Workshops - Bitly

TABLE of CONTENTS 6

7

Introduction

Part I: Workshops: Everything You Need To Know 8 10 12 14 16 18 19 21 23 25 26 28 32 33 34 35 36 37 39

The Thing About Workshops | David Hobby The Passionate Photographer: A Life Obsessed | Steve Simon 10 Habits of Highly Successful Workshop Participants | Reid Callanan Selecting the Photo Workshop That is Right for You | Herb Brail A Workshop Is… | Elizabeth Greenberg The Photo Conference | Mohamed Somji Three Lessons Learned from Leading Photography Business Workshops | Steve Attard Reflections on the Photo Workshop Experience | Tom Wilson The Workshop Advantage | Hakim Boulouiz Extending Your Reach | Brian Storm Teaching The Teacher | Jamie Rose Prepping for a Photo Workshop | Herb Brail Out of Control | Mike Hagen Absolute Immersion | Martine Fougeron Expand Your Talent | David Wells Answer the Why | Marc Koegel Accelerating Growth | Erin Babnik A Photographer’s State of Mind | Jamie Smith Listen To Yourself | Veronique Sutra

© 2018 PhotoShelter, Inc No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, without the prior written consent of PhotoShelter, Inc. The logos of the companies described are the trademarks of their respective owners. No endorsement is implied. PhotoShelter, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. All articles copyright the respective authors.

TABLE of CONTENTS 40

Part II: Tips, Techniques & Inspirations For Photographic Success 41 44 47 50 52 54 56 59 61 64 66 68 69 71 72 74 76

Creating A Portfolio For Review: Magnum Photographers and Professionals Offer Advice | Magnum Photos Lessons Learned | John Paul Caponigro The Anatomy of a Well-Crafted Wedding Photograph | Jerry Ghionis Reflections On Teaching | Art Wolfe The Warm-Up | Ben Long Becoming A Photographer | Peter Hurley The Chef’s Rules of Photography | Ugo Cei Second Chances: The Good Crop | Steve Simon The Rust of Antarctica | Kevin Raber About Exploring with Your Camera | Harold Davis Being at the Right Place at the Wrong Light | Alex Ros Photographing Across Cultures | Jeffrey Chapman The Four Levels of Learning | Rick Sammon In The Moment | Joshua Cripps Incorporating the Idea of Ma into Photography | Soichi Hayashi Becoming A Concert Photographer | David Bergman The Best Is Yet to Come | Steve Simon

© 2018 PhotoShelter, Inc No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, without the prior written consent of PhotoShelter, Inc. The logos of the companies described are the trademarks of their respective owners. No endorsement is implied. PhotoShelter, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. All articles copyright the respective authors.

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[email protected] THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS

1

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Introduction

If you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of. Go a little bit out of your depth, and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just David Bowie about in the right place to do something exciting.

e are passionate about photography workshops. Why? Because we know that a photography workshop can change your life. It changed ours.

In partnership with PhotoShelter, we have assembled some of the world’s leading voices in photography and photography education to provide their insights, experiences, tips and techniques for moving you forward in 2018.

The best workshop experiences have a profound effect on your life and life’s work. Often times, little nuggets learned make a positive difference and the true benefits don’t reveal themselves until weeks or even months later, after you’ve had time to percolate on what has happened. After all, photography workshops are intense, and when you’re fully engaged and immersed in one, you are living in the moment – a wonderful place to be as a photographer.

There is a lot of wisdom here, so we've split the guide up into two sections. Section one is all about photo workshops – how to choose the right one, what to expect, and more. Section two draws inspiration from noteworthy photographers, many of whom lead workshops themselves. In this section, get their insights on photography technique, style, and lessons learned along the way.

Photography workshops can be exhilarating and magical as you wade into uncharted waters, taking chances, making mistakes and learning from them. Workshops can build your confidence, give you direction and help you refine or even find your visual voice.

Part of our goal for this guide and our PhotoEducate.com site, is to create a spirit of community around photographic education in all forms. We believe in photography education as the best investment for photographers to push their limits and see how far their passions will take them. - Steve Simon (@stevesimon) & Steve Attard (@sattardphoto)

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS

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PART I

Workshops:

Everything You Need To Know If you’ve never taken a photography workshop or are a seasoned workshop veteran, you'll find useful information in this section. Learn what to expect from a workshop, how to choose and prepare for one and perhaps most importantly, why you should invest in a photography workshop in 2018. Find out here how the workshop experience can upend your process in the best of ways, saving you time while expanding your vision and creativity and moving you forward toward your photographic dreams and goals.


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PART I

The Thing About Workshops David Hobby from Strobist.com

here are lots of ways to learn how to be a better photographer. The obvious thing — and what you should be doing as often as possible — is to just be out there shooting. But you also can read books or study via websites. You can learn from specialized video, or even via YouTube. Having learned (and taught) using all of those methods, I know that they are each valid in different ways. But diving into a good workshop will easily trump them all. Let me explain. Books, websites, videos, etc., are one-way information flows. Workshops are more of an ecosystem, with an active environment, other students, constant feedback and full access to an instructor with (ideally) many thousands of hours of experience. All of those things not only matter, but they also work together in a very synergistic way.

You have full-time access to an instructor whose primary goal for the whole week is to actively assist you. But perhaps even best, you are co-learning with a group of peers.

Let's look at a workshop from several perspectives.

Instructor

Even before the workshop, I am already studying you. I make note of any questions you ask. I might even send you some questions of my own. I'd certainly want to see some of your favorite photos before we even get started. As we get started, I'll be asking the group questions. I'll be watching to see the subject areas where you seem confident, or less so. Even if I don't specifically ask you about your hurdles (but I probably will) I'll be trying to glean that information in any way I can. That opening night dinner or cocktails? I am a student and you are my subject.

As we get to know each other as the week progresses, I'm trying to give you support when you need it — or a kick in the butt when you need that. Do you learn better when I tear down your photos and then build them back up? Or do I need to gently suggest that your already very good photo might have been even better if you had just moved a few feet to the right? The more often we interact throughout the week, the more I will be zeroing in on your abilities, difficulties, motivations and anxieties. By the end of the week, I'll probably know you better than I do people with whom I have been casual friends for years.


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Student

If you are like most students, you'll arrive at your workshop with a mix of anticipation and anxiety. A whole week to yourself and your photography. A cool and novel environment. Working together with likeminded people. Fast friends, a la summer camp. But the worries will creep in, too. Am I good enough to be here? What if I am the worst photographer in the group? (Don't worry, everybody thinks that.) What if I spend a week in [Great Location] and don't come away with good photos? Are the people gonna be cool? Will this have been worth it? The first day or two, you might be nervous. You might be trying too hard. You might feel frustrated. But by mid week, you'll be hitting your stride. It's kind of hard not to. The support structure of a workshop is fantastic. The location was chosen with you in mind. You have full-time access to an instructor whose primary goal for the whole week is to actively assist you. But perhaps even best, you are co-learning with a group of peers.

Group

It's easy to overlook that last thing, but it's honestly a pretty big deal. It's like learning with a tailwind. Put it this way: If you were Bill Gates and came to me and said, "I'm Bill Gates. I'm rich. And I want to hire you to do a one-person workshop. Money is no object," I'd tell you that if you wanted the best workshop experience possible, you're going to need more people. A group of friends would be fine. A group of strangers would probably be even better. Individually, you are each like a node on a network. But taken together, each person makes the group a better

© David Hobby

vehicle for learning. As a group learning in the same shared environment, you're better, more diverse and more robust. It's an ecosystem oozing with positive feedback loops. It's pretty hard not to experience a period of significant growth.

The Odds Are Stacked

If, somehow, you think you'll still be able to fail, here's a little secret. As the instructor, I'm not gonna let you fail. Because if you did, I would take it as a personal offense. It is my job to help you succeed.

That means, if you are having trouble getting a concept, I'll work with you individually until you get it. If you are having trouble with the technical stuff, I'll go out with you to shoot. If your gear is giving you problems, I'll let you borrow my camera. I'm simply not going to let you fail. There are lots of great things about workshops. But the best thing about a good workshop is that nobody gets left behind. We all learn. We all grow. It's baked into the process.


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PART I

The Passionate Photographer: A Life Obsessed Steve Simon

Author of “The Passionate Photographer”, Co-Founder of PhotoEducate @stevesimon Lynda.com/Steve-Simon

rom my earliest remembrances, all I ever wanted to do was take pictures. I love photography. My Twitter tagline says “obsessed by all things photographic,” and it’s true. When I was 16, I spent a dream summer riding around my home city of Montreal on a 70cc motorcycle with an all-mechanical Nikon FM with 35mm lens dangling from my neck. Fast forward to this moment. I’m more passionate about photography than I have ever been. Much of the passion-fire has been stoked by photography workshops, both as a student and teacher. As a documentarian I believe in the power of the photograph to make a positive difference in the world and the responsibility of the photographer to his subjects and the issues being covered. I learned early on that the journey itself can be the best part of the photographic process. The images I create are the rewards for my effort and the memory triggers for the great experiences my camera has led me on. And my growth in photography has been accelerated by finding and working on personal projects, allowing me to dig deep to create a set of pictures where the sum of the work was greater than the individual photos. Don’t get me wrong, I love wandering the world with serendipity as my guide, but with a project, you find direction and focus. And when you know what you’re looking for you’re more likely to find it. Even in the short duration of a workshop, directing your photographic energy and passion into a story or

theme allows you to peel the photographic onion for deeper coverage and stronger work. But you have to find the subject matter that inspires you to commit and drives you to work hard, moving past frustrations and through obstacles, pushing toward a photographic place of competence and excitement you cannot even imagine until you’ve taken on the challenge. One of the great things about working on a project is that it’s very personal. A mantra I’m always repeating is one attributed to the great documentarian Diane Arbus who said something like “the more personal you make it, the more universal it becomes.” It’s a powerful and liberating thought. It lets you be selfish and follow your own curiosity. Photography is a universal language, and the more you are willing to share of yourself, the stronger the communicative power of your images — and viewers will respond to the work. When you stop trying to make images that look like what you think strong photography is supposed to look like and look inward, you will separate yourself from the pack and your honesty and passion will shine through. You may be in a rut, as I was, thinking I was shooting the same picture over and over. A set of pictures can be the breakthrough. Story ideas can come from anywhere. I tend to read all the time, looking at blogs, magazines, news sites, books; as well as listening to music, visiting galleries, looking at the work of other artists and photographers. But many of my best ideas come from my own life.


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Personal experience and exploring your own connections often yield some of the most rewarding projects. If you’re inspired by the landscape, what is it that inspires you? How does it make you feel? As you dig deep, the goal is to create images that make the viewer feel something, maybe discovering what you already know about the place. In other words, images that transcend the literal and become more lyrical. If you’re taking a destination workshop consider coming up with a few story ideas that you can pursue. The reality on the ground will often be different from your previsualizations but having a few ideas will let you hit the ground running. I sometimes ask students to come up with five words that describe their first impressions of a place. Sometimes a word can become a headline or title for a project in that place, reminding you as you shoot to stay on topic. Don’t get hung up on originality. Cartier Bresson said there are no new ideas, “only new arrangement of things. Everything is new; every minute is new. It means reexamining.” A photographer’s day never ends. Life is 24/7 and so are photo opportunities. The look, feel, light and rhythm of a place is constantly changing and can be interesting at all times of the day or night. So I edit my situations, choosing where and when to photograph. I use visual potential as my criteria for staying in a place, and I have learned to slow down and be patient. As much as I’d like to be shooting 24/7, it’s a formula for burnout. At the end of the workshop, consider putting together a set of images for a book or exhibition, even if that exhibition is in your own living room. The process of assembling, sequencing and showing a set of pictures is illuminating and will force you to make tough decisions. If two images are similar, maybe you need to choose the strongest one or the image that adds to or moves the communication of the project further. Some projects use repetition as a way to build momentum, a portrait series for example. Regardless, it’s like peeling an onion — you get deeper and deeper and start to make images that scratch and dig below the literal surface.

It’s all been done. Maybe the biggest cliche in Havana are the old American cars. But it’s a cliche for a reason. They are beautiful, photogenic, iconic and a miracle of ingenuity and resourcefulness. It’s a hard subject to ignore, and why should you? You will find your own unique take, and the old cars could be one of a number of themes you can concentrate on there. © Steve Simon

All my projects turn into amazing adventures. I am confident yours will too.


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PART I

10 Habits of Highly Successful Workshop Participants Reid Callanan

Director, Santa Fe Photographic Workshops

©Kevin Zansler

o maximize your photo workshop experience, particularly if you are taking one for the first time, here are a few thoughts from a man who has spent his entire adult life focused on photographic education. Reid Callanan has been the Director of Santa Fe Photographic Workshops for 28 years and before that worked at Maine Photographic Workshops.


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10. Suspend expectations this week. Put aside what you think this week will be like for you. In doing so you will better open yourself up to the spontaneous gifts and serendipity that will come your way.

9. Listen much more than you talk this week. There is so much more to be learned from listening than from talking.

8. Take on this week with A Beginner’s Mind. From Suzuki: “If your mind is empty, it is ready for anything, it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few. This is the real secret of the arts — always be a beginner.”

7. Sleep. It’s overrated, you can sleep when you get home. Take full advantage of the

gift you have given yourself this week. You will be processing the day, and most of you will be processing your images late into the night. So, be prepared to sleep very little this week.

6. Love the questions. Do not seek only answers, but trust that the questions will lead you to more than you could have imagined instead of our usual demand to have the information we want right away.

5. Limit your dependence on email and phone service. Think back to the day (if you

can) when we didn’t have email, nor mobile phones, and remember that you survived. You will survive (and flourish) this week if you can manage the outside noise. Be present and “be here now.”

4. Make images you don’t understand this week. Experiment and take as many risks with your photography as possible. 3. Fail, Fail, Fail. Don’t worry about making great photographs this week — worry

about making great mistakes. You will learn more from your mistakes than your successes. This from Samuel Beckett: “Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better!”

2. Practice, practice, pPractice. For some reason photographers don’t think they have

to practice their craft to get better. Musicians are always practicing to improve their art, so why don’t we? Consider this week as a week to improve your skills through using the tools of photography.

1. Your camera is not the most important tool in making images this week. I think your most important tools are your imagination, curiosity, your mind and your heart.


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PART I

Selecting the Photo Workshop That is Right for You Herb Brail

Travel photographer

photo workshop has the potential to offer photographers at all skill levels the best possible experience for enhancement of their craft and the opportunity to return home with fantastic images. For that potential to be realized, however, it takes considerable advance planning to maximize the value for your dollar. Realize that workshops run the spectrum from merely presenting travel and photo opportunities to full-blown instructional workshops with assignments, image processing and detailed classroom-type image critique sessions. Whether you are an advanced photographer or a rank beginner, getting the right fit for a workshop is crucial. Start the process by getting solid answers to these important questions: Who is leading the workshop? Investigate the leader’s background, published works, online portfolio, past history of workshops and reviews. In particular, see if you can find any posted reviews other than the hand-picked reviews on the leader’s own website. How closely does the workshop leader’s portfolio fit your style and vision?

© Herb Brail

Are there any qualifications to participate? Workshops rarely list minimum qualifications for participants or require a portfolio to be submitted, except for the more advanced ones. A quick way to discover how advanced the workshop will be is to obtain the equipment recommendations before you sign up. When items such as DSLR, lens focal lengths, tripod, a laptop with Lightroom/Photoshop installed and a backup body appear on the list, all are indicators of an upper level workshop. If you are just starting out, explore local options first to hone your skills before embarking on an expensive trip. Be honest with the leader about your skill level and be confident that individual assistance will be available.

A careful review of the leader’s experience and portfolio will clue you in to whether you want to emulate his or her approach to creating images.


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What is the leader’s history with this type of workshop and location? A history of past workshops of a similar nature and to the same venue usually will be more advantageous than a leader venturing into a location for the first time. Does the leader shoot during the workshop? This can cut both ways. It could be extremely positive to see the leader proactively instructing, setting up shots on a tripod and sharing images from the back of the camera. Or it could end up profoundly negative if the leader merely takes you to a location then goes off to do their own thing. Some participants, often in a travel workshop, are not seeking anything more than to be guided from place to place to shoot. Others want to learn as much as possible from the leader. Depending on your personal preferences, the degree of instruction and individual attention you may reasonably expect from a leader can make or break the workshop experience. Will the leader use a local guide? If the workshop is in a foreign country, a local guide who is familiar with the area and able to translate and deal with cultural and other issues is indispensable. What is the maximum number of participants?

What costs are included (or excluded) in the workshop? Know in advance what additional costs you will incur beyond the stated workshop fee. Expect additional expenses even in an all-inclusive workshop where lodging, meals and local transportation are included. Airfare or other transportation to and from the workshop location will always be extra. Tips for local guides or drivers, model fees (where applicable), certain meals and alcoholic beverages will be your responsibility. If traveling internationally, determine the amount of local currency you should bring to cover such anticipated costs. When you have selected your workshop, an advance deposit will be required. Familiarize yourself with the refund and cancellation policy before payment of the deposit. Verify when your workshop has met the minimum number of participants so you are certain that it will be held. Only then make your flight (typically non-refundable) and other travel arrangements. Full payment of the workshop fee is usually due approximately 60 days before the workshop begins. In most situations, these advance payments are at risk and dependent on the integrity of the workshop leader or reputation of the company. If trip cancellation or interruption insurance is available, seriously consider it. For foreign travel, a travel medical rider (including evacuation coverage) from your health insurer or a separately purchased policy is always a wise choice. Now that you have committed to the ideal workshop, additional planning to select and pack your gear and confront other travel issues will be necessary. Prepare and enjoy.

Realistically judge whether you want to be a part of a workshop that has 15 or more participants, or if you want a workshop with a significantly lower leader-toparticipant ratio. What type of feedback and image evaluation is scheduled? Workshops range from daily sessions of image review and critiques to offering little to no feedback. If your desire is to learn from the workshop, a well-organized and frequently scheduled evaluation of your images during the workshop is essential. When conducted in a group setting, considerable insight can be gained not just from the critique of your images, but from viewing and hearing feedback from the images of the other participants.


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PART I

A Workshop Is… Elizabeth Greenberg Vice President of Academic Affairs, Maine Media Workshops + College

fter nearly 30 years of being involved with workshops, the words I most frequently hear describing them are “transformational” and “magic.” Workshops are a way, if not the best way, to learn by doing. They are intensive, providing a total immersive experience of hands-on learning. Workshops are about a process, not the product. It is time to MAKE pictures, and make mistakes. Mistakes are perhaps the most valuable part of a workshop! In our daily lives we have responsibilities — to our jobs, our spouses, partners, families and beyond. There are expectations. In a workshop, there is no boss or client, no expectation. So if you show up, participate and are willing to take risks with a community of peers who share your passions and interests, you are bound to grow both personally and artistically. We learn best from pushing ourselves to take risks. Perhaps the greatest risk is failure. A workshop community becomes your family — creating a safe and intimate environment of support as you take on new challenge, ideas and discover new personal frontiers within a trusting group. The intensity of the shared experience often leads to new and long-lasting friendships. There are workshops for everyone. Some focus on learning new skills and technologies and improving craft, and there are workshops that delve into the personal and artistic growth in all genres of image-making and storytelling.

© Elizabeth Greenberg

In a time when our interactions are so mediated by technology, personal interaction is even more precious; and more important. While there are many ways to learn how to make pictures, from online classes to afternoon seminars, what you don’t get from those experiences is the guidance of a mentor by your side to answer your unique questions and help you over hurdles in real time. Workshop leaders help guide the creative process. They reflect how you work and what they see in your work. Peers and a community offer conversation and essential feedback to learn and grow from.


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Attending a workshop does take a commitment of time, most typically a week. I think of this as the greatest gift you can give to yourself: a gift of time and an investment in your personal and creative growth that can empower and push you into new and positive directions in work and life. Not long ago I had a conversation with a student reflecting on his experience. Already accomplished as a successful still photographer, he had come to take a class to learn how to incorporate video into his still-based work. He thought the greatest challenge would be mastering new equipment and software. Upon reflection, he realized the most important lessons learned were about himself; what his true interests are and how his personal story is at the core of all the work he makes. The workshop experience launched him into a whole new realm of self-discovery. There are those words again. Transformational; magic.


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PART I

The Photo Conference Mohamed Somji

Photographer & Co-Director, Gulf Photo Plus

ubai piques the curiosity of many, and it is no wonder that people travel far and wide to come here and take photos. Dubai is an intriguing place, sure. There is merit to the hype and surreality of Dubai with its future-defying buildings and sights, but there are layers and nuances not seen by many that we know about and point our photographers to. One of the most satisfying outcomes of creating an intense week of immersion at a photo conference is for the facilitators to act as matchmakers between people with like-minded interests and a passion for photography. A week-long event of days in classes and nights in bars and restaurants provides a foundation for people from all parts of the world to forge real and sincere connections.

© Gulf Photo Plus

There are fascinating conversations, many of which go beyond camera sensors and the latest lighting techniques to deep social and cultural exchanges. Especially in today’s fractured world, where superficial likes and tweet responses often dominate the discourse, it is nice to be able to be facilitate bonds between people who have a lot more in common with each other. And it all culminates in an intense and emotionally charged ShootOut at our conference Gulf Photo Plus, where reputations are made (or broken). It is such a privilege to marvel in the genius and quick wit of the contestants who bare their souls and photography skills in front of 300 critics and pundits. One of the most special shoot-outs was the Heisler one — it was pure magic and you don’t have to take our word for it — see it here: vimeo.com/39140805.

© Gulf Photo Plus


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PART I

Three Lessons Learned from Leading Photography Business Workshops Steve Attard

Co-Founder of PhotoEducate @sattardphoto

tarting your own creative business can change your life. I worked as a digital marketing executive, studied for my MBA in my free time sold two successful tech businesses before I decided to take on the biggest and most fulfilling challenge of them all: starting my own photography business. Last year I launched my lifestyle photography business inspired by 10 years of passionate documentary and street photography. None of this could have happened without the learning, experience and mentorship that I received by attending and leading photography business and marketing workshops. Today I lead my own workshops focused on photography business and marketing. There are hundreds of similar workshops out there, and I want to share with you my three most valuable lessons about how to choose the best photography business workshops and maximize the value you get out of them.

Lesson 1: Get Critique to Supercharge Your Learning

The most valuable experiences I’ve ever given or received in a photography workshop is through critique. This element alone is going to pay back tenfold the investment you make in any good business workshop. In the right kind of photography business workshop, your portfolio is going to be critiqued from a client perspective: Can these images generate leads and create bookings?

Good critique also extends to your business and marketing assets. Look for a workshop that offers practical tactical critique on topics like branding, social media and pricing. With social media workshops, for example, things like branding touchpoints, profile details, the look and feel of feeds, hashtags and captions, posting times and frequency, which channels best match goals — all could be taught in a lecture and most of the knowledge is already out there. A workshop goes further, giving you the practical application and time with an experienced tutor and peers to really learn how to apply that knowledge to your particular situation. So when choosing a photography business workshop, read through the workshop description, itinerary and student testimonials for a sense of the level of critique offered. Look for tutor bios that talk about the tutor’s teaching, coaching and educational experience over and above just their photographic background. Choose workshops that are built less around lectures and more around classroom critique, discussion and mentoring. Then put yourself out there and suspend your ego. It’s a sure way to supercharge your learning.

Lesson 2: Accelerate Your PortfolioBuilding

I don’t subscribe to the idea that you cannot start a photography business until you have a portfolio. But at some point, you’re going to need that portfolio of images to show your competences and style and book more of the right kind of clients.


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Your website portfolio needs to make it clear to clients what they should expect when they book you. You’re going to need images to use for your Facebook ads. You’re certainly going to need a good quantity of consistent images that you can post on your Instagram and Pinterest feeds. Photography workshops, or what are called “portfolio clinics,” offer shooting opportunities that are centered around building your portfolio. Workshop organizers will organize models and client shoots during the workshop so that you can learn and build confidence and get the shots that you can use in your business portfolio. (Sure, you can reach out to friends and family over the next couple of months and shoot for free, building your portfolio as you go. I recommend that you do a lot of this anyway.) One great example of this is Tamara Lackey’s workshops (https://photoeducate. com/products/portrait-photography-workshop-tamara-lackey). If you’re moving into a new genre, in this case family photography, a workshop like this can take you from zero to portfolio in a matter of days. Many conferences also offer portfolio clinics that are organized specifically for this purpose. Don’t wait three months before launching your business and sharing on social media just because you don’t have a wide enough portfolio. In a single two-day workshop you will get enough material to come home with a client-ready portfolio.

Lesson 3: Find the Right Workshop in a Conference Event

Photography conferences offer the variety, diversity and flexibility of workshop opportunities to pack the most amount of value into the shortest amount of time. There are many photography conferences out there which offer workshops, so be clear about your learning objectives to make the right choice. With such variety, the business lessons covered include the topics that we all struggle with such as branding, digital marketing, entrepreneurship, workflow, pricing, social media, content strategy and much more. Having all these learning opportunities in one place allows you to pick and mix according to your learning objectives. Just do your research about the tutors and speakers. Your time at a conference is valuable, and you don’t want to be missing out on a great learning opportunity by picking the wrong speaker.

© Steve Attard

Put Yourself Out There

Photography workshops have changed my life because they gave me the critique, portfolio images and tactical lessons to help me create build and grow my photography business. Sometimes we get overwhelmed by the amount of workshops out there. The most valuable ones, from my experience, have the those that offer critique, portfolio-building opportunities and a variety of tactical lessons. It’s not easy to put yourself out there to be critiqued or to do something new and challenging like building a new portfolio. It’s even harder if you try to go it alone. Luckily we don't have to. I co-founded PhotoEducate and teach my own business workshops because I am passionate about how photography workshops can help formulate, accelerate and develop our learning process as professional photographers. All you have to do is just start. All you have to do is just put yourself out there.


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PART I

Reflections on the Photo Workshop Experience Tom Wilson

Nature and landscape photographer

orkshops have been instrumental in my development as a photographer. They have enabled me to improve my technique, develop my aesthetic sensibility, visit places on my bucket list and form new friendships. I have worked with several different mentors over the past five years, each with his or her own style and approach to designing and managing a workshop. In my experience there are three critical elements to successful workshops: 1. Getting to the right place at the right time to capture compelling images 2. Artistic and technical guidance in the field 3. Constructive critiques of images in a timely fashion

Getting to the Right Place at the Right Time

Workshop leaders need to know the territory or be linked with a local photographer who knows the territory that the workshop is covering. Leaders need to be able to get you to the vantage points that offer potentially compelling images and do so at the time of day when the light is best. Perhaps more important, leaders need to have the ability to be flexible when the weather, light or other circumstances do not cooperate. Spontaneity is a critical characteristic of a good leader — creating a new opportunity when previous plans go awry or being able to take advantage of an unexpected situation.

Guidance in the Field

A skilled leader is available to provide guidance to each participant rather than being focused on grab-

bing his or her own shots. The leader needs to be available to provide advice on both the aesthetics of the image and camera technique. In my experience, many workshop participants spend too much time seeking guidance on technique and too little time focused on identifying and framing a compelling image. Excellent workshop leaders help students find their own artistic voice rather than pushing them to replicate in a technically competent fashion what others in the group might be doing.

Image Critique

Some workshop leaders build into each day a structured feedback session in which each participant shares a small number of images from the previous day’s shoot. The leader and other participants provide feedback and engage in a dialogue regarding what is working and what is not working with each image. They also provide feedback on the technical execution of the shot and the composition, aesthetic and design elements that make up strong photographs. Participants benefit from critiques of their own images as well as from the ideas generated by commentary on images created by other members of the group. Once the workshop is over, the opportunity for this type of sharing is gone. In evaluating workshop options, prospective participants might also take into account the following considerations: • • •

Experienced photographers might consider advanced workshops. Among the many options, advanced workshops might be focused on: Color, black and white or other special techniques Creation of a portfolio


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• • •

•

•

Creating prints, projects or books Specialized workshops may take place in the field or in a classroom venue or both. The photo “tour” is more focused on getting to the right place at the right time than on technique or critique. The leader of the photo tour may be less focused on hands-on instruction and more on getting to the spot and providing occasional advice. The photo tour is perfectly appropriate for the more independent experienced photographer who has good mastery of camera techniques and is comfortable with his or her own photographic aesthetic. When you find a workshop you love, there is an advantage to doing more than one workshop with a leader. After working with a participant in one or two workshops, an effective leader will develop a knowledge of that participant’s style and technical skill and be able to provide more tailored advice and guidance. In a similar fashion, workshop participants often create great friendships that result in plans to coordinate enrollment in future workshops.

When considering a workshop with a new leader, it is helpful and wise to have a telephone conversation to clarify any issues or concerns and get a feel for the workshop leader’s personal style. You may also be able to get a feel for the experience level and focus of other participants, particularly if they have been in previous workshops with the leader.

© Tom Wilson

Above all, approach any workshop as a fun adventure. Not everything will go exactly as planned, but with a good leader and the help of other participants, the experience will be a unique and productive adventure and may result in enriching personal relationships in addition to compelling images.


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PART I

The Workshop Advantage Hakim Boulouiz

Photography workshop student and street photographer

© Hakim Boulouiz

o develop your talent in photography, I believe that you must practice; a lot. However, you have to be open to coaching and criticism by the “right people” who will encourage and push you to find your own vision. This is why workshops remain very important in my approach as a photographer and as an artist in general.

I get to master new skills, build my portfolio and increase my overall knowledge, which leads to good habits I use when I’m on the streets with my camera. Workshops are also a great way to meet others (physically or virtually) who share a similar passion and with whom you move forward and even collaborate on future projects.


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© Hakim Boulouiz

© Hakim Boulouiz

Today we can also learn alone — by reading books before sleeping, listening to podcasts while driving and talking with others with similar interests — but nothing can replace the experiences and the adventures found at the best workshops from great photographers and photo teachers.

I am convinced that it is smarter to invest in workshops rather than new gear. What we need is not the latest gadget but to develop our minds and stimulate our imaginations to create the most unforgettable photographic stories. The world needs stories more than ever, and workshops are the right step toward that.

Workshops immerse you into unique photographic situations where you learn to take immediate action. Of course you will make mistakes and your work may not immediately communicate to the viewer in the way you intended. But you will begin to understand what works and what does not and grow as a photographer from the experience with guidance from the very best teachers.

I am very grateful for all the workshops I have attended around the world. They have allowed me to consider myself an artist.


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PART I

Extending Your Reach Brian Storm

Director of MediaStorm

have been so fortunate to attend several amazing workshops in my career as a student and teacher. Each of these experiences has helped shape my own teaching approach. I don’t think you really know anything well until you try to teach it to someone else. Articulating your vision is difficult, and developing the language to support that vision is life-long work. But perhaps most importantly, I’ve learned the power of paying it forward, how sharing your knowledge allows others to build on top of your work and ideas. Seeing others benefit from your experience is incredibly rewarding. Most of the still photographers I know are struggling on the business side right now. Those who have learned video are mostly working. It is a good idea to learn video! Newspapers and magazines are commissioning new video work at a rapid rate, and the NGO world is in endless need of storytelling to help people understand their work and causes. One of the powers of multimedia over still images alone is that it gives subjects a voice in their own story. Understanding the power of audio is key. Learning to shoot visual sequences is a new and important skill that still photographers have to spend focused time developing. Also, putting a scene together with visual variety so that you have material to make cuts in the edit suite is essential.

Photo Credit: MediaStorm

Photo Credit: MediaStorm

In my experience, still photographers who make the transition to video have the advantage of being visually strong in their process. Often the most effective way to tell the story is to take the “fly on the wall” approach to documenting life; not setting up shots but letting life happen and putting in the time to capture moments that really matter.


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PART I

Teaching The Teacher Jamie Rose

COO of Momenta Workshops and photojournalist

amie Rose talks about some memorable moments in her photographic education, mistakes workshops students make and the importance of critique in the workshop process. What is your first remembrance of photography or you as a photographer? I was lucky enough to have two parents who were photographers. They owned a wedding and portrait studio when I was younger, and we were constantly being photographed. I had a darkroom in my basement growing up so it was just natural to have photography in our lives. Plus, my parents were always incredible at supporting arts educational pursuits. When I got to high school and photography and journalism classes were offered, I jumped on it. My parents gave me their old cameras and the bug bit me. Little did they know how far it would take me or how many grey hairs it would give them as I travel the world doing humanitarian coverage in some pretty dicey situations! Who was your most memorable photography teacher or mentor? It varies because there have been so many. Probably the most influential were David Sutherland and Mark Dolan at Syracuse University in graduate school. They each helped shape the way I understood how and why ethical, passionate photographic coverage was vital to journalism and living in a free society.

What was a memorable learning moment? My professor Jim Virga gave me a talking to one day when I said I didn’t want to go out to the local bar with all the photography students. I explained that earlier that day, my teacher (who was also going to be out that night) had just destroyed my photo presentation in front of the whole class and I wanted to go home instead. He said, “Look, Jamie, if you want to be a photographer, you gotta socialize with other photographers. Get your butt out there tonight!” So, I went. That night, that same teacher who took my presentation apart bought me a drink and said, “It was rough today but it’ll get better. You want to know how you can make your work better for next week’s class?” He proceeded to tell me why my coverage wasn’t cutting it and how I could push myself to be a better journalist with my photo story ideation. It was the start of a beautiful mentorship with that professor. I was selected as his TA the next year, he helped advise me on my thesis project, and he even recommended me for my first internship. So, I always tell the people I mentor, “Always go to the bar. Even if you don’t drink. Just go, socialize and meet people because you never know where it will lead." What’s the biggest mistake workshop students make? Workshop attendees who come in looking for a magic pill are always disappointed. There is no magic pill to


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make you a better photographer overnight. You have to work for it, and a workshop is the best learning experience to get you started on your journey to the next level. It might be a lesson you learn that isn’t even relevant today, but you end up using that lesson months later. You might find a mentor on a workshop who can help you for years to come. You could find a new best friend who is seated right next you at orientation. However, if you come into a workshop expecting to get the perfect portfolio piece that will suddenly launch you into a successful career immediate, you might miss all the many different lessons along the way. How important is critique? What can students learn from critique of other photographers’ work? Group edits are great for seeing each other’s work and finding inspiration, absolutely. But in my experience, nothing comes close to sitting with an editor on a daily basis, going over your whole day’s take frame by frame and finding new ways to grow and challenge yourself to become an even better storyteller.

What is your teaching philosophy? Everyone can learn to be a better photographer no matter where they are in their career. You just need to find the right teacher for the right time in your personal growth trajectory. What’s the best photographic/life advice you ever got? “You’ve got to give back what you got.” - Chip Maury Favorite photography moment or image? Eugene Smith’s Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath inspired me to be a social documentarian, and seeing Margaret Bourke-White on top of the Chrysler Building with a view camera proved to me women can do anything in this field.

I think one of the most important elements of strong workshops are ones that offer one-on-one editing sessions. Whether you are a multi-year career photographer at a publication or a just-graduated multimedia freelancer, the value of editing with a range of different instructors on a trip is vital to expanding your skills, discovering what bad habits you might be falling into and finding successful ways to explore your personal style. If you have the opportunity to sit in on another’s edit as well, that is also a great way to see and become inspired by their working process.


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PART I

Prepping for a Photo Workshop Herb Brail

Travel photographer

nce you have selected a photo workshop that matches your interest and skill level, what you bring and how you pack it, especially if it involves airline travel, can make or break your workshop experience.

Deciding What Photo Gear to Bring

Often determining what photo gear to bring presents significant challenges. Bringing too much is a far more common mistake than bringing too little. The type of workshop, be it wildlife, landscape, urban street photography or a model shoot, will largely dictate what is the appropriate gear. A detailed equipment list from the workshop description or provided on request from the leader is the best place to start. Do not hesitate to ask whether the leader is shooting during the workshop and what equipment he or she intends to bring. Always have a second camera body with you as a backup. Review the workshop agenda for any scheduled sunrise, sunset or night shoots where a tripod will be a necessity. You don’t want to be the person standing around in semi-darkness trying to hand-hold your camera when everyone else has a tripod. A group email with other participants will often give you further insight into appropriate gear, especially if one or more of the participants has been on a previous workshop with the leader. A multi-day workshop based in a single location gives you the option of having more gear than if you are moving from place to place. The same is true when working from a vehicle or studio situation as opposed to walking in an urban area or hiking on a wildlife shoot.

Traveling by air will limit your choices as you want to be able to carry-on your camera gear and keep it with you in the cabin. When booking a flight, try to avoid regional jets such as the CRJs and ERJs which severely restrict what you are able to place in an overhead bin or under the seat. Foreign carriers may have weight limits for carry-on items, as do nearly all African safari shoots where travel in light aircraft is involved, so be sure to check the carrier’s baggage policy. A balance of the right gear for the workshop, not too little or too much, needs to be your objective. Your dollars will be best spent learning how to shoot better images rather than opting for an equipment upgrade and foregoing a workshop. Consider the equipment recommendations below as recommendations. You don’t need to have the latest model camera or an array of lenses so do not be intimidated or deterred from attending a workshop if your digital camera is several years old, a crop sensor DSLR, or a high-end compact camera. Equipment rental, particularly for lenses, is an option to consider. • DSLR Camera Body: I usually bring a high megapixel prosumer full frame body along with a second body as a backup. If I am going to be shooting wildlife or action or extensively in low-light, those circumstances might warrant consideration of a pro model. Where the workshop involves long lens shooting over 200mm, a crop sensor body is a good backup body choice to give you some extra reach. In any event, you do not want to find yourself across the country or in a difference continent with just one camera body.


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• Zoom or Prime Lenses: You’ll find most workshop participants will be using zoom lenses, which might vary from the kit lens shipped with the DSLR body to a more sophisticated, expensive and heavier f/2.8 wide aperture zoom. Prime lenses, especially those with a f/1.4 aperture, will have you “zooming with your feet” and offer beautiful rendering of “out of focus” areas often referred to as bokeh. Your mode of travel may limit you to a couple of zoom lenses for the workshop, but I always like to include at least one fast prime lens in my camera bag. • Lenses: The references that follow to focal lengths are for a full frame sensor. If using a crop sensor or mirrorless camera, calculate the 35mm equivalent, e.g., a 10mm Nikon DX lens is equivalent to a 15mm Nikon FX lens due to the 1.5 DX crop factor. You’ll want to cover the standard range with a 24-70mm, medium telephoto 70-200mm, then depending on the workshop decide on an ultra-wide angle 14-24mm or long zoom such as a 200-500mm. I don’t recommend the super zooms such as a 16-300mm due to slow apertures and lower image quality. If you bring a crop sensor body as a backup for your full-frame camera, such as the Nikon D500, mounting a Nikon 200500mm f/5.6 lens will now be the equivalent of a 300-750mm zoom lens without the loss of f-stops you would experience with a teleconverter. • Other Photo Gear: Spare batteries, charger, extra memory cards, tripod, remote release, polarizer and neutral density filters, rain cover, laptop, USB hard drives, card reader and lens wipes.

Packing Equipment for the Workshop

(All gear recommendations and comments are the opinion of the writer) One photo bag (carry-on) and one piece of luggage (checked) represent the ideal combination for a workshop where airline travel is involved. The Think Tank Airport Series Roller Bags offer the maximum capacity for your gear and are compliant with carry-on size limitations for full-size aircraft. I pair my roller bag with a Think Tank Urban Disguise Shoulder Bag as my “personal item” that fits under the seat. The two bags can be wheeled as one unit by using the Think Tank Low-Rider Strap which is supplied with the shoulder bag. Since a roller type of photo bag is useless in the field unless working from a vehicle, I use the shoulder bag to carry the optimal gear for each day’s shoot. During a workshop, the capability to convert the shoulder bag to a backpack using the Think Tank’s Conversion Straps is ideal. Always check the scheduled type of aircraft for your flights and carry-on size limitations, but bear in mind last-minute changes by an airline are always possible.

Your dollars will be best spent learning how to shoot better images rather than opting for an equipment upgrade and foregoing a workshop. Keeping your gear with you in the cabin is ideal, but if I have to check photo equipment or it looks like that will be a possibility, I forego the roller bag and pack that gear in a hard-sided Pelican 1510 case. I prefer the 1510 with the padded dividers (marketed as the 1514) for greater flexibility than is possible with the pick and pluck foam inserts. The 1510 is the largest FAA airline-legal carry-on case. For additional protection, I put each camera body and lens in a padded neoprene case and secure the bag with an approved TSA lock. For wildlife shoots when I bring my Nikon 600mm f/4 lens, I have a customized Pelican 1620 case which holds my lens, Really Right Stuff PG-02 Pano-Gimbal Head and backup DSLR body. Since this case always must be checked, I opted for custom cut foam, which offers greater protection than either pick and pluck foam or padded dividers.

What’s in My Camera Bag?

The latest workshops I have participated in were a week-long advanced street photography masterclass in Lisbon, Portugal, and a three-day workshop at the Salton Sea in California’s Sonoran Desert of . When flying to a workshop from my home in Michigan, I like to add extra days before and after the scheduled workshop to account for airline delays, acclimate to time zone changes, and have an opportunity to familiarize myself with the area. Staying after the conclusion of the workshop allows me to return and reshoot sites of interest, especially at different times of the day, or travel to nearby areas. When the Portugal workshop ended, I traveled by train to Coimbra, Aveiro and Porto, and then returned to Lisbon for my flight home.


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Light Gear – Backpack

Heavier Gear – Roller & Shoulder Bag

Think Tank Streetwalker Hard Drive

Think Tank Airport Security

Nikon D850 or D810

Think Tank Urban Disguise Classic

Nikon D5 or D4S

Nikon D850 or D810

Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, 24mm f/1.4, or 35mm f/1.4

Nikon D5 or D4S

Nikon 50mm f/1.4 or 58mm f/1.4

Nikon D500

Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 or 105mm f/1.4

Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8

Nikon 16mm f/2.8 Fisheye

Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, 24mm f/1.4 or 35mm f/1.4

Nikon 19mm f/4 PC or 24mm f/3.5 PC-E

Nikon 50mm f/1.4 or 58mm f/1.4

Really Right Stuff TFC-14 Series 1 Tripod

Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 or 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

Really Right Stuff BH-30 Ballhead

Nikon 16mm f/2.8 Fisheye

II

Nikon 19mm f/4 PC or 24mm f/3.5 PC-E Really Right Stuff TVC-34L Series 3 Tripod Really Right Stuff TA-3 Leveling Base Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ballhead

Packing light when using public transportation and traveling from place to place, is vital since baggage assistance is rare and trains and buses can be crowded. In contrast, after flying to San Diego and renting a car, the Salton Sea workshop allowed me more leeway in what I could bring, unlike Portugal where each day was spent walking through cities and taking the subway, streetcars or buses. Everything but the tripod and rain cover, which go in my checked bag, is packed in my carry-on. I take my laptop to each workshop to download images daily from the camera’s XQD, CF or SD cards to my first USB hard drive, and then back up the images on the second drive. After I make sure that I have two copies of each image, I will reformat the camera cards and run through my camera checklist to be ready for the following day.

Nikon DSLR Checklist 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

Cards = Inserted, Images Transferred, and Cards Formatted Time Zone and Date = Location & Daylight Savings Time (DST) Battery Level = 85%+ AF Fine-Tune = On, Default =0 Shooting Menu Bank = A Extended Menu Banks = On 2nd Slot =Overflow or Backup Image Quality = RAW Custom Settings Bank = A Exposure Mode = A Shutter Release Mode = CH or CL AF Servo Mode = AF-C (with Back Button Focus) AF-Area = Single or 9 Point? ISO: 100 or Auto? ISO Sensitivity: Check ISO & Shutter Speed White Balance = Auto1 EV=0 Bracket = 0

A word of caution about international travel and returning to the United States with “professional” looking camera gear, particularly in a Pelican case or other identifiable photo bag. You may be flagged by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer and asked for proof that your equipment was purchased in the USA. The best course of action is to register your equipment (i.e. anything with a serial number) prior to departure on CBP Form 4457 at any port of entry. There is no charge to register and the form


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never expires. Sfter a particularly harrowing experience returning from Cambodia, I now have all of my photo equipment, laptop and iPad registered.

Airline and Travel Tips

Packing clothing, toiletries and other items for a workshop deserves similar attention to your photo gear. An airline loyalty credit card such as the American Express Delta SkyMiles card gives you your first checked bag free and multiple other perks making the annual fee reasonable. Since I always check my clothing bag, I prefer either a 29” hardside polycarbonate bag, such as the Delsey Titanium and Aero lines, or a rolling duffel like L.L. Bean’s Adventure Duffle in Large or X-Large. I’ve used the X-Large both domestically and internationally on Delta without incurring extra charges, but when fully packed, it slightly exceeds the standard airline luggage limit of 62 linear inches (L x W x H). A technique I use to avoid an overweight charge on an extended trip, particularly on the return leg if I’ve picked up a photo book or other not-so-light treasures, is to pack a medium-size folding duffle. I can throw hiking boots, shoes and other durable items into it, making room in my main bag and reducing its weight. I am able to check my large bag for free with my airline loyalty credit card. If I have sufficient frequent flyer status, usually significantly enhanced by regular use of the airline credit card, the second bag also may be free or checked for substantially less than what would have been a $100 or greater overweight fee.

hand sanitizer wipes for my hands and tray table, iPhone and iPad chargers, prescription medicine, and my travel itinerary and printed reservations for the trip. If I am flying with my roller and shoulder bag combination, the same items will go into the shoulder bag. I am a fan of creating a single sheet printed trip itinerary with dates and times for flights, trains or ferries; hotel reservations, noting whether prepaid or indicating the amount due; as well as any special tours or events arranged in advance. I take the extra step of laminating it so it is easy to locate and stays intact throughout the trip. The time you put into pre-planning and organization for your workshop will allow you to focus on your photography and enjoy your experience rather than being stressed about travel and other extraneous details. You’ll be able to return home with great images, newly acquired knowledge and hopefully a desire to investigate an exciting future workshop.

Over the years I’ve gone from folding clothing to rolling clothing to finally settling on creating a system of packing cubes. I label and use a different cube for each type of clothing: long pants, shorts, short-sleeve shirts, long-sleeve shirts, underwear, socks, jacket, rain gear, swimwear, etc. Shoes or boots go in a stuff sack; an extra stuff sack serves as a bag for any worn clothing that is excessively dirty or sweaty. Clean clothing is face up in the cube; worn clothing not destined for the stuff sack goes face down or inside out at the bottom of the cube. The cube system keeps everything organized, and I can easily tell what’s clean and what gently worn clothing is suitable to re-wear. A hotel laundry service is handy for the stuff sack contents, and for a two- or three-week trip, it can reduce the clothing I need to bring. The best part of the cube system is the ability to quickly pack up a bag to move on to the next destination or when heading home, and it’s a far better option than the jumble of clothing I dealt with prior to getting well-organized. When flying with a backpack for camera gear, I take a lightweight messenger bag for use in flight. In this bag I put my iPad, noise-cancelling headphones, empty water bottle to fill after clearing security, gum and my favorite snacks for the flight, individually packaged

© Mike Hagen


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Out of Control Mike Hagen

Author, photographer and director of Visual Adventures

© Mike Hagen

fter operating hundreds of workshops since 1998, I’ve come to terms with the fact that there are lots of things I can control and a few that I can’t. For example, weather, mechanical failures and travel delays always seem to rear their ugly heads at exactly the wrong time. Before and during every trip I lead, I tell my participants to embrace the events that are out of our control because the stories we’ll be able to tell will be epic. If we get stuck in the mud in Tanzania, then let’s photograph the rescue. If a storm blows in

with wind and rain, then go out and shoot. On my most recent Iceland trip, we were hit with 50knot winds and driving rain on our first day of puffin photography. After a bit of positive encouragement, everyone in our group went out to photograph the birds. The conditions were extremely challenging and the birds were wet and muddy, but we had a fantastic story to tell when we got home about the wind that almost blew us off the mountain.


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PART I

Absolute Immersion Martine Fougeron

Fine art photographer and founder of The Photography Master Retreat

think one of the main powerful benefits of a workshop, particularly when mentored by diverse professionals, is the critiques and discussions spawned from them. The emphasis turns to really thinking hard about your work and trajectory as an artist. It's a week of absolute immersion. Photographers can spend time, unencumbered by life's pressures, and take a step back and hopefully one giant leap forward to reconnect with their work and process in a new light. The workshop week can be liberating, exhausting, exhilarating and powerful. ©The Photography Master Retreat

©The Photography Master Retreat

©The Photography Master Retreat


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PART I

Expand Your Talent David Wells

Publication photographer, video-maker and workshop teacher

was fortunate to have had two exceptional photography teachers, Michael Coppenger in high school and Leland Rice in college. Both of them, wisely, did not try to mold me into clones of themselves. Rather, they continually handed me new challenges, gave me feedback on the results of my efforts and then gave me more challenges. Seeing my passion for photography, they learned quickly when to push me and when to step back and let me work out a given challenge. I use the same methods when I teach photography. I encourage students to learn as much about as many different aspects of the medium as they can. The lines between the genres are blurring. Even if a given type of photography does not interest you, knowing what you are not good at is almost as important as knowing what you do best. Being exceptionally skilled at two or three types of photography is much more interesting in terms of your creativity and is a better way to distinguish yourself in the competitive market. Photography is a skill and a language that needs to be continually practiced, like any other skill. And just like any other pursuit involving mastery, the journey, not the destination, is the key. While I am a better photographer than I have ever been, I am still not as good as I can be or as good I will someday be.

© David Wells


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PART I

Answer the Why Marc Koegel

Photographer and Director of Vancouver Photo Workshops

© Marc Koegel

In their biographies, artists like Michelangelo, da Vinci and Bach said that their most valuable technique was their ability to inspire themselves. This is true of all artists; the moment there is something to say, there becomes a way to say it. Ralph Gibson, from his book Déjà-u

have had the privilege to take, and host, several workshops with Ralph Gibson. Throughout my photographic journey and development, his work has been a profound inspiration. In my workshops and photographic tours, I emphasize talking about

the “why” over talking about the “how”. For I believe that photographic technique alone isn’t enough to create truly meaningful and personally satisfying photographs. Learning the “how” is increasingly enjoyable and satisfying with an answer to the “why” already present.


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PART I

Accelerating Growth Erin Babnik

Adventure landscape photographer, writer, speaker and member of Photo Cascadia

hen I first took an interest in photography, I had no idea that photography workshops even existed. My art education consisted entirely of college coursework, nearly 50 different classes in studio art, graphic design and art history through several degree programs. This education benefited me greatly as a photographer in the long run, but slowly and abstractly. Today I marvel at how quickly my workshop participants can advance by taking a few workshops, advancing their photography and artistic sensibilities rapidly due to the benefits of a highly specialized educational experience. I now look back on my own progression and realize how much more quickly I would have been able to grow as a photographer if I had known about the option of taking a photography workshop. I also would have had a lot more fun in the process!

© Jure Babnik

I now look back on my own progression and realize how much more quickly I would have been able to grow as a photographer if I had known about the option of taking a photography workshop.


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PART I

A Photographer’s State of Mind Jamie Smith

Photographer & Director of Social Fabric Collective

y teaching of philosophy rests on the belief that to learn you must be open. It is imperative to study your own background — how everything in your life influences what you choose to photograph, and perhaps more importantly WHY you choose to photograph. With a decade of experience producing and teaching photography workshops for Jay Maisel, and now independently producing my own workshops, I appreciate what Richard Bach meant when he said, “We teach best what we most want to learn.” Bearing witness to all the fascinating images that are produced by the creative people I've had the privilege to work with and learn from is what energizes me and drives my work. Developing a sense of purpose as an artist and educator also led to my founding of the Social Fabric Collective, a 501c3 nonprofit that provides cameras and scholarships to high school students who learn to use photography as a vehicle for personal growth and social transformation. My creative vision for both the New York City workshop and Social Fabric Collective is constantly evolving. At first glance, both programs would appear drastically different, purely because of the demographics. One is a $5,000-per-person, week-long photography workshop in Manhattan for adults, with alumni from over (35) countries. The other is a scholarship program for teenagers living in a rust-belt region of America where the average income for a family of four is under $35,000.

© Megan Mitten

We teach best what we most want to learn. Richard Bach

But the commonality I find between them is that the most successful “students,” whether young adults or mature adults, are those who are curious by nature and oriented toward growth and those for whom photography is not necessarily a career path but a personal passion. Passion is key. Some of my best students in Social Fabric Collective have also been star athletes, on national debate teams or looking toward a career in music or mathematics. The camera


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becomes a way for them to further explore their own interests and define their sense of identity and purpose. By the same token, while accomplished professional photographers have certainly taken my New York City workshop, some of my most interesting students have been doctors, engineers, manufacturers and journalists. Yes, they are looking for ways to expand their technical skills, but more importantly they want to be able to better articulate their artistic vision — to stand apart and to curate a meaningful body of work that reflects their identity. As Pablo Picasso said, “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” It does not matter if you are a world famous eye surgeon or a 15-year-old teenager, or whether you are shooting for National Geographic or an audience of one. To make truly meaningful images that are uniquely your own, the most important thing is to approach your work with a sense of openness, curiosity and passion and a willingness to change and grow.

© Eileen Cruz


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PART I

Listen To Yourself Veronique Sutra

Founder and director of Eyes in Progress

am not a photographer, but of course I love photography and understand its power. My first strong remembrance of photography is a Richard Avedon “Portraits” exhibition I saw in Granada, Spain. I was stunned by the strength of character communicated by those portraits. They said a lot about America, poor people, hard workers, authentic Americans. It was even stronger because the exhibition was just one year after 9/11. During a workshop it’s always exciting when I see participants moving forward in their work — seeing them bloom and reach a higher level in their practice. I’ve seen students make tremendous progress during a week-long workshop, and I think it’s always best when they don’t set their expectations too high. Most of our workshops are project-based, and I think it’s important to be proactive, researching and defining as much as possible their workshop project in advance. One of the biggest takeaways I see is students learning how to listen to themselves and work toward reflecting that personal take on things into their work. Critique from the workshop leader is essential to the process, but it’s important to be open and never take things personally, as tough as that can sometimes feel.

© Maju Franzan

© Eyes In Progress


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Tips, Techniques & Inspirations For Photographic Success With the diversity of genres under the photographic umbrella, there is a thread that binds: photography is about making images that move, inspire, touch and evoke an emotional response from the viewer. In this section, our workshop leaders pass on lessons-learned form a lifetime of pursuing their passions. Whether it’s through personal interviews or articles detailing new concepts and techniques, their words that follow will give you food for thought and sharpen your skills even before you show up at the workshop of your choice.


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Creating A Portfolio For Review: Magnum Photographers and Professionals Offer Advice Magnum Photos

International photographic cooperative

hether you’re an aspiring photographer or a professional looking to further develop your career, portfolio reviews can serve as an opportunity to gain expert advice from industry professionals that can shape your practice and make contacts that could prove pivotal for your career. Some pre-preparation will help you get the most out of these encounters. In this piece, Magnum photographers and professionals offer advice on how to get the best out of a meeting that, on average, might take only 15 to 20 minutes.

Expectations and goals

Before doing any edits of your work for your portfolio review meeting, think about what you want to get out of the session. Magnum photographer Bieke Depoorter explains: “It could be feedback on visual language, editing and sequencing, networking for future outlet options around exhibiting and publishing or numerous other reasons — just remember to have an aim and leave with something you did not have when you began. Another part of this is knowing who is going to be reviewing your work — and how they can best help you. You can get many different perspectives depending if you speak to a photographer, to an editor, to a curator and so on.” Once you have a goal, then look for reviewers who might be best placed to advise you. “Choose the reviewer well,” says Magnum nominee Emin Özmen. “Your work has to fit with the media/

It’s not only about pictures you shot, you have to learn the best way to tell the story, to catch the interest of the reviewer — what is the subject; why did you start to work on that project; why does it matter and what is the importance of that work Emin Özmen for you.

editorial line of the reviewer. If not, you will lose time and he/she will too. Do not hesitate to show your work also to other photographers. Discussions are always a good way to get more ideas.”


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Narrow down your edit

When given a chance to show your work to an esteemed industry professional, there may be a temptation to bring everything with you, however, it is best to narrow down your work to a neat photo edit. “Be severe and demanding with yourself when selecting images,” advises Magnum photographer Jerome Sessini. “Often, photographers put too many images in their selection,” he says. “Less is more.” Emin Özmen concurs, and suggests some specific numbers for guidance: “Bring around 50 pictures, preferably small prints (min 15cm, max 24 for wider) and put on the table the strongest 20 — the ones you believe are good enough to explain your story — and keep the rest in your bag in case the person is interested and wants to look at more. It is sometimes boring and tiring for the reviewer to see hundreds of photos in a day. It’s also good to have one or two more stories ready to show just in case.” Lorenzo Meloni’s advice on number of photographs to bring matches Özmen’s suggestion exactly: “You should present an edited work of 20 to 30 photos, in addition to an extended one of 50 to 60 photos, so, should there be enough time, I can always pick up some images from the larger work.”

But have more in reserve

As Özmen and Meloni suggest, having more images to call upon can be useful. It gives you some flexibility should your reviewer take the conversation to wider work. As Magnum’s education manager Shannon Ghannam explains, it allows the reviewer to get a better idea of your skill and approach as a photographer so they can better advise you. “A young photographer in a portfolio review. showed me a tight edit of images from a long-term project, and I was really impressed,” she recalled. “We had some extra time so she showed me her portfolio that included a larger edit of the project and earlier single images from her career. I could see all of her mistakes along the way, and I was now sitting with a completely different photographer.”

© Emin Özmen Magnum Photos TURKEY. Istanbul. May 2013. The Gezi Park resistance that began on May 29th, when protester’s tents were burned by police forces, ended with police using tear gas to disperse the crowd that had gathered in Taksim Square.

Critics are useful, but remember that the first to believe in your work must be you. Lorenzo Meloni

Depoorter expands on the same point. She argues that it can be helpful to come with a wider selection of images from your projects because too tight an edit could result in some of your best pictures not being seen. “Remember, if you do come with a tight edit of photographs, perhaps have a backup pile ready to show in case there is reason to explore other options,” she advises.


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Format

What’s the best way to show your images? While different professionals have their preferences, they are unanimous in advising that the format you choose should be clear to read. Depoorter advises prioritizing prints over a hard drive.

However, while having a conversation is at the heart of the photographer-reviewer exchange, it’s important to give the reviewer time and space to take the work in. Magnum’s Digital Director Anne Bourgeois-Vignon explains: “Create a space for dialogue with the reviewer rather than try to show everything you have with you. Listen to what they have to say. They will surely have questions about your work and want to understand the motivations behind it in order to better understand your practice, as well as specific areas of interest.”

“You can certainly bring a laptop with some extra work to look at if there is time,” she says, “however, the ability to see the work spread out and the process of moving prints around is so important to the way we read and understand work.”

“When someone is viewing your photos, don’t overwhelm them with detailed explanations. Photos are meant to be looked at in silence. You either talk before or after the viewing,” says Lorenzo Meloni.

Meanwhile Sessini says that he prefers a simple PDF with only single or double images on them.

And remember, take all feedback as a learning experience and do not be disheartened if things do not result in an immediate outcome for you. “Reviewers may not have an immediate outlet for the work or be in a position to give you a contact, but if your work has resonated with them, it’s unlikely they’ll forget it.”

“Many times it can be more illuminating to look through a secondary edit rather than the initial selection.”

Stories over single images

There may be a temptation to show only your single best images to really impress a reviewer, but to get a sense of your storytelling ability and consistency of your style, all the advisers who contributed to this article advise showing stories over single images. “Showing a series gives a better sense about the photographer’s identity and approach,” says Sessini. “I would recommend focusing on one or two important projects that you are passionate and well informed about. I believe that viewing your longer bodies of work, compared to a collection of single photographs, helps me to understand your approach and you as a photographer. Through that process I will be better placed to provide useful feedback and advice on your work,” says Depoorter.

“An opportunity to work with them may come years down the line. Take the review as an opportunity to forge long-lasting connections,” says Bourgeois-Vignon Whatever feedback you receive — whether round praise, practical advice or constructive criticism — it is important to remember that each reviewer is looking for something different. “You will learn something from all of them, but some will be more useful than others,” says Ghannam. “Critics are useful, but remember that the first to believe in your work must be you,” says Meloni.

How to talk about your work (and when to stay quiet)

“I would not advise approaching a portfolio review as a presentation,” says Ghannam. “It is an intimate conversation about you and your work, and the sooner you can feel comfortable and able to be honest about your motivation, ambitions and challenges, the sooner we can have a real conversation.” “It’s not only about pictures you shot, you have to learn the best way to tell the story, to catch the interest of the reviewer — what is the subject; why did you start to work on that project; why does it matter and what is the importance of that work for you,” says Emin Özmen.


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Lessons Learned John Paul Caponigro

ohn Paul Caponigro talks about his early influences that have helped shaped him as a photographer, artist and teacher; as well as his philosophies for leading photographic workshops. What is your first remembrance of photography or you as a photographer? Most of us have an event very early in our lives that sets the course of our photographic journey. For me, it was seeing my mother’s amazement when she looked at a snapshot and couldn’t believe something important was missing. I was only a few years old when my mother read me Irish fairy tales while my father was photographing a megalithic monument. We saw an all black cat (the stories told us that all black animals were connected to a realm of magic), and my mother made three exposures before it ran into a hedgerow. When my mother got her prints back none of them caught the cat. Ever since, I’ve been trying to photograph the invisible. Who was your most memorable photographic teacher? My father is a tremendous fine art photographer who has provided many examples of an artist’s life and the art spirit. No one has had a greater influence on my artistic development. We’ve had a lifelong relationship that continues to this day and will continue long after he is gone.

© John Paul Caponigro

Or photographic learning moment? I became truly fascinated by photography when standing shoulder to shoulder, using the same cameras and lenses, making exposures of the same subject, we made very different photographs. You really can put the ghost in the machine — that spirit is us.


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While assisting my father teach his workshops, I was amazed at how much about a person can be revealed by their images. Deepening that has been my life’s work.

Do a little soul searching. Ask yourself what you really want to do and why you want to do it. Then keep an open mind.

What’s the most important thing to tell people who are coming to take a workshop from you? Cultivate an open mind. Observe your process — and others. Ask more questions; ask better questions. Many people lose themselves in the many preconceptions about and techniques of photography. Find yourself. Don’t ask, “Should I?” Instead ask, “What happens when I?" Can everyone or anyone get better as a photographer? Have you seen big improvements?

How important is the technical side of photography?

Everyone is creative. Everyone can improve. I’ve seen people make quantum leaps. This has less to do with education, intelligence or age and more to do with wonder. The most important thing you can learn is to recognize, cultivate and deepen your authentic voice. This is a unique journey for every one of us.

Technique empowers vision. Careful, it can become seductive and become the main focus of your creativity. Mastery means giving technique a purpose. Technique is not the secret sauce. The secret sauce is you. I always ask “How can I help?” © John Paul Caponigro

How important is critique? Getting useful feedback about images (yours and others’) is extraordinarily helpful. It can develop perception, open up possibilities and help you find your way. When you hear someone else receive useful feedback, you can simultaneously find common ground with them and develop a better sense what’s unique about your vision. We can all learn to see and think better, deeper and in more ways when we offer useful feedback to others.

How can people best prepare for a workshop? Do a little soul searching. Ask yourself what you really want to do and why you want to do it. Then keep an open mind. There’s always more to your story. It’s not over until you’re over.

What’s the highlight of your career thus far? My best images are the highlights of my career. They bring with them everything it took to get there, contain everything that goes into making them, and touch everything their ripples influence in my future. What is your favorite photographic book? My father’s Megaliths is my favorite photographic book. I watched him do the work for 20 years and watched my mother edit, design and print the book. I know how


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much went into making it. I know how much didn’t make it into the book. And I know how important it was to him. There were tears when it was done and few along the way, too. I witnessed that contemporary man can participate with nature in a primal way. Who is your favorite photographer or mentor? So many-… Harold Edgerton showed me the camera eye can extend what we can see. Walter Chapelle showed me you can photograph the invisible electrical fields surrounding plants. Adam Fuss showed me that you can make photographs without a camera or lens. Jerry Uelsmann showed me that it's possible to make photographs from your mind. Aaron Siskind showed me you can abstract the world so far that it becomes unrecognizable. Ansel Adams showed me you can contribute to environmental causes with photographs. Eliot Porter showed me that intuition can extend your understanding beyond logic.

© John Paul Caponigro


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PART II

The Anatomy of a Well-Crafted Wedding Photograph Jerry Ghionis

“Top Five Wedding Photographers in the World”, WPPI

hotography is all about light. The word “photography” is derivative of two Greek words that when literally translated mean “writing with light” or “painting with light.” You need to understand light, both natural and ambient. How it shines. How it reflects. Anticipating it. Subtracting it. Sculpting your subjects with it. Lighting should be your first passion when it comes to the study of photography. Unfortunately most inexperienced photographers will choose the beauty of a location before choosing a scene that is beautifully lit. If you cannot envisage the best light, place your hand in front of you and do a full circle. As you turn around you will notice that your skin tones change according to the light. Look beyond your hand and you’ll see how that light is falling onto the environment. Once you’ve found the right light, then choose a location or background, allowing the background to help steer the action for the photograph. I design the shot in my head. I don’t believe in waiting for the moment, I believe in making it happen. By all means, if magic is happening before my eyes, I will be the first to let it happen. But if it isn’t, I’ll make magic happen. For example, if I see beautiful light shining on an interesting looking wall, I ask myself, “What could the couple be doing in this shot?” Perhaps they‘re walking past the wall and sharing a laugh. I then simply direct them to walk past it and proceed to make them laugh. Once I believe I’ve nailed the shot and satisfied a spread in an album, I move on to the next story. My style is all about beauty and glamour. It is about capturing couples looking their best. When I started in

© Jerry Ghionis

photography, I was very conscious of photographing in a popular and marketable style. I started to think about what the most important factor in a photograph of oneself is. Many photographers will tell you that it is emotion, expression, storytelling or romance. I believe that all those things are very important but come second to a person’s appearance. The first thing a person notices when they look at a photograph of themselves is how they look; scrutinizing every flaw they may or may not have. Once a person believes they look good in a photograph, they take note of the secondary elements in the image. The same bride who wants to look great doesn’t like the thought of appearing too posed. “Pose” is a dirty word in a bride’s vocabulary. She wants to look as natural as possible. So therein lies the problem. How do you make a bride look beautiful and natural at the same time? Simply put, I prompt and direct her in a way that appears natural. I like my viewers to believe that I was in the right place at the right time, all day.


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© Jerry Ghionis

© Jerry Ghionis

Many would argue that creating spontaneity on a wedding day is contrived and unconvincing. However, I believe in creating pictures, not just taking them. I will wait for opportunities, look for them, anticipate, create and pursue them relentlessly to not just meet my client’s and my own expectations, but to exceed them every time. I am a proactive photographer.

on “aperture priority” or on the “program” mode and wonder why their bridal images are underexposed and their groom’s images are overexposed. If you are relying on the “program” or “aperture” mode for your exposure and you were photographing a pale bride in a white dress, leaning on a white wall, your exposure will be underexposed and your subject will appear grey. Just as you would overexpose an African American man in a black suit, leaning on a dark wall, the image will also appear grey. Your camera can’t think for itself.

After searching for the best light, finding the best location and creating a concept for the bride and groom, I roughly set them up in a position I want them to be in. If I want my couples to look natural, I give them a reason to be there, such as whispering in each other’s ear or perhaps sharing a romantic kiss. I also use word association. For example, a red wall might remind me of passion, emotion and celebration so I picture the bride throwing her hands up in the air in jubilation as she is laughing and peering out to the side of the frame. My next priority is to ascertain my exposure. There is only one exposure, and that’s the right one. I believe that the true craft of photography is often lost to lazy digital capture and is compensated by overzealous retouching techniques. If you haven’t gathered already, I photograph on the “manual” setting. Many photographers shoot

When I am faced with a different scene, I will always follow the same routine to determine my exposure: I will adjust my ISO to the lowest setting that the lighting condition allows me to use, then select my white balance, and no, I will not always use the “auto” setting. For example, a church may be tungsten-lit, but if I set the camera to the “tungsten” white balance setting, the light may overcorrect the beautiful warmth of the church. I would instead set the white balance to the “daylight” setting. This would add blue tones to the scene and make the lighting appear less yellow but not enough to kill the ambience of the church.


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Don’t lose faith, trust your instincts and extract as much love and emotion out of the couple as possible.

I then select my aperture, adjusting the shutter speed for exposure. Once I believe I have the correct exposure, I take a quick shot and view the image on the back of the camera. I let the detail in the skin tones and the highlights act as my guide. Trust your instinct. If you think you’ve over- or under-exposed an image, you probably have. Experience will be your best teacher. Now that I have a correct exposure, all I need is an action or reaction. Don’t forget, I’ve placed my couple in the best light, I roughly positioned them in the scene, I know what I want from the couple because I’ve conceptualized the image, but at the same time I also allow for spontaneity.

© Jerry Ghionis

My camera is set. I then communicate to the couple clearly and effectively what I want from them. My prompts and directions add style and finesse and make the image appear believable to the viewer. Photography is 99% personality and 1% technique. If you’re not enthusiastic or fun, how can you expect your couple to be? Don’t lose faith, trust your instincts and extract as much love and emotion out of the couple as possible. I believe that too many photographers overshoot, believing that it costs them nothing to do so. Before I even look through the viewfinder, I ask myself, “Is this working?” If it isn’t and I’m not feeling it, I simply don’t shoot.

© Jerry Ghionis


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PART II

Reflections On Teaching Art Wolfe

Nature, landscape and wildlife photographer and conservationist

© Art Wolfe

What is your first remembrance of photography or you as a photographer?

Who was your most memorable photographic teacher?

My dad was a commercial and wedding photographer, and as a kid I remember trying to develop some prints. I found out very quickly that wasn’t for me. However, my parents gave me a Brownie Fiesta camera when I was a teenager and I photographed my first wildlife image with it — an awful shot of a moose, which I actually still have in my archive!

When I was getting my degree in art and art education at the University of Washington, photography was part of the journalism department and, sadly, not open to art students. I am a self-taught photographer, but I would have loved to have the opportunity to take a photography workshop with one of my favorite photographers.


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How important is critique? Very. It is extremely difficult for anyone to judge their own work. An outside voice is critical in the development of artistic growth. How can people best prepare for a workshop? This isn’t unlike preparing for a photo shoot. Research the location, have a working knowledge of your camera, and dress comfortably! Can everyone or anyone get better as a photographer? Have you seen big improvements? Definitely! I constantly challenge myself to look at subjects that I have photographed before from a different perspective. It pushes me creatively and forces me to learn new ways of looking at things. I see photographers that do not diversify with their subject matter, and many times they get bored and give up photography entirely. It is important to constantly try new things and remember there's always room for improvement.

© Gavriel Jecan

What is your teaching philosophy? One of the statements that I commonly say to participants of our workshops is “I’m going to ruin your life.” My goal is to show them that there is art all around them all the time; they just have to awaken the creative side that lives within us all.

© Yuri Choufour


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PART II

The Warm-Up Ben Long

Award-winning photographer and author at Linkedin Learning

ou probably spend a good part of the day walking around. If you’re like most people, though, you know that, even though you’ve used your legs and feet all day long, if you’re going to go running or on a vigorous hike, it’s important to stretch and “warm up” first. Similarly, you spend all day using your eyes in the normal course of simply being alive. But what most people don’t consider is that, before they go out shooting, it’s important to warm up. Just as the muscles and coordination that you use when you’re vigorously hiking are not the same as the muscles and coordination you use in “everyday” walking, the visual sense that you use when you’re shooting is very different from the one you use for everyday survival. We spend the bulk of our days ignoring what we see around us. This is a good thing when it comes to getting by in the world. If we actually noticed the details on all of the things around us, we’d be overwhelmed. And so we learn to acknowledge only an “abbreviated” version of our visual sense. When crossing a street, you note “car” rather than “1963 dark green restored Buick being driven by someone who could only be the original owner.” Of course, it’s that 1963 green Buick that would make a good photo, so if you’re not seeing it, you’ve got a problem.

© Ben Long

To put it simply, after spending your day using your normal visual sense, it’s tricky to suddenly shift into being “a photographer.” You need to “warm up” your visual sense and remind yourself what it feels like to see as a photographer. How do photographers see? A partial list of “photographic” visual traits might include: recognizing elements that


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© Ben Long

can be framed within a crop to present a compelling composition; recognizing relationships in the three-dimensional world that will be interesting when compressed to a two-dimensional photograph; and recognizing interesting plays of light and shadow. There are many more things you could add to the list but hopefully this is enough to illustrate how different “photographic” seeing is from what you do during the rest of your day. So how does one “stretch out” their visual sense? The easiest way to kickstart it is to use it as soon as possible, so I encourage all students to take a picture the moment they step out the door of their house/office/igloo or wherever they’re leaving from to start their photo expedition. It doesn’t matter what you take a picture of — shoot your own foot, or the sidewalk, or a fire hydrant. Shoot it for real, though. Pay attention to exposure and try to come up with a balanced, simple composition. The quality of the final image doesn’t matter. What’s important is this simple process. It will remind you of the framing of the viewfinder; it will fire up that “photographic” part of your visual sense and call on it to find a composition; it will get your hands onto your camera and generally ease you back into all of the processes of being an actual, shooting photographer. Feel free to “work the shot” and shoot a few frames. The goal is to shake off the “everyday” experiences

© Ben Long

Shake off the “everyday” experiences you’ve had, both visually and otherwise, and get re-grounded into the different, more photographic sense that you have. you’ve had, both visually and otherwise, and get re-grounded into the different, more photographic sense that you have. It only takes a moment to engage in this simple activity, and there’s no risk or expense involved, so give it a try on your next outing. You may find that you have an easier time recognizing good subject matter.


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PART II

Becoming A Photographer Peter Hurley

Headshot and portrait photographer

eter Hurley transitioned from being in front of the camera as a model to moving behind it as photographer. He talks about and what it takes to be a successful professional photographer and how to get the most out of a photography workshop. You spent a lot of time in front of the camera when you were modeling.hat motivated you to buy that first camera and start exploring a world behind the camera? I think it was the photographers I worked with. I really enjoyed what they were doing. I thought it was kind of a cool life. I was doing the model/actor/bartender thing, and it wasn’t working out so well. I wanted to figure out how to have another source of income. Meanwhile, once I started shooting, I fell in love with it. So it became more than just a source of income. It became my life. How did you learn to be a photographer? What was your education? I’m all self-taught, so it was a lot of trial and error. For the first five years I was modeling I never even thought about photography, and then when I got that first camera I started to pay attention. I wanted to kick myself because previously I never paid much attention to what was happening on the set, and then I transformed into the most annoying model they ever had — asking all sorts of questions and trying to figure everything out. But I did have a bunch of friends who were photographers, and they all helped.

What lessons in your evolution as a photographer do you bring to your teaching? I think the thing that struck me when I started photographing people was the change that happens in the human being when they’re in front of a camera. I remember not knowing what to say to them or what to do to get them to be cool again, because they got very uncool. I brought that into my teaching because I realized way back that it was about the way that I was behaving behind the camera that affected them in front of the camera. So I try and teach different behavior to get the person to chill out and be cool and get the best pictures of them. What do you think are special attributes that make for a good headshot/portrait photographer? You have to love it and you have to have drive. I think creativity is important, but I never felt like I was the most creative being. But I’ve got drive. You have to be hungry and you have to go out and get it. You have to also have a very strong idea of what you want as an artist because a lot of people are going to try and sway your opinion of what your images should or shouldn’t be. I’ve always had in the back of my head a clear sense of what I wanted my images to look like, and I think you have to have a firm hold on that. Can anyone learn to be a great headshot/ portrait photographer? Anybody can learn. I think it takes a lot more than just your skill behind the camera to actually run a portrait


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business. I didn’t know this when I picked up the camera, and I didn’t know that I had to be a businessman too. We have to wear a lot of hats. So some people can get good at taking the picture but they can't wear the business hat. It’s a combination of a number of things to have success in this and also believing in yourself and putting the work in. I’m a big goal setter in my photography. I trained for the Olympics in sailing and set goals there. I think it’s all about striving for those goals and reaching for them. You have to believe that you can actually obtain it. What is your teaching philosophy?

What’s the most important thing to tell people who are coming to take a workshop from you? To be an open book. I want them to take a lot of notes. I mean, I don’t shut up and I have photographed a lot of people. I have shot maybe 20,000 or 30,000 portrait sessions. So if you sit in a room with me and you’re a seasoned professional you’re going to pick up stuff. People will pick up different things depending where they are in their careers. So I’m always encouraging students to take notes, because you don’t know how important that little snippet of information is until you go out and apply it. It was only a tiny little thing that you didn’t think was relative and then it was huge.

I’m not very technical. I’m very “fly by the seat of my pants.” I teach people at the level they’re at, so I can take anybody from a beginner to a pro and teach them something because I don’t put anybody into a box. I want them all to flourish in their own way. I think I see things differently. I always felt the need to be entertaining. So I don’t teach maybe in the traditional sense, but I never took a class so I don’t really know. I’m always trying to break my own rules and move forward. So whatever rule exists from other teachers, I say, “Let’s break it.” What was your most impactful learning moment? I think being on set is really helpful. When you’re photographing people you have a sense of what has gone on or what goes on. I think the most important learning happened for me when I first got my own studio. It was attached to a bigger studio and every day well-known photographers would rent the space and shoot. I’d always be peeking in trying to figure out what was going on. It wasn’t like I got anything specific, but it gave me an awareness of what the industry’s like, and with that awareness you understand where your pictures fall into place within the industry.

© Peter Hurley


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PART II

The Chef’s Rules of Photography Ugo Cei

Fine art, travel, and landscape photographer

re there rules in photography? I guess that if I were to ask this question without further qualifications, the answers would mention the rule of thirds or something just as silly. That’s not what I have in mind, however, so allow me to explain. I recently finished reading The Recipe: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Ingredients of Greatness, a book that has nothing to do with photography. It has to do with cooking, actually. If you love cooking I suggest you pick it up. If you like reading moral tales you will probably like it even more. The book is about this retired chef and his rules of the kitchen that, in the end, turn out to be rules for living. Here they are: 1. Taste everything. 2. Improve every dish you touch. 3. Pay attention to the little things. 4. Compose your space. 5. Build your team. 6. Commit to excellence. 7. Cook with honor. As I was reading, I started to think about whether some of those rules might apply to photography, and I came up with the following list of mine: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Check your settings. Improve every scene you see. Pay attention to the little things. Tidy up your bag.

5. Build your team. 6. Commit to excellence. 7. Photograph with honor. While some are just the same and don’t need much of an explanation, others obviously do, especially if you haven’t read the book. In the following I will try to explain how I translated the chef ’s rules of the kitchen to my own rules of photography. Of course, these are not the only possible adaptations, nor I am implying that these are the only rules you will ever need. If you have suggestions for different rules, I would love to hear them in the comments below.

Taste everything. / Check your settings.

One of the mistakes the chef ’s young apprentice makes at the beginning of his apprenticeship is to forget to taste the food that he’s cooking. How can we apply this to photography? I believe this happened to everyone: We forget to check our camera settings and end up screwing up shots because we are shooting JPEG instead of RAW, we have the ISO set too high, autofocus or image stabilization is turned off, or a number of other things. Taking the time to check your settings before every session is extremely important, because most of the time you can’t fix these mistakes afterward. Just like when you’re in the kitchen, if you’re not tasting you might cook something that can’t be fixed later.

Improve every dish you touch. / Improve every scene you see.

This might be taken in many different ways, so feel free to adopt the meaning that most closely resembles your


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ideal way of making photos (notice I said “making” and not “taking” on purpose). Some people do a lot of post-processing work to improve the look of the photo that came out of the camera. Portrait photographers will light, pose and retouch. Even hard-core street photographers and those who follow the straight-out-of-camera philosophy and never retouch their pictures pay attention to composition, choice of moment and unwanted distractions in the frame. When confronted with a scene, there are many ways to frame it, but only a few are good. In the end, I take this rule to mean that we should never click the shutter randomly. We should always strive to make the best of every subject, both in camera and in the darkroom or at the computer. Just taking whatever comes is not allowed.

Compose your space. / Tidy up your bag.

Despite the title, this rule is not about composition.

In the book, the chef cooks an omelette blindfolded, and he’s able to do so perfectly because he has composed his space, arranging all the tools and the ingredients around his station so that he’s able to grab them when he needs them, even without looking. Maybe that’s a bit far fetched. I don’t know, I’ve never seen someone cooking blindfolded. Regardless, it has happened to me many times that I had to find some lens or accessory in my bag, sometimes in the dark. Knowing exactly where everything is inside every little section and pocket of your photo bag makes the difference between capturing a fleeting moment and missing

© Ugo Cei

it. Ideally everyone should be able to fish any object out of their bag without looking. I know I will forever struggle with this, as I can never seem to find what I need at first try.

Cook with honor. / Photograph with honor.

This one requires a bit more explanation. What does the chef mean when he says “Cook with honor”? He means to treat everyone with respect and never forget whom you’re serving.

This of course applies to your clients, your audience, your models and your team. I don’t believe in those who say they only shoot for themselves. If there are some who really do, we obviously never hear about them, so whenever you hear someone say that, you can be certain they are not completely sincere. But even those few who really do, have an audience that they should respect, even if it’s an audience of only one.


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In case you are curious, here are the corresponding rules of life: 1. Savor every moment. 2. Make the world a better place with everything you do. 3. Pay attention: How you do anything is how you do everything. 4. Compose your life: Put your effort into controlling the sail, not the wind. 5. Build the people around you. 6. Reject mediocrity: Never compromise your standard. 7. Live with honor: Treat every person with respect, and never forget whom you’re serving.

© Ugo Cei


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PART II

Second Chances: The Good Crop Steve Simon


..to photograph is to frame, and to frame is to exclude.

Susan Sontag

he editing process is always on. From the moment we head out with our camera it starts. I’m looking for things visual, scanning the world and moving on past the things I don’t want to photograph. In some ways the act of shooting is most concerned with editing out what we don’t want in the frame. With slower moving subject matter, like landscape and nature work, I often start with a subject that interests me — one that has visual potential — and then move in and around, scanning the entire frame slowly, excluding distracting elements, shooting as I go until I reach a final composition. I try not to edit in the field because firstly, it's hard to make important decisions based on the image on the small review screen, as resolute as it might be. Second, I often find that images I thought were the best when I shot them were not. Others that I had not paid much attention to when capturing them end up in the final selects. This article is about second chances and always striving to make your images as strong as they can be. In recent years I’ve started to crop more in-camera, paying closer attention to the viewfinder image and enjoying the challenge of living within the shape of the frame.

I also like the consistency of images all the same dimensions and shape, particularly when hanging a series of photographs on a wall or displaying a body of work on my website. This is why when I do crop, I keep the master aspect ratio to keep things consistent. So if an image would be more balanced as a square rather than in 3:2 format, I compromise and keep the rectangle. There’s no question that more megapixels let you make larger prints with greater resolution. But for me, more resolution means greater possibility. I have found that with my D850, 45 megapixels offers me the ability to move in with the crop tool and take even a small portion of the frame and blow it up with sufficient usable resolution to strengthen an otherwise tossed image. Cropping is the second chance that makes me a better photographer. I learn from my post-processing experience, and the more I crop, the more these lessons fast-track me physically closer to my ideal composition when I’m in the field — ultimately infusing into my shooting process and my need for cropping lessens. This is why I think cropping can make you a better photographer and that more megapixels is a big help in this transformation.


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Cropping, like most things in photography, is personal. Not everyone will agree with your crop, but you have to make yourself happy and then listen to criticism to see if it changes your mind. You are responsible for everything in the frame. If you can squeeze a stronger composition by cropping, then I say do it.

Before I release an image into the world, I want to make it as strong as possible. I kept the same aspect ratio, and though I pushed the limits of resolution with the 12 megapixel file, by keeping the ISO down I was able to make a beautiful 17x22 print that looked great.

Photography is full of compromises. If you want more depth of field you need to slow down your shutter speed or increase your ISO.

The picture was the one I wanted to take in-camera, but I was able to match my vision of the scene with the reality of the original by cropping.

You can’t get everything in the frame, nor should you, but you do want to maximize the communicative powers of what you’re expressing through your images. This is one of my favorite shots, taken in a rainstorm in Lesotho, Africa. I was driving through the pouring rain when I came upon this scene. It was shot with a 12 megapixel Nikon camera, which was great in it’s time but nowhere near the resolution and highISO capability of current cameras.

© Steve Simon

The acid test I use to check my crop is to look at the cropped-out areas and ask myself, “Is there any important information that is being taken away that is not in the cropped version?”

© Steve Simon

I wished I had a different lens on the camera when I slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car to shoot this image. But cropping let me maximize what I loved about the scene.

If the answer is no, then great. If the answer is yes, then I weigh the pros and cons of cropping the image with or without that layer of information. Also, I am keenly aware that cropping in is an option but not outside the frame. So I err on the side of a looser crop, tightening up as I need to and maximize the power of the picture.


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PART II

The Rust of Antarctica Kevin Raber

CEO and Publisher of Luminous-Landscape

© Kevin Raber

am a rustaholic. For years, I have been fascinated by the effects of rust on different metal objects and the abstract beauty that comes with it. If there is something rusty, I have shot it. From cars, trains, pipes, ships and more, I seek out the beautiful brindle brown color and texture and do my best to capture it with my camera. In 2005, on my first trip to Antarctica, I visited Deception Island. On this island is an old abandoned whaling station. This station was devastated by a volcano, and pretty much anything not made of metal has dis-

appeared. What buildings remain are in severe states of collapse. As a whaling station, there were a lot of metal tanks and machinery, and naturally, this equipment is all rusted over now. The color of rust in Antarctica is different than rust I have seen elsewhere. There is a unique orange color that catches light in a certain way to accent the texture and shape of the objects it covers. I have been fascinated by it for years and decided that, on the trip I was leading to Antarctica last year, my focus, when possible, was to be the Rust Of Antarctica.


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For the last couple of years, I have been shooting pretty much exclusively with the Fuji XT-2 and XPro2 camera. I have nearly a dozen lenses ranging from 10mm to 400mm and tele-extenders. My first trip with the Fuji was to Iceland. There, it performed well especially with the 100-400mm lens photographing puffins. I then took the same system to Greenland, and it was excellent. The long stabilized lenses, as well as good color and resolution, allowed me to shoot with a lightweight system and do much of it handheld.

It was so good to see something different and to be challenged to photograph it.

So, after these successes, I decided that I would take the Fuji system to Antarctica for a 22-day trip. The kit fits well into a Dakine 30L backpack and was able to fit in the overhead of any of the numerous flights I took to get there. The weight of a full XT-2 kit was quite manageable. I had been to all the locations we were going to visit a few times before and knew what to expect. While I enjoyed shooting wildlife and the most incredible landscapes you could imagine, I was most excited about focusing on any rust I could find. Now, you wouldn’t expect Antarctica to have a lot of rust, but you would be surprised. From abandoned whaling factories to half-sunken ships, there was rust everywhere. I approached each location a bit differently. I shot the rust in the landscape. This could be buildings, ships and machinery as part of the landscape. These images portrayed the effect of man on the pristine environment. I also shot tight shots of the rusty objects. With whale oil tanks, I would shoot from a distance with a long lens and isolate everything but the tanks. I’d use a long lens to compress the scene and would play with exposure; sometimes exposing for shadow and sometimes the highlights. Then, in post-processing using Capture

© Kevin Raber

© Kevin Raber

One, I would work the shadow and highlight recovery tools along with curves and multiple layers to achieve the look I wanted.

move it to the left. I did this knowing what to expect of Capture One in the RAW processing.

This meant that while shooting, I was also thinking of what I could do to make the shot in some cases more abstract or dimensional. One of the things you’d notice on the histogram is that rust has a way of placing a big hump in the middle of the histogram. I would thus shoot many exposures to move this mid-tone hump to the right, or even for some dramatic shots I would

I found it interesting how many photographers could not get into the rust and the opportunities that this provided. I teach workshops all over the world and see so many photographers stuck in a rut. If they are people shooters, they find it very hard to break out and shoot a landscape. Landscape shooters find it difficult to photograph people.


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Sometimes at my landscape workshops, I make everyone slow down and shoot people in the landscape. A very well-known architectural photographer came on one of our workshops. When it was over, he said he never felt so good. He commented, “It was so good to see something different and to be challenged to photograph it.” A few months later I bumped into him, and he said he shoots and sees differently now as a result of doing landscapes. I have been shooting and making a living in photography since 1972. My passion for photography started when I was 12. So, I have been at this for a long time and am very thankful for having the opportunity to have had such a rewarding career. Every day is a new learning experience. My passion for photography still burns strong. What has happened on occasion is that I lose interest in a particular subject. Having been to Antarctica so many times, I needed to find something new to reignite my vision. Rust on this trip was it. I encourage you to challenge yourself. Look for something of interest but not something you shoot every day. Go out and capture this new interest like you have never done before. Try new things, see differently. And, more than anything else, have fun. You might be surprised at what you see and what you come home with. More than anything else, you may discover something new you like to photograph.

© Kevin Raber


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PART II

About Exploring with Your Camera Harold Davis

Author and award-winning photographer

© Harold Davis

like to explore off the grid and as off the map as I can get. Usually, this turns out pretty well and I don’t get into too much trouble. Sometimes, however, I do get into slightly awkward situations that are a bit difficult to explain. I’ve explored with my camera all over the world and often got into slightly embarrassing situations, but nothing a smile couldn’t get me out of. Southwestern France is a plateau area, cut by rivers and deep gorges, that has been inhabited since prehistoric

times. During Medieval times, armies fought their way across this terrain, pilgrims forged the trails that remain today and citadels and fortified cities grew and flourished. This is a country I have enjoyed exploring in-depth, both on my own and leading small groups of photographers. One day, on my way from Cahors — an ancient city that sits in a loop of the River Lot — to Monpazier — one of the first citizen-controlled bastides of ancient France — I saw an extremely intriguing dirt road branching off the


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© Harold Davis

© Harold Davis

highway. Without further ado, I put my foot on the brake and made a screeching left turn off the highway onto the dirt. Before I knew it, it branched into two dirt roads, and I took the right fork (perhaps because it was the road less traveled that I am always seeking).

monastery to photograph under a dramatic cloudy sky. Of course I stopped for photography. The good news also was that I had my own picnic — fresh baguette, tomatoes and paté de campagne. What could be better than a great photographic subject and a yummy picnic, discovered while one is busy getting lost?

Before long, my fork branched again and I made another impulsive choice, this one to the left. By now the road had dwindled to little more than a cattle track with grass growing between two ruts on either side. It was pretty clear to me that I was lost, but I continued to barrel on, bumping along in my little car. The next thing I knew, the track, such as it was, ended right next to an extended French family having an elaborate picnic in their backyard. There was a red-checked tablecloth, many bottles of wine and numerous farm animals — mostly pigs — wandering around. Of course, my hope was that I would be invited to the picnic, but this is one case in which my lack of language skills did not work in my favor. The patriarch of the family seemed outraged that I would drive up to their private party and didn’t speak their language. And in no uncertain terms, he stood up, pointed a commanding finger in the direction I had come and ordered me out. I wasn’t able to precisely retrace my route but usually there are compensations for getting lost. In this case, I backtracked, took a different turn and found an abandoned

As it turns out, the ancient church that I photographed, Sainte-Croix-de-Beaumont, is on the French approach to the famous pilgrimage trail to Santiago de Compostela. The complex belonged to the Knights Templar and is almost entirely abandoned. The ancient granite stonework in the interior of the church has been maintained. But otherwise, the complex is quickly heading for ruin. All morning it had been gray and threatening to rain, leading me to think about black and white. I wandered through empty fields with my camera on tripod and got a stunning view of Sainte-Croix-de-Beaumont before the storm broke. As it started to pour, I took shelter in an abandoned building and waited for the storm to pass. Photography and my camera give me an excuse to explore the wonderful world around us. One of my great pleasures is sharing this joy of exploration with friends and guests I take with me.


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PART II

Being at the Right Place at the Wrong Light Alex Ros

Owner of Open Sky Expeditions

© Alex Ros

hotography for me (mostly) began that gap year after high school...toting my trusty Canon SLR along with my backpack to 18 countries, all on my own. I was hooked. On the road, exploring the globe and how the click of a shutter could capture a moment to later reflect on. Looking back, there was a silence in many of those pho-

tos, an earnestness even — fitting, I realize in retrospect, to a very intentional inward journey at that young point in my life. That I fell into the travel business and ultimately made photography the centerpiece of it...the story fits, and it makes me smile. I've now traveled to nearly 90 countries, put together trips in over 50 of them, and picked up six languages


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along the way — and many, many shutter clicks.

II

Before opening my own travel business in 2010, I spent eight years leading and running trips for one of the world’s top operators of educational programs aboard small ships. We had demanding clients — successful alumni from top Ivy League universities or members of institutions like the Smithsonian — and the work was challenging and creative. My “travel thesis,” as I like to call it, was a five-week-long expedition cruise to 14 countries along the west coast of Africa, which required multiple scouting trips to the continent in preparation. That was a serious education in crafting an experience in a place with limited resources where A LOT could go wrong. After all, ideas might be beautiful in theory, but if the logistics don't come together correctly, or if you're not equipped with the tools or experience to respond to the unforeseen, even the best photography lesson can turn out messy and frustrating, especially in an out-ofthe-way place. And, timing is critical. Being at the right place at the wrong light is a major downer. I admit I can be downright obsessive about certain details like sun/moon times or how long it takes to drive between locations. I also love how new technology helps. Do yourself a favor and download the PhotoPills app.

© Alex Ros

Their shoot-planning interface, with the direction/angle of light anywhere/anytime on the globe, is easily my new favorite.


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PART II

Photographing Across Cultures Jeffrey Chapman

Cultural, humanitarian and world photographer

onnecting with people who speak a different language and live within a different culture can be intimidating and frightening. However, when we open ourselves to these unexpected, impromptu experiences, we participate in their culture, making it much easier to create compelling photographs. Cultivating these authentic encounters and connections — as opposed to constructed, set-up photographs — has been a goal and hallmark of my photography. I don’t photograph from a distance. I strive to immerse myself, to get close. I use my camera to build bridges and to break down barriers in order to create compelling photographs with personal connections during authentic, unconstructed moments. I’ve had dinner under the stars in the courtyard of an ancient caravanserai in central Turkey with the extended family of a man I had just met; danced at a large outdoor birthday party in Laos; picnicked in the home of a man who sheltered my group from the rain and then posed for us with his handmade rifle next to the fire in the hills of Burma; and swam with the Moken “sea gypsies” in the Andaman Sea.

Jeffrey Chapman loans a camera and teaches two Bhutanese girls how to create portraits of each other. © 2017 Frank Busch

I use my camera to build bridges and to break down barriers.

These experiences — and so many others like them — feed my muse and enrich my life. They are a highlight of every trip. They also make me a better photographer by being closer to the cultures and people I photograph. The rewards for overcoming our fears are profound and can be seen and felt in the photographs we create.


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PART II

The Four Levels of Learning Rick Sammon

Photographer, author, educator and canon explorer of light

t’s important to remember that when you look at an image, you usually don’t know all the effort that went on behind the scenes to make it — and how much that image was processed. Processing is a very important part of digital photography. For some, like me, it’s equally or even more important than image capture. That is not new news. Ansel Adams, perhaps the most famous landscape photographer of all time, spent much more time in the wet darkroom working on a photograph than he did taking one. Yousuf Karsh, perhaps one of the most famous black-and-white portrait photographers, also spent more time working on a print in the wet darkroom than he did photographing his famous subjects. The idea here is that it’s not always a good idea to compare your work to the work of others. It can be discouraging if you are not getting the kind of images you see in books, in magazines and on the web. It’s also important to remember that all pros were amateurs at one time and that they followed a path — sometimes referred to as the four levels of learning — to becoming a pro. I first learned of that path from one of my photo workshop students, who learned of the concept from Gordon Training International, an organization that published a paper called The Four Levels of Competence. Follow this path and you will see that you are not alone in “your quest to be your best” as I call it...in everything you do.

1. Unconscious Incompetence — We don’t know we are not good.

When we first get into digital photography, we take some shots, look at them on the camera’s LCD panel and say something like, “Hey, that’s cool. I did that!” One reason is that the image-capture process is fun. It also provides instant gratification. Another reason is that everything looks good on the small screen. Another reason is that, at this level of learning, you just don’t know what makes a “good” photograph: exposure, lighting, composition, subject and, of course, the mood and feeling of the image.

2. Conscious Incompetence — We know we need help.

The second level of learning can creep up on us, or hit us like a ton of bricks. Either way, realizing that we need help and have potential is the first step in becoming a good photographer. We have hope! We can read books, attend workshops, take online training courses and so on to get help. We can also help ourselves simply by taking more pictures.

3. Conscious Competence — We know we are good.

Knowing we are good is a good feeling, for sure. But it takes a lot of hard work to get to this level of learning. But how do we know we are good? Well, others may tell you that they like your work; they may buy your work or you may get hired for an assignment. More important.


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however, is that you know (as opposed to think) you are good. You can’t fool yourself, which some people do unintentionally when they are at the first level of learning.

4. Unconscious Competence.

This is the level that we all want to reach in the things we care passionately about. We don’t really have to think too much about what we are doing...we just do it! This is “it” when all that we went through in Level One, Level Two and Level Three come together and we can just shoot and get a high percentage of great images, and at the same time envision the creative possibilities that await us in the digital darkroom. The rollercoaster ride of making a picture is not over; we will still have creative ups and downs. But being on that roller coaster is much more rewarding than being on the merry-go-round of being satisfied with pedestrian images. One of the keys in getting to that fourth level is practice. That includes getting to know your camera controls so you can make exposure and focus decisions in flash, just as a jazz musician knows how to improvise — even in the dark.

© Rick Sammon

Good luck in your journey along the path of the Four Levels of Learning. Never give up, and remember what the Buddhists say: Learning is health.


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PART II

In the Moment

believe one of the most critical things any photographer can do is let go of his or her expectations in the field.

Joshua Cripps

Photography is about personal expression, not about chasing iconic locations, popular compositions or even pre-conceived notions of a place.

Sea to Summit Workshops

When you come into any scene with expectations you are setting yourself up for failure and disappointment. The conditions will never match what you've pictured in your head. And if you are too intently focused on trying to realize a very specific photograph it will close you off from all the potential photographs that surround you.

Landscape photographer and Co-Founder of

© Joshua Cripps

Instead, I encourage photographers to pay attention to what's happening around them in the moment. Ask yourself, "What do I like about this scene, right now?" By focusing on the actual moment instead of preconceived expectations of it, not only do you see and experience much more beauty in the world, but your "luck" as a photographer increases dramatically. You are bringing to life the stories the landscape is trying to tell instead of the story you are imposing upon it. And this is what I focus on whenever I'm teaching. I ask photographers the right questions to help them formalize their vision of the place we're photographing. I help them understand the ways they can emphasize the characteristics of a landscape they love and how to minimize the attributes they don't. I help them experience the beauty of a place so that they are having fun, fueling their spirit for photography and going home with photos that truly represent them.

© Joshua Cripps


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PART II

Incorporating the Idea of Ma into Photography Soichi Hayashi

Photographer & Producer, Tokyo

t a photo workshop, it is often a simple nugget of information that can set you on a new and better path for your work. Here, Soichi Hayashi introduces us to a Japanese concept that we recognize, though we may not have had a label for it before reading this piece. It is a concept worth considering applying to your own photography.

In photography, it is common to talk about the art of space — a physical void in compositions. This can also be applied to the blank area outside photographs on display in frames or the empty page when sequencing them in a book or exhibition. We can understand the importance of this empty space when displaying work.

Being a Japanese photographer, I put a significant value on the concept of Ma. It could take a whole book to explain it well, but here I would like to share my brief view of it in relation to photography. The Ma in Japanese character looks like “間” and it literally means “space.” Conceptually, it is a space “in between” all things. Not only restricted to the physical void, it could also be a pause or silence in time. In my understanding, we may call it Ma for however we can define it as a space. Variations of this concept can be found in other countries and languages. In Japan the essence of Ma is rooted in tradition and culture, and most importantly, its values are widely appreciated in the arts and extend into daily life. A few examples will help us grasp the idea. When people are taught to bow at an early age in Japan, they are encouraged to pause at the end of the bow, before they rise up, to make sure there is enough Ma in that bow to be meaningful and respectful. At a tea ceremony, the tearoom itself is a Ma, and so is the distance between the tea master and the guest. If the ceremony is meant to be a quiet meditation between busy days, it’s also a Ma. A silence between movements in traditional performing arts is a Ma.

White space as the border of the photographs and the space between the images leaves room for viewers to absorb the communication. © Viviane Sassen: Umbra at Fotografiska museum in Stockholm Photo Credit: © Soichi Hayashi Courtesy of Fotografiska, Stockholm

Another Ma I consider in photography is the space between the photographer and the subject. It’s not necessarily about the physical distance (sometimes it is) but more about the connection with the subject or engagement with the surroundings. Changing positions, angles and lenses are the technical things, but something we could quickly experiment or practice in the field to see if the resulting images tell our story more effectively. In the following example, I considered Ma surrounding me in the room and decided to connect viewers with my visual experience.


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Where is the beauty of Ma best found in photography? I believe it lives in the space that holds meaning. Whether it’s a simple composition or something more complex and chaotic, it’s space within the frame that can stimulate a viewer's’ imagination, allowing them to have a more personal interpretation of the image.

To be honest, there isn’t really time to consider Ma when shooting. They are often unconscious decisions that have been influenced by study and mastery of the craft. But if you’re still moving forward on your photographic journey, it can be helpful to be more mindful of the concept when planning and preparing for shoots and approaching subjects.

What’s important here? Is it the graphic element or more about a single human alone with the light. For me it’s Ma that surrounds him that tells the story while leaving room for the viewers’ imagination. “Balconies” Hawaii Island 2013 © Soichi Hayashi

After the first shot (general view) on the left, I took a few steps back in my room, zoomed in through the curtains and made the second shot. Viewers can see where I was (a more personal view) and may be reminded of what happened on 9/11. Photo Credit: © Soichi Hayashi

Although in this usage there are no edges for “in between,” let’s think of grayscale in fine-tones between black and white. In other words, it’s a vague zone between the edges of clarity that often make people think, feel, interpret the meanings or ask questions. Photography is essentially vague. So it makes sense because what’s been communicated is all that matters. The authentic study of Ma may not allow me to use it this way, but whenever an image feels descriptive or obvious in every aspect, I’d say “not just enough Ma” to relish.

This consciousness of Ma can also provide you a clearer idea of what equipment to choose for specific situations. You will have difficult editing decisions to make, but that’s a good thing, and you will learn from the process. Will there be more thinking? I believe yes, and it’s an imperative skill especially needed for contemporary photographers. I learned from my experience that the sense of Ma could be honed most effectively from looking at the work of others. As we gain experience with time, our taste and style evolves. There are books I love now that I wouldn’t even consider earlier in my career. The unconscious Ma that is infused in my work means that it sometimes feels foreign to me in a way, and I embrace this reality, seeking to understand its meaning. It proves to me that my photography has moved forward, something I strive for always.

I first cropped this image closer to highlight the boy and what he might be thinking. Then I loosened the crop after asking myself, “Does it make the story more interesting with more environment — even if the boy is smaller and only found in second look?” It’s a photographer’s decision as to how much environmental space is needed around the subjects to leave room for viewers to “feel.” “Just Married” NYC 2015 © Soichi Hayashi


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PART II

Becoming A Concert Photographer David Bergman

Concert and sports photographer

raw on your strengths and make something different! I’ve applied that thought process to my own work for more than 25 years, and it’s something I preach to everyone who attends my concert photography workshops. I made some of my most successful images by using techniques from my time shooting for Sports Illustrated magazine. Sports photographers like to set up remote cameras for two primary reasons: 1) You can shoot from places that you physically can’t stand, and 2) You can be in more than one place at a time. I brought that same thought process to my concert photography.

© David Bergman

On the road with Bon Jovi, I always set up a remote camera on stage looking out at the crowd. Sometimes I will bury it in the drum kit right in the middle of the stage, just inches from Jon Bon Jovi. When he turns around, it makes for a very cool angle. As the band’s tour photographer, I’m allowed to shoot from the stage, but that position would be way too obvious and I would be a distraction to the band and fans during the show. I can fire off that remote whenever I want all night long without anyone noticing. © David Bergman

Your goal on every shoot should be to make at least one image that no one has seen before.


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As for being in multiple places at once, when Bon Jovi christened the new Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey, they had fireworks go off near the end of the show. By mounting multiple remote cameras around the stadium, I could trigger them all at the same time and get numerous images that I would have not have had if I stayed in one spot. Your goal on every shoot should be to make at least one image that no one has seen before. Use your own expertise, while also experimenting with new techniques, to make interesting, unique images that make your clients saw, “Wow! How did he do that?”

© David Bergman


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PART II

The Best Is Yet to Come Steve Simon


’ve often thought that in some creative arts like music, there is a raw energy of youth where talent and energy create great work that can’t be replicated with age. But I believe it’s different in the visual arts. As I get older, I’m comforted by the fact that the best is yet to come. I know this because I look around at some of my photographic heroes like Eugene Richards, Joseph Koudelka and Jay Maisel doing their best work in their 60, 70s and 80s. We photographers live long lives because we have a lot of photographs yet to take. If you’re one of the many photographers I know who passionately shot years ago and then life took you on a detour from your passion and now you’re back, take heart. You are not starting from where you left off. Because when you dust off the technical cobwebs, your entire life’s experience can be infused into your work. You will have something to say. And when you figure out what that is, there’s no limit to how far you can take this photography thing.

© Steve Simon

I have been doing this since I was 11 years-old. When my camera is at my side, good things happen. I am more enthusiastic than I have ever been. I have rediscovered the sheer joy of photography I felt as a kid wandering the suburban streets of Montreal with my first camera, looking for my next photograph. By tapping into who you are and what you are curious or passionate about, you will separate yourself from all the other photographers. Only you can stop you. The best is yet to come. How good will you get?


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