(upbeat percussion music)
- Great creative jam sesh, everybody.
Sandra, could you please hire that photographer
for next week's shoot?
Tell them it's paid.
- Paid shoot?
(intense percussion)
Don't hire anyone else!
I'm coming!
(intense percussion music)
I'm a photographer. Paid shoot?
You said paid?
- Right. Paid.
Oh, what a funny word paid is, right?
I was thinking more like paid with the opportunity
to build your portfolio. - What?
- And we'll definitely tag you.
- Exposure. Awesome.
- Where are you going?
We have kombucha on tap.
- In today's video,
we are gonna be going over lazy versus pro photographer.
Now, I will call it out
because we made a few of these videos,
and everyone always says, I'm not lazy.
I've been doing this for years.
This is more beginner.
So yes, lazy can also be switched out
with the word beginner.
But I know there are pros out there
that are straight up lazy.
And sometimes that person is me,
and that's why I made this video.
So let's get into lazy versus pro photographer.
Number one. and it's because I did this
when I was a lazy and beginner photographer.
And I feel like a lot of people can relate to this.
When you first get a prime lens, that's like f1.8 or f1.4,
or if you really bougie, you got f1.2,
you always shoot the lowest F-stop.
And then you're taking photos of people,
and it's their eyes,
but then their nose isn't even in focus.
A pro photographer knows what F-stop to use
when they're shooting their photos
for the context of their image.
Maybe they go, I need f9 for this,
because I need the subject and the background
to be in focus.
That is very important.
You don't always need to shoot the lowest F-stop.
All right, so this might sound a little counterintuitive
to the message that everyone in the world throws out there,
including Fro Knows Photos, who says, "I shoot RAW."
Lazy photographers always shoot RAW.
And that is typically the right choice,
but is not always the right choice.
So your pro photographer will understand
what their final delivery needs and speeds are going to be.
So you could be in a situation
where you're shooting an event,
and the client wants photos in that moment,
but they want them shot on a nice camera.
So shooting JPEG actually might be the better option.
Maybe they just wanna be able to send it
right from the camera to their phone,
so then the social media manager can post it right then.
And that's understanding the delivery
and data management needs of your project.
So a lazy person will just always be like,
"RAW is number one. RAW always."
And yes, that is generally the right choice,
with a little asterisk in the corner,
depending on the delivery speeds and quick turnaround.
This next section, I'm gonna call Ya Got GAS.
And do you know how I know
that you have GAS, is because I had GAS.
I was the person that went out and bought a camera body,
then bought a lens,
and I started shooting, and I was getting pretty good.
And I was like, you know what?
Portraits look cool with the flash.
I'm gonna get a flash.
Now I'm gonna get a stand.
Now I'm gonna get diffusion.
Now I'm gonna get an apple box.
Now I'm gonna get a studio.
Now I'm gonna get some sort of cage for my camera.
Now I'm gonna buy another lens.
And I just kept buying more and more gear
that all had a very, very one-off,
specific use case
rather than just using and learning how my camera works
with one or two lenses,
and actually getting good as a creative photographer.
Because if you have the thought in your head
that I would just take better photos
if I had this lens,
or I would take better photos if I had diffusion,
or if I would take better photos
if I had gels that I could put on my light
so I can get cool neon vibes.
No.
Those are helpful,
but they do not make you a better photographer.
A lazy person relies on the gear for their photos.
An actual pro can be handed almost any camera
and take amazing photos,
because they understand how to use their gear,
because they are skilled at it,
and they've practiced with it a bunch.
Stop getting GAS.
Gear acquisition syndrome.
That's what it's called, by the way.
I really don't even know if I clarified.
A lazy photographer just knows what images works,
and takes those photos,
versus actually being original
and trying to create your own unique look.
See, the issue with Instagram
is that everyone saw the same photos and same styles.
And once one thing catches on,
you start to see the likes,
and you're influenced by the attention.
And you go, you know what?
That's a really, really great photo.
I'm gonna do the exact same thing.
It's safer to do that,
because you know everyone's seen the other photo,
and they go, that looks really good.
And that one's gonna get lights.
That's the banger.
That's the low hang bang.
And there's no effort put into it
because you're just doing it for the likes,
versus going to a location, or going to a shoot
and trying your own original ideas.
A very good example of this is like
remember a few years ago,
all the photos from Iceland,
and it'd be like somebody wearing an orange or yellow jumper
underneath a waterfall.
And then people started doing that.
And you saw those photos everywhere,
because everyone liked that idea
because it always got so many likes.
A pro will go to that situation
and purposely not shoot that photo
so they have more original content.
You will always be happier in the long run if you do that.
I will admit, for this next point,
I did this all the time.
I made so many excuses not to shoot photos.
That's what a lazy photographer does.
Rather than going out there and building their skillset
to be able to actually shoot in any single environment
and adapt to it, they always make excuses
like it's midday light.
The highlights are too harsh on their forehead.
Look at the shadows under their eyes.
This is an ugly photo.
It's not even worth pressing the button for.
I sound like a cartoon version of myself
who's really just like a (beep).
I know Lucas is gonna put a little character
of me right there, with the block mouth.
I know it.
What I'm trying to get to here
is that it's so easy to come up with excuses all the time.
Yeah, "I really wish that there was better light."
"I only shoot at sunset when the light
is the perfect optimal quality of light."
"Oh, if only I had this model."
"If only I had this piece of gear."
Excuses, excuses, excuses.
A pro photographer adapts to any situation.
They're able to use the skillset that they have
to still take great photos.
A lazy photographer makes excuses.
Okay, folks.
I recognize that this next one
is a very controversial point.
It is my personal opinion,
and I know the purists that are out there
are just getting their keyboards ready right now.
A lazy photographer just shoots photos,
versus a pro photographer recognizes
that things are changing,
and that video is becoming much, much more of a priority
in modern day content consumption.
There's not even a photo sharing app anymore.
Instagram is no longer on record a photo sharing app,
and that was the place that we shared photos.
Maybe this is Flickr's chance to make a comeback,
but I doubt it,
because everything is moving towards
this type of visual medium right now.
And what happens is a lazy photographer,
the purists around will be like,
"I ain't changin'.
Ansel Adams is the number one.
I'm shootin' film."
Times are changing right now.
And I know that it kinda sucks,
but you have to adapt.
I'm just gonna call this section
Being Selfish On a Photo Shoot.
See, a lazy photographer
will only ever have their own interest in mind.
And it's very easy to get caught up in this.
You get really excited about an idea.
You get really excited about a new technical skill
that you really wanna try out,
and you're just shooting the photos,
but you forget that there's a subject on the other side,
or there's something that you're shooting
that has its own needs,
and its own importance from the photo shoot.
For example, I remember
that I was shooting these photos of Lizzie.
I was super inspired by like Brandon Woelfel at the time.
And I was like, Lizzie, flick your hair back,
and I'll shoot photos of that,
and flick your dress back,
and go and stand in a meadow.
How cliche.
And I took all these photos,
and I was really excited by them.
Look, they're so creative,
even though I was basically stealing an idea.
And then she looked at the photos,
and she goes, "Yes, this is a very nice photo,
but this is not how I want to be portrayed on the internet.
This is not me.
This is not how I feel like I look."
Once we actually had a dialogue
of how she wanted to be portrayed,
then we started creating art together
in a collaborative space,
where she was happy with the photos,
I was happy with the photos,
and that final image makes everybody stoked.
Always keep the subject, or the person,
or the landscape, or whatever you're shooting
in the back of your mind,
and don't let it be a selfish act as a photographer.
If you liked this video, please,
like, please, I actually need you to press Like.
It's my livelihood.
For every like, I get to eat one mac and cheese noodle.
And if I get enough of them, I'll have a whole meal.
And if I get even more,
I'll be able to help feed our whole family,
and our cats will be able to survive.