Experiences hiring a photographer? EDIT: PHOTOSHOOT NEXT WEDNESDAY, I NEED HELP

[AtlantisGuy]

Hi everyone. One of my goals for this month was to hire a photographer in order to get good Tinder pics. I'll write a little summary of my story with Tinder recently.

I read Andy's guide last summer, a couple of months after breaking with my girlfriend. My experience in Tinder had been pretty bad, it made me feel anxious because of the lack of matches, I read a lot of stuff about differences of men and women in the app that blackpilled me a lot and I didn't wanted to go through that but I realised that it is something I must do. So in September I decided to make a Tinder account, put there the best photos I have and try to improve. From september to beginning of december I made like 15 boosts, maybe more. I had dates with two girls, both were nice but they weren't my type and in December I decided to have a break because Tinder for me is mentally exhausting and I don't like it at all, but it is something I have to do and the shortest path to get laid, so...

Do you guys have experience hiring a photographer? Honestly I don't even know how to do it, it feels "weird" to me albeit I know it's not. I have dismissed the option of buying a good camera and taking myself the photos because, although I am interested in photography and I would like to learn and even buy a good camera, I like taking photos of other people, not me, and I know it would take a lot of time to take good photos of me.

These are the photos I am using right now.

1

2

3

4

5

6

And in my holidays I made this one that I like:

What do you think? Which ones are OK? Once I hire a photographer, would you keep in my profile some of that photos? Feel free to say whatever you want guys :twisted:

 

[Adrizzle]

The first two are legit good. I would test running tinder with just those two.

A blueprint for tinder photos is
-mid shot of just you with good lighting looking at the camera
-hobbie shot
-photo to show off physic
-“candid” in a cool environment
-“candid” with friends

I work as a photographer so keep this is mind. The general notion here is to buy a camera and do it yourself. IMO terrible advice. I would recommend hiring a photographer but put some time into choosing the right one.

Buy a camera is learning a whole new skill set, operation, posing, editing. With a photographer you’ll need to learn to pose and that’s it. With a photographer you’ll get good photos much quicker. Buy a camera It will take you 3 months and multiples trail and error shoots.

You can get to your destination by taking a Uber or building whole fucking car to get there. Learning photography is building the whole car.

 

[Squilliam]

The general notion here is to buy a camera and do it yourself. IMO terrible advice.

I think it's terrible advice if you want instant results, because as you said, it takes time. I didn't buy my camera exclusively to take dating pictures, I wanted to start doing photography in general. I treated taking pictures of myself as a nice little side bonus.

Buy a camera is learning a whole new skill set, operation, posing, editing. With a photographer you’ll need to learn to pose and that’s it. With a photographer you’ll get good photos much quicker. Buy a camera It will take you 3 months and multiples trail and error shoots.

I agree. While learning the basics of photography is simple, it takes a lot of time to learn how to actually take good photos.

However, I think there are a few major upsides to doing it yourself.
1. Shoots in my city from a good photographer cost almost as much as a basic DSLR camera.
2. This might be less applicable to others, but I am still early in my self-improvement journey, and my appearance and body will likely change a lot over the next year or two. I don't want to shell out lots of money as mentioned in point 1, only to have to replace them later.
3. More flexibility with shooting location (can easily travel to multiple spots), and saves you money over time if you do learn to do it effectively.

Also, isn't posing a separate skill in itself? I know a big problem with my pictures often isn't lighting, or focus, or angle, but rather the fact that my pose and/or facial expression looks awkward. I don't think hiring a professional photographer will fix all those issues automatically. Correct me if I'm wrong, though.

 

[Svadhishthana]

I have dismissed the option of buying a good camera and taking myself the photos because, although I am interested in photography and I would like to learn and even buy a good camera, I like taking photos of other people, not me, and I know it would take a lot of time to take good photos of me.

Sounds like limiting beliefs to me.

Fwiw, I got a camera, learned to use it, and got a decent profile after about a month. The crux was definitely going out alone to shoot in public. But you can think of this as a confidence building exercise. At least, that's how I looked at it when an old lady asked me why I was posing shirtless at 6 am when it was 20* out.

 

[Squilliam]

I was posing shirtless at 6 am when it was 20* out.

You sir are a madman. I don't want to take my hoodie off for photos when it's 40, in fact I refuse to shoot photos in temperatures considerably colder than that.

 

[Adrizzle]

Also, isn't posing a separate skill in itself?

Yes.

Which comes back to the learning 1 skill as opposed to 5. A good photographer will direct you to get the best poses from you. Real time feedback as opposed to you come back to check on a camera screen.

Did you just google “New York” photographer or did you actually hunt?
https://m.facebook.com/groups/623845381027124?group_view_referrer=search

That’s a photographer group. People starting out will do it for cheap. Photographers are people if you have a cool look, make it easy for them (hey man I can meet you at your place) etc you can get a deal. How much did you pay for your camera? And then add the value of the time you have spent shooting this is the real cost.

a decent profile after about a month.

This is impressive you are defs exceptional in this area.


It really come back to now quick you want results. If you want to spend time or spend money

 

[Squilliam]

That’s a photographer group. People starting out will do it for cheap. Photographers are people if you have a cool look, make it easy for them (hey man I can meet you at your place) etc you can get a deal. How much did you pay for your camera? And then add the value of the time you have spent shooting this is the real cost.

You're right. I didn't really look that hard. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

About $500 for a whole kit with accessories. I probably overpaid slightly, but meh, I've gotten great use out of it so far, and I have 2 of my current OLD photos taken with it, which is doing somewhat well on hinge. I haven't yet perfected it yet though, so I am gonna keep going out and doing, as you said, trial and error.

 

[Ed_]

I agree with the comments about buying a DSLR camera and learning photography -- I don't see how it translates into getting good photos of yourself for online dating. No matter how good you get at learning camera settings, framing, etc... you still need someone else who knows that they're doing to take the actual photos of you.

I've struggled with tripod-selfie photos. Framing and especially focus are difficult when you can't see the subject of the photo (because you're behind the camera setting it up). Sorelle Amore has a bunch of YouTube videos on self portrait photography, so if you're interested in that, check her out.

I've paid over $1000 for various photoshoots and models over the past 18 months. Some have turned out better than others. You can find young up and coming photographers on Instagram who only charge $150 to $200 for a 1.5 hours photoshoot (that excludes any touch up, I ask for the RAW files and use Lightroom myself). Start searching Instagram and find someone who does "hip, street style" photography. Do a bunch of research on Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr, etc. and find the exact shot you want and show them to the photographer. They can also get you models, if you want to do that.

I highly recommend starting small and doing a small shoot with a relatively inexperienced photographer. Don't drop $2,000 on some pro "dating profile photographer" for a marathon 6 hour photoshoot right off the bat.

 

[Squilliam]

No matter how good you get at learning camera settings, framing, etc... you still need someone else who knows that they're doing to take the actual photos of you.

I mean, I've given my DSLR to people on auto mode so they could take pictures of me.

DSLR on auto mode is still superior to any smartphone camera. Is it as good as a professional photographer? Probably not, but it's still quite solid.

I've struggled with tripod-selfie photos. Framing and especially focus are difficult when you can't see the subject of the photo (because you're behind the camera setting it up).

This is a non-issue if you use a remote shutter. I've taken hundreds of photos of myself no problem. With a remote shutter, you can be in position while the camera focuses. In fact, I am actually able to see what the picture looks like from the position, as the phone app has live view & a remote shutter tool.

 

[AtlantisGuy]

Everybody have made good points so I'll have to think about it

I have changed the photos, now I only have 1, 2, 7 and 6 plus this one

I also have changed the bio. Last thursday I boosted, 6 likes and another one the next day, more than previous boosts. Anyway 6 didn't even replied me and the seventh only answered the first message Doing another one right now, lets see.

 

[Kurvam]

Do you guys have experience hiring a photographer? Honestly I don't even know how to do it, it feels "weird" to me albeit I know it's not. I have dismissed the option of buying a good camera and taking myself the photos because, although I am interested in photography and I would like to learn and even buy a good camera, I like taking photos of other people, not me, and I know it would take a lot of time to take good photos of me.

I personally don't think its worth hiring a photographer for online dating, the reason being is its usually expensive and you have a limited number of shots. If none of them are usable then you have to fork out for more photoshoots. On the other hand if you were to do the photos yourself or just go out with a friend to take pics then you can do as many as you want whenever you want and its a matter of time before you get some great looking pics.

Even most smartphones have solid cameras these days so you may not even need to invest in a camera (camera is better obviously). If you don't want to shoot pics with someone else you can do so alone using a self timer/tripod. I'd add aswell its worth knowing how to touch up photos, just changing the lighting slightly, brightness, cropping better etc. it can make a big difference to how the end product looks and its quite simple to do, there are many free photo editing apps out there.

As for your pics I think the first 2 are solid. The book reading photo is also ok but the lower angle kind of lets it down in my opinion (could possibly crop it more and it would look better). I would use only 3-4 pics max from the ones you have posted until you shoot some new ones, you're only as good as your worst photo on the apps.

 

[AtlantisGuy]

Hi, I am posting here again because I am doing a photoshoot next Wednesday and I would like some advice. The photographer will take some photos and I can get three of them. My idea is to go with two different outfits, but I can't change the trousers because it is one session and it is outside, maybe I can change the tea but not the trousers. My plan is two outfits, one with denim jacket and black tea and other one with a polo. And I am doubting between two trousers.

Which one do you prefer?

 

[ytlord]

Black is generally a safer bet to cultivate an edgier look, which is what you wanna aim for. Also just not a big fan of the light jeans + dark jacket, though I’m not a fashion expert.

I’d also avoid polos entirely, stick to t shirts or button ups. Unless you’re legit jacked they don’t look good and even if you are you look better in a plain t shirt or button up.

 

[Adrizzle]

Go all back and the denim jacket. The lighter jeans don’t work. You can do another look with a differnte jacket

 

[Squilliam]

Yeah, rule of thumb, don't wear blue denim with blue denim.

In general you want more contrast (except for all black, that's kind of an exception)

 

[AtlantisGuy]

Got it, black trousers then. Thank you guys

I was thinking about also wearing a polo but I will reconsider it regarding what ytlord have said.

 

[benstrong26]

AtlantisGuy hopefully your photographer helps you out with this, but you’ll want your facial expressions to be on point during the shoot. Easiest way to do this is to get yourself into a confident mindset and give the camera that knowing smirk.

Good luck on your shoot, my results pre and post shoot was night and day.