Could you use the Canon XSi to start photography business!

Shooting wrote in post #5598751
I didn't say all the cameras are the same..all RAW files are the same.

Which makes no sense at all. How is a 22MP RAW file with less noise and better fine detail captured the same as an 8MP RAW file out of my 20D? Your initial argument, need I remind you, was that it didn't matter what camera you use, as long as you shoot RAW, which is just silly. What format you shoot really has no bearing whatsoever on the differences between cameras...

You need to read this first:

Link: http://www.fredmiranda​.com/forum/topic/62570​0/0

"Not to be a dick, but I was browsing the forum tonight and realized some things. Well I realized it a while ago. SO you got a new camera because the price came down and you can take a half decent photo. SO now you think you can be a photographer and you think weddings are the easiest way to make a quick $$$$... Well here is something you need to know. ITS NOT EASY!!!

SO you started to shoot weddings without thinking of all the stuff that goes in to it. You thought you would shoot, burn, print a few and deliver. OK so you did that and made a few thousand extra $$$ last year. Well now there are brides with ****ty pictures of a once in a life time events because you failed to take the time and properly get started and doit the right way.

Some of the things you need to think about when getting in to this:

How will I advertise?
Where will I advertise?
Where will I meet potential clients?
What will I show them as samples?
How much will I charge?
What will I offer in a package?
What questions will the bride ask and how will I answer them?
What gear will I buy and how much?
Where will I get my prints done at?
What albums will I offer them?
How much will I mark them up?
How will I edit?
What computer will I get?
What software will I use?
Do I know how to edit?
Do I know photo basics?
How will I pose the bride?
How will I capture the day?
What happens if my car breaks down on the way to a wedding?
What if my equipment breaks or gets stolen on the job?'
What if I lose the images after?
What if the images did not come out?
Should I get insurance?
Do I know what settings to use in what situation?
How will I handle crazy brides?
How will I del with Uncle BOB?
What will I do when I promise a bride the album by Friday and it is Thursday and I am still putting it together?
Will you stay up until 5 am working on an album?
Will you take pride in your work and put in 40+ hours on an album?
Am I willing to put in 100+ hours per bride with meeting, shooting, editing, delivering?


Last but not least, is this all worth it in the end if you are shooting weddings for $500? No because if you are doing and thinking about all the above questions then you will see that if you put in say 80 hours with one particular bride and she paid $500 for your services then you give her some crap $50 album, $50 in prints, gas to get to the wedding and meetings. $35 or more, postage if you need to mail something to them like an album. $20... SO you also offer a dvd with images so you need dvd's and cases. $30...You now have $300 or so left. Depending on if you spend more or less in an area. SO with $300 you put in 80 hours. You are working for $3.75 an hour.... O wait you have to pay taxes so now you are actually making $2.50 an hour. SO you just made $200 for 80 hours of hard work.... So do you still want to shoot weddings? if so then do it right. practice, research and setup your business the right way or you will end up in the hole with a lot of pissed off brides.

Sorry everyone, but it had to be said. People are getting too nice on here and not telling the newbies whats up. The newbies think they are good and taking on this work before they are ready. They need to do what most of us did. Sit back and learn, then practice and learn some more. There are people on here who will help and who will teach you how to get better and make more money but doing it the right way. So ask and listen. We will help.

Good luck to all you newbies out there. We were all in your shoes at some point. We know what its like. SO ask and you shale find out. "

at my HS graduation, the photographers were shooting with Nikon D40's

Photo.net's wedding forum has some excellent posts for newbies and beginners.
Digital Wedding Forums also has a section for newbies and beginners thinking about going into wedding photography.

ben805 wrote in post #5599598
You need to read this first:

Link: http://www.fredmiranda​.com/forum/topic/62570​0/0

"Not to be a dick, but I was browsing the forum tonight and realized some things. Well I realized it a while ago. SO you got a new camera because the price came down and you can take a half decent photo. SO now you think you can be a photographer and you think weddings are the easiest way to make a quick $$$$... Well here is something you need to know. ITS NOT EASY!!!

SO you started to shoot weddings without thinking of all the stuff that goes in to it. You thought you would shoot, burn, print a few and deliver. OK so you did that and made a few thousand extra $$$ last year. Well now there are brides with ****ty pictures of a once in a life time events because you failed to take the time and properly get started and doit the right way.

Some of the things you need to think about when getting in to this:

How will I advertise?
Where will I advertise?
Where will I meet potential clients?
What will I show them as samples?
How much will I charge?
What will I offer in a package?
What questions will the bride ask and how will I answer them?
What gear will I buy and how much?
Where will I get my prints done at?
What albums will I offer them?
How much will I mark them up?
How will I edit?
What computer will I get?
What software will I use?
Do I know how to edit?
Do I know photo basics?
How will I pose the bride?
How will I capture the day?
What happens if my car breaks down on the way to a wedding?
What if my equipment breaks or gets stolen on the job?'
What if I lose the images after?
What if the images did not come out?
Should I get insurance?
Do I know what settings to use in what situation?
How will I handle crazy brides?
How will I del with Uncle BOB?
What will I do when I promise a bride the album by Friday and it is Thursday and I am still putting it together?
Will you stay up until 5 am working on an album?
Will you take pride in your work and put in 40+ hours on an album?
Am I willing to put in 100+ hours per bride with meeting, shooting, editing, delivering?


Last but not least, is this all worth it in the end if you are shooting weddings for $500? No because if you are doing and thinking about all the above questions then you will see that if you put in say 80 hours with one particular bride and she paid $500 for your services then you give her some crap $50 album, $50 in prints, gas to get to the wedding and meetings. $35 or more, postage if you need to mail something to them like an album. $20... SO you also offer a dvd with images so you need dvd's and cases. $30...You now have $300 or so left. Depending on if you spend more or less in an area. SO with $300 you put in 80 hours. You are working for $3.75 an hour.... O wait you have to pay taxes so now you are actually making $2.50 an hour. SO you just made $200 for 80 hours of hard work.... So do you still want to shoot weddings? if so then do it right. practice, research and setup your business the right way or you will end up in the hole with a lot of pissed off brides.

Sorry everyone, but it had to be said. People are getting too nice on here and not telling the newbies whats up. The newbies think they are good and taking on this work before they are ready. They need to do what most of us did. Sit back and learn, then practice and learn some more. There are people on here who will help and who will teach you how to get better and make more money but doing it the right way. So ask and listen. We will help.

Good luck to all you newbies out there. We were all in your shoes at some point. We know what its like. SO ask and you shale find out. "

You got that right.. Weddings suck *LOL* and it is VERY hard work...

Weddings are for idiots, if you mess up you are basically screwed. I did one and will never do it again, thankfully I did a good job.

I started shooting with a Canon Digital Rebel XT and now have a 20D, 30D and 40D. Have my own website that generates around $3,500 - $4,000 a month depending on the month, and I have contracts with local schools as a official sports photographer. I guess I did kind of well for now...

EnronRocks wrote in post #5640605
Weddings are for idiots, if you mess up you are basically screwed. I did one and will never do it again, thankfully I did a good job.

So what you're saying is idiots shouldn't photograph weddings, and you don't photograph weddings...

I think if you were trying to play nice with others you might say weddings are difficult, stressful, and not what you want to photograph.

Oh!, that's gonna leave a mark.:p

But seriously, I paid for my XT with prints from a Fuji S9000 sold through a couple print shops. I doubt I could have worked under contract with the limitations of the gear but you can make money with an XTI easily. I wish I was a better salesman, I have way more crap than keepers.

And Raw only bypasses user settings. In camera software and processor still make the file.

tim wrote in post #5648104
So what you're saying is idiots shouldn't photograph weddings, and you don't photograph weddings...

I think if you were trying to play nice with others you might say weddings are difficult, stressful, and not what you want to photograph.

Yea I basically called myself an idiot. There is money in it no doubt, but I don't have the time nor the motivation to care about the money. To be honest I am not trying to play nice with anyone thus I really don't care how people interpreted that.

Weddings are in no way stressful unless you are one of the two getting married, it is a lot of work if you make it a lot of work.

EnronRocks wrote in post #5652831
Weddings are in no way stressful unless you are one of the two getting married, it is a lot of work if you make it a lot of work.

This is possibly why you didn't do so well at weddings. Weddings are stressful, though that reduces with time, and they can be a lot of work.

Weddings are stressful. Thats why I do not shoot them. I guess they are not for some people but they are for me.

I shoot what I enjoy Hot models and landscapes *LOL*

Rather than come up with something clever I'll just say it. I'm not good enough to do weddings. I bracket, chimp, adjust and compensate. I'd have a gang of brightly coloured bridesmaids working me over in a closet in the first hour. And not in a good way. You've got to know the math inside and out to be a good wedding shooter. Best left to the professionals.

SlowBlink wrote in post #5658578
Rather than come up with something clever I'll just say it. I'm not good enough to do weddings. I bracket, chimp, adjust and compensate. I'd have a gang of brightly coloured bridesmaids working me over in a closet in the first hour. And not in a good way. You've got to know the math inside and out to be a good wedding shooter. Best left to the professionals.

+!

My favorite POTN threads always begin "First Wedding -- C & C please". You can cut the tension with a knife in some of those "first times"

SlowBlink wrote in post #5658578
You've got to know the math inside and out to be a good wedding shooter. Best left to the professionals.

What numbers? You have to understand the metering systems, but I don't do maths on a wedding day.

tim wrote in post #5660663
What numbers? You have to understand the metering systems, but I don't do maths on a wedding day.

I think he was speaking metaphorically.