Marc Silber's Blog, page 7
May 8, 2020
Busting Photography Myths and False Beliefs feat. Documentary Photographer Daniel Milnor Ep 25
Daniel Milnor spent twenty-five-years as a full-time photographer but is currently “Creative Evangelist” for Blurb, Inc. the world’s premiere print-on-demand publishing platform. He splits his time between the smog-choked arteries of Southern California and the spiritual landscape of New Mexico where he’s been known to hike, paddle, climb, ski, ride and explore all the spaces in between. Milnor is a complete and total nonbeliever in social media and feels these platforms have done irreparable damage to human communication skills and attention span while unleashing a level of consumerism the planet simply cannot survive.
He currently works on a project-by-project basis with clients who are willing to spend the time required to create original artwork as opposed to trendy or temporary content. He also works as a creative adviser for companies with a story to tell. Milnor has taught at Art Center College of Design, Academy of Art University, The Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, The Los Angeles Center for Photography and the Photo Experience Workshops in Latin America. An early adopter of select technologies such as print-on-demand books and magazines, Milnor has created and published over two hundred unique titles.His work is in the collections of The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The George Eastman House and The Santa Barbara Museum of Art. He has lectured on photography and bookmaking in the United States, Europe, Canada, Latin America and Australia.
Show Notes
Myth: Truly great photography happens all the time and is easy.
Truth: Because photography is more accessible now than ever before, it seems to be easy and that great photography happens all the time.
Just because an image has a lot of likes doesn’t mean it has high quality.
Myth: Just because it’s shot with film, doesn’t mean that it’s good.
Truth: Shooting with film is like cooking from scratch. It doesn’t mean you will end up with a high quality result in the end.
Myth: You can make a living off of long form documentary work.
Truth: You may lose money on every project, but you’ll have more control over projects that aren’t funded from the outside.
Myth: You can live off your book sales.
Truth: Books are great ideas but you need to make sure your realistic about potential profits.
Myth: You need a coffee table book.
Truth: There are so many other options for books.
Myth: Talent is enough to carry you to success.
Truth: Succeeding at being a good photographer means a lot of hard work, even when you’re highly talented.
Myth: There are rules of photography composition that you have to follow to get good results.
Truth: You need to judge for yourself what makes a good photographer for your situation
Don’t get so hung up in the technical aspect that you never actually take photos
Myth: There is nothing new to photograph because everything has already been done.
Truth: People have said this for decades, but even photos that have been done can be new with your individual perspective.
Photography is about showing your perspective and what you see.
Important Links
Use our link here to get 25% off your next Bay Photo order.
Connect with Daniel Milnor
Website | Instagram
Connect with Marc Silber
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
Buy Create book here
Check out our merchandise
The post Busting Photography Myths and False Beliefs feat. Documentary Photographer Daniel Milnor Ep 25 appeared first on Advancing Your Photography.
May 7, 2020
Know Thyself: The Philosophy Behind Photography
As a photographer, it’s very important to develop your philosophy. Having the best gear in the world is awesome but it’s not an end all for us at AYP. What you see and how you present that visual story through your lens is more important. It’s how you capture people’s attention in terms of lighting and composition and how those images will interact and come across to others. In this article, I’m going to share two simple tools to develop your philosophy from my book Create: Tools from Seriously Talented People to Unleash Your Creative Life and some other interesting information.
Philosophy is a Greek word that means “love of wisdom”. It’s a guiding principle that every photographer should develop and use as compass to reach their goal. There’s wisdom that comes along with the art of photography. With this wisdom, you would be able to seamlessly adapt your ideas and beautifully share your artistic expression to the world. You could also use your personal artistic philosophy as a stable point of reference. Not just in your photography, but in life itself.
Every professional photographer that I have talked with has developed an enormous storehouse of wisdom that I love to tap into in my YouTube interviews. One of them was Camille Seaman, a wonderful landscape and nature photographer. One of her guiding principles is the importance of knowing herself. She said, this is the reason why it’s so important to look at your style and beliefs. Think about how you will be able to portray who you are and what you stand for in your photographs. Once you figure that out, it becomes an integral part of your life. It’s a part of your makeup and something that you can carry with you through the rest of your life. In my case, it has been amazing to follow Socrates’ mantra to “know thyself” as it has opened many doors that I wouldn’t have access to otherwise.
Speaking of doors, I want to share an important story of photographer Bob Holmes that changed his life. He came to the United states from the UK, and somehow, by hook or by crook, managed to get a job interview with National Geographic’s legendary director of photography, Bob Gilka.
Gilka gave Bob his first assignment and told him that it wasn’t so much about the technicalities of his photographs that mattered to him, it was that Bob was able to make inside his imposing doors! He successfully did that and landed the job which opened other doors for Holmes and other doors for people to see his work around the world.
New opportunities let you experience new things and tell stories about them. People love telling stories. This has been true since the first caveman who drew a saber toothed tiger on cave walls for others to see. He wanted to share his experience with his tribe and connect with what he saw and felt. It’s similar with photography in the way that you connect with others through non-verbal communication. It’s not just supposed to be merely a two-dimensional flat “image”. It should definitely convey and depict a story, a message, as well as elicit and provoke certain emotions. This is the reason why there’s always a connection between storytelling, philosophy and photography.
Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange
Images are also a way to preserve memories and learn about the past. Dorothea Lange was a depression era photographer. She captured images that take us back to the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world.
Another outstanding example of storytelling is the book The Family of Man, a collection of 503 photographs from 273 photographers in 68 countries worldwide. Going through these images from the past will give you a glimpse of what it felt like to live at that time period.
If you haven’t yet worked out your own philosophy, then I recommend that you begin by asking yourself about your goals. Where do you think you’re going and what you want to do with your photography? In my case, aside from talking to photographers and finding out what makes them excited, I also love photography as a means of illustrating my books. I have often thought about the images that I’ve already captured that will fit in with what I am writing about. Or maybe I’m looking at old photographs and writing something when I find one that really sparks for me.
Before I end this, there’s two simple tools from my book Create that you should know about. The first one is to start your day off with some kind of inspiration, soaking it in deeply. After that, I recommend that to write what resonated with you in your journal. You should also write about your questions and goals. Journaling will help you stay on track. It also gives you the chance to see where you’ve been and how far you’ve come. And it is a big step on the road to “knowing thyself”
Getting inspired and journaling are definitely two key parts of developing your philosophy. If you want to learn more creative tools then do check out my book and other resources below.
Learn more:
Want to Jumpstart your Creativity? I’ve created a Quick Start Guide for creativity that will give you easy steps to live a more creative life.
Video: How Finding Your Photography Philosophy Can Help Improve Your Photography
The Family Of Man
Create: Tools from Seriously Talented People to Unleash Your Creative Life
Bob Holmes Video: “The Photography Struggles I Overcame with My First Shoot for National Geographic”
The post Know Thyself: The Philosophy Behind Photography appeared first on Advancing Your Photography.
May 2, 2020
Two Professional Photographers Discuss Working on Assignment feat. Bob Holmes and Andrea Johnson Ep 24
Robert Holmes career as one of the world’s most successful and prolific travel photographers has extended over 35 years. He was the first photographer to be honored twice by the Society of American Travel Writers with their Travel Photographer of the Year Award and he is the only photographer to be given the award 5 times, most recently for 2017.
About Andrea Johnson
Andrea Johnson is a photographer and director specializing in the wine, agriculture, and adventure travel industries. With a base in Portland, Oregon surrounded by abundant natural beauty, she has traveled the globe creating custom photography image libraries, magazine stories, documentary films, video campaigns, and leading photography tours.
Show Notes
Travel photography is a difficult market, as the rise of digital photography made it so that such images were much easier for everyone to get.
Running workshops is a great way to do travel photography in the current environment.
You have to find what you’re interested in and find a way to turn it into a project.
When you self generate a project, you often get more creative control over the project.
The longer you work, the harder it becomes to satisfy yourself with your own work. Your skills will improve and your expectations for yourself will raise.
A great part of a workshop is that you can see multiple ways of shooting the same scene.
Take time to look through your archives.
People Mentioned
Featured Images
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Important LinksUse our link here to get 25% off your next Bay Photo order: https://bit.ly/2x5OFZX
Connect with Bob Holmes
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
Connect with Andrea Johnson
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
Find out more about Bob Holmes new Online Class
Connect with Marc Silber
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Check out our new FREE course which gives an introduction to the Cycle of Photography!
Buy Create book here
Check out our merchandise
The post Two Professional Photographers Discuss Working on Assignment feat. Bob Holmes and Andrea Johnson Ep 24 appeared first on Advancing Your Photography.
April 30, 2020
How Portrait and Headshot Photographer Peter Hurley Captures Genuine Expressions Ep 23
Peter Hurley is the premier headshot and portrait photographer in New York City. He’s best known for the genuine expressions he captures for his executive business portraits and actor’s headshots. He uses his experience behind and in front of the camera to capture genuine expressions from his subjects. He also founded The Headshot Crew, the world’s largest network of headshot and portrait photographers.
Show Notes
It’s the photographers responsibility to pull the best out of their subject.
Figure out the good side of your subject’s face and their best features.
Find out how they’re reacting to your coaching and adjust as needed.
Take the subjects’ focus off the camera.
Don’t draw attention to the problem of needing the subject to relax by saying “I need you to relax”.
If you want to make money, you need to put whatever you can in front of the camera and take a picture of it.
Be think about the way you’ll be directing your subject. It’s going to be different for every person.
You need to be able to understand the technical, personal and business side of the industry.
When you have downtime, study. When you get back outside, photograph a lot of faces.
People Mentioned
Resources
The Headshot
Important Links
Connect with Peter Hurley
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Connect with Marc Silber
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Join the Good Karma Team to help build up the community!
Check out our new FREE course which gives an introduction to the Cycle of Photography!
Buy Create book here
Check out our merchandise
The post How Portrait and Headshot Photographer Peter Hurley Captures Genuine Expressions Ep 23 appeared first on Advancing Your Photography.
April 28, 2020
Photographer Lauren Bath on Creating Stunning Travel Photos and Using Instagram Ep 22
Lauren Bath has been named “Australia’s first professional Instagrammer” and has built herself a successful social media consulting business. Starting as a chef, she found a love for travel photography and built it into a career. She works with many industries across Australia and the world from Tourism, Travel Agencies and more.
Show Notes
Find something that you love.
Photography allows you to be present.
If you’re a travel photographer, travel light.
Diagonal lines help give the feeling of motion.
You have to be persistent to get the photo you want.
Find your personal style.
Be consistent with the content you put up on Instagram and when you put it up.
Use this time to improve your craft to be ready.
Featured Images
.fusion-gallery-1 .fusion-gallery-image {border:0px solid #f6f6f6;}
Important LinksConnect with Lauren Bath
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
Connect with Marc Silber
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Join the Good Karma Team to help build up the community!
Check out our new FREE course which gives an introduction to the Cycle of Photography!
Buy Create book here
Check out our merchandise
The post Photographer Lauren Bath on Creating Stunning Travel Photos and Using Instagram Ep 22 appeared first on Advancing Your Photography.
April 25, 2020
A Professional Photographer’s Passion for All Things ‘People’ Related, feat Matt Granger Ep 21
Matt Granger is a portrait photographer, tour leader and photography educator, passionate about sharing the love of photography. Matt is also a passionate professional photographer, specializing in all things ‘people’ related. Matt has been published extensively in Australia and abroad and have very popular YouTube channel and Instagram you should check out00 photographers become confident studio photographers, mastering artificial light for the first time.”
Show Notes
Timing is important, sometimes you need to wait.
Look for how geometry can make an image more interesting.
Don’t just stand straight up. Move around to get variety and more unique shots.
Some shots come together because of good luck.
The Rule of Thirds isn’t really a “rule” it’s a guideline.
Be ready to take advantage of good lighting and setups.
You don’t need golden hour lighting to get a good image.
If you’re in another country, don’t just take photos without interacting with anyone and ruin the atmosphere. Take the time to interact with people. Don’t be a jerk!!
Take your interactions with someone as a gift.
Always make sure you use common sense and street smart, but make sure that you leave yourself open to unique, spontaneous opportunities.
Resources
Geisha Photoshoot – A Beautiful Dying Tradition
People Mentioned
Featured Images
.fusion-gallery-1 .fusion-gallery-image {border:0px solid #f6f6f6;}
Important LinksConnect with Matt Granger
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Connect with Marc Silber
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Join the Good Karma Team to help build up the community!
Check out our new FREE course which gives an introduction to the Cycle of Photography!
Buy Create book here
Check out our merchandise
The post A Professional Photographer’s Passion for All Things ‘People’ Related, feat Matt Granger Ep 21 appeared first on Advancing Your Photography.
April 24, 2020
Bob Holmes: “The Photography Struggles I Overcame with My First Shoot for National Geographic” Ep 20
Robert Holmes career as one of the world’s most successful and prolific travel photographers has extended over 35 years. He was the first photographer to be honored twice by the Society of American Travel Writers with their Travel Photographer of the Year Award and he is the only photographer to be given the award 5 times, most recently for 2017.
His assignments have taken him from coverage of the 1975 British Everest Expedition for the London Daily Mail and Paris Match to searching for snow leopards in the remote valleys of western Nepal for National Geographic Magazine, trekking into the rain forests of Borneo with Penan tribesmen for Islands Magazine and crossing the Great Indian Desert on camel for Departures.
His passion for food and wine has lead to extensive work in those industries including the illustration of 9 books on wine and 6 cookbooks. More recently Bob has added film production to his talents and in partnership with Andrea Johnson has been producing videos for clients in the wine and hospitality industries.
Show Notes
If you want your work to be published, don’t give up! There are so many outlets today to get your work out there today.
Being there is what’s important. Engineering ways to get access is how you become successful.
Always check to make sure you have all your equipment!
Always have good memory cards, beware of low quality cards!
Get out there and take more photos!
People Mentioned
Ansel Adams
Bill Brandt
Galen Rowell
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Edward Weston
Minor White
Featured Images
.fusion-gallery-1 .fusion-gallery-image {border:0px solid #f6f6f6;}
Important LinksConnect with Bob Holmes
Website | Instagram
Find out more about Bob Holmes new Online Class
Connect with Marc Silber
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
Check out our new FREE course which gives an introduction to the Cycle of Photography!
Buy Create book here
Check out our merchandise
The post Bob Holmes: “The Photography Struggles I Overcame with My First Shoot for National Geographic” Ep 20 appeared first on Advancing Your Photography.
April 20, 2020
5 Easy Steps to Advance Your Photography with Marc Silber Ep 19
Frame your photos
You learn a lot through teaching
Teaching through video lets you reach a lot of people
Sometimes it feels like when you’re learning something it’s hard, but that means when you learn it, it will be reinforced for you.
Learn the Five Stages of Photography:
Visualization
Equipment
Capture
Processing
Sharing
Don’t obsess about equipment
For processing, use the platform that works for you!
Print books of your work!
Make sure the Five Stages of Photography are in balance.
Leave room in your cup.
Work on your visualization skills in all aspects of the stages of photography
Strengthen your visualization muscles
Learn your keywords to understand your camera.
Zither.co for a free way to keep your camera manual with you.
Don’t get hung up on “rules” of composition, there are no rules!
Understand how angles will affect your image
Learn the language of geometry!
Important Links
Connect with Marc Silber
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Join the Good Karma Team to help build up the community!
Check out our new FREE course which gives an introduction to the Cycle of Photography!
Buy Create book here
Check out our merchandise
The post 5 Easy Steps to Advance Your Photography with Marc Silber Ep 19 appeared first on Advancing Your Photography.
April 18, 2020
Shoot Stories Not Cameras, Confessions of a Documentary Photographer, Dan Milnor Ep 18
Daniel Milnor spent twenty-five-years as a full-time photographer but is currently “Creative Evangelist” for Blurb, Inc. the world’s premiere print-on-demand publishing platform. He splits his time between the smog-choked arteries of Southern California and the spiritual landscape of New Mexico where he’s been known to hike, paddle, climb, ski, ride and explore all the spaces in between. Milnor is a complete and total nonbeliever in social media and feels these platforms have done irreparable damage to human communication skills and attention span while unleashing a level of consumerism the planet simply cannot survive.
He currently works on a project-by-project basis with clients who are willing to spend the time required to create original artwork as opposed to trendy or temporary content. He also works as a creative adviser for companies with a story to tell. Milnor has taught at Art Center College of Design, Academy of Art University, The Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, The Los Angeles Center for Photography and the Photo Experience Workshops in Latin America. An early adopter of select technologies such as print-on-demand books and magazines, Milnor has created and published over two hundred unique titles.His work is in the collections of The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The George Eastman House and The Santa Barbara Museum of Art. He has lectured on photography and bookmaking in the United States, Europe, Canada, Latin America and Australia.
Show Notes
Keep a list of the project ideas that you feel passionate about.
Research your project.
Take time to journal when you’re doing a project.
The copy can be just as important as the photos.
Work light because equipment is just going to get in the way if you need to work fast.
It’s a lot easier to talk about gear than just use pictures, which is why many professional photographers don’t obsess over cameras.
Print your work!!
Ordinary things can be extraordinary.
Do yoga everyday.
Featured Images
.fusion-gallery-1 .fusion-gallery-image {border:0px solid #f6f6f6;}
People NamedImportant Links
Connect with Daniel Milnor
Website | Instagram
Connect with Marc Silber
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
Join the Good Karma Team to help build up the community!
Check out our new FREE course which gives an introduction to the Cycle of Photography!
Buy Create book here
Check out our merchandise
The post Shoot Stories Not Cameras, Confessions of a Documentary Photographer, Dan Milnor Ep 18 appeared first on Advancing Your Photography.
