projects, but... then what? Do I just post them to Flickr? Make prints for my dining room? Those paths seem somehow very unfulfilling. I'm not looking to make any money and I'm OK with photography being a financial net-loss overall. What I do want is to be able to continue to push myself and share and discuss my work in a community of other photographers.


Is this even possible outside of the protective bubble that is the university setting? What do most fine art photographers actually do? Any advice from the pros here...? Since all my experience is in engineering, I really don't know what the professional photography world even looks like.


And apologies for the long post, thanks for sticking it out to the end.

[qdfb]

Thought about stock photography?

[MadMathMind]

Flickr and Instagram are great. Facebook to a much lesser extent because its reach system really stifles your ability to get people to see your posts even after they follow you (and it's getting a lot worse--it's almost not worth bothering with). That's really about it.

Facebook, while terrible for promoting your images, is great for locating people. This is how I find most of my models and cosplayers....ok, how I find all of them except the few from modelmayhem. I just message away and see if they're interested. We often meet at conventions for the first time and then do location shoots if we click well there or just know enough mutual people where trust is not an issue. No harm done if they don't respond. This is how I've met most of the other photographers I know as well. Lots of groups, events, etc.

As for the "professional" world...it's all types. Some people are really good and really serious. Other people basically got themselves a camera and try to make money from it, seemingly because they don't have anything else to do. A lot of the people are really nice and helpful; others are snobish, stuck-up, and a little hostile.

But really, it's all about your goals. Do you want to be internet famous? Do you want to establish a small but dedicated following? Do you just want a circle of friends? The various social networks are good for all of these things; how much time you put into them will determine which one you can get.

[dms]

I don't do art photography in the way you are looking for, but I do work in university (science/engineering departments) and do photography for them. With that as a prologue
-- I would think a discussion with the teacher of your photo course/others in the department may point you to a group/possibly a photo cooperative.
-- Also you may want to reach out to your class mates and suggest a continuing art forum where you meet and have a dialogue on your ongoing post-class work.
-- Although not art photography I do the photography of the college theatre/performing arts presentations--which keeps me involved somewhat in the arts and with the faculty there. (They pay the printer supplies for the prints I make.) Maybe offering yourself in something like this may lead to more.
-- Frankly (IMO) what you are talking about is not really related to the commercial side--unless you are very lucky in finding a "Rabbi."
-- Have you considered becoming a regular/ongoing student in the fine arts/photography area. It could combine w/ your engineering--and keep you in the class room (and maybe later as college teacher).

[Kozlok]

The Single In group is a great way to get critique. If you want, and ask for, honest critique, you'll find more than a few keen eyes that will challenge your ability. I haven't participated much recently because of work commitments, but it is a fantastic group of people, you will make many friends there:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/26-mini-challenges-games-photo-stories/32...ne-2016-a.html

[Dipsoid]

I was a fine art major in my undergraduate degree, though I pursued a more technical field (3d animation) and one thing you learn in the fine art track is that selling yourself is incredibly important. Network with your class mates, sell your prints at the student art sale, try to secure "gallery" showings at local restaurants and coffee shops, keep a good rapport with the art professors that show professionally (they're required to secure tenure), etc. Many professors hire interns to print work, maintain their website, or put together gallery shows. If you have the extra time, these could be good outlets.

Since you're graduating soon, look for community projects where you can show your work. Once a month the local art museum allows community artists to apply for a one night show. We also have something called faith arts village which is an old motel that rents out studio spaces, once a month they do an open house where the artists open up their studio spaces to the public and sell their work and rub elbows, it's a huge party with food trucks and live music which is a great way to make connections and sales.

[jatrax]

I couldn't stay away from the photography electives and eventually signed-up for the photo minor.

You are incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity for that formal education. I suspect most here are self taught, as I am, and I often wish I had taken classes when I had the chance.

To answer your question I will just list some websites I have a portfolio on. I don't pretend my work is anything special, in fact I know is not. But steady work has allowed me grow a successful portfolio. I am also active in a local artist guild with a cooperative gallery. You can make what you want of these but if fine art is what you prefer then I suggest you join a couple sites such as 500px or FAA and see what you can do. Feel free to ask questions.

Fine art portfolios
Zigzag Mountain Art
John Trax: Artist Website
https://www.etsy.com/shop/zigzagmtart?
Zigzagmtart | Redbubble
https://www.amazon.com/s?marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&me=A32IM27YDZ1NCA&merch...&redirect=true

Stock photography
Stock Photos, Royalty-Free Images and Vectors - Shutterstock
stock photography and photos by John Trax

[alamo5000]

So a little background... I work full time as an engineer. I "discovered" photography a few years ago when I semi-inherited a Minolta X-570 (which I love). I'm currently going to school to finish my engineering degree but I couldn't stay away from the photography electives and eventually signed-up for the photo minor. I love that the classes not only have taught me new technical skills (Photoshop, studio lighting, etc) but they also have pushed me considerably from a creative point of view. The classes also end up being somewhat immersive in that for the duration of the class, there's lots of shooting and discussions about our work, our classmate's work, and professional's work.


Now that I'm nearing graduation (one more summer class) I'm trying to figure out how to continue with my photography in a more serious way than what a typical hobbyist might pursue. I've taken a liking to fine art photography; sports, wildlife, event, and product photography don't really interest me. I could of course continue to shoot and work on my own projects, but... then what? Do I just post them to Flickr? Make prints for my dining room? Those paths seem somehow very unfulfilling. I'm not looking to make any money and I'm OK with photography being a financial net-loss overall. What I do want is to be able to continue to push myself and share and discuss my work in a community of other photographers.


Is this even possible outside of the protective bubble that is the university setting? What do most fine art photographers actually do? Any advice from the pros here...? Since all my experience is in engineering, I really don't know what the professional photography world even looks like.


And apologies for the long post, thanks for sticking it out to the end.

Fine art photography has long been my motivation. I have several friends that do it professionally.

I don't have any plans to try and make money from it so in that regards we are alike.

I would say it all depends on what you want to do and what kind of fine art photography you want to do. But in either case you have a whole lot more reading and studying ahead of you. If you don't study regular art you won't understand the photography part of it either...

I can write a long post but suffice it to say we have very similar interests.

[smf]

To the excellent advice in previous posts, I would add the suggestion that you see whether any local or area camera clubs or individual members thereof meet some of your needs.
Best wishes — and congratulations on your upcoming graduation.

[Kerrowdown]

I'm not looking to make any money and I'm OK with photography being a financial net-loss overall

Many worthwhile charities would love to make your acquaintance I'm sure.

They could provide you with all sorts of challenges and also give you that rare feel good factor about yourself too.

[Murfy]

I have a bachelor of fine art degree in photography. I got it 20 years ago but never pursued photography as a career, but I did work in similar careers (graphic design, worked in offset printing for many years) Right now, I enter juried shows across the country. I have won some prize money here and there, and so far, my work has been shown in a few different states. I have not sold anything, but that isn't really a concern because its more the art for me rather than if anyone else likes it.

I didn't do well when I joined the local camera cliques, but maybe I am too antisocial? :-) One meeting I went consisted of two men arguing if framing yourself or going to a chain store was 'better' That was the whole meeting. I didn't get any camaraderie or enjoyment out of it, like I did from critiques when I was in school.

Right now I am slowly building up my goals, I am not looking to be famous or sell thousands of prints. My goal for my first year was to be on a wall at a local gallery and that happened right away. So my next goal was to be included in an art show at the local camera club, which hasn't happened yet, but along the way I have entered other shows that looked interesting and been accepted into those.

I just make sure the places I enter allow me to keep my rights to the images and if have low commission if they sell work. A few local galleries near us also have free 'art on the wall' get your artwork there by a certain date and they will hang it. And a local hospital has juried shows they hang for waiting rooms, which are free to enter and you can sell through them.

So there are a lot of places to show, if you keep your eyes open and there are many websites dedicated to listing juried shows. I like juried shows because I feel it does force me to push my art and think outside the box. I don't meet a lot with other artists though, again back to my antisocial behavior, so that is on me. I don't find I discuss my work that much, I stand around art openings and I am very uncomfortable. But if you are social and like talking, you can join the camera clubs and a lot of time they invite members to talk for a meeting.

You can also always start something yourself on meetup. I was thinking of doing it myself since the camera clubs are kind of far away and I didn't want to just concentrate on photography as art form.

[Winder]

So a little background... I work full time as an engineer. I "discovered" photography a few years ago when I semi-inherited a Minolta X-570 (which I love). I'm currently going to school to finish my engineering degree but I couldn't stay away from the photography electives and eventually signed-up for the photo minor. I love that the classes not only have taught me new technical skills (Photoshop, studio lighting, etc) but they also have pushed me considerably from a creative point of view. The classes also end up being somewhat immersive in that for the duration of the class, there's lots of shooting and discussions about our work, our classmate's work, and professional's work.


Now that I'm nearing graduation (one more summer class) I'm trying to figure out how to continue with my photography in a more serious way than what a typical hobbyist might pursue. I've taken a liking to fine art photography; sports, wildlife, event, and product photography don't really interest me. I could of course continue to shoot and work on my own projects, but... then what? Do I just post them to Flickr? Make prints for my dining room? Those paths seem somehow very unfulfilling. I'm not looking to make any money and I'm OK with photography being a financial net-loss overall. What I do want is to be able to continue to push myself and share and discuss my work in a community of other photographers.


Is this even possible outside of the protective bubble that is the university setting? What do most fine art photographers actually do? Any advice from the pros here...? Since all my experience is in engineering, I really don't know what the professional photography world even looks like.

You are going to school for engineering. What type exactly? If you want to have success in the fine art world, then you need to produce unique and intriguing images. In today's over photographed world that is a real challenge. There a several guy who are in sciences and engineering fields who took advantage of what their profession offered them and produced some stunning fine are work. A lot of what they did was macro and over the course of their professional careers they accumulated a large number of stock images. Find a way to integrate you day job with photography. Environmental portraits (work environment).

I know a guy who sold architectural millwork and started taking pictures of project so he could show clients. That lead to shooting finished homes and buildings for architects, designers, and contractors. It also lead to commercial work from the companies that made the products that he sold. What ever you shoot. Make sure you do it well.

[clackers]

Bernhard Edmaier has an engineering background and brings a fine art approach to his landscapes. He's a little like Edward Weston would have been if he had a helicopter and shot in colour. I guess it's all about finding your angle, as Winder says.


Frank Doorhof switched to the portrait photography world from an IT career.

[turboast4]

Thank you all for the replies, I've enjoyed reading all the good advice. As I said, I don't really have a good idea of what the photography and art world looks like, so I appreciate you all sharing your experiences.

You are incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity for that formal education. I suspect most here are self taught, as I am, and I often wish I had taken classes when I had the chance.

I have been extremely lucky to fall into some of the classes and I've had some exceptional professors along the way. Before taking the classes I learned mostly from books but nothing prepared me for the creative development I've gotten at school. The in-person feedback and critiques, IMHO, could not have been achieved just through independent learning. I've made some images which I'm very proud of.

I can write a long post but suffice it to say we have very similar interests.

Alamo5000, I am curious to hear more about your experience. If you're willing to share, you can always PM me if you prefer not to write a long post in this thread.

I didn't do well when I joined the local camera cliques, but maybe I am too antisocial? :-) One meeting I went consisted of two men arguing if framing yourself or going to a chain store was 'better' That was the whole meeting. I didn't get any camaraderie or enjoyment out of it, like I did from critiques when I was in school.

There are some camera clubs in my area that I've looked at a bit. A friend of mine joined one but his experience hasn't been something I'd be interested in. They mostly submit images for scoring with the judges ultimately just providing an overall score from 0-25. Feedback of the scoring rationale has to be formally requested and the photographers don't discuss their work at all when it is presented. Perhaps one of the other local clubs will be more aligned with my interests.

You are going to school for engineering. What type exactly?

Bernhard Edmaier has an engineering background and brings a fine art approach to his landscapes. He's a little like Edward Weston would have been if he had a helicopter and shot in colour. I guess it's all about finding your angle, as Winder says.


Frank Doorhof switched to the portrait photography world from an IT career.

I'm studying mechanical engineering. I've also heard of other photographers who have engineering backgrounds. In a photo history class, the professor mentioned that photography exists at the intersection of art, culture, and technology. It's an idea that I find compelling; perhaps there's hope yet.

I did talk to one of my professors briefly, and her advice was actually to find another photographer that I like and that produces similar work, and just sort of shadow him or her. If he or she shows work at a gallery, maybe that's a venue I could look into as well. The photo majors' senior design thesis works will be displayed at an upcoming gallery show. I was planning on going to see what they're working on, but also to maybe pick their brains a bit on their plans after graduation.

[alamo5000]

Alamo5000, I am curious to hear more about your experience. If you're willing to share, you can always PM me if you prefer not to write a long post in this thread.

I don't mind writing here. It's all good information for discussion. It will though be a long post

My experience is that I bought my first ever camera (DSLR) about 4 years ago (maybe a little less). Before that the best I ever did was point and shoot taking zero thought for composition or anything like that.

Fortunately I have had a couple of mentors so to speak that from time to time will look at my stuff. In the mean time I read a whole lot of books about photography and a few that were not specifically about photography.

Keep in mind that I am spouting off my opinion here...others may have a different perspective. The term 'fine art' photography is pretty broad. It's too broad in fact. All that word means to me is photography that can be considered (or traded or sold) to be something of value in the art world. It's not just 'oooh pretty picture' type stuff. It needs to have a lot more involved in it.

One friend of mine is a very well regarded painter. In fact he has a display at the Met in NYC. Yeah, he's no slouch. One painting generally will go for $30-50K...his advice to me and the advice I am passing on to you is read and learn about classical art. About paintings. That alone will get you in the right ballpark. Perception, depth, composition, shadow, lighting, all that has a massive cross over effect. It applies to both painting and photography. The other aspect is to do things that incorporate all those things in... but ALSO is relevant to your day, time, place or whatever. It has to have some kind of significant meaning. The more meaning it has to more people the better off you are.

Then again you have people who do abstract stuff all the time that personally I just don't get.

Generally though at very minimum you need to have a compelling subject that tells a story in an image format. The sky is the limit so be creative.

I have another photographer friend who is straight up into fine art... that's his living. One of his works was photographing tribal chiefs in Africa... and it's some of his best work. If I am not mistaken a major university bought his collection for a permanent display for their Africa studies program.

Yet another friend of mine... I went to Africa recently and I whipped out my 31mm and got what I thought was an awesome shot... really good exposure... good composition... it was of an African soldier carrying an AK47...the picture looked pretty good to me...so I sent it to him for a critique.

The response was a one liner. "Who is it and what is he doing?"

I responded, "I don't know, I just got the shot"

He responded back with one word, "Boring" as if to say, 'come back to me when you have something meaningful'.

The truth of the matter is they were standing guard outside of an embassy and were bored senseless so when the white guy walked by they wanted to talk or BS or whatever... to break up the monotony of an otherwise very hot and boring day. While technically the picture was good, the story wasn't interesting at all.

The offending image:



So long story short if you are getting into fine art there needs to be a whole lot more involved. It all just depends on what you like, your target market, and what it is you want to do. Some wishy washy answer won't cut it.

I have another friend (I think this is the 4th one mentioned here so far) who does all kinds of tropical photography. His market is pretty clear cut... he's targeting the people in beach culture.

I interviewed him for the forum once (see the link below)

Sean Davey Exclusive Interview - Photography | PentaxForums.com

At the end of the day you need to sharpen the stick more. It's easier said than done. But is someone going to hang your photo on the wall? If so who is going to hang it up? Next question is why are they going to hang it up? I mean is it some kind of motivational meme type picture of a pretty mountain with a catchy caption or is it more than that?