The Beginner Photography Podcast

#245 Phillip and Eileen Blume have spoken on the photography world’s biggest stages about helping photographers earn a living with their camera. After a rocky start in photography that almost bankrupted them, they discovered how powerful the mini session could be when just starting out and even in an established photography business. Today Phillip shares what they did for his business and what it can do for yours too!

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• How Phillip went from high school English teacher to one of the worlds most respected photography educators
• Why Phillip and Eileen transitioned to minis after shooting weddings for years
• Why mini sessions are so good for new photographers looking to grow their portfolio
• How to shoot with intention and get the poses you need
• How to find the balance between posed and candid shots

Premium Members Also Learn:

• How to build trust to grow your business faster
• How to increase profits AND make happier clients
• Why sending a gallery link will kill sales and excitement

Resources:

• Download the Maximizing Mini Session eBook
• Join The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook Community

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond! 

• Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle
• Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group
• Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/

Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#244 Scott Strazzate is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist with more than 30 years of experience shooting for publications like the Chicago Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle. Scotts Book “Common Ground” is a 2 decades-long exploration of a piece of land that transitioned from Homestead Farm to Sprawling Suburbs. Today we talk about the long-term project, what to look out for, and ideas for you to start your own long-term project.

Key Takeaways:

• Scott narrates his experience starting in photography, from his interest in childhood till he took up photography as a full-time job, rather than staying in the family business.
• Not having to face criticism in the early stages of his career was an advantage in a way, as Scott notes it may have discouraged him from pressing forward. On the other hand, less knowledgeable people appreciating his work kept him going.
• Studying the photography of other professionals also played a major role in keeping him motivated and inspired.
• The brightest spot of an image is usually where your eye goes first, and you can learn to control in a split second, how to compose an image that is pleasing to look at. 
• Scott describes the importance of focusing on creating images after gaining in-depth knowledge about your gear, rather than always trying to get new gear hoping to become a better photographer.
• Having to overcome the fear of interacting with people became paramount, as this was a challenge that came with expanding from sports photography.
• Scott narrates in detail, events leading up to his "Common Ground" photography project, with no initial plan to create it, as well as the emotion and serendipity surrounding the project. He notes that to date, it is the major work he is known for, and was a personal project rather than a product of affiliation with any paper.
• I tell photographers that if they want to do a book that people would enjoy, they should take photographs of one block or storefronts, make prints of these, and put them away for years, when these come out later, they will be greatly appreciated.
• Repetition is something that I always look for in photography, I think it's fascinating, and a good way to make a compelling image. If you can have one of something, two is better.
• Three acts in a photo story: A beginning, a middle, and an end. When doing a photo story you want this: a cat climbs up a tree, someone shakes the tree, the cat gets out of the tree.
• Scott describes a major challenge with photojournalism being having to leave people's lives when the story is over especially because you may not be able to continue to just hang around, even if they would want you to.

Resources:

• Scott Strazzante’s website
• Scott’s Prints for sale
• Scott Strazzante on Instagram
• Scott Strazzante on Twitter
• Join The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook Community

Standout Quotes:

• "I learned that the brightest spot of an image is usually where your eye goes first" - [Scott]
• "I don't like getting a new camera because I think the key fo

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond! 

• Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle
• Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group
• Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/

Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#243 In this episode of the podcast I break down the top 3 ways you can get to know your camera better to be best prepared for them the moment arises.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• Read the Manual - Learn things you never knew your camera was capable of!
• Spend a few hours with the camera shooting - Get to know the tool you use to capture the world and blur the line between visualization and capture!
• Ask WHY you feel limited - When you know the limitations of your camera you know how to best use your camera.

Resources:

• Join The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook Community

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond! 

• Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle
• Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group
• Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/

Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#242 Vanessa Joy is an award-winning wedding photographer with more than 20 years in business. In 2020 she was named one of Canons Explorers of Light. An exclusive position reserved for photographers who have dedicated their lives to the craft. Today she talks about how she almost chose a different career path and what it was that brought her back to photography.

Episode Timeline:

• Vanessa describes her early interest in photography, and when she knew that photography was going to play a big role in her life.
• Vanessa shares personal shots from her early days in photography.
• What influenced your preference for portraits in photography?
• About Vanessa's plans to move to Texas.
• Vanessa was announced as one of Canon's Explorers of Light.
• Is there anything Vanessa thinks new photographers should know?

Premium Members Also Learn:

• The marketing efforts that have worked for Vanessa in New York over the past 20 years
• What marketing efforts Vanessa is using now to build authority when she moves to Texas

Key Takeaways: 

• The passion had always been there for photography, the realization that it would be a full-time career much later.
• Highlighting the benefits of her photography career, Vanessa talks about the love for it and the freedom to plan her schedule.
• Vanessa describes the drive behind her preference for portraits. In a lot of ways, I think I enjoyed photographing people in how I felt, so photographing people is a little bit of photographing them but a lot of expressing who I am.
• Combining two styles of portrait photography, one where every aspect of the picture is controlled with one where things are allowed to be more natural is possible, and do not have to be mutually exclusive.
• When you first start in photography it is understandably necessary to try many styles and then hone in on a particular one, but as you get better in that aspect, you get bored and have enough control of your craft to try other things and expand your photography interests while maintaining your brand.
• Discussing Vanessa's move to Texas, she noted some key differences regarding the technique in her photography.
• Asides from her technical know-how with the camera, another point Vanessa attributes her Explorers of Light announcement to, was her ability to find simple uses for the camera for the average person, knowing that the company would need that kind of market to make sales on a large scale.
• To new photographers: Gear doesn't matter, and should not stop you from being a great photographer, and as gear gets more expensive it's good if there's a particular reason. Just keep going at it, you have to love photography for the work itself because that's the thing that's your daily life, not the results.

Resources:

• Austin Texas Wedding Photographer Vanessa Joy’s Website
• Vanessa Joys Website for photographers
• Vanessa Joy on Youtube
• Vanessa Joy on Instagram
• Join The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook Commu

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond! 

• Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle
• Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group
• Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/

Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Eung Ju Kim (Sean) has become a staple in the Beginner Photography Podcast community since buying his camera in early 2018. Since then he has been sharing his work and it continues to develop and advance. His landscapes and beach scenes are simple and relaxing. Today we talk about what photography means to him and his plans to progress is photography in the future.

Key Takeaways:

• Starting his photography career with nature sceneries was associated with hiking, which he did more often following a distressing break up with his girlfriend.
• Sean describes 'finding the beauty of what's there, either in an ugly chaotic scene or in my stage of sadness was the key to finding the true beauty of my journey.
• Looking back, Sean explains how with experience, he started being able to identify things he could have done differently in a picture and how to look out for such things.
• Sean explains the motivation behind intentionally creating images with huge surroundings, landscape and people by noting that when we focus on something bigger, our problems seem to be small. His Christian faith also played a role in this preference.
• Sean explains that he is bored with taking pictures of people, and is trying to figure out what he can add to it.
• The inspiration for Sean's photography is his Christian faith.
• For new photographers: Go to a library, read a bunch of books and even if it doesn't make sense, consume it, even if you don't practice it, over time things will start to click. Once things start to click, you will have more questions and you can go and read it again, then it will make sense, and you will gain mastery.

Resources:

• Follow Sean On Instagram
• Flash in a Flash - Flash photography for beginners course
• Join The Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook Group!

Episode Timeline:

• [02:20] Introducing today's guest, Sean Kim as he narrates the events surrounding his entry into photography.
• [07:21] How did the relationship between your photography and nature sceneries come about?
• [14:10] Looking back, from a technical standpoint, when did you start to notice the things you were doing wrong.
• [17:04] What differences have you observed between street photography and photographing people after creating rapport.
• [23:34] How do you achieve the concept of comfort in an image that looks sad?
• [33:24] Sean discusses his editing method.
• [34:40] What are you currently struggling with, in photography?
• [39:05] About Sean's book on the year 2020.
• [41:09] What inspires you to take photos?
• [47:19] When it comes to the technical side of photography, what is it that you love?
• [48:38] Sean's advice for new photographers

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond! 

• Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle
• Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group
• Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/

Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#241 James Patrick is a Phoenix AZ-based commercial and fitness photographer. He has shot more than 500 magazine covers and today we break down what makes a cover photo unique and how to capture the concept.

Episode Timeline:

• James narrates how he began his photography career.
• What was the main source of your photography education?
• How do you handle the concern that someone may take your photography style and compete with you after teaching them?
• What is the job description of a Fitness Photographer and how did you get into it?
• From a technical standpoint, what are you looking out for, that's going to make a photo stand out above the rest to be a cover shot?
• How do you come up with ideas for the photos that you need to capture?
• Starting out, was there a point where you had to just make do with your equipment because you didn't have the things you have today?

Key Takeaways:

• Starting as a journalist, James had some misapprehension about photography as it did not seem very sustainable as a career choice, he was however open to different options while trying to figure out his passion.
• James describes how he learned by testing constantly and working as an assistant photographer, even though he already had his own jobs. Key principles gained as an assistant included photography techniques, project bidding, client communication, the general business process, and most especially how to work with subjects onset.
• There are two extremes of types of photographers, the overly technical ones who focus on measurements and precision when shooting, and the ones who rather feel their way creatively through their imagery. The latter appealed to him more, shifting his focus from taking great pictures which can easily be learned and done, to making images that work, and this became his brand
• Ask for help, the more you ask, eventually, people will start to give you help.
• A popular misconception James shared earlier on was that he had to be involved in many niches in photography to have enough jobs, ironically during the recession, he started to lose jobs because many clients would rather hire a niche specialist than a Jack of all trades. This nearly made him give up.
• Following the decision to be intentional about photography, questions that started to arise include: what work do I need to create? Who do I need to be working with? What images do I need to be in my portfolio? Who do I need to be working for? James describes the importance of overcoming his fears so he could call companies to find people that would be interested in his work.
• Addressing a common mindset that you need to recreate your portfolio before contacting companies about your photography, it is critical to understand that there is no perfect portfolio. You get better only when you show your work to someone and get feedback, without which you're just in your head and consumer behavior determines everything.
• Shooting a cover is a construct. What I do with a cover is a commercially viable image. This is an image that is going to help sell the magazine, more often than not it is focusing on all the distracting things that you're removing from the photo, to create a post that's going to jump off the page without being too distracting from the message.
• We get through the stuff that doesn't work so we can get the one thing that

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond! 

• Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle
• Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group
• Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/

Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#240 Ellie McKinney is a North Carolina based wedding photographer who in her first year full time earned six figures. She attributes much of her success to being open, vulnerable, and taking a stand for a cause she believes in. In this interview Ellie breaks down how she sees the world through her lens and the elements she sees and helping her achieve so much success.

What You’ll Learn:

• Ellie describes how she got into photography.
• Looking back at old photos, what are the things you think you would do differently?
• Elements of an Ellie McKinney photo.
• How do you ensure that you're able to get the interactions that you're looking for between a couple?
• Why do you think you've made a quick rise and success both in photography and business?
• What are those actionable things that you did that you think skyrocketed your success?
• Ellie describes her transition into full-time photography.

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond! 

• Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle
• Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group
• Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/

Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#239 Bryan Caporicci is an award-winning wedding and portrait photographer based out of Fonthill, Canada. In 2014, he was awarded his Masters of Photographic Arts (MPA) designation by the Professional Photographers of Canada (PPOC), making him one of the youngest Canadian photographers to receive this level of achievement.

Bryan is the host of the  Business of Photography Podcast with over 2 million downloads. He teaches at workshops across North America, including industry-leading conventions and conferences such as WPPI, Shutterfest and Canada Photo Convention. Bryan is also the CEO and Founder of Sprout Studio.

In today’s interview, Bryan talks about the key aspects of photography to focus on when just getting started.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• What is Clubhouse for photographers
• Who Bryan is and how he got started in photography
• His earliest struggles and how he overcame them
• How to avoid overwhelm when just learning photography
• What Bryan hopes to achieve by shooting film for personal work

Premium Members Also Learn:

• What to focus on now to build a business foundation
• How to leverage local relationships to build bookings
• The 3 most important pillars of stating a photo business
• The paradox of the growing heap and how it will help you better understand bookings

Resources:

• Bryan Caporicci Wedding Photography
•  The Business of Photography Podcast
• Sprout Studio - All in one studio management for photographers

Standout Quotes:

• "It was my marketing skills, just the fact that I looked at what I did as an entrepreneur...that's what got me to where I was". - [Bryan]
• "Take it a step at a time, I think that's probably the biggest mistake that I see photographers make, especially in those early days". - [Bryan]
• "That's when you become a good wedding photographer when you can look at things and go beyond the technical". - [Bryan]
• "Every overnight success is an overnight success 10 years in the making". - [Bryan]
• "The future is cheap if you pay for it now". - [Raymond]
• "Everyone wants success, no one wants to put in the work that success requires". - [Bryan]
• "Whatever gear you have, is all that you need right now". - [Bryan]

Key Takeaways:

• "Clubhouse" is an audio-only social media tool, that allows people to connect either as photographers or with other professionals
• Bryan shares he has always had a passion for the business side of photography.
• His experience knowing that most photographers aren't well equipped on the business side motivated the founding of Sprout Studios to offer strategies and tools to help photographers run their business.
• While most photographers start with an interest in photography and then later incorporate the business side, Bryan had been involved with the busines

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond! 

• Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle
• Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group
• Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/

Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

#238 Adam Taylor spent years as one of the top BMX photographers in the country before changing career paths to Real Estate and architecture photography. Adam found that he could grow his earnings by licensing the photos he took of high-end homes, to the cabinet, faucet, tile, and furniture manufacturers. Today Adam breaks down how to adopt the licensing mindset and start making more with your images in this interview. 

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• How Adam got started in photography
• What shooting BMX taught him about being a better business later in life
• What is licensing
• How to license your photos
• Who to license your photos to
• The differences between a real estate image and one you would shoot for a brand to license
• What gear you need for real estate photography

Resources:

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond! 

• Go from Confused to Confident behind the camera with The Ultimate Photography Education Bundle - https://beginnerphotopod.com/bundle
• Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group
• Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/

Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Kimberly Irish is an Oconomowoc Wisconsin Based Wedding and Newborn Photographer and moderator of the Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook group! Kim shares her story of how she got into photography, some of the challenges she faced with things like focus, and even how she made gear buying decisions.

Resources:

• Kim’s Website
• Find Kim on Instagram
• Join the Beginner Photography Podcast Facebook Group!
•  Learn Flash in a Flash!

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Download your free copy of
46 Creative Photo Ideas to Get You Out of a Rut
at https://creativeimageideas.com/

Connect with Raymond!

• Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group
• Get your Photo Questions Answered on the show - https://beginnerphotopod.com/qa
• Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/

Thanks for listening & keep shooting!