One Year Anniversary

I am really excited on this new journey that I have embarked on, about one year ago from today since I became owner of my mirrorless camera. So much has changed and developed over the year, and I would like to share with you guys some of the things I enjoyed, neglected and improved through this self reflection. Gosh, I can't believe I am writing one after years of avoiding writing school reflections. But here it is!

Blocks:

My Camera, My Lenses

New Friends, New Clients

One Win, Two Losses

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My Camera, My Lenses

I really enjoyed having an interchangeable lens camera and the model that I am using is Sony A7C. The camera body is really compact, is packed with most of the features I need. Best of all, it houses a full-frame sensor. My friend was fooled by its small form factor and for months, he assumed it was an APS-C (cropped) camera.

Next, to complement this wonderful camera body, I have purchased two Sony lenses to kick start the journey. One is a zoom lens, the other is a prime lens. Prime lens means the inability to zoom optically. These two lenses will allow me to understand my personal preference towards future lens purchase better.

FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS Lens (SEL24105G)

This zoom lens has been really really versatile for most of my needs, except at night. I have been using this lens more often than the 55mm, as I really love to zoom into objects or unglam faces. Usually, I maintain the focal length at 105mm. This allows me to create better bokeh, and compensate for its smaller aperture. Bokeh is an aesthetic blur of the background, produced by the lens when the background is out-of-focus.

Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA (SEL55F18Z)

I really love this prime lens that I have purchased from Carousell, and I remember the seller questioned me why I didn't choose a 85mm or 135mm lens to do portrait. Reason being, I find 55mm to be a sweet spot for portraiture and allows me to include this as part of my everyday carry camera. Sort of. I do not need to frequently adjust my distance, while enjoying the sweet bokeh at F1.8. This is my go-to lens whenever I go out at night too!

Overall

I am glad that I started off with these two lenses and I will continue adding new lenses to my collection. I also noticed I have zoomed into the photos quite often, so my next lens will be a 200-600mm.

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New Friends, New Clients

This hobby has "forced" me become more extroverted than I used to be. I remember starting out on the street, asking strangers if I could take photos of them or their dogs. Weird right? For some strangers, we followed each other on Instagram and till today, they still show their support on my Instagram page.

Friends became Clients
Clients became Friends

I have friends that became clients, and vice versa. How did these conversions happen? Occasionally, I upload my photos as stories on my Instagram pages. Some of my friends enjoyed the photos and commented on it, and some approached me to do some photoshoot for their service and product. I think I was very lucky, Lensopathy somehow became a word of mouth. Free marketing I guess. 😊

Friends became Clients

Some of my friends have recommended my photography service to their businesses. I am really appreciative of what they have done for me, when there are a lot of professional photographers out there. Different business requires different kind of photography. These photoshoots really made me plan for the shots in my mind first and perform under stress. I often afraid that I am unable to deliver enough quality shots for the clients.

But at the end of the day, just make sure you deliver your best, and remember to protect yourself by stating the terms clearly. For example, how much $$$ will you get paid in terms of XXX hours. There might be businesses that offer you bartering instead, so be brave enough to list out all terms! You can be flexible, but don't get caught in sticky situations.

Clients became Friends 

I don't have many clients to begin with, but I remember the first person to actually paid me money for a short photoshoot that I did for her. Her name is Candida, a songwriter. Her incentive encouraged me to .... If I remembered correctly, I didn't mention anything about money. However, I was surprised to receive a token of appreciation from her after I submit the photos to her. Since I know she is just starting out too, I reciprocated by returning half of the $$$.

Till today, we still keeping in touch with each other. Hopefully, I have more clients turning into friends with the opportunities we have in working together.

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One Win, Two Losses

While I have been actively looking for opportunities to let the world see my work, the most memorable one would be participating in my first competition - Pinnacle Competition 2022, which was introduced to me by a friend. I went in with no expectations but just to gain exposure and to have fun.

Upon some alone time, I think these opportunities are giving me a chance for self improvement. While my major is in Engineering, and I foresee that that is where my main career will lie in, I think photography is a creative outlet for me to engage with the artistic side of myself. Although it takes time and effort, it makes it all the more worth it because it makes me feel alive and gives me purpose in my life.

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Conclusion

A pleasant journey, though there were ups and downs. I used to take photos of my friends with a potato phone and now, I am taking unglamorous photos of them in a higher resolution. 😎

There is still a lot room for me to improve on, and finding the actual style/theme I want to focus on.

To end of this post, I would like to thank my friends for constantly sending me reels and competitions. I really appreciate their support towards this hobby of mine.