WHERE DO I BEGIN: Gone pro and new site!

soccerjoe5 · 02-13-2011, 08:20 AM - **2 Likes**

In case we haven't met, let me do the honors

I'm Diego, a photographer based in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. I'm doing all sorts of editorial and commercial photography in studios and on-location, and have been doing so for a year and half now. It always starts out as a hobby and I started taking photos back in college about 3 or 4 years back.

To just get it out there, I'm now using Canon for work. Why, you might ask, the hell am I posting this here? I went through a couple of camera system brands - Nikon, Pentax, Canon - and I've just settled that they're all just tools for work, they're all cameras. I've used Pentax for a good 2 years and it was a fantastic system, and still is. I was quite active in this forum and I think I built great relationships, and I just have to say that I love this community. I personally don't enjoy forums, but it was only here that I really felt at home and genuinely enjoyed communicating with all you Pentax folks out there.

So there. I'd like to just share my journey into going pro. I'm not THERE yet, I'm not successful... yet (I hope). It's always a journey, an unending one in learning about myself, growing and improving my craft and vision.

ANYWAY. Naturally, I started with stuff I loved - sports, travel and food. Some of my earlier work that I still love, and were actually taken by my Pentax system, are of some amazing athletes from my Alma Mater :

I then got my first big break into editorial work with the great folks over at Monday Magazine last year with a fashion travel shoot at the beautiful islands of Palawan. Man, was I nervous as hell, but it's the kind of feeling that you get before that big championship game (played footy a.k.a. soccer my whole life) where you're nervous, focused, and excited. We came out with some fantastic stuff, built a great relationship, and I was given a chance with their magazine cover:

Like I said, I was able to build a great relationship with the magazine and was given the chance to take more photos with them. It's been a real pleasure working with the crew of directors, editors, production and stylists, not to mention all the interesting characters I meet and photograph along the way. Here are a few more of my favorites from the past months:

Continue reading over at my new blog

Cheers!
Diego

Ole · 02-14-2011, 07:22 PM

Nice work and good luck with making a living off of photography!

**Scottnorwo** · 02-15-2011, 07:30 PM

Good luck on your venture. always enjoyed your photos looking forward to see more great work from you.

soccerjoe5 · 02-17-2011, 06:50 PM

Originally posted by Ole

Nice work and good luck with making a living off of photography!

Originally posted by Scottnorwo

Good luck on your venture. always enjoyed your photos looking forward to see more great work from you.

Thank you Ole and Scott! It's really exciting but a lot of hard work!

mtroute · 02-17-2011, 08:06 PM

I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to self promotion. Congrats on your work, but I am annoyed by the blog spamming...

FullertonImages · 02-18-2011, 12:09 PM

Nice work, Diego! Best of luck with the move towards being a full time pro. It's a tough grind sometimes, but once you find a way to make it work, it's the best!

FullertonImages · 02-18-2011, 12:12 PM

Originally posted by mtroute

I'm a king of a cynic when it comes to self promotion. Congrats on your work, but I am annoyed by the blog spamming...

This is the Professional and Publication section. He is a professional and works for publications. I don't see how his post wouldn't be appropriate. Who cares if he pulled it over from his blog. You want him to re-write the post in a new way, just so it can be original for PF?

mtroute · 02-18-2011, 05:22 PM

Originally posted by FullertonImages

This is the Professional and Publication section. He is a professional and works for publications. I don't see how his post wouldn't be appropriate. Who cares if he pulled it over from his blog. You want him to re-write the post in a new way, just so it can be original for PF?

No but perhaps being able to read the entire entry without having to navigate away from the site I am on just so he can drive up his traffic stats would be nice.

**dadipentak** · 02-18-2011, 07:04 PM

Hey, Diego! I'm glad to hear from you. I've always admired your work and it's good to hear (and see) things are going well.

Check out the K-5 if you get a chance--it's pretty cool.

pop4 · 02-18-2011, 08:00 PM

Originally posted by soccerjoe5

I went through a couple of camera system brands - Nikon, Pentax, Canon - and I've just settled that they're all just tools for work, they're all cameras.

Hear hear!
I 100% agree with that comment, and good luck on your photography career.

FullertonImages · 02-18-2011, 10:57 PM

Originally posted by mtroute

No but perhaps being able to read the entire entry without having to navigate away from the site I am on just so he can drive up his traffic stats would be nice.

I hear ya, and you're welcome to feel that way. But the way I see it is that it's already a pretty long post with a bunch of photos. If I make it to the end, and I'm still interested in reading/seeing more, than that's worth a hit on his blog. Plus, it takes a while to write a blog post like that, and it's annoying to then turn around, and recreate the whole thing on a forum, just because we photographers on photo forums seem to have a strange aversion to giving each other web hits. Not just picking on you, it seems to be pretty universal.

MRRiley · 02-19-2011, 05:47 AM

Originally posted by mtroute

I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to self promotion. Congrats on your work, but I am annoyed by the blog spamming...

mtroute...

Everyone self promotes! Even when you just post photos or opinions, you are promoting yourself.

Diego broke no rules... in fact we discourage posting fully intact blog entries from elsewhere here on the forum so his format was suitable.

Mike
PF Moderation Team

George Lama · 02-20-2011, 12:46 PM

If his main goal was to drive traffic to his blog, you'd at least expect advertising. Besides, this is his own blog on his own domain, so driving traffic to his blog will only impact him and his hosting provider. He doesn't even have a hit counter on the site...

Great work Diego and congratulations!

sjwaldron · 02-20-2011, 02:18 PM

I like your example photos. Good luck finding success. I'm trying to find my own path as well!

soccerjoe5 · 03-07-2011, 04:12 AM

Originally posted by FullertonImages

Nice work, Diego! Best of luck with the move towards being a full time pro. It's a tough grind sometimes, but once you find a way to make it work, it's the best!

Thanks buddy! It's been doing pretty well so far

Hope I'm able to keep things up!!

Originally posted by mtroute

No but perhaps being able to read the entire entry without having to navigate away from the site I am on just so he can drive up his traffic stats would be nice.

Hi mtroute, you're free to ignore my post entirely. I don't care about the bump in traffic stats from this post - You actually aren't my target market anyway, my market would be potential clients. I've always appreciated other people's stories and I thought I'd do the same and pass it on.

Originally posted by dadipentak

Hey, Diego! I'm glad to hear from you. I've always admired your work and it's good to hear (and see) things are going well.

Check out the K-5 if you get a chance--it's pretty cool.

Many thanks dadipentak!! I'm going to be playing around with Dimo's K-5 soon

Originally posted by pop4

Hear hear!
I 100% agree with that comment, and good luck on your photography career.

Thanks pop4! Much appreciated!

02-13-2011, 08:20 AM - 2 Likes	#1
soccerjoe5 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Philippines Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,343	WHERE DO I BEGIN: Gone pro and new site! In case we haven't met, let me do the honors I'm Diego, a photographer based in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. I'm doing all sorts of editorial and commercial photography in studios and on-location, and have been doing so for a year and half now. It always starts out as a hobby and I started taking photos back in college about 3 or 4 years back. To just get it out there, I'm now using Canon for work. Why, you might ask, the hell am I posting this here? I went through a couple of camera system brands - Nikon, Pentax, Canon - and I've just settled that they're all just tools for work, they're all cameras. I've used Pentax for a good 2 years and it was a fantastic system, and still is. I was quite active in this forum and I think I built great relationships, and I just have to say that I love this community. I personally don't enjoy forums, but it was only here that I really felt at home and genuinely enjoyed communicating with all you Pentax folks out there. So there. I'd like to just share my journey into going pro. I'm not THERE yet, I'm not successful... yet (I hope). It's always a journey, an unending one in learning about myself, growing and improving my craft and vision. ANYWAY. Naturally, I started with stuff I loved - sports, travel and food. Some of my earlier work that I still love, and were actually taken by my Pentax system, are of some amazing athletes from my Alma Mater : I then got my first big break into editorial work with the great folks over at Monday Magazine last year with a fashion travel shoot at the beautiful islands of Palawan. Man, was I nervous as hell, but it's the kind of feeling that you get before that big championship game (played footy a.k.a. soccer my whole life) where you're nervous, focused, and excited. We came out with some fantastic stuff, built a great relationship, and I was given a chance with their magazine cover: Like I said, I was able to build a great relationship with the magazine and was given the chance to take more photos with them. It's been a real pleasure working with the crew of directors, editors, production and stylists, not to mention all the interesting characters I meet and photograph along the way. Here are a few more of my favorites from the past months: Continue reading over at my new blog Cheers! Diego

02-17-2011, 08:06 PM	#5
mtroute Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Portland OR Posts: 533	I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to self promotion. Congrats on your work, but I am annoyed by the blog spamming... Last edited by mtroute; 02-18-2011 at 05:23 PM.

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02-14-2011, 07:22 PM	#2
Ole Administrator Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,408	Nice work and good luck with making a living off of photography!

02-15-2011, 07:30 PM	#3
Scottnorwo Millionth Poster! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Stafford, New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,086	Good luck on your venture. always enjoyed your photos looking forward to see more great work from you.

02-17-2011, 06:50 PM	#4
soccerjoe5 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Philippines Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,343 Original Poster	Originally posted by Ole Nice work and good luck with making a living off of photography! Originally posted by Scottnorwo Good luck on your venture. always enjoyed your photos looking forward to see more great work from you. Thank you Ole and Scott! It's really exciting but a lot of hard work!

02-18-2011, 12:09 PM	#6
FullertonImages Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 883	Nice work, Diego! Best of luck with the move towards being a full time pro. It's a tough grind sometimes, but once you find a way to make it work, it's the best!

02-18-2011, 12:12 PM	#7
FullertonImages Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 883	Originally posted by mtroute I'm a king of a cynic when it comes to self promotion. Congrats on your work, but I am annoyed by the blog spamming... This is the Professional and Publication section. He is a professional and works for publications. I don't see how his post wouldn't be appropriate. Who cares if he pulled it over from his blog. You want him to re-write the post in a new way, just so it can be original for PF?

02-18-2011, 05:22 PM	#8
mtroute Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Portland OR Posts: 533	Originally posted by FullertonImages This is the Professional and Publication section. He is a professional and works for publications. I don't see how his post wouldn't be appropriate. Who cares if he pulled it over from his blog. You want him to re-write the post in a new way, just so it can be original for PF? No but perhaps being able to read the entire entry without having to navigate away from the site I am on just so he can drive up his traffic stats would be nice.

02-18-2011, 07:04 PM	#9
dadipentak Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,590	Hey, Diego! I'm glad to hear from you. I've always admired your work and it's good to hear (and see) things are going well. Check out the K-5 if you get a chance--it's pretty cool.

02-18-2011, 08:00 PM	#10
pop4 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: YMML Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,879	Originally posted by soccerjoe5 I went through a couple of camera system brands - Nikon, Pentax, Canon - and I've just settled that they're all just tools for work, they're all cameras. Hear hear! I 100% agree with that comment, and good luck on your photography career.

02-18-2011, 10:57 PM	#11
FullertonImages Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 883	Originally posted by mtroute No but perhaps being able to read the entire entry without having to navigate away from the site I am on just so he can drive up his traffic stats would be nice. I hear ya, and you're welcome to feel that way. But the way I see it is that it's already a pretty long post with a bunch of photos. If I make it to the end, and I'm still interested in reading/seeing more, than that's worth a hit on his blog. Plus, it takes a while to write a blog post like that, and it's annoying to then turn around, and recreate the whole thing on a forum, just because we photographers on photo forums seem to have a strange aversion to giving each other web hits. Not just picking on you, it seems to be pretty universal.

02-19-2011, 05:47 AM	#12
MRRiley Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Sterling, VA, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,275	Originally posted by mtroute I'm a bit of a cynic when it comes to self promotion. Congrats on your work, but I am annoyed by the blog spamming... mtroute... Everyone self promotes! Even when you just post photos or opinions, you are promoting yourself. Diego broke no rules... in fact we discourage posting fully intact blog entries from elsewhere here on the forum so his format was suitable. Mike PF Moderation Team

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02-20-2011, 12:46 PM	#13
George Lama Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Buffalo/Rochester, NY Photos: Albums Posts: 1,133	If his main goal was to drive traffic to his blog, you'd at least expect advertising. Besides, this is his own blog on his own domain, so driving traffic to his blog will only impact him and his hosting provider. He doesn't even have a hit counter on the site... Great work Diego and congratulations!

02-20-2011, 02:18 PM	#14
sjwaldron Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,235	I like your example photos. Good luck finding success. I'm trying to find my own path as well!

03-07-2011, 04:12 AM	#15
soccerjoe5 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Philippines Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,343 Original Poster	Originally posted by FullertonImages Nice work, Diego! Best of luck with the move towards being a full time pro. It's a tough grind sometimes, but once you find a way to make it work, it's the best! Thanks buddy! It's been doing pretty well so far Hope I'm able to keep things up!! Originally posted by mtroute No but perhaps being able to read the entire entry without having to navigate away from the site I am on just so he can drive up his traffic stats would be nice. Hi mtroute, you're free to ignore my post entirely. I don't care about the bump in traffic stats from this post - You actually aren't my target market anyway, my market would be potential clients. I've always appreciated other people's stories and I thought I'd do the same and pass it on. Originally posted by dadipentak Hey, Diego! I'm glad to hear from you. I've always admired your work and it's good to hear (and see) things are going well. Check out the K-5 if you get a chance--it's pretty cool. Many thanks dadipentak!! I'm going to be playing around with Dimo's K-5 soon Originally posted by pop4 Hear hear! I 100% agree with that comment, and good luck on your photography career. Thanks pop4! Much appreciated!