And it's Maria , and welcome to this week's episode of Clued Up , the behind the scenes photography podcast .
Now , if you listen to our last episode , we had some questions , you know called it 10 food for thought photography questions , and we went through questions one through nine And then we got to question number 10 , which is what makes a great photographer , and I think that is a meaty enough topic that it deserves its own podcast episode . Stay tuned .
Welcome to Clued Up with Maria B , the behind the scenes photography podcast . Clued Up is your insider's view to building successful magazine style photo shoots . We talk design and concept , fashion and style , tech , social media and , of course , business , plus so much more , including how to avoid common photography pitfalls .
You'll also meet some special guests who work behind the camera and in front of the lens . Whether you're an aspiring photographer , a portrait photographer thinking about starting your own business , or you just have an interest in what it takes to plan and execute professional shoots , you've come to the right place . I'm your host , maria B .
Now let's get you Clued Up . So , as we make our way into this topic , i think this is really interesting because you know , being a good photographer is such a complex thing , right Like you have to know so much about so many different elements of photography . It's actually mind boggling when you stop to think about it .
And that's simply because there are so many components to photography . There's the artistic aspect , there's the business aspect , there's the technical aspect , there's lighting , there's posing , there's also , you know , there's that psychological aspect of you finding a way to comfortably ask people to pose for you .
And then there's the other psychological aspect , which is , once people are in front of your camera , you kind of have to manage them , to manage their posing . You have to manage their emotions . You have to ask them to evoke certain feelings .
Sometimes you have to ask them certain questions to engage them so that you get , you know , the whole perspective , or you get that , not perspective , but that expression that you're looking for . And of course you have to have attention to details .
And having attention to details during a shoot , and especially before a shoot , helps minimize the amount of work you may have to do in post production .
And then you get to talking about post production , because you know you take a photo and it looks good , but then you have to know what to do to really elevate that image and make it something that really stands out for you , for the client , etc .
There are about a million things you need to know , but somehow you have to find a way to bring all of that together , and today we're going to talk about some of those things , some of those things that really make a great photographer Dive into that . Let me just give you a definition or how I would define great , and this is purely subjective .
When I say great , i'm not talking like you know , your name is known around the world , or even within your state or within your town . When I say great , what I'm talking about is the photographer who is consistent .
Consistent in turning out a high quality of work , something where people who are familiar with that person's work are not surprised when they see it . Or they can look at a photo and think , well , i know so and so must have taken that photo . That looks like that looks like their style .
These are individuals who have mastered these characteristics that we're about to talk about . The first is technical proficiency . So technical proficiency means that , as a photographer , you have a deep understanding of your camera settings and what your camera is capable of .
But I would also include under technical proficiency things like lighting , composition and post processing techniques . All of these are technical aspects that you can just group together and being really , really good at them . Being a strong photographer and being a great photographer requires proficiency in these areas . Number two creativity and artistic vision .
It's not enough to be technical . You have to have a particular eye , a particular way of seeing things .
You have to actually have a different eye , because it's so easy for a group of photographers to all take a similar photo , but those who have that extra something they're more likely to explore , they're more likely to photograph at different angles , at odd angles .
They may use different apertures , like an aperture you wouldn't expect to use for a portrait or landscape or some other aspect or some other genre of photography . They tend to explore , they tend to look for the different and they tend to see light a little bit differently than most people .
Within creative and artistic vision , we have creative composition , the use of color and what some would call an innovative approach to convey their particular vision , and then attention to detail . I cannot emphasize how important this is to good photography , and I really think the great photographers are almost obsessive about details .
When you watch some of these people work , before they even pick up the camera . They are arranging , rearranging , changing things around , they're fixing everything to reduce the amount of work they will have to do later and post-processing . But that's not the only reason , the reason .
I think the reason is because they have such a strong work ethic toward getting things right in camera and actually seeing the photograph that they want that they want to produce in front of their eyes before they hit the shutter . So attention to detail while it helps reduce the workflow , it also helps to bring their vision to life , the viewer .
This makes the photograph a lot more pleasant and it also has the ability to be extremely impactful . Following attention to detail is patience and timing . The really great photographers have the ability to anticipate and capture that special moment , and that requires a couple of things .
It requires knowing behavior , it requires patience and it requires a special sense of timing , because that photographer has to wait for the right light , the right gesture , the right expression of emotion that can result in a very unique and extraordinary photograph .
There's no surprise , because I've talked about this in other episodes , and that is adaptability and problem-solving skills . Most photographers can work with almost any subject , any client , any model . They can work under various lighting conditions indoors , studio , outdoors , different environments .
They can find solutions to problems that just occur on the spur of the moment and they don't freak out . They have the ability to capture magnificent images and compelling images , regardless of the circumstances they find themselves in .
So what do photographers talk about having to do portraits in cleaning closets when they're , like you know , photographing someone to promote a movie , or you're in your studio and your lights aren't working the way they should , or your lights just are not working .
You have to find a way to resolve this problem , because you may never have the chance to photograph this person again . And what are you going to say to your client ? I can't take your photo because of X , y and Z .
No , you have to find a way , and learning to find a way under any circumstance just makes you a master problem solver and it reduces your fear of finding yourself in a situation that you will not be able to handle .
And I think the very best photographers they know they can walk into a situation and photograph something and come out with something extraordinary , no matter what .
Our next characteristic in great photography is storytelling ability , and this is the ability of the photographer to not just capture a moment but essentially summarize previous action or action or emotion that's about to happen in an instant , be it the result of something that happened before or the anticipation of what's to come .
It's really a beautiful thing to look at a photo , to look at something that is still and two dimensional , and yet it evokes an entire story as to what is happening in that moment . And the best photographers , the great photographers they tell stories with almost each and every photo that they produce . What's characteristic is creating connection and possessing empathy .
So building a rapport with your subject , with your client , and connecting with them so that the entire session of photographing them , their entire photographic session , is not simply a list of to-dos make up wardrobe , get in front of the lens , take a photo . There's some connection between the two people .
It's almost like a dance , it's something that's intimate , and you can see that in the photos of great photographers , because they're able to evoke emotion by connecting with their subject . The other side of that is that there's a connection with the viewer , similar to storytelling ability . Right , because those two things are connected .
When somebody stops , you know , either stops scrolling , or they stop to look at a photograph , or you know a print or something in a magazine or what have you . There's something that's drawing them in .
There's some type of connection that happens between the subject , the environment that subject is in and the person viewing the photo , and all of that is made possible by the connection and the sense of empathy that the photographer creates .
So far we've talked about technical proficiency , creativity and artistic vision , attention to detail , patience and timing , adaptability and problem solving , storytelling ability , connection and empathy . Those are great characteristics . They're difficult to master .
I think most photographers most of the greatest , the well-known , the photographer , the local photographer who puts out high quality work consistently they've mastered these . For me , all of these characteristics are important . But there's something else .
There's something that I consider the most absolute most absolute I don't think that's proper grammar the most absolute characteristic of great photographers , and that is the ability to continuously learn . Great photographers do not sit on their laurels . One, photography consistently changes , so you always have to keep up .
But more than that , there's that sense that there's so much to know in the photography universe that no one person can know everything .
And when photographers get together and I'm talking like the big dog photographers get together they talk among themselves and discuss things that are new , or people talk about how they managed to create a particular photograph , what were the technical aspects ? what was said ? what were they trying to convey ? did it come out the way they thought it would ?
And there's that back and forth , and you get your input from , or they get their input from , their photography colleagues , and you know they talk about their experiences , or that they tried to do something similar . This is what I did .
You know they they're always learning from one another And to me that's crucial The fact that some of the greatest photographers that we know do not see themselves as people who know everything . They know they're good at what they do .
They may even know that they're great at what they do , but They certainly realize that , as much as they know , they can still learn more . They can always improve their work . It's like almost like self-actualization The higher you go , the higher you can go . You didn't just get here to get here .
You got here so you can do more , that you could do better than what you did yesterday , because , as they all know and as we all know , you're as good as your last photo . People have a sense of humility about their work . They are again interested in learning , not so much interested in look at me .
This is what I've done And I think that's such a great lesson Because I look at people who you know . Nowadays it's not difficult to get a hold of a great camera . They're more affordable than ever .
If you have money in the bank , if you have a credit card , you can go out and buy a really expensive camera And then you can go and buy some really expensive lenses And you could start taking photos and they're really good photos .
But that doesn't necessarily make for great photography , because if we run through that list of characteristics that I talked about , there's a lot to learn there And you don't learn that by just hitting the shutter and getting some good photos . People I know who are very , very good or even great photographers have spent most of their money on photography education .
They've flown across the country , in some cases across an ocean . They've purchased and spent hours watching videos , all to learn how to do better work , all to become far more proficient in those things that we've talked about already . I rent my studio to photographers looking for space . You know they want to do a shoot .
They rent my place for a couple of hours And you can tell the people who are on track to really becoming proficient . And then you can tell the people who bought an expensive camera and love the whole gear thing And who can take a good photo , but they're also not really going to get far beyond that . So here are a couple of examples .
I've watched people walk into my studio . First of all , they rent the studio for an hour . Now , yeah , if you rent my studio for more than an hour , yes , there is the financial benefit for me , but if you rent a studio for an hour , unless you're doing a headshot , you really can't accomplish that much because you have to .
First of all , you should arrive with a plan . You should have a concept . You should take the time to set up before your client arrives . You should have the time to talk to your client when that client arrives . If you had not done so previously , have the time to speak with your client as you work through this process of taking their photograph .
And we're talking about just one individual . I've had people come into photograph a family and just booked for an hour , And that's really hard to do , and yet get high quality photographs or photographs that are more intimate than everyone just lining up and posing .
So these are things that I see when people rent my space And I have to tell you like sometimes it's really hard to sit there and watch , but I don't want to interfere . I'm happy to suggest and sometimes I do when I see there's a way to instruct and to give them some advice , just to either move things along or help them create a better photo .
They that if it's your understanding that you're going to do some exquisite portrait work in an hour it's , it can be good but it could definitely be better . Some of the other things I see that I think they sort of hinder people's ability to elevate their work is they don't take control as the photographer .
I know I've spoken about this in other episodes , but I've watched people as they rent from me where you know they're shooting tethered And the client is looking at what's on the screen and the photographer is kind of following along what the client wants to do and clearly it's the client who's running things .
And I look at this and I'm just thinking what is your client know about photography ? and this says a couple of things about the photographer . It says , one , you're not confident enough to take control of this photography session and two , perhaps you're just not really ready to do this , say that .
But this is what I mean when I say there's a lot of work that needs to be done before you start accepting money to photograph individuals or families if you cannot yet produce a particular level of work . Here's another example if you're photographing something or some genre or a subject you're not particularly comfortable with , do the work before the photo shoot .
So , for example , the first time I had to do , the first time I was asked to do a maternity shoot . You can bet your bottom dollar that I went and I spent the money to learn from a professional photographer be it live or video I think it was live and video how to do a maternity shoot , the lighting , the clothing . You know the setups .
I explored that , i took notes , i learned , i learned and I learned some more .
And even now , if someone asks me to do a maternity shoot , i still go back to that material and I review it and I review videos and I review my notes on it , because when that person comes to me and they're in my studio , i want them to be comfortable with the fact that they have allowed me to photograph them at this important time in their life .
And yet I've watched people show up in my studio from maternity shoot and essentially all they've done is put the person , put the woman in front of a backdrop and taken some photos .
And there's so much more you can do as far as what they wear , the different setups you can provide , how much creativity you could bring to that moment and really create something that is epic and joyous that they're going to look back upon for the rest of their life . And by no means am I saying I am a great photographer .
What I am saying is that when it comes to photographing someone , anyone , under any circumstance , you really have to do the background work , because that separates you from the person with the really expensive camera and the really expensive lens who just put somebody out in front of a backdrop and takes some photos .
They don't know posing , they don't know lighting , they they don't know how to evoke emotion and they come across as not being sure of themselves . And it's just it's . I hate to say it , but watching it happen in front of me , it's like nails on the blackboard that it's the client who's .
It's the client or the the client's family member , who's pretty much critiquing and running the session . It's just wrong . It's wrong on so many levels and it's so hard to correct . I try to guide , i tried to help people , to help them improve their work , but sometimes you know people don't want to listen and you really can't impose your work ethic on them .
I'm unfortunate because there's so much information out there for almost anything that you want to photograph . You know , when I photograph girls for their 16th birthday , their sweet 16 , i've got photos , i've got educational material from having done it before .
But again I go back and I review because girl is 16 , she's not a little girl anymore , but she's not a woman . So you don't want overtly sexual poses , but you also don't want to pose her like she's five years old . So what's appropriate ?
and I just wonder when I look at people and I look at the way they work and I just think here you are with a $3,000 camera , a $2,000 lens and How are you elevating your work ?
You would be better off with like a I don't know a five , six , seven , eight hundred dollar camera with an , you know a little telephoto or a couple of interchangeable , inexpensive lenses , but dedicated money on photography education . And I think that's what's missing from a lot of people who are quote-unquote into photography .
They are not willing to invest in the educational part of it and they're not really learning .
And I think that's what separates the good from the very good , the excellent and the great ones because , like I said before , the greatest well-known photographers living today people who I follow , people who my photography friends follow they're always learning from each other and they're learning all they're . They're always learning .
And yet I look at people who call themselves photographers and I'm just like when are you gonna , when are you gonna learn ? when are you going to make the investment in educating yourself so that you come across as a really good photographer on the way to becoming a great photographer ? sum up , i'm not gonna list the characteristics again .
They're gonna be in the show notes , but for everything I've said , for you know , having run the list of characteristics , the most important thing you can do as a photographer if you want to elevate your work is to invest in photography education posing , lighting , connecting , learning how to connect with people , learning what's appropriate for the shoots that you're
going to do . When somebody calls you up and they want to do , you know they want to do a glam photo shoot , or they want maternity , or it's their sweet 16 , or it's a family . Don't just give the person a date in the time and think that they're gonna show up and you're gonna make these great photos .
You've got to do the work behind the scenes to create strong , substantial , impactful photography that you can then charge for . And I have to say this if you're not gonna do the work , someone else's someone else with not as good a camera don't have fancy lenses , but you know what ?
they're gonna put somebody in front of the camera and the lenses that they have and they're gonna pose them and they're gonna talk to them and they're gonna connect with them and they're gonna learn about styling and they're gonna learn about evoking emotion and they're gonna learn about lighting and they're gonna learn about lighting some more and they're gonna become so
good with their little dinky camera that they're gonna have shine the person who can spend the money and just walk around saying , oh , i'm a photographer , please do the work . There's nothing stopping you . There's absolutely nothing stopping you . Stop investing in what's new and shiny . Stop investing in you know your brand of cameras , new lens .
Stop investing in upgrading your camera once a year when the the next new model comes out , and invest in what cannot be taken from you , which is a strong foundation of photography education .
That is how you separate yourself from everyone else not by the gear that you own , but by your knowledge of photography , because that's what separates the good from the very good , from the excellent from the great . Okay , thank you everyone for listening to this week's episode . I'll talk to you soon .
Thanks so much for listening to this episode of Clued Up with me , your host , maria B . If you've enjoyed this podcast , please be sure to rate , subscribe and review on your preferred podcast listening platform . I really appreciate your support . When you rate , subscribe and review , you're also helping other listeners find and enjoy this podcast . Until next time .