STUPID Things I BELIEVED About PHOTOGRAPHY

[@TinHouseStudioUK]

If you want something that will actually help, try this tinhouse-studio.com/product/how-to-build-a-commercial-viable-body-of-work/

[@Anon54387]

If you think about it, there are engineers and computer programmers who work very, very hard developing tech so that it is easy to use for those who do not know much about it. That allows the end user to actually DO their jobs with the tech whereas if it were less streamlined it'd get in the way of those end users doing their jobs.

[@Anon54387]

So someone who lives in Los Angeles is out of luck? :)

[@Anon54387]

But are the real estate prices less in Leicester? That might help offset the travel expenses. And think of it. The higher real estate costs in a big city like London are with you even if you aren't getting business at the moment whereas living out in the boonies the travel costs are only there if one is getting work at the moment.

[@kirillzmurciuk8461]

My biggest mistake regarding professional photography is that your profficiency level directly translates to your rates. In other words, the better you are at making pictures the more you get paid. Couldn't have been more wrong than that. Sure, you have to be able to take a good picture to do business in general. But making actual money is all about your ability to sell your services, to pitch your ideas, to market your brand and vision. These are the things that really matter if you want to make money off it.

[@Anon54387]

One photographer did head shots for would be actors still getting their start in the entertainment business, he charge them low rates thinking they'd remember that kindness and hire him for more as those who made it moved up the ladder. Well, they didn't. They moved on to other photographers who did charge more, the perception of value is in its price for so many, especially brainless people like actors where things are all about image and surface. So now he charges high rates for all and leaves it at that.

[@sjtutty]

Completely agree, that and being in the right place at the right time - I really feel that pure chance plays a role in our profession, even if it's a simple as "picking" the right photographer to assist at the very beginning of a career.

[@KarltonKemerait]

Hey Scott, I am 70 years old, a retired software developer, a Navy vet, and most importantly poor and living in Colombia (its cheaper) and not in the States any longer. All that said, I need something to do, retirement is boring. I have had a camera available to me since I was 12, but rarely used it except for the occasional family photo. So, I finally decided to actually try and learn something. I currently have a Nikon D3300 and 4 lenses and an SB-700 Nikon speedlight and I bought a used Godox E300 from Adorama, which arrived DOA .. so what I now have a monstrous modeling lamp lol. Sorry for the long monologue, what I wanted to say was that of all the KZbin videos I've watched, you are the only person I've found that is direct, honest and seems to know what the hell is going on!! I think I've watched all of your vids (over the last 3 days or so). I am pretty certain at 70 years old I'll never become a professional, but I do love taking photos far more now that someone is instructing me and that I have access to your videos. I wanted to simply say thank-you very much for all the time and effort you put into this channel and best wishes from Colombia! (oh, btw, if you ever need a product photo from Medellin Colombia let me know lol). Oh and for next time u have nothing to do .. lol - here's a few of my pics, keep in mind I've really only been shooting for a few months .. again best wishes - Karlton photos.app.goo.gl/RRS9XefHjrpjFgaj7

[@fanjan7527]

@TinHouseStudioUK the saying "those who can't do, teach" is a quote from a character in one for Bernard Shaw's plays. Personally I like what Aristotle had to say on the subject: Those who know, do. Those who understand, teach.

[@algarveTV]

I personaly see the phrase can't do not as they don't know how to do it, but they can't because they aren't able due to lack of commercial skills, courage to try it, vision and effort, etc. So they go to a safer and confortable way to do it by teaching.

[@blubravery]

This is why many photographers need a mentor actually in the industry. It seems folks don't believe you when you say the industry rents this stuff. I got ny mentor before finding your channel and it blew my mind. Yes he owns a couple of Profoto lights, but keyword a couple for small jobs. The rest is rented. He still rocking old Speedotron packs cause they work.

[@dangilmore9724]

I've found that acting as my own agent is more effective and efficient than having an outside agent. Albeit, I am mostly documentary in genre, but over the past 40 years I have had enough contact with high profile individuals that I can get directly at them without standing in line with the herd. There's nothing that can replace the actual first person footwork of schmoozing and often shameless self promotion (if done right) and a willingness to take on crazy assignments that may be out of your wheelhouse, so to speak. You have to set yourself apart from the herd and be unique in approach and style at times.

[@jcorillion2136]

2:45 “scrolling through your stories while your on the toilet” literally when I am able to watch these videos

[@chrisvalford]

Like any job you have to learn your craft, so having some basic gear available allows you to experiment. Clients always want repeatable results, even though the first iteration may be by another photographer, so your knowledge and enthusiasm to think "how did they do that" is really important. Being London based is a real pain, there are plenty of skilled creative people in the rest of the U.K. What happened to working in Bristol, or anywhere else less expensive and cramped as London. I'm now in Barcelona, joining the Meetup and FaceBook groups I have found many creatives who are happy to co-work just to build their portfolios, this also keeps my mind fresh to new ideas.

[@Danperry1110]

Wasting my money on Presets when I first started, without actually learning LR

[@Anon54387]

One guy who has his own presets just habitually applies them, so much so that many of them actually looked better unadjusted (ie just as he took the image in his camera) than after his preset was applied. Adjustments to one's images should be done with discernment, and a little adjustment can go a long way.

[@MrPSt86]

Buying presets was the best thing for me. It helped me to understand what to do, to get a certain look.

[@GerhardBouwer]

I've found [more recently] working with private clients, that they really do not care or know how much effort you've put into their photos; just as long as they feel good [about themselves] when working with you, especially when they are the subject - a bit like getting a gourmet meal. It must look appetising, taste good and be consumed in the right setting. We do not want to know the little lamb's name and whether a dog peed on the asparagus before being harvested. Shoptalk is fun only for us and endured by those benefiting from our success.

[@luisbaltazar6739]

I have one! You have the most lucrative jobs because of your talent, because you are better photographer! Is completely wrong. The better jobs are because and mostly of networking! As you said, NY, Paris or London. How many times you did a job and think to yourself, there are better photographer that me could do this work. Is not a imposter syndrome, i think is just the reality and the nature of comercial photography. Love your work and thanks to share your raw thoughts without edit´s.

[@iggytse]

For portrait photography social media matters a lot. If your clients are older Facebook matters. If they are into fitness or are a younger demographic Instagram matters. One thing about bodybuilding photography that I see trip up even trained photographers is that they rely too much on the histogram that they can’t see the competitors are overexposed and their abs are washed out. You need to see some shadows on the abs to show depth to their six pack. These competitors starve themselves for 20weeks to get abs. Make sure the abs look great as no one cares what the background exposure looks like.

[@Fotofinura]

I’m currently trying to do the whole not based in London thing since I live in Glasgow it is tricky at times but making it work!

[@OliverNemcovsky]

Always appreciate your help and advice Scott and I am a huge fan, but this time I actually very much disagree with the statement that you don't need any technical knowledge. I understand that on the big budget ad campaign shoots there is a staff member for each technical element (digi tech, lighting assistant, retoucher ...) but for photographers like me who are 3 years into their career and are not shooting big budget add campaigns yet, we cannot afford to hire so many staff members to have on the shoot to take care of these things. Long story short-I wonder who would build my portfolio from the scratch to the level it's now. It would cost thousands or tens of thousands to constantly hire all the staff to do these things for me. And you know very well, that first few years into the career you don't have this amount money available to just sit back and let others do the job. If you made it to the end of this comment, let me know your thoughts. I would love to know how the big photographers got to this level without knowing anything but shooting and how they got around editing, lighting, styling etc. when they couldn't afford to pay the staff. When you say "barely knowing how to switch on the camera" or "can't use the photoshop" it sounds a bit far fetched and like a struggle if no one can do it for you due to the budget constraints.

[@tonylockhart1963]

I spent 43 years working on/fixing aircraft. With the RAF, BAe, on fast jets, airliners, and the last 15 years on Apache helicopters. Occasionally, we would be visited by some young people such as school kids or cadets, and there’d always be questions from them about how fast, how heavy, how many bullets and bombs etc. Most of us would smile and shrug our shoulders, because knowing how to replace the gun, or change an engine, or bleed the hydraulic system… that was important to us. I could never even remember the make of tyre on the Apache! 15 bloody years! But it’s the same thing. What many people on the outside think is important, really REALLY isn’t. It’s all just pointless fluff that clutters your mind.

[@TheOgreKingdom]

I have a 5 foot deep, 5 foot wide parabolic octobox because I was convinced that bigger modifiers = better light. That thing has been nothing but inconvenient. Sure, I use it, but it's rare... I also have the 7 foot para umbrella...

[@RexEllacott]

Great Video Scott, 100% creative vision is what it's all about!!! I cannot say that enough. EVEN now, and at the end of my commercial career, if you haven't developed a great vision and know how to communicate that, then 4get it. Yes we rent gear (we have to) the sheer expense is outrageous, and the agency clients become totally fickle. A bit like changing their underwear. Been there done all that. Am now only represented in foreign countries, purely because of the style and look. Even that is changing. Main thing is top enjoy what you're doing. Give it heaps.

[@dronepilotcontractors4094]

I absolutely love your perspective and your direct approach!! Thanks for the honesty! I bought a Crop Sensor Canon 90D as for one I could not afford a good Full-Frame and two, I put the money into Sigma Art and Sport series lenses since there was a mix of KZbinrs saying why a Crop Sensor is ok. What are your thoughts on Crop Sensors vs Full Frame?

[@CoveringFish]

He doesn’t particularly like sub full frame but that doesn’t matter. Create with what you got rent what you need

[@robertleeimages]

I only use a crop sensor 200d and take mainly nightscape milkyway images(like in my profile pic), it was/is my first real camera outside of a compact point and shoot and it produces images good enough to print up to A2. The only way my images will improve is by getting a tracker, but I'll settle for a full frame 6d which will yield longer exposures and less noise for easier editing

[@impossivel2006]

Brilliant video

[@simonelezzi]

It quite sometime I watch your videos, and I agree on everything.

[@Plutoman09]

aperture, shutter speed, ISO. But most important is learning to see what the light is doing or showing you....

[@zvitkovits]

Inspiration for another video: Please share more about your experience regarding market access and different „business-models“ how to manage „your“ market - I am referring to minute 8:21 ff …

[@oleleclos]

Agree with much of this, but on tech knowledge: It's a bit like being a brain surgeon (which I'm not) or a pilot (which I was after my photographic career). You do not need EVERYTHING you ever learnt EVERY time you open up a skull or land a 747, but you DO need different bits of your accumulated knowledge EVERY time. So I'd rather be (or be in the hands of) the guy with too much technical knowledge than too little, and I think it also impacts on the end result of the photographic process.

[@semperfi-1918]

First to comment. Glad i got on your fb page. Excellent information and cool photos. Keep up the great work.

[@LoFiAxolotl]

I mean you can see the stark difference in "creative vision" in the "most boring field head shot photography" with people like Martin Schoeller.... and the dude at the local CVS taking a headshot for your drivers license For social media, i agree with an asterisk.... for stuff like Wedding photographer... it matters a lot i think the biggest "lie" i've seen in recent years... that you need the fastest lens (widest aperture) to make good photos... most photography lives between f4-f11...

[@Anon54387]

I think of it this way. Ansel Adams took great photos with what would be considered low end lenses these days. To show how ridiculous it gets, one KZbin photography channel guy said that this lens is rubbish because it isn't truly rectlinear and he showed some slight distortion of a straight line to a very slight curve. But even with something like a brick wall in it he needed a computer program to find the curvature of that wall in the image, there is no way one is seeing that with the naked eye, it would probably be undetectable if one placed a ruler along that wall on the printed image. People say stuff like he did in that video without realizing how silly it is, and many people heard without realizing the silliness of it.

[@LoFiAxolotl]

@@Anon54387 i love channels like PetaPixel... they're fun to watch because of the personality.... but i think all the camera and lens reviews are silly... first off... buying new is absolutely insane... cameras don't suddenly get worse... a 5Dsr or 5DIV or D800 are still more than 99.9% of what photographers need... but lens reviews are even worse... unless the lens has some obvious problem that makes it unusable... it's good enough... sure some lenses give you certain characteristics and looks (100% of the time it's a vintage lens for example swirly bokeh)... but modern lenses are all just good enough... really doesn't matter what name is printed on there.... buy for what you need the cheapest possible... not what some datasheet or reviewer tells you is the hottest shit

[@jenspahl8357]

What other photographer say about your picture matters. No, what the client wants matters

[@jenspahl8357]

The first sentence was what I believed in the beginning, that was stupid

[@Drengrphotography]

Agreed, it’s awesome when another photographer likes your work, however the client is always number 1.

[@happysunshinemedia7092]

not knowing photoshop is wild though. risky stuff there scott!

[@villageblunder4787]

What does your agent do?

[@Plutoman09]

There was a National Geographic photographer who didn't know anything about photography. But he was able to understand what the camera could do.

[@sardanapalos]

90% of my job needs a zve10 with a 18-50 a small gimbal and a small tripod.... that cost around 1200 euro.... i found that out after i bought 6.000 euro worth of full frame gear :*

[@JYP1M]

Definitely guilty of thinking the lens I used would make all the difference in the world and put me on top 😂

[@MrConna6]

Bodies never hold value, don't get attached! (This includes film shooters) Much cheaper to keep up to date by frequently investing a little and trading in if you want to own your own body, or get a x100 series style camera and rent your work camera!

[@Emerald_City_]

Getting the picture. You are one of the (few?) honest photographers on the platform. The majority must be thinking, “My knowledge is hard learned and dearly payed, so why share it with the fellow enthusiast who hasn’t payed anything.” The truth is that those have a selfish superstitious belief that the knowledge, once shared with the neighbor, will enable the neighbor to overpower him and take his place on the market, and turn against them, original knowledge owners. Thank Goodness people like you reveal how ridiculous and pointless that attitude is.

[@certs743]

I believed that professional = a master at their trade. I know some commercially successful "photographers" that are technically poor photographers and poor attention to detail. A good example was food photography done for a restaurant with gravity defying cheeseburgers. Nobody notice the patty and cheese was upside down so the melted cheese appears to be melting up against gravity. Or wedding photographers taking 1400 shots at 8 fps of a couple standing around awkwardly looking very uncomfortable because the photographers don't know how to direct or pose people who have never been in front of a camera. And these people still make good money.

[@artursandwich1974]

Where do I go to buy me an agent? There's no way in hell I can afford (financially,mentally and familily) making a decision to from a small town Poland where I'm starting to know people to a London/Paris/New York/Madrid knowing nobody and nothing about life there, where my hole apartment from here would by me a table sized piece of floor for three months maybe. Scared! Shitless!!! Just at the thought.

[@noahilles5416]

AH, i finally know where tin house came from! i love it (sorry)

[@CapsizeMedia]

A bit of a personal question but do you drink craft beer?

[@Cotictimmy]

“Lie-Chester, if you’re an American tourist.” 😆

[@benharris3949]

What I thought was true was the blue blanket was someone sitting on the lounge, it tricked my brain a good 4 or 5 times in just this video.

[@Kaiesis]

Glad to see photography has the same concepts as drawing. Amateurs buy the "best" tools, but that doesn't make them any better at drawing. The idea behind the drawing is what matters. This is why I don't like "artists" these days, they all copy the same anime style of drawing. Artists in the 70-90s had real talent.

[@philliphickox4023]

Advice I never followed, early on I was advised to work as an unpaid assistant by Graphic Artist friend.

[@automotivephoto]

Thank god i have the best producer in region. But no agents sad😢

[@ryancooper3629]

I disagree that you don't need to know tech. Like pedantic useless BS like the type of sensor, sure, probably useless, but in many cases its impossible to execute your creative vision without the technical knowledge. For example, your entire portfolio is an example of your advanced technical lighting skillset being used bring your creative vision to life. A photographer who lacks that technical knowledge won't ever be able to do something like that. Their work will always be just blind guesses hoping to get lucky and in many cases they will be so far off the mark that creating their vision is effectively impossible. I once knew a photographer who was one of the most naturally talented photographers I had ever seen. She just naturally saw light and composition in a way that she produced shockingly good results in spite of having 0 technical skill. (To this day, I'd be surprised if she could even describe what aperture is or the exposure triangle). The problem she constantly ran into was that she is a wrecking ball with clients. Most of her clients walk away infuriated because she has zero ability to create something specific. She also has zero ability to be consistent and zero ability to solve unusual problems while shooting. She also has zero ability to troubleshoot equipment issues on the fly. Basically her entire shoot strategy is to show up, hope the stars align and her "vision" can carry a successful shoot or the entire shoot crashes and burns. (In spite of being incredibly good at sales and networking, her photo career never took off because she almost never had repeat clients or referrals) Technical skill matters if you want to be able to produce consistently good results under a variety of constraints which is a critical aspect to selling yourself as a photographer. (I get what you are saying about how on top end commercial shoots there are various assistants to help with tech stuff, but no one jumps right to getting massive gigs, they have to prove themselves on their own first and that means being able to handle all the tech stuff themself and still execute)

[@zvitkovits]

Some technical know-how (rather than knowledge) is needed, to make decisions and be able to delegate/manage/control work(flows). This would be an interesting theme for another episode on this channel: What know-how is required to be successful as a photographer in the next years? What knowledge is necessary? And which one not?

[@ryancooper3629]

@@zvitkovits I agree. I'd argue the line should be the ability to execute on specific creative vision that any client could reasonably have within a given genre. (and not be dependant on some other assistant such as a digital tech to do it for you because you won't always have one) A common example I often would give is: "If a client comes to you and asks for a shot silhouetted by the moon". a portrait photographer should have enough knowledge of how lenses work that they immediately know they need to rent a long lens (500mm+) that has very good light gathering capability (F4 or faster) OR the shot will need to be faked using photoshop. If they are sitting there trying to make that shot work with their 50mm lens and clueless as to why it doesn't work that means they are proving their incompetence. I'd consider this a really low bar but an example of a reasonable potential client request that is impossible to solve by just using your existing kit on auto and hunting for the right "composition" that meets your creative vision.

[@KevinNordstrom]

Eh. I've sold prints on auto mode before without anyone knowing the difference. I think it's mainly your creative mindset and your ability to understand light and how it effects your photo and composition. Pretty basic stuff. Of course that's scratching the surface and much more to learn about photography and tech side, but alot of the sale and client returning does come down to your creative vision and your editing style. At least in my own experience.

[@neeyal]

Think he means more technology and less technique

[@ryancooper3629]

@@KevinNordstrom Photographers rarely make a living "selling prints", the vast majority of them make a living by servicing the needs of clients and those clients often have "specific" needs. You can't just take any "nice" photo for a client. You have to execute on their requirements.

[@ericpargasTV]

i almost got robbed in London, i feel more safe in LA / Texas

[@pauls1ngh]

What part of LA?

[@ericpargasTV]

​@@pauls1ngh literally anywhere. downtown, hollywood, ec.. At-least i'm not a foreigner in that city

[@pauls1ngh]

@@ericpargasTV Even rougher parts like South Central, Compton & gang areas?

[@ericpargasTV]

@@pauls1ngh honesty I’ve been to parties and stuff there (Compton) at night, I never ran into trouble like someone threatening violence on me and trying to extort me like in London. On top of that someone copied my credit card the 8 days I visited UK.

[@pauls1ngh]

@@ericpargasTV Dang. Sorry to hear that. What part of London were you in?

[@Twobarpsi]

Photo gear snobbery, is only outdone by guitar gear snobbery!

[@hosmanadam]

"[You don't need to know retouching because] the retoucher does the retouching." Seems like a very strange thing to say. You obviously need to get to a point in your career where you have a retoucher in the first place. How do you get to that point if you don't know retouching?

[@aaronvbarreraphotography2740]

I disagree with your comment about light. Your knowledge of lighting (and lighting gear) makes a huge difference IMHO.

[@CoveringFish]

London Paris New York or Los Angeles. New York is in the shitter

[@arbee1958]

Catnip?

[@peterncox1963]

You could sell sand to the Arabs, you'll be a fantastic Agent!

[@KJ4YIG]

No to NYC its not the "place to be" no more

[@sigmundklaus]

Admit it Scott, you do know technical stuff... those might seem trivial to you know. Just look back at some older videos of yours where you are showing the color passport etc etc gazilion small things but they do add up and are in the catehory of "technical knowledge". OK, you are not a lens designer and you are not writing code for demosaicing raw images... but you do know a lot of technical stuff that you might not even be aware of. What is important all these small details, you know and it is technical

[@dangilmore9724]

I've found that acting as my own agent is more effective and efficient than having an outside agent. Albeit, I am mostly documentary in genre, but over the past 40 years I have had enough contact with high profile individuals that I can get directly at them without standing in line with the herd. There's nothing that can replace the actual first person footwork of schmoozing and often shameless self promotion (if done right) and a willingness to take on crazy assignments that may be out of your wheelhouse, so to speak. You have to set yourself apart from the herd and be unique in approach and style at times.