Congrats Misha! Glad you're on the team!!

As Donald says Misha, talk to 'em! Thats what I do, although I am probably more nervous than they are! Oh the flashy kit helps too!!! LOL Be good now Dave PS - Nice pics by the way, love the yellow truck!

B&W is better for me - has a more "voyeuristic" appeal (if you know what I mean!). As cynlee says, think a tighter crop may help.

Is this to be the new Mothership?

Good choice on the 602, sabretalon! IMHO I agree with Wivelrod - read as much about the techniques as poss - get a good library of books together. I too tried to look for distance-learning as I work shifts, but there's nothing that specifically covers digital (not in the UK anyway). A lot of my traditional photography experience has ported across to digital quite easily, (most of the techniques are the same), but I still personally think there are a lot of myths surrounding digital capture. The best advice I can offer is to practice, practice and practice some more. Make loadsa notes and find out what works and does'nt. Not great advice I know, but try. I use both mediums, I find some advantages in one over the other, depending what I'm shooting. Hope this helps Regards Dave (PS - what is it about wives and certification?)

Sorry you are feeling the wrath, Bsteph... Can't help you on the camera front, but perhaps a month of hard labour (OK - a month of some damn fine photography) would appease the gods). LOL Sorry about your run of bad luck! Dave

S'cuse me, while I drool...... Nice choice!! Use it well!! Dave

Something I did when I started out at home... I saved to buy a good secondhand/used flash head (A Courtenay 1600). This I used as a main light and I filtered the light of with thin material (muslin) stretched and stapled across a wooden frame I made up from light timber. I also bought a medium size foldaway reflector and grabbed as many white sheets as I could. For a hair light, I would use a mid range flashgun with a zoom head, connected to a slave cell and mounted on a cheap tripod. I made a snoot from fastening thin card around the head of the flash with rubber bands. (OK if the model was sitting or laying, but had to improvise for standing shots). I would also use a couple of "cheap" small flashguns, wih slaves, and fire them into the reflectors/sheets to creat some reflective light. All this is ok, but would only allow fairly close up portariats, as the "lights" would have to be fairly close to the subject to get the details. Thats how I started. Makeshift, I know, but the results were surprising (and I sold some too) I made enough to upgrade to a three light set. Alas, they have now gone, but I am lucky in that I have access to a studio. Hope this helps!! :) Dave

Well deserved - Marvellous work by a fellow Northener!!! Well Done Dave!

astralkid - 3 Romanceworks - 2 NighthawkRN - 1 Well Done everyone and good luck!!

One of the best ways to learn, aside from reading up and asking as many questions as you can, is to keep shooting. I myself concentrated on several disciplines (macro, landscapes, figures etc) before I settled into Fashion/Glamour. Try each one in turn. They will each throw up a different set of problems. I am not saying that you should become a jack-of-all-trades, by all means pick a subject/s that you enjoy and stick with it. And, as Donald has said, each film has its own merits/demerits. Experimentation is the key!! I wish you all the best in your photographic endeavours!! Regards Dave....aka Bidsy..:))

PS - Apols for typos - its early!!!

Jordy - just checked out the link and Wowo!! - I reaaly like what you've done there. The images are brilliant. when I saw the first few I though "Gigeresque" stuff and lo and behold, at the bottom of the list, there they were. Great stuff and the site looks like its coming on too (trying to get my head round HTML at the mo'. Thanks for letting us have a look. .....Dave

As both a Poser user and a photographer who produces work mostly including the female form, I have to say that I am not offended by nudity of any kind. What does offend me is the assumptions that are made against Photographers who shoot nudes (in particular, females) as opposed those who "paint" nudes - whether traditionally or digitally. When I show my Photographic Portfolio, I get quite a mixed reaction, from utter disgust to total awe. This surprises me as I don't consider myself to produce photographs that are that good, or that would cause someone to take offence. This then degenerates into "he's a pervert" or "why do he do that, he has a wife and kids". Am I missing a point with these people? (BTW - my wife is my worst critic!!) One interesting aside to this is that once, at a function, I and my "amusing sideline" were pointed out to some of the guests. As it transpired, by the end of the evening, most of the men were sat VERY close to their partners/wives. (This has happened to other photographers I know). Consequently, when I show my Poser/digital work, it is generally more accepted as I feel that people can distance themselves from a painting. So one gets the impression is that its more morally acceptable to be a "painter of nudes" than a "photographer" of them. What also adds to this interesting thread, is that Poser has a way of showing the "ideal" person lookswise. Real models can look stunning, but take it from one who knows, they often have zits, stray hairs, marks, bruises(?) and who knows what. The trick is being able to make it look like they have'nt. Take it from me - its a damn sight easier using Poser. The subject don't move till you tell it. There no wires/cables or equipment to fall over and your models always turn up. But I still love doing the photos!! Just some thoughts from a desperate photographer trying to justify why he takes pictures of women (and paints pictures soemtimes!!)

Amen!!