The Beginner Photography Podcast

#277 We all define what creativity is a bit different from one another, and despite that we all want it. We all want to be more creative. In this episode I break down how to define creativity for yourself so you can start creating your best work.Step 1: Define your TasteWe start a creative pursuit because we all believe we have good taste, but when we start on that creative pursuit, our good taste tells us we are bad. Define what we can can and cant critique about our work.Step 2: Cultivate your TasteChose what you allow to influence your creative flow. Choose 10 photographers, list out why you like their work, then come up with 5 rules you can follow when creating photographs.Step 3: Evolve your TasteIn the same way Kodak lost control of the photography industry for not evolving their business, your taste needs to develop as you become more skilled as a photographerResources:46 Creative Photography Ideas: Free EbookJoin The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook CommunityFree Lightroom Presets!Grab your free 52 Lightroom Presets athttp://freephotographypresets.com/Connect with Raymond! Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/ Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Elizabeth DeVoe is a relatively new member of the Beginner Photography Podcast Community, just having picked up a camera 3 short months ago. Today we chat about what makes here excited about photography, why shes put painting on the side, and how she sees the photographers role in capturing the world.Resources:Follow Elizabeth on InstagramJoin The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook Group!Grab your free 52 Lightroom Presets athttp://freephotographypresets.com/Connect with Raymond! Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/ Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#276 We live in an ever changing world where information and education is being updated all the time. While we have made a major shift from film to digital photography there are still many “Old School” techniques that are not only relevant to today but incredibly powerful and when mastered will skyrocket you ability to capture compelling images. This week we are talking about two such old school methods, The Zone System, and Zone Focusing.The Zone SystemThe Zone system is an approach to better seeing and understanding light by breaking them down into just 11 shades, or zones. From pitch black to pure white and every tone in between. When used correctly you will achieve better exposure and have a stronger ability to point your viewers eye in the direction you want them to look.Zone FocusingZone focusing is a technique where using your understanding of depth of field you can bypass your cameras autofocus and still achieve tack sharp images.Resources: How to Use the Zone SystemDepth of Field SimulatorJoin The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook CommunityFree Lightroom Presets!Grab your free 52 Lightroom Presets athttp://freephotographypresets.com/Connect with Raymond! Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/ Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#275 I'm renaming November to MEvember and focusing on my health. Since photography is a large part of my life I wanted to examine how it contributes to my health. Today I want to share with you the 4 ways that photography is incredibly beneficial to your health and well being and how photography can take care of you.MemoryHave you ever noticed how you have strong memories of taking photos more so than the event itself? Science may have an answer as to why! Reviewing our photographs builds new path ways from our hippocampus to more visual memory parts of our brain.CreativeHave you ever wished you were a born creative? According to science, creativity really can be strengthened like a muscle when practiced regularly. The key, the more you do, the more experience you have, the more experience you have, the more you can tweak that experience to apply to the current situation at hand.PhysicalI routinely get 20k steps in at a wedding. While photography is not the most physically demanding job it’s far more demanding than a desk job or video game hobby. Physical exercise also helps in the creative aspect. When you move your body, get your blood flowing to the brain, reduces inflammation, and lowers stress hormones which can help create more connections between brain cells and brain areas.Feels good to give to othersWe all know that when we give to others, the mesolimbic pathway lights up increasing activity in the prefrontal cortex and activating the subgenual area which is also associated with higher levels of social belonging. Resources: Memories, Photographs, and the Human Brain The Science behind Gift GivingYour Brain and CreativityJoin The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook Community46 Creative Photography Ideas: Free PDF DownloadGrab your free 52 Lightroom Presets athttp://freephotographypresets.com/Connect with Raymond! Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/ Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#274 The fun-o-meter in photography can be quite the rollercoaster. When you buy your first camera, its up high, when you take your first photo with the new camera, its down low, when you pre visualize your shots, its up high, when you look at the photo its low again. Learning your camera settings is important and once you do, if you dont push yourself to keep learning your progress will stall and thats no fun. This week I share 5 ways to introduce more fun with your photography.1: No Social MediaSocial media can be a great source of inspiration if youre looking for it but more often than not its where we see other photographers work and feel like we dont measure up. Getting off social media for a few weeks will help open up the creative side of your brain.2: Remove all ControlsUse a GoPro or just your phones camera to go out and shoot but dont look through the screen. Look at the world with your eyes and try to place the camera where it needs to be to capture it. This exercise becomes stronger as it forces you to audit your own photos from a critical perspective.3: Destroy your PhotosAs photographers we tend to treat our photos like gold. To really break out of a rut we need to accept that our photos always have room for improvement and not to take them too seriously. I like to shoot in black and white and color on my photos using the ProCreate iPad app. This also helps me to see hidden compositions of color within the frame what I might not have seen naturally.4: Print your PhotosPrinting your photos can make a huge impact on how you shoot. From being able to hold your art in your hand to seeing that shooting at ISO 1600 wasn’t as bad as you thought, to reinforcing the fact that you are fully capable of taking photos that you love. Printing photos is magical.5: Create a Styled ShootA styled shoot does not have to be a big production. Come up with a photo in your head and then make it happen. It could be a photo of your dog wearing a funny cheese hat thats then photoshopped in front of the Eiffel Tower. Focus on nailing just 1 photo, and the rest will fall into place!Fun Photography Exercise: 100 Photos in 15 minutes.WhaGrab your free 52 Lightroom Presets athttp://freephotographypresets.com/Connect with Raymond! Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/ Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#273 Donato DiCamillo is a New York based street and portrait photographer who today shares how he learned photography while incarcerated. Today Donato captures compelling portraits of people on the street that make you stop and want to explore the image more.In This Episode You'll Learn:How Donato got interested in photographyHow Donato taught himself photography without a camera while incarceratedWhat Donato photographed once he got out but was still on house arrestHow he transitioned to shooting on the streetThe most important element Donato looks for when approaching a stranger to photograph themHow Donato interacts with his subjectsHow Donato deals with frustration when what hes shooting isnt working.Grab your free 52 Lightroom Presets athttp://freephotographypresets.com/Connect with Raymond! Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/ Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Shane Wilkie is a Sidney Nova Scotia based photographer. In this community spotlight interview we talk about the struggles of getting started, knowing where you want to go, and figuring out how to get there and what to ignore. Shane also shares what elements he loves to include in his photos and how he finds inspiration.Resources:Follow Shane on InstagramJoin The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook Group!Grab your free 52 Lightroom Presets athttp://freephotographypresets.com/Connect with Raymond! Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/ Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#272 Kate & Nick Story are digital marketing specialist, copywriter, social media experts for wedding business owners, and run Book More Brides. Book More Brides, helps wedding business owners around the world to better understand how to identify their perfect clients, what to say to get them to book, and how to create strategic online content that builds relationships and sales. In this interview we talk about the real reason you’re not making enough sales in your wedding photography business. In This Episode You'll Learn:How Nick and Kate got into the wedding businessCommon objections from couples, and solutionsWhy you need to focus on creating your style before creating a businessHow to get at the heart of what your client wantsWhy selling feels like a 4 letter wordHow to know which marketing platform is right for youResources:Book more brides websiteFollow Book more brides on InstagramJoin The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook CommunityFree Lightroom Presets!Grab your free 52 Lightroom Presets athttp://freephotographypresets.com/Connect with Raymond! Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/ Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#271 This week we are talking all about curiosity. Building up your creative muscles takes time. The skills needed to work on are similar to how a chef needs to master knife skills before they get to a stove top. Or how a musician needs to practice scales before they can produce face melting solos. Photography is the same. Build the foundation now to free up your mind to be more creative.Resources:Join Auto to AmazingJoin The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook CommunityFree Lightroom Presets!Connect with Raymond! Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/ Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#270 Tom Watson is a hobbiest photographer and co creator of the new photo sharing community for photographers, Glass. In this episode we talk about how the app came to be, how its different than just about any other social media you’ve ever used, and what makes it a fantastic place for photographersIn This Episode You'll Learn:How Tom got started in photography and DesignToms reaction to Instagram announcing they are no longer photo focusedHow Glass came to be and how it challenges many “traditional” social media appsThe benefits of a subscription based communityThe vision for glass in the futureResources:Glass Photo Sharing and Community AppJoin The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook CommunityFree Lightroom Presets!Grab your free 52 Lightroom Presets athttp://freephotographypresets.com/Connect with Raymond! Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/ Thanks for listening & keep shooting!