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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> DPCers who have "Gone Pro". Have you?
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Showing posts 26 - 38 of 38, (reverse)
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11/21/2019 04:08:13 PM · #26
i'm one of the lucky ones, i guess, in that photography is what i do even when i'm not getting paid to do it.

Message edited by author 2019-11-29 14:32:42.
11/28/2019 09:50:10 PM · #27
Originally posted by snaffles:

Great work Jeb...I HATE shooting weddings,no matter how well I know the couple (or don't). To me, weddings are stressful and chaotic. There are so many wonderful candid moments that are missed because you had to go and shoot some stock wedding pics. Things only get worse the more drunk the guests get.

That's why I love to go to weddings just as a GWC (Guy with camera).

This was one I shot of my girlfriend's daughter and her new husband while they were waiting for the official photog to get set up for their next professional shot....



Just a random, irreplaceable quiet moment that only I got. That's what I love most about photography. Being a part of people's lives that I wouldn't have otherwise. It's been 5 1/2 years ago, and I just had it printed for them on canvas at 16" x 30" for their Christmas present.
11/28/2019 10:28:37 PM · #28
What a beautiful moment you captured there Jeb.
11/28/2019 11:10:09 PM · #29
Does selling the occasional piece on Fine Art America or a similar site count? I do that and find it very gratifying to have a complete stranger select one of my images for wall art :)
11/29/2019 09:12:43 AM · #30
Originally posted by nam:

Does selling the occasional piece on Fine Art America or a similar site count? I do that and find it very gratifying to have a complete stranger select one of my images for wall art :)

Absolutely! That was more what this thread was about than the full time thing. That DPC has done so much for people with no illusions or intentions of doing photography on a commercial level who found themselves in demand.

What you're describing is a constant thrill for me and the inmspiration for my wanting to ask if others have experiencd the same thing.
11/29/2019 10:44:55 AM · #31
Originally posted by kirbic:

What a beautiful moment you captured there Jeb.
I think "grabbed" is a better word... ;)
11/29/2019 05:18:06 PM · #32
Part of what prompted this whole thread for me was this.... I just sold two large canvases. Random walk-in, looked at my website and DPC port after talking about wanting local bridge pics.

So.... DPC shot:

Canvas @ 36"x44":

DPC shot:

Canvas @ 40"x72":

The Vanishing Point image did an 11th place and the Windblown & Weatherbeaten screamed into 28th place, although it did garner me a Posthumous Yellow, which cancels out any feeling of inadequacy I would have had about the image.....LOL!!!

The pair went out the door @ $1200. This has been happening for me a couple times a year for me ever since opening the gallery six years ago. We'll be open more than our occasional days & weekends soon, and who knows, maybe I'll be able to retire one of these days and have this thing keep me in food & beer!
11/29/2019 05:50:00 PM · #33
Originally posted by NikonJeb:

Part of what prompted this whole thread for me was this.... I just sold two large canvases. Random walk-in, looked at my website and DPC port after talking about wanting local bridge pics.

So.... DPC shot:

Canvas @ 36"x44":

DPC shot:

Canvas @ 40"x72":

The Vanishing Point image did an 11th place and the Windblown & Weatherbeaten screamed into 28th place, although it did garner me a Posthumous Yellow, which cancels out any feeling of inadequacy I would have had about the image.....LOL!!!

The pair went out the door @ $1200. This has been happening for me a couple times a year for me ever since opening the gallery six years ago. We'll be open more than our occasional days & weekends soon, and who knows, maybe I'll be able to retire one of these days and have this thing keep me in food & beer!


Besides the monetary reward that must be quite satisfying for you that people enjoy your work that much. Do you have your signature on your prints or do you sign them individually! Is that appropriate for photography?
11/30/2019 11:51:24 AM · #34
The "local focus" is always a draw, IMO. There will always be folks that want something that is a part of the community. It's wonderful the quality of large prints we can get from modern equipment.
12/01/2019 04:46:36 AM · #35
Originally posted by GolferDDS:

Besides the monetary reward that must be quite satisfying for you that people enjoy your work that much.

Yes, it is. That's definitely the best part about having our own gallery as well. I love watching people as they walk through and view the work. In nice weather when we're open, we often sit outside and when people come back out I'll ask them if they saw anything that made them smile. That virtually always starts an interesting conversation on something that the work touched in them and stirred their emotions. That's a truly wonderful thing.

Originally posted by GolferDDS:

Do you have your signature on your prints or do you sign them individually! Is that appropriate for photography?

Ya know.....funny that. My partner LoVi thinks I should sign my work, especially the large pieces, but it feels weird to me. I do it on request, but not as a general rule.
12/01/2019 04:51:43 AM · #36
Originally posted by kirbic:

The "local focus" is always a draw, IMO. There will always be folks that want something that is a part of the community.

Yup! Since most of my work is local, it seems to evoke a lot of interest.

However..... I also like to have fun with this kind of stuff. I will see someone looking at this image and ask them if it looks like it's in the jungles of Central America.

And when they do.... I tell them how I found it twenty minutes away near a suburban neighborhood and we have a good chuckle.

Originally posted by kirbic:

It's wonderful the quality of large prints we can get from modern equipment.

Especially if your printer is a new equipment freakazoid. He's got a folder of images of mine in his computer he uses for test runs when he gets a new printer.

That *SO* sucks......NOT!!!

12/01/2019 07:05:20 AM · #37
Originally posted by kirbic:

It's wonderful the quality of large prints we can get from modern equipment.

“Especially if your printer is a new equipment freakazoid. He's got a folder of images of mine in his computer he uses for test runs when he gets a new printer.” (NikonJeb)

So you do your own printing? Do you also do your own framing? Do you have a lot of copies of the same print for immediate sale or do you take customer orders? Thank you for initiating this discussion. I am sure that all DPCers find your and other responses very interesting. This is one of the best forums I have read on DPC!

Message edited by author 2019-12-01 07:08:09.
12/01/2019 03:50:00 PM · #38
Originally posted by kirbic:

It's wonderful the quality of large prints we can get from modern equipment.

Originally posted by NikonJeb:

Especially if your printer is a new equipment freakazoid. He's got a folder of images of mine in his computer he uses for test runs when he gets a new printer.

Originally posted by GolferDDS:

So you do your own printing?

I can do standard paper prints up to 17x22 inches. The big stuff is all done for me by a secret wizard here in my city. I found out much to my surprise and delight that I'm the only retail and photography guy he'll print for as he's mostly just graphics and commercial work. I was seriously humbled to find out I'm his one "special" photographer.
Originally posted by GolferDDS:

Do you also do your own framing?

I have a framer for paper prints who does exquisite and stupidly expensive work. I'm very careful about what I decide to do with that.
Originally posted by GolferDDS:

Do you have a lot of copies of the same print for immediate sale or do you take customer orders?

LOL!!! Having the gallery has taught me even more about having stock than I had previously surmised. There is *NO* silver bullet, no guaranteed sale. Any image that you're proud of you could print & mat beautifully, have a stunning mahogany frame, and the sucker would never sell. The one that you did for cheap at Staples and got a frame at Michael's just for an event? Yeah......that one you could have sold twelve copies at the event had you had them.

I will say this about inventory. I decided when I'd first decided to reach outside doing it just for me that I would never enlarge, mat, & frame anything I wouldn't want on my own wall. That way inventory that doesn't sell is at least decor for your own home, not in the basement or stacked in the rafters of the garage.
Originally posted by GolferDDS:

Thank you for initiating this discussion. I am sure that all DPCers find your and other responses very interesting. This is one of the best forums I have read on DPC!

I can NOT tell you what works. I *can* tell you about the many mistakes I've made, the hopes and expectations that have been dashed, and a bunch of stuff not to do. Yeah, I do have some useful info for the nuts and bolts of it, but mostly, do it for love, because it's what stirs your passion, and also, bear in mind that what you're doing is your legacy. My kid is better off than I materially. But I have a gazillion images for her to have when I'm gone to show her my vision of life, and much more than a passing story of many of my adventures. That's important to me, and it's something that should be for anyone who is serious about showing the world him his view of it.

By all means, anyone, if you have any questions about any of this stuff, ask away. I keep coming back to DPC be instrumental in a very big change in how I've lived my life since 2006.
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