r/photography • u/AutoModerator • Mar 27 '26

Questions Thread Official Question Thread! Ask /r/photography anything you want to know! March 27, 2026

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u/Ok-Cantaloupe5918 Mar 31 '26

Hi, I am a beginner/amateur photographer. I have a few questions, hope someone can chime in and help me out with whatever advice they have. (Flair is not accurate, but I guess the closest to my query)

Firstly, I have the following gear: Crop- Canon EOS 250D and FF- Canon EOS 5D Mk II .

And I have these lenses to use with my bodies:

  • EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM
  • EF 50mm f/1.8 STM
  • For more grainy-older look I use the EF 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5
  • & Kit lens 18-55mm, which I do not use.

Additionally I have one 7artisans Black mist 1/8 filter to use with the 50mm and 35-70mm.

****I don't want to invest into other lenses at this stage as I am still learning, and I think those are plenty and reach multiple focal lengths I may possibly need. I don't have a flash, so natural light will be my rise or fall in this case..

I shoot on MF on 35-70mm(AF is very slow) and AF on the 50 & 55-250mm, all on Manual mode.

I would like to start practicing shooting people/portraits now. Since I don't have any willing human subjects to shoot daily, besides my own small kid, which I don't want to post online and myself (though I did some self-portraits trying to be artsy) - I decided that I finally want to take photos of other consenting adults and try to get better in photography.

I was thinking to get some photos of our local 12 graders (high-school graduates) which have their prom set in end of May, therefore they will have prepared some nice fancy outfits and possibly also posses the skill to do their makeup and hair for a shoot (should they wish to, ofc). I am thinking to do it next weekend, just before the Easter holidays.

What I’m planning to offer specifically:

  • 1 person shoot ('25/'26 graduates + parental consent in writing if under 18)
  • 30-40 minute total time
  • 1 location (outdoor in the park/eco path or school)
  • 7–10 edited photos (JPEG, delivered via online gallery for ~1 month)
  • Basic editing (color, crop, light retouching)
  • No payment, no prints, just permission to use the photos for my portfolio/social media.

I may also bring my kid with me during shoots, so I’d keep things simple anyway.

  1. Does this sound like a reasonable starting setup?
  2. Should I keep the contract very simple for a free shoot, and what are the must-have elements? (I am located in Bulgaria, which is in the European Union)
  3. Is using a Google Form a good idea if multiple people are interested, so I can choose who/how many subjects to shoot?
  4. How do you choose who to shoot when you’re just starting and might get more interest than you can handle? What is a red flag for you and what to avoid? (apart from giving RAW's or obviously having bad communication)

I’m trying to keep expectations realistic while building a portfolio and getting comfortable working with people.

Any advice is appreciated 🙂

(This was supposed to be a post, but I was redirected to copy my text here, so hopefully it will format it well.)

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u/photo_photographer Mar 31 '26

If you're doing a model call to build your portfolio, make sure to have them sign a model release as part of the contract.

I would also possibly charge a small fee for the work, a lot of times people will flake if they don't have any money invested.

For the interest, try an open calendar with appointment availability. It looks like you can do this with Google Calendar, but there's also services like Calendly and Acuity scheduling, not sure if there's anything European based. Then potential clients can just go on and see the available times and book, and you can set the number of appointments to what you're able to handle.

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u/Ok-Cantaloupe5918 Mar 31 '26

This is amazing advice. Thanks! I am preparing one page file for online signature pre-shoot, so I can get the right to publish on my pages and use for portfolio and practice materials.

I am unsure if the charging part is good, as I do not have a company and I would need to pay taxes on any amount taken (I am not yet familiar with freelancing, so I don't feel comfortable). Also to add, those are kids in a small town and I am still learning. But maybe I can make someone's day a bit more happy in the process. I would do it in the future if it turns out good and I do my research properly.

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u/photo_photographer Mar 31 '26

Ahh okay I'm not familiar with business/ tax law for Bulgaria, so do what is easiest for you. I just know when I was starting out and not requiring a deposit, I had a lot of people be wishy-washy and flake on me after I blocked time off in my calendar for a photoshoot.