what do you "major" in in photography?

[C!LLY]

Right now I am pretty much into photographing anything anyone wants to may me to photograph. Mainly portraits. Weddings here can be sometimes hard to come by so I dont want to base my business off of weddings. Small military town=JOP weddings, but I'll do engagement photos and if the couple decides to "have the big wedding" I'll of course do those.

The Army hospital out here does not have an infant photographer on site, so I definately want to advertise for that. Im also advertising for parties/social events/etc.

Another thing I want to try out is intimate portraits. I've had several people ask me to take "special" pictures of them while their significant other is away. Do any of you all offer this type of service?

[HotHolly]

My specialty is dramatic bridals...which crosses over into wedding photography and commercial photography for bridal gown designers.

I assume by intimate photography you mean boudoir photography? Boudoir takes a lot of talent. If you dont have your poses, lighting, and everything nailed, it tends to look like armature porn - not flattering. Look at Tracy Hicks stuff in the human form section. He's very good.

[toverman]

I think you're onto something in trying to find a specialty. Portraits is what I'm focusing on, but I shoot weddings, cover conventions and do occasional photojournalism.

[JohnT]

Portraits, events, and light commercial are my money-makers.

Landscapes and anything nature related are my fun subjects.

[brad]

I kinda "accidentally" specialized in headshots.. but I love doing them, so I guess that's a good thing. LOL

[C!LLY]

Originally Posted by HotHolly

My specialty is dramatic bridals...which crosses over into wedding photography and commercial photography for bridal gown designers.

I assume by intimate photography you mean boudoir photography? Boudoir takes a lot of talent. If you dont have your poses, lighting, and everything nailed, it tends to look like armature porn - not flattering. Look at Tracy Hicks stuff in the human form section. He's very good.

thanks, I'll check that out.

[C!LLY]

I dont think I have access to that forum, I'm showing no posts in there.

[SHIFTcanadian]

Doing portraits can mean lots of things,

oddly enough, for me shooting cars is ALOT like shooting portrait...just different angles...same principles.

but I would say dont get to specific or you might limit your market range

[Daniel Bates]

I love shooting sports, but now that I don't have access a press credential for NCAA games anymore, I don't shoot athletics very often. I am starting to get into live music photography. I like pushing the envelope and learning new skills, so low-light and fast-action photography are special favourites.

[Norma_S]

I love doing boudoir photography. I sorta fell into it after taking one of the Tracy Hicks glamour workshops.

I'd been turning my photos into artwork for years with the use of Corel and various filters in PS but I didn't get to do much of that with normal wedding and portrait shots. However with my style of boudoir, I get to do all my artsy techniques. I found out that I'm pretty good at it and the clients like it.

I recommend trying different styles of post-processing as well as different types of subjects until you find the one that suits you.

Norma

[C!LLY]

Thank you all for the input. I am doing sports right now because my daughter is a cheerleader and I've been shooting all of the games and they're very fun. I love it. I love getting close up shots of the kids faces as their trying to tackle or run.

I'm doing my first car show this weekend. I dont know what to expect while I'm there, I just plan on going with the flow. I've looked online to get some type of inspiration on what type of shoots to do. I'll also have to talk to the guy who asked me to go and photograph and see what he's looking for and if he's wanting any post processing.

[Outlaw]

In business, life, and photography, niche is king.

I would suggest picking one area to be an all-out expert and leader in, and letting that position of leadership draw in other areas for your business. We tightly focus on the 'senior fashion' style market, from our art to our marketing, and being the leader in that arena for our area, we bring in lots of other business from weddings, engagements, bridals, children's, family, and event photography.

Since you already have a daughter in school, it sounds like senior photography might be a great opportunity for you. Shooting high school sports, posting to online galleries, and working the MySpace/Facebook crowd is a great combination to grow business, in my experience.

[Corrie]

I really only like shooting people. I mainly get small children.