My Camera Purchase

I know. I know. I wasn't going to buy a camera until May in my plan, but financially speaking, we were ready and I wanted to get as much practice as possible. Plus, with all the books and online tutorials I've been reading, I knew a lot about the academic side of photography, but had almost no real hands-on work (except for my point and shoot camera). There was another plus side as well...I had my new camera to take pictures at the waterpark this weekend.

I'm working on reading the camera manual. By the way, I did buy the Nikon D3100 that came with an 18-55mm lense, an additional Nikon 70-300mm lense. Then I bought a Cannon bag because I liked it the best. My total bill came to $1200. This is definitely not a cheap hobby (or profession for that matter)! I've actually taken quite a few pictures of the family and some other shots I think might be good for microstock. Now I just have to figure out which photo editing program to use and I might end up trying to find an online tutorial to build my own photo studio with lighting.

Camera Research

I stopped by a local camera supply store and talked to some very knowledgeable staff members. They led me to a Nikon 3100. When I asked their oppinions on the Canon Rebel, he said it was pretty outdated and the Nikon was at least twice the camera for about the same price. I did look at a friend's Rebel and LOVED the results, however, so who knows. I'm guessing both will take great pictures, but I think I'll probably end up going with the Nikon 3100 model. Speaking of....I'm getting kind of antsy to buy. Hmmm, I may not make it until May. Darn my patience :)

I did also check out a couple of books from the library. I'm done with one about photo composition and editing and I'm now reading "Digital Cameras & Photography for Dummies". Now I do actually feel like I need more hands-on work. Especially when I read microstock forums and read all there is to learn: lighting, studio set-up, equipment, lightboxes, proper editing tools. It would get way too overwhelming if I let it....

My goals are to finish the book I'm currently reading and then I'll see what else I have left to do for March. I might have to add some lighting research and set-up research to my goal schedule as well.

Microstock Learning Goals

March:

-Read Online tutorials
-Watch YouTube videos about photography
-Check out photography books from the library
-Research camera I need to buy and equipment I need to get started

April:

-Experiment with desired camera models in the store
-Research requirements of microstock site membership
-Continue Library reading about photography
-Decide which photo editing software I want to buy

May

-BUY A CAMERA!
-Experiment with pictures, different backgrounds, and lighting
-Find materials to make my own photo box or buy a kit
-Edit my best photos

June

-Practice taking more pictures and experimenting
-Take a class on photography with my camera
-Edit my best photos from this month
-Find a forum for peer critique or have Porter's Camera supply critique one

July

-Submit to 1 or 2 microstock sites for membership
-Take more pictures with suggestions from rejects (or hopefully I'm not rejected)
-Take another photography class

August

-Of course continue taking more photos and editing the best
-Submit to iStock (apparently it's one of the more difficult ones to get into)
-Seek advice from fellow microstock photographers if things aren't going well

September-February

By this point, I'm hoping I have gotten accepted to several microstock sites and I will try to submit 15 photos per week to each site. That should get me about 360 submissions by the time my year deadline is up. I will be successful in this business!

Baby Steps

Today I have to concentrate on other areas or work. Instead of researching more information on cameras and photography, I am going to write a couple of articles. I have to keep in mind, however, that writing articles is for my microphotography goal because the money I make will go towards a camera. Speaking of buying a camera, I talked to my husband about buying one yesterday and he took that to mean he can also buy something for his truck. Hmmm, not sure that's how it works, but he wasn't against the idea so I think that means I'm good to go :)

Either later today or tomorrow I'm going to blog about my goals. I plan on making a yearly plan to see if I can make a part-time income in microstock photography. Today, after my articles, I'm going to go to the library to check out some photography books. I feel like I really need to get familiar with the terms and ideas about professional photography before I put a real SLR camera in my hand (did you see that, I said "SLR". I am learning :)). I don't want to get overwhelmed by all the functions when I don't even know what they mean or do. So....my research continues...

Why I Have Chosen Microstock

First and foremost, my name is Kendra and I am a stay-at-home mom. Second, I am a web content writer. Recently I've decided it's time to expand my horizons and diversify a bit. The wonderful world of residual income created by my online articles is volatile (to say the least). I'd love to have another extremely flexible income stream for the "what if's" in life. I have looked and looked and I choose microstock photography. Let me be clear for a minute. I know VERY LITTLE about photography in general. I plan to learn all about photography (or at least quite a bit), take some awesome pictures, upload them to various microstock sites, and make some money. Sounds easy right?! HA....doubt it, but that's what makes it fun.

Again, I am a complete beginner, so I thought it would be an interesting blog to start from the basics and turn something into a real money maker. Let's see if I can do it!