Last week I brought the good news: Pick yourself. Now is the best time to do something significant with your photography. It's never been easier to get started.
Today is the flip side of the coin. Because it's never been easier, it's never been more challenging.
And with the advances in technology, it will only get worse.
If you want to make money with your photography, the rigor you use to create your business is even more important now.
It's simple. You'll never make money taking pictures if you make any one of these 10 mistakes.
Listen to the podcast and find the show notes at bit.ly/shutterbuglife030.
"Do you have any in-depth notes on macro photography?"
- Ruth
That's a great question from Ruth. Surely I have something prepared on macro photography, right? Wrong!
Ruth's question provides a great opportunity to discuss all the things you will need to know for successful macro photography. It's also great time for me, as I've been playing around with macro lately.
By the time he finished his impromptu lecture I was so annoyed I could barely stand it.
I walked into a small gallery to see if there were any opportunities to organize a show for our Meetup group.
The gallery owner began by describing his long and tedious jurying process. He then proceeded to lecture me on the kind of art they select. As if I didn't have enough, he closed his 'rant' by explaining his idea of 'real' photography.
The whole experience reminded me of a Seth Godin mantra — pick yourself.
In the old days, we needed to impress a guy like that if we ever wanted to do something significant with our photography. I'm not sure if he knows, but those days are long gone.
We no longer need permission from the gatekeepers of the world to make our impact. Technology and access to publishing tools make it easy for you to make a difference whenever you choose.
Rather than asking a blogger, gallery owner, boss, or anyone else to pick you. Pick yourself first.
This week is a double feature. I knew if I stopped the conversation right there, many of you would walk away thinking I was asking something impossible. You would hear a voice telling you that I was being impractical. I was selling a pie in the sky that just wasn't real. For that reason, I also added a replay of my webinar, Silencing your inner critic.
In that discussion, we confront the internal and external voices that rob us of the opportunity to do our best work. We identify them and provide strategies to deal with them.
Listen to the podcast and see the show notes at bit.ly/shutterbuglife029.
There are so many lists. Five ways to do this. Ten ways to do that.
Today I’m going to share an essential principle of street photography, and there will be only one.
BEFORE WE DELVE INTO THE LIST OF ONE
We all want to take the kind of great photos that people will look at 50 years from now and marvel. How did she take that? What was he thinking? How did she happen to be there? And see that?!
That’s what we want the greats of tomorrow to wonder about our work, yet I fear that too much of what we upload will be forgotten before our viewer even logs off.
So how do we ensure our images are remembered? If we study the work of the great street photographers of the past, as well as today’s artists, there is one essential ingredient that you will find consistent in their work. If you can learn to use it effectively, you will join their ranks.
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Should you only shoot in manual mode? That's the question Rod sent me this week.
I can understand how this issue can be confusing. Many internet photography "gurus" proclaim that you should only shoot in manual mode, and their disciples cling to that advice. Should you?
The unsatisfying answer will be ... it depends.
I'll tell you what it depends on in this Ask Lyn episode.
I've been a bit of a DSLR snob.
You might have noticed that I published a camera buying guide that focused exclusively on DSLRs. It's not that I have anything against Mirrorless cameras. I've been watching cautiously as all the cool kids and internet celebrities sold their DSLRS and moved tomirrorless.
Good for them, but why would I do that? Why would you?
In this episode, we discuss choosing a mirrorless camera:
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You can take spectacular fireworks photos with the right tools and settings.
In this special podcast episode, I show you how to photograph fireworks. We'll talk about the settings, composition, and tools you will need for success.
Listen to the podcast.