Learning without Overload
Learning without Overload
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| 0:00 | Lesson Overview |
| 2:21 | The Difference Between Foundations and Tactics |
| 6:25 | More Skills Do NOT Equate to Better Photographs |
| 8:55 | The Darkroom is Not an Obstacle to “Get Over” |
| 9:34 | Example: How to Personalize a Tactic to Compliment Your Workflow |
| 12:48 | Coming Up: The 5DayDeal Photography Bundle |
Lesson Downloads
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- eBook: Creativity in the Digital Darkroom (.pdf)
- Sign up for my FREE Foundations course for Lightroom and Photoshop
About this Lesson
Welcome back for Lesson Three!
For your third lesson, we’re going to discuss how to amplify your ability to create photographs that fully express your creative vision…
And that starts with learning how the fantastic tools of the darkroom can enhance the quality of your ideas WITHOUT overload.
The “without overload” part can make all the difference between wasting time learning useless skills and actually advancing your craft in a meaningful way.
This is sometimes easier said than done though…
Because many photographers assume that you have to learn EVERY single tool of Lightroom and Photoshop (and there are many).
And not just learn them, but MASTER them.
It’s like standing at the base of a mountain…with no guide or gear to help you reach the summit.
Just thinking about that is an overwhelming thought…
But thankfully, this is not how you should approach the darkroom.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- The difference between tactics and foundation skills…and why the principles will give you 90% of the knowledge needed to fully understand even the most advanced techniques.
- How to use the darkroom tools to Distill, Clarify, and Curate your creative ideas effectively…so you can better hone in on the exact techniques that will bring your vision to life.
- Why presets, actions, panels and other “tactical” skills will only marginally improve your photographs (the difference between quality and content).
…and much more.
Lesson Four is Coming in a Few Days!
For your final lesson coming your way in a few days, we’re going full circle. I’ll be walking you step-by-step through the process of developing a creative thesis for your photograph.
We’ll be drawing on all of the skills we’ve learned in this course thus far and put them into action. I’ll also be offering suggestions for implementing this method into your own workflow using the IMA method.
This will be a big lesson, but I guarantee it will give you the biggest strides in your creative development as a photographer. I can’t wait to unpack this process with you in a few days.
PS – Have a question about these videos? Just leave a comment below or message me privately by clicking the orange button in the bottom-right corner.
The 5DayDeal Bundle is just around the corner…
Every year, my good friends Griffin and Valerie put together the Complete Photography Bundle…
A carefully curated collection of courses, tools, and other resources to help you improve your craft and inspire you with new creative ideas.
The best part? We donate a portion of each bundle sale directly to select charities…
And since 2014, we’ve managed to raise well over $2 million dollars! It’s quite a feat to have accomplished…and has impacted many lives.
In order to raise these donations, we discount this bundle by a ridiculous amount (pennies on the dollar)…
And for 2021, they’ve pulled out all the stops and compiled the biggest bundle yet.
There are some extraordinary resources from some of my favorite photography educators that I think you will particularly enjoy…
Greg Benz, Mads Peter Iversen, Ryan Dyar, Tim Grey, Jimmy McIntyre, Joshua Snow, and Sebastian Michaels…just to name a few.
You can see the full list of contributors right here.
This is without a doubt my favorite bundle to date…because it’s now more catered to nature and landscape photographers than ever before.
I know many of you look forward to this opportunity every year, so I wanted to give you as much of a “heads up” as possible…
Because I think this is a fantastic opportunity to make a wise investment in something fun, productive, and creative.
The bundle officially kicks off this Thursday, October 14th, so make sure to keep an eye out for an email from me around that time if this interests you…
Because it will only be available for (you guessed it) five days.
Another great lesson! The most important takeaway for me is to learn the foundations of LR and PS first before buying tools. As I was learning LR I bought presets which were, to be frank, less than useful (from a top educator no less) and 9 months on, I still don’t use them. I don’t often use presets but I have bought a set of LR adjustment brushes which I find to be very useful. In fact, when I was shooting on Friday, I had a scene where, when I looked at it, I knew that I wanted to do with it and knew which brushes I could potentially use for the dodging and burning I needed to do to realise my vision. So, not all tools are created equally and sometimes it’s buyer beware. I’m currently learning about luminosity masking and have went through the painstaking manual process of making those masks. I’ve invested in a well known panel which definitely takes all the hard work out of it but knowing how to create those masks in the first place has helped enormously. I still have a long way to go before I am as comfortable as I’d like to be using luminosity masks and your slide on blending using luminosity masks really grabbed my attention. I’m really looking forward to the 5DayDeal Bundle as it’s my first year hearing about this and some of my favourite educators (yourself included) are contributing. Lesson 4 tomorrow, I can’t wait! Thanks again for another fantastic lesson.
Hi Alwyn – Your comment about presets is exactly what I’m referring to, and what I see happen with many photographers….they can sometimes over-promise a path to creative expression, but it’s not authentic expression…and will often be unfulfilling because we’re blindly applying them with no consideration for the content. In other words, putting the cart before the horse. They can certainly be useful, and I use many myself, but you still need intent and direction behind their usage. It all goes back to the creative thesis!
I’m not supposed to say what is in the bundle this year, but I may or may not have something for luminosity masking if you’re interested in learning more about that topic 🙂 Thank you for your great feedback!
I’m keeping Thursday free, bring on the bundle!
Thanks Alwyn, I’m looking forward to it!
Chris, this is a great series. I really appreciate time to think about creativity in a different way. I struggled with the question “what is it that you think you see that someone else doesn’t?” In landscape photography (use to portraits), I find it hard to find the subject as I am all about the entire scene. Looking back on my images, I feel the awesomeness of the area but still no distinct subject. I find it difficult to crop the scene too. I hope to hone in on being more creative with the thesis aspect. Thank you.
Hi Erika – That’s great to hear! I especially like how you phrased that question. The clarity will come with practice, but making that mental shift to consider the thesis will help you narrow down what kind of story you wish to tell. Thanks for the feedback!