Winner Chicago World Wide Photowalk (Mich Ave) (photo K. Heupel, copyright 2008)

Hobby digital photography is the fastest growing hobby in the United States. We take millions of digital photos each year and you'd be surprised at the numbers of people who are selling their images from home as a home-based business. Chicago hobbyist-turn-ed-pro drops the skinny on you - learn from Katie Heupel!

A little bio info, Katie?

I'm a 28-year-old Chicagoland native. I grew up in Bolingbrook & Lemont. Went to school At Illinois State University and then became an official Chicagoan in 2004. Love this city!!!

 I wear many hats:  computer programmer, MBA student, and photographer. I've been shooting since I bought my first digital camera, while in college, in 2000. In 2005, I upgraded to a digital SLR and that's when I got serious about my hobby. My camera is a Canon 30D. My two primary lenses are a Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 and a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8.

Formal photography training?

The Internet taught me anything and everything I could have learned in a class. Some of the best lessons have come from uploading a picture to flickr and asking others for critiques - people are kind and open. Great suggestions. The rest of my "training" has been hundreds and hundreds of hours taking absolutely worthless photos, and learning from the results.

What got you interested?

I accidentally took a couple "good" photos when playing with my first digital camera, way back in 2000. Looking back, I realize they aren't so great, but at the time, they were better than any photos I thought I'd be able to take! It made me want to take more - getting a great image is addicting! I always have a camera nearby.

Where do you sell your photographs?

Through a great little shop called Sacred Art in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. They feature a number of local, emerging artists and I'm honored to have some of my photos there.

What would you tell an upper level beginner, or an intermediate hobby photog?

1. If you have an image editing program that handles RAW format images, make use of this. Set your camera to RAW mode instead of JPG. Your camera will capture more information in the image, making it more flexible for subsequent processing.

2. The quality of your lens matters considerably more than the quality of your camera body. If purchasing new equipment, focus your investment on high quality lenses. Upgraded lenses range from $100 to quite expensive (the wide angle I'm pining for is over $1300!), but the difference in your images will be dramatic.

3. It can be easy to get disillusioned by the quality of someone else's images -- feeling you won't be able to be as great a photographer (especially if you spend time on the inspirational and intimidating Flickr Explore!). But for every great image posted, there are hundreds or thousands that weren't good enough to make the cut. Not even the best photographers magically create a beautiful image every time they press the shutter button! Do what they do - invest time in taking hundreds and hundreds of images; you'll learn a lot and will end up with portfolio-worthy images of your own.

Why do you like digital?

Film doesn't make financial sense to me. There is no cost to me to take hundreds of digital photos, other than my own time. It feels very freeing to put a large memory card into my camera and spend the entire afternoon shooting without worrying whether a potential image is "worth" using up some of the film.

What part should lighting play in capturing a great image?

Light should be a consideration in every photographic decision, from camera settings to composition to time of day you shoot! The best time for taking photos outdoors is immediately after sunrise and immediately before sunset. I've heard National Geographic won't even accept photos from their photographers unless the photos were shot in these time frames. Not sure if that's an urban legend or if it's true.

How can you manipulate natural light without a bunch of giddy equipment?

You can vary your shutter speed and aperture on your camera to control how much light is in the final photo, and there's always post-processing in Photoshop to make any needed adjustments. Any basic photography website or book will help you understand aperture and shutter speed - take time to learn about these settings and how you can use them to your advantage!

Tripod or not tripod?

A timely question! I had been shooting without a tripod for the past year or so (I found them too cumbersome) but I recently noticed that my photos were significantly suffering: They weren't as sharp as they should have been. I purchased a Manfrotto tripod a week ago. I'm happy with it and with the increased sharpness in photos I've taken with it. My tripod head is a "joystick" head that allows for great freedom, so I feel less inhibited by the tripod than I had before.

Do you Photoshop, edit?

Yes! A big turning point for me was learning to "develop" digital photos by processing them in Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. Even basic processing techniques can make a huge difference. For anyone looking to get started with Photoshop, I recommend Scott Kelby's books - they've been invaluable to me. Then, visit DPreview and review their great knowledge base if you're considering buying a camera. 

Is it reasonable to think a hobby photographer could sell her images?

It is reasonable but takes some effort! There are a number of websites, such as iStockPhoto and etsy, designed to provide a venue for artists and art-buyers to find one another and make sales.

Anything else I forgot to ask you?

Nothing I can think of - this was a great list! Thanks for the honor of the interview - this was a lot of fun!

Katie Twitters, too