Episode 10 Topic – What Would We Do Different If We Started Photography Over Again Today?
In Episode 10, Blake Rudis joins me again. This week, we chat about what we would do if we started photography over again today.
How to Listen/Watch
You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google. Or you can watch it below.
The podcast is NOT intended to be visual in any way, so all you’re doing is watching the two of us talk and nothing else. But if that’s the way you prefer it, feel free. Personally, podcasts are something I listen to when I have nothing else to do, or to keep me busy while doing something else – so I never watch them.
Apple Podcast Link (Click Here)
Spotify Podcast Link (Click Here)
Google Podcasts Link (Click Here)
PRO TIP: I typically listen to podcasts on my phone while driving or in the gym. And I usually set most podcasts to 1.25x – 1.5x speed to get through it faster.
Since this IS NOT A TRAINING tutorial, and it’s just us talking, I think you can speed us up and get through it faster so feel free to give it a try. I can’t help you find that setting, but again… most podcast apps have it, so poke around. If you can use Lightroom and Photoshop I have no doubt you can figure out how to use a podcast app ?
I love teaching and photography... In that order. I feel that enjoying photography, and photo editing can get WAY too complicated. So my personal mission (and favorite thing to do), is to create education that simplifies the process of taking great photos, and how to edit them to get the results you’ve always wanted.
Matt and Blake.
Great podcast. Very valuable advice for me. Thanks
Word to live by > Nobody gives a #@!$ about your photos.* You gotta do what works for you.
* Except my wonderful wife who puts up with a lot.
Superlative comment would not cover your excelent podcast.
Simplicity the art of great photography enhanced by your input in a relaxed and informative discussion.
Thank you, time, well spent.
I really enjoyed your video. You covered many topics that I have also experienced in photography. Learning about the exposure triangle was a big breakthrough for me as well. It helped me approach photography like learning to drive a car. You don’t need to know everything about the internal combustion engine to drive a car, but you do need to develop the motor skills and understanding of the road environment to be able to just jump in and drive somewhere without thinking too much about what to do and concentrating on the photo opportunities in front of you.
Another thing, I used to do a lot of architectural photos for various construction concerns, featuring interior and exterior results to post on their websites showcasing their finished projects. Over the years, I started to hate photographing buildings and started other aspects of photo work for income. Now retired, I find myself enjoying architectural shots more without any deadlines, without constant fights with security oversight, or detailed emphasis on just their work, like glass or roofing, and mainly buildings which I choose to photograph. Thanks
Matt, lots to think about, and since we meant in 2021 my photography has improved. I am a member of a Photo Club near my home and several of the members have given me pointers that are very close to what you teach. I just want to say, thank you for all your help.
Blake, I am color blind when it comes to color blending, I am not a member of F64, however I do follow you with your newsletter and watch your youtube channel. I did purchase your Gradients course, however I just cannot understand how to put them to use. So to both you and Matt, thanks for the podcasts and sharing your insights and knowledge, stay safe.
Semper Fi,
Joe W.
Yes, such conversations are very motivating to pursue your hobby and invest time in it. Thank you for this very constructive conversation and greetings from winter Poland, from the city of “PrzemyÅ›l Fortress”.
The phrase you were looking for at 16:19 in – gear acquisition syndrome, aka GAS.
Great podcast and informative. I like your work and emails for photography.
Stellar conservation! I had an accomplished mentor tell me once to start in tight and back out with a lens. The old saying that what you leave out is just as important as what you keep in a frame comes to fruition when carrying a 70-200mm.
There was a course in ON1 years ago, called 12 Months with Matt, and as photo beginner I was in that course, also trying this, also trying that , also jumping here and there, always overwhelmed.
And I do remember, Matt, at a certain point you were telling me something in the meaning of: „ if you want to learn post processing, you need to choose someone you trust. That person doesn‘t need to be me, but choose one, you need to follow that person, that person only and ignore the rest, at least for a while.“
In a way a hard lesson, but some of the best advice I ever got.
That advice still helps me to restrict and focus my learning on what I REALLY want to achieve, prevents me from fear of missing out courses, software, special offers …
If you can‘t focus, you are lost.
Enjoyed listening in. Started with Canon Ftb in 1975 and kept sticking with Canon Since, EXCEPT when I jumped to 4×5 field camera using the amazing 4×5 sheet film. Took my 4×5 camera to Yosemite National Park for a week long workshop for the last workshop that Ansel Adams did there. When he would stand under my focusing cloth looking through the camera was wonderful, and then he would say make this or that little tweek and it was much better. But there I grasped fully the exposure triangle with comfort and intuition. I still have lots of 4×5 film and holders as well as a Hasselblad and gobs of 120 film and Zone IV darkroom paper and a darkroom ready with a 4×5 enlarger ready for me to jump back into. But for now I’m using Canon R5 with Canon lenses and learning Lr and Ps. Oh and I have older photoshop software in storage. Thanks Ansel for learning me how to see.
It’s great to see both of you guys.
The point that intrigues me is the triangle exposure.
Today’s sensors are capable of crazy numbers for the ISO, but it is difficult to predict the level of noise that will be produced when you get the image in your screen monitor.
With an aperture, it is easy to find the right spot of focus that you want to have in the image.
With shutter speed, it is also easy to find a sweet spot that will freeze or blur the main subject of a composition. And the lower you go, the more you rely on a tripod to get a decent image.
But the ISO… I never know what noise my camera will produce at a high ISO. The algorithms could be great, but every image has challenges for noise treatment by the camera software, and the results may not be what you expected for that light situation. ISO it’s not under the optical laws of physics but under the limitations of the sensor and the camera software that translate that electrical impulse into image data or noise.
Besides that, it’s great to have both of you together. You should do this more often for our pleasure.
Thanks! That’s a great reason why you should practice. You practice shooting at various ISO levels when it doesn’t matter, and look at those photos closely on the computer to get an idea of the range you’re willing to accept.
CLEAR your card/s !.
I remember my fear of RAW, until I got it. I fiddled with it, and learned it is a digital darkroom. So I learned as much as I could, then found Blake & Matt who then ….. yay!
Great podcast! Lots of great thoughts here. Oh, and the terminology you were looking for was Retail Therapy. 😉
Thanks for the great conversation. While many of your topics did resonated with me, I think the most important comment was “Do what you what to do”, and thus enjoy your photographic journey. There are many aspects of photography that are stimulating and rewarding, but if you have no “joy”… why are you doing it?
Carl
Both of you are my go-to guys…always find the answers…Thank you for this great video…you touched on several of my hang-ups. Just so much to applaud you for, making me think…yes, think and just take ‘pictures’…I hope you will consider more of this type thought-provoking dialog….you have made me think…Again, thank you and hope we will be able to have more of your expertise to follow…
I don’t have any of the same regrets you two have – in fact – I don’t think I have any regrets worth remembering over more than 20 years. I had a very good mentor right from the word go – technically I am strong. My fear is more that I don’t have enough time to learn more and boy there is SO much MORE.
I love your podcasts!!! Because I love you both. I was interested in hearing about listening to a few folks for info and help with photography as that is finally what I decided!!! I have 3 I that really follow and you are two of them! I like your style!
I really liked your approach, which gave me permission to shoot in ways that I love but that have often seemed like a sort of cop-out, avoiding methods and subjects I didn’t resonate with because I thought I had to if I were to be a well-rounded photographer. And I wish I’d heard this podcast when I was first starting out–it would have saved me a lot of money and stress.
Very fun guys. I’ve known and appreciated you both for a lot of years. I could really relate to everything. I’ve changed gear several times for varying reasons. The latest is, I’m old and can’t carry a backpack with a D850 and all the lenses from 24mm to a 500 f4. Now it’s all Sony, much lighter, and I don’t feel I’ve sacrificed much.
I’ve changed genres several times to where lately I’m really having a lot of fun doing abstracts . . . finding subjects and scenes and doing crazy things with the camera. Instead of painting on canvas, I’m painting light on a CMOS or CCD chip with a few tweaks in Photoshop.
Everything you both had to say was great,
Thanks
I’ve been in photography as a retiree for 4-5 years. My point would be to learn and learn well. As a beginner, the quality of learning is key. It is much better to go to a Rudis, Kelby, Nace, etc. for a learning experience that costs a $100 than to spend 20 hours flipping thru random you tube videos. The learning is key to growth for a newbie, but the quality of learning will shorten the time required and in the long run, it will save you time.
Interesting and inspiring. Love your differences. You put a label on things I know are good for my growth. Thanks!
Great conversation guys!
Some points from the podcast… I wish as a new photographer, I had known about other types of photography instead of what I learned from the mainstream instructors like Scott K and many others. I still shoot 80% of the time in RAW and use all the apps you are supposed to but doing something different to break up the same thing over and over is healthy.
I started in 2007 and it wasn’t until the last five years I started shooting film, converted a camera to IR, got excited when I developed my first pinhole image and learned that shooting SOOC on my Fujis is so much fun and requires no post processing. Be open to trying different things…just because the guy on your YT screen says don’t do it…he or she isn’t you and when you get burned out … Trying something different makes photography fun again.