Discussing the book "The Passionate Photographer" with Steve Simon

- If you've watched many of my other courses, you know that I divide the teaching of photography into two sections. There is the craft, which is the technical part, the button-pushing, the exposure theory, all of that stuff you have to learn, and artistry, which is everything else. So I'm here with Steve Simon, who's really good at everything else. Steve, you're great at the technical end, but where Steve really excels is the learning how, or being able to get you to head into that more artistry realm.

And you've written a book about this, in fact. - I have. - And you happen to have it right here. - I happen to have one right here. - What are the odds of that happening? - It's called The Passionate Photographer: Ten Steps Toward Becoming Great. - [Ben] As a photographer? - [Steve] As a photographer, and as a person, as well. - [Ben] We don't have time for all ten steps here. Can you give us three steps that kind of illustrate why this is different from a normal photo instruction book that someone might buy. - Sure, sure. Well, one of the big takeaways is, finding that project, finding the one area that you're most passionate about, like for you, for instance, landscape, and then trying to put together a set of pictures.

And in my experience, when you try and do that, you sometimes spill out all the work that you've been doing and you realize that, "Maybe I've kind of been shooting "this same picture over and over again." When you want to, sort of, take your viewer through a story in a set of pictures, there are new things that come up. Just like peeling the onion, you scratch the surface and dig a little bit deeper, so that, by the end of that set of images, the sum is greater than the parts. Each of those individual pictures still has to deliver.

They have to be strong. But your choice of putting these images together in a set, there's a greater communication to be had there. And, in my experience, that just makes you a better photographer. - And you give a lot of examples of these kinds of projects. I think it's difficult sometimes for people to identify that passion, or know that ... or even recognize that maybe they shoot the same thing, or are drawn to a particular thing. And I feel like you've got good stuff in here about, even, just learning to identify that.

- Well, yeah. I mean, I think that, whatever your interest is, if you're a street photographer, the diamonds, you spill them out and you put them together, and you realize that each of those individual scenes says something a little bit different. And, when you put them together in a set, there's a momentum that is built by how you choose to pair the images or the sequencing that you do, et cetera, that becomes a new challenge in putting together a set of pictures. - Okay, all right, so that's one.

- Oh, yeah, so finding that passion project. - We're 1/10th of the way to being great. - Step two is going through a volume of work. And there is no substitute. Photography's a numbers game. You've got to shoot a lot. The more you shoot, the luckier you get. There's no substitute for being there. - This is thoughtful, practiced, shooting. This isn't just, "Well, here, I clicked off 10,000 pictures. "I'm ready." - Yeah. The thing about when you direct that volume on a specific project ... you go out shooting and you get three strong images from that take. You shoot 30 more times, and then suddenly, images that you thought were strong get replaced with stronger images.

And this is the cumulative effect of working on a specific project. The longer you work on it, generally speaking, the better it gets. And step three talks about how to go through that volume of work. And that is, that first picture's the starting point, and there's a compositional dance that takes place, eye to the camera. You want to explore and see how the world looks with your eye to the viewfinder from different positions that maybe you don't normally get, getting out of your comfort zone, getting in really close, seeing what things look like through your viewfinder.

Because even after all these years of shooting, the image that I thought was going to be the one isn't necessarily the one. And the more you do that compositional dance, the more you realize, kind of, what works. And as you go through the volume, you ultimately fast track to the stronger images. It's kind of a bit of a mysterious process, but it works. - I agree, and I think that's something that beginning photographers can't see, because it is a ... you suddenly feel it. You feel a shift after you've done a certain amount of volume, where you just realize, "Wow, I'm ..." What I notice is, I'm more relaxed.

The editor that sits on the bridge of my nose critiquing everything calms down a little bit more. I understand that there's probably a better picture later. I don't have to worry about that so much. - Yeah, and going through the volume means spending more time in places. And the more time you spend in a place, the more you begin to relax, the more the surroundings around you begin to relax with you there, and then, suddenly, you start to see things that you wouldn't have seen previous to that. In my experience, the more time I put in, often, the best images are yielded toward the end of that shoot and not at beginning, mainly because I start to relax.

And the more options you give yourself by going through the volume, if you stop at frame 32, and frame 38 was the killer shot, then you didn't quite get it. So, in my experience, working it even more will often yield stronger images. - All right, so you're 3/10th of the way to being a great photographer now. (Steve laughs) You can get the other 7/10th from the book. It's The Passionate Photographer. You know, another thing I think about it is, this is a book that you can read cover-to-cover, and really go through the whole process, but it's also a great book to have just when you're feeling stuck or something.

It's loaded with Steve's pictures. There's some beautiful work in here. So to just pick it up and read some little tidbits, look at some work, can get you going visually and make it easier to get out the door and start shooting. They can get this at Amazon? - Yes, yes, I think so. I think it's on Amazon. - That's The Practicing Photographer, by Steve Simon. Steve, thank you very much. - The Passionate Photographer. - Is that what I said? - You said the 'Practicing.' - I'm sorry. That's what we're in right now. -We're in 'Practicing,' exactly. - Yeah, the Passion- I'm the Practicing-- - Oh, did I get that wrong? - you're the Passionate Photographer. - I'm sorry. -No, no, that's okay. Anyway, The Passionate Photographer by Steve Simon, available now.

Thanks a lot, Steve. - You're welcome.