I want to read you some questions that represent queries Melissa and I get
every single day now they got me thinking we're going to come to that in
a moment these questions arrive in various different shapes and forms what
my answer to all of them is actually always the same what is the best
aperture to use if I change my aperture from five six to f11 or f-16 will it
make much difference to depth of field will it be unnoticeable can I use my
filters on my camcorder how much difference will swapping from a sunny
white balance preset to a cloudy one make which lens will give me the best
results when I go out to shoot pictures can I shoot a portrait with a 50
millimeter lens what's the best shutter speed to use what shutter speed and evie
level should I set on my speed light the second sync movement blur at last one
you can see from someone who's obviously fairly advanced for the technical stuff
my answer to all of these questions is try it and see now before we go any
further I want you to know that I understand photography is a big
confusing subject when you're starting out I've been there myself but questions
like these suggest a reluctance to experiment to try something out see what
happens and it isn't just the beginners who are
asking questions where the answer is try it and see so what is generating
questions at this time what's behind them is it fear of getting them wrong is
it fear of laziness do we want someone else to do the work for us if we do want
someone else to do the work for us there's a problem here because we miss
out on valuable experience because we're not getting into action and trying stuff
out instead of simply being given an answer there are huge benefits to be
gained by experimenting and finding an answer for ourselves
it's called experiential learning learning through experiencing something
think back to being a kid were you ever told not to touch something because it
was hot not to stand on the ice because it's thin but you wanted that cake fresh
and steamy from the oven you wanted to slide on that ice so you just went and
did it anyway and by doing that you learned that new
baked cake burn your mouth and standing on thin ice
makes you cold and wet you remembered those lessons way better because you had
an experience it's one thing to be told something and quite another to
experience it do you learn better by being told about them reading about them
watching them or doing them for real of course you need some pointers to get you
started I've given you hundreds of free videos and a bunch of courses you can
buy they've got everything you need to get you rockin and rollin but you have
to take action and try things for yourselves you have to experiment oh
come on Brown just tell me the settings I need
I'm going on safari in Kenya next week for goodness sake daring man would I be
able to tell you your settings for every scenario you're likely to encounter when
photographing African wildlife think about it light changes moment by moment
so exposure will - composition possibilities are endless depth of field
changes all the time according to distance to subject focal length and
personal choice even if I could tell you all the settings and their variables
would you remember them you're standing in the back of the Land Rover you're
chatting to people who are also on the trip when the Sun just breaks through
under the clouds and it kisses the top of the mountains in the most wondrous
sunset the bush is stunningly backlit in reds and oranges and then as if by magic
the elephant steps from behind the trees and he majestically holds his head high
stares at you he is out and proud if I could have told you what to do in this
scenario would you have remembered precisely what you had to do so you
didn't have to think about it would you effortlessly spin a couple of dials on
your camera as you bring it to your eye and shoot the image or more likely would
you faff about trying to figure out what it was - do you know what was it
bouncing about back light exposure company where is it I don't know I'm
buying it on auto birth mode take as many as possible hope there's a good one
shit with the elephant dawn the time to try things out is now
for the event not during it I think we've established that most people learn
best by doing and trying so why are we so lazy when we know that getting off
our asses and into action will take us forward so much faster you have to learn
to think things through for yourself by trying stuff out and that means giving
up laziness and procrastination I used to teach photography to mature students
at a college not kids mature students who are paying money for the course yet
each week some of them would come in and they'd
say they hadn't had time to do the homework or prepare for this next lesson
what you think just two weeks two hours a week with me in a classroom that's
going to get you winning competitions and gaining accreditation we want
results without the work without the pain of trying hard and maybe getting it
wrong that's normal and it's the same for you me and everybody but it doesn't
work that way around because the pain of getting it wrong is where we learn how
to get it right Photography is an elephant and if you're
going to eat an elephant you've got to do it one bite at a time you're never
going to get the bugger down we know that but we procrastinate and we find
excuses not to practice camera techniques because it's raining because
we don't have the time because we need a bit more information and that's all
before we dare take a bite laziness is procrastination in disguise and if we're
really honest about it the root of procrastination is fear of getting it
wrong and then feeling crap about it afterwards photography is a massive
subject and there's always more to learn therefore there's always plenty of space
to get it wrong and there always will be I'm sorry but if you're not prepared to
try stuff and get it wrong there's nothing more I can do to help you so you
just as well stop this video now I wish you well go have a great life now we
hope you didn't and I hate you are still with me here because I do want to help
no one likes to fail at something so we're all afraid of failure at some
level we're afraid someone will point at us and say they failed this is becoming
a sickness in our society how many top 10 fails videos are there
line don't watch them if you're taking pleasure from someone else's failure
what's that going to do for your own self-esteem what's it going to do for
your own fear that someone will point at you and laugh and call you a failure
don't watch them so how do we overcome laziness get into action and speed
things up a bit well what about willpower well it's a
start willpower gets us up off our asses in
the first instance but it isn't going to carry the day on its own there's a
problem with willpower and that is it comes across as a drag something we
should do but we don't really want to it feels like we're forcing ourselves into
doing something and what's that going to do to your enthusiasm passion and
creativity we need something more something that will pull us towards it
not push us because when we're pushed we tend to push back the other way and
that's not going to work so here are my top five tips to help you stop being
lazy get you into action and reach your goals faster so for number one let's
start at the beginning number one what is it you're avoiding by being lazy what
is it you get out of that and be honest with yourself be honest when you answer
don't just say doing stuff because that's not an honest answer that'll
that's not gonna move things forward it's much too ambiguous what stuff
consider the possibility that it's the theme might get it wrong you'd have
wasted your time which of course you won't have done because getting it wrong
is where we learn how to get it right next ask yourself what you want to
achieve and then set a goal don't be wishy-washy by saying I want to take
better pictures what pictures what photos better in whose eyes be specific
once willpower has heaved you up out of the armchair you need something that
excites motivates and draws you towards it how about win the landscape
competition at camera Club your images illustrating a magazine article gaining
an RPS qualification or selling your work for real money what is it for you
then ask yourself what's your next step towards the
remember this is an elephant you're eating so think about where you need to
take that next bite from it might be to master exposure shoot the same subject
in different light to see how it alters the image practice shutter dragging and
Evi settings with second sync flash to create movement if that was you write it
all down and set a time frame for each task and reread that every single day
and stay connected with your inspired moment so you take action on the answers
cross off each task as you complete it so that you can see at a glance what
you've done what you've achieved this can only increase your self-esteem and
make you hungry for the next step so those are my 5 top tips to help you
master your photography faster don't be scared to try things out and see what
happens make notes so you remember and can refer
back and worry if you get something wrong it's how you learn to get it right
do these things and be honest with yourself and you'll progress faster than
you ever imagined possible so over to you subscribe to our YouTube channel to
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