Am I actually better at this than I think?

[iminhell1]

First is the pro paid to do this.
Second is mine just changed to greyscale, no other edits.

I'm wondering if I should be editing and if I should be looking into ways to get paid for my work? I'm not looking for a lot. But enough to save and upgrade equipment over time would be nice. And then I could call it an actual LLC. Right now just starting and doing it for fun/learning. But I may be selling myself short?



FWIW,
I went ahead and made myself 'professional', in that I try to sell my work and try to find paid work and ask events for photo access. Not very productive, or as productive as I'd hoped. I'm not going to stop though. I get the best seats and have met incredible people in the last few months. Trying to learn an efficient workflow for the amount of photos I shoot is the difficulty right now for me. I shoot too much stuff and I'm not sure if spending time edit a few pictures very well is more beneficial than editing a larger amount quickly is the key. Time will tell.
I also got myself ARA media credentials. So I can go to any US rally and get on track access and pictures from anywhere along the stages. Have 4 more of those to do before the years out.
https://johnruschmeyer.smugmug.com/J...er-photography

[tranquility]

You should keep it anon for better results. GL.

[floridaorange]

^meaning what?

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

^meaning what?

I meant that OP shouldn't tell which one is his/hers for less biased opinions.

[DocL]

One picture doesn't tell us enough about your skills. The pro picture has better sharpness. Your picture has a lot of grain in it due to your settings which is a style of photography.

My advice is to get thousands of shots through your camera to see if your style is consistent before making a decision. You don't need the best equipment to start as the technique is more important. You did a good job with the composition of your image. It leads your eye in the direction that the car is going.

Good luck. I've been a hobbyist photographer for 40 years.

[info@ezcarbonfiber.com]

Other than the car part, I am a Producer, I take contract from Volvo and Ford.
First of all, yours looks good, keep working on it!
Here is some info about business world:
1. when I pick a photographer / cinematographer for a case, its not just looking for someone take good photos. He needs to match my need. Such as if the style match the brand and clients will be happy about it. The lighting set up of the photographer's preference, how sharp and how agressive he is good at?
2. You need to be efficient. lovers and people who is doing it as hoppy may have great skills, amazing out come, super clean shot and very deep understanding.
But if you want to make money, you need to finish the job in worst condition. There will be so many needs, positions, back grounds, locations and you only got 1-2 days to provide 10 (if not 20) professional level photos and meet the requirement. So we are talking about your worst, instead of your best.

These requirements won't disappear if you charge less money. The job will be easier, clients may not be very picky, but you need to deliver what they pay for, instead of what you like.

In the end, you can simply just keep it as hobby, share and post them online with your marks on, if someone like me need some extra photos ( is very normal that production companies purchase from outside when they have package deals), we will pay you the right of use your work.

[overcoil]

that second / bottom pic front wheel and the fender look great

top picture rear of car is also good.

[jmg]

The top one has better lighting and sets a more interesting mood. I think both are a bit blurry, but the second is better in this case. It's harder to track the car with a longer shutter to capture the sense of speed at this angle, but it's possible.

One thing I have learned is that there photographers out there that have the talent and opportunity to take some photos I feel I could never match, but don't let that stop you! Keep taking photos, keep improving, move forward!

[LuvMyE92]

I'm really confused with the OP's post, as it is the same picture (as far as I can tell) just processed differently. So are we grading the editing results or what? Does he/she want to be a processor or a photographer?

I'm what some people would call a semi-professional, since I get paid for my work. But a "real" professional photographer would call me an amateur, largely because of the quality of my work but also because it's just a part-time occasional thing for me.

And because I spend most of my working day behind a computer, I don't want to spend my free time adjusting the pictures that I take. I let the artistic director do that (and I ignore the nasty emails). LOL

I've been taking pictures for a long time. There's a lot of science behind it, but it's also art and having an eye. Like many things, it's about practice, practice and a little more practice. A buddy of mine who is a landscape photographer interned with a guy for 6 months to learn how to do it. He takes fabulous pictures, but doesn't sell enough to even start to cover his mortgage payments. Thank the Gods for employed wives, huh?



If you really want to make money or a living from photography, then you'll be taking wedding pictures and professional portraits. Those are the gigs that pay the rent.

[Pauldunlop13]

agreed with Info and LuvmyE92

first off - I like your image - good job

now - what a lot of people don't understand is that being a Pro Photographer is more about consistency and speed of work - meeting deliverables - making the customer happy

Lot's of people can take a relatively good portrait - but how many shots does it take? does the model get fatigued because you take too long - do you need to do reshoots - do you need to edit for hours

so - a lot of people have the eye and can take a solid image for sure

pro means doing that shoot after shoot - regardless of the conditions, good or bad

so - if you want to pursue this - go ahead - keep working on it - and if the drivers like your images and want to buy them, that is great

but comparing 1 photo is not the same

Good Luck to you!