A Conversation With Paul
Welcome to my first blog article not attached to a photo series! In an effort to connect with my audience and client base, I plan to write blog articles about whatever is on my mind at a given time having to do with Dynamic Duo and other things. I hope that you are reading this blog post because you like my photography and videography work, and I hope to encourage you if you are at the beginning of your imaging journey and struggling like I used to be…and sometimes still am!
Whether you think you can or think you can’t…you’re right!
We began our journey with my wife Jenn handling most of the terrestrial still photo work and me handling the video and drone imaging side of things. Jenn was employing the HDR method and struggling from time to time with color casts that were hard to tame and some other lighting issues. At the beginning of 2022 I began noticing the work of photographers like Rich Baum and Nathan Cool who teach/recommend/use something called the flambient method in their photography. I immediately saw the magic in their methods and began salivating over the idea of learning the flambient method and becoming our still photographer. Which is what I did!
Our plan was to send Jenn back to traditional employment to help smooth out the financial situation a bit. Self-employment is fun until you hit a couple down weeks and you aren’t clear where grocery money is going to be coming from. I didn’t just want to say goodbye to our client base once Jenn made the switch, so as I mentioned I began learning and practicing with the flambient method. And sucking big time.
As I practiced and worked with the flambient method, I thought I’d never get it. My images were terrible. I didn’t understand what settings to use. I didn’t know how to turn out a quality picture. I was struggling and got down. But…as the title of this blog post says, I kept on trying, practicing and learning. Today I am turning out much better photos and I’m having a good time as a photographer. I’ve added twilight photos to my offering as well as architectural photography, among other things. I have a better grip on settings, I have a better understanding of several techniques. I still have a long way to go but I’ve also come a long way.
If you are new to photography and struggling, don’t give up! There are an astounding amount of resources out there, find them and learn! Find them and practice! Find them and keep trying. If you take it seriously and try hard you’ll make progress.
I’d love to know your thoughts! Please consider leaving a comment below.
