Newbie needs help

[ghdeel]

Well here I am and I hope it is the right place.
I am looking for some pointers on navigating the OP site, as it seems quite large and very diverse. I have poked around a little and thought maybe some pointers from the veterans would help me get a jump start.
A little about me; I have been taking pictures for about 24 years but not seriously till four months ago. I am also taking a digital photography class at college. Friends and family have been telling me that I should do something with my photography as they are impressed with what I've done. That being said I know that it is a whole different world in the big leagues. It would be nice to have some qualified critiquing and advice.
Where and how to post pictures?
What can OP do to help me?
Where can I sell my images?

Any help would be appreciated, Thanks
Gary

[bob_r]

Well here I am and I hope it is the right place.
I am looking for some pointers on navigating the OP site, as it seems quite large and very diverse. I have poked around a little and thought maybe some pointers from the veterans would help me get a jump start.
A little about me; I have been taking pictures for about 24 years but not seriously till four months ago. I am also taking a digital photography class at college. Friends and family have been telling me that I should do something with my photography as they are impressed with what I've done. That being said I know that it is a whole different world in the big leagues. It would be nice to have some qualified critiquing and advice.
Where and how to post pictures?
What can OP do to help me?
Where can I sell my images?

Any help would be appreciated, Thanks
Gary

Gary,

Welcome to the forum! To post pics on this forum, you can upload directly to this site, but there are apparently size restrictions. As long as I keep the long side to 800pixels or less, I haven't had any problems uploading.
You can also link your images to this site. Give it a try and if you have problems, just give us the link you are having trouble with and someone will help you with the post.

I can't help much with selling your images since I don't sell mine, but I believe some of the members use smugmug for their hosting site and that they offer this service.

As for what OP can do to help you, that would depend a lot on what type of help you want/need. Ask whatever you like and I'm rather sure someone will try to offer you guidance/assistance.

[ghdeel]

Thanks Bob_r I was beginning to wonder if anyone read my post, it went so long without response.
I uploaded two images for the "cloud" assignment but am wondering if I will hear any response. I guess I will just need to keep poking around.

I just bought CS4 Extended through school and got a really good deal, now I just need to learn how to use it.

[bob_r]

Gary,

I use CS3 but am not very good at it. There are some members here that are very good with Photoshop, so post any questions and someone will probably answer them.

[Bonish Photo]

Hey Gary, welcome to the forum and looking forward to seeing some of your work

This forum is wierd as there are times when it's flooded with members posting images and talking back and forth, and then there are times where it will go almost dormant from lack of activity. Havent figured out the pattern yet, but I know what you mean about posting something and not getting anyone to comment on it. I've posted images and weeks later there hasnt been one comment on the post, then in one day 10 comments will be made???

As for CS4, I've just started playing around with it but havent learned it like I know CS3. I dont really like how Adobe changed so many of the locations of the buttons I was so used to. I'd recommend you go out and get yourself a Scott Kelby book on learning the basics. Kelby does an amazing job of teaching things in laymans terms and all his books are very informative and easy to read for almost any skill level.

Sometimes when my wife Cindy is having trouble with learning something on CS3, I'll find the section in Kelby's book and have her read that first. He can do a better job of explaining each and every click of the mouse and what it's accomplishing better than my grunts and short comments about "Why cant you figure this out, I've showed you 3 times already?"

As for selling you images, I'd recommend Smugmug. Great site that has almost unlimited possibilites to host, sell, and tag your photos. Their pro accounts are so worth the money and can get you selling your work in a days time. Their customer service is some of the best I've ever dealt with and if I ask a question online, I usually get a responce within the hour.

If you do get an account with Smugmug, enter cge80uNDMZZ1Y that promo code and you'll save some money.

As to the question on 'What can OP do to help me' that all depends on you. The magazine helps me see what's new and provides for some great inspiration with seeing the images they post. The forum helps me much more and it's free I like to see everyone elses images as they too give me inspiration and new ideas. Members talk of different areas and the best times to shoot there and I've met some good friends through the forum

My wife and I travel fulltime and along our adventure, we've visited with numerious members of the forum who have been so kind as to offer free places to camp for the night and took us out shooting in their local areas.

All in all, it's a fun place and if you're willing to learn, it's even better

[bosphoto]

You could also try Zenfolio to sell your photos, they are a bit cheaper then SmugMug ($100 a year vs. $150), and while they have less features, are super simple to use.

Also, I have heard that Ghetty Images has been licensing a lot of images from Flickr. A great way to get free exposure may be to upload some of your best work to Flickr (at low res and with and with a link to your personal photo site).