This week on TWiP Family, it’s CJ Chilvers on being a lesser photographer. CJ shares the moment he realized his gear wasn’t helping him experience life and photography the way he wanted to. He sold his gear and began using one simple camera. He noticed the reactions of fellow photographers when he hiked to photograph a landscape without a big camera. CJ began sharing his experiences photographing with minimal gear on his blog, The Lesser Photographer.

Last year, CJ published an ebook, The Lesser Photographer. The book is a distillation his writing on his blog over the years. My favorite chapter is titled, Snapshot is King. CJ writes, “My inbox is filled with email that includes some variation on the quote, “I only really shoot family photos.” I can’t imagine a more important subject.” In our conversation we talk about how rich a snapshot can be. The cover image for the show is the snapshot CJ tells us about being in a gallery show.

CJ and I have both have noticed how a photo that was not intentionally composed often includes interesting things.

Here are a few of the photos from the slide scans I have talked about on the podcast. I know the photos were taken of us kids but that isn’t what I find most interesting now.

CJ’s Simple Tip for Parents

CJ wrote in A Lesser Photographer about tips. He writes, “Tips are not what you need… Tips are just tiny pellets of stifling reassurance.”

I asked him for a tip anyway. CJ said he’s writing a book titled, It’s Okay – his son’s first sentence. CJ says, “Don’t worry so much. We all do. We worry about things that don’t matter. It’s all going to be okay.”

Connect with CJ: Website

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Join the TWiP Family Facebook group to connect with listeners, ask questions and share photos.

If you have a question about family photography or and idea for a guest or topic for the show, email me – [email protected]. Thank you to Jorge from Madrid for suggesting today’s guest, CJ Chilvers.

Next week on this family photography podcast: Martin Bailey on making great prints from our digital images.