Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”
“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I teach you unless you first empty your cup?”
No matter how much you have studied or your level of skill, be sure to leave room in your cup to learn!
There are two ways to study this book:
1. Start at the beginning and go through it sequentially chapter by chapter, learning as above. I recommend this to you, even if you think you’ve already studied some of the data. I guarantee you’ll learn something new if you leave room in your cup!
2. Or let’s say you’re on a trip and want to dive into“travel photography” or “wildlife photography” and get some tips to use right away. By all means do so, but I still recommend that you go through chapters 1, 2 and 3 first to have your basics and your camera down cold.
Either way, the important point is to really use AYP and carry it in your camera bag or have it close to hand when processing your photographs, etc. I may even give an award to the most well used copy of it in the field! And show me where and how you’re using it by tagging #AYPClub on Instagram (including pages of your notebook).
Sandwich Training
In the UK, college courses are often conducted by “sandwich training” (not in how to make them!) What it means is that study periods are alternated with practical experience. This is the best way to approach your photography education so as to maintain a good balance. This is why I recommend that when you’re studying your camera, you should have it right in front of you. Also break your study time up and go out and shoot. I want you to connect with everything you study in this book.
One last point before we take off: be sure to have fun on your journey! Here are a few tips to help you do so:
1. The sign on my door doesn’t say “no shoes – no service,” but, “Check self criticism at the door!” It’s okay to want to do better, and of course that’s the whole point of AYP, but don’t be your own worst critic. In other words, allow yourself to win!
2. Study and use the AYP regularly. As when you learn any new skill, you can’t dabble at it and expect to get very far. Set your pace weekly and stick to it. I suggest a minimum of one hour, three times a week.Three hours a week isn’t a bad investment to make in becoming an accomplished photographer.
3. Take at least one photograph every single day. If you don’t have your trusted camera, then use your smartphone. Follow my advice on posting to social media (in Chapter 5), and also tag the ones you are proud of to #AYPClub on Instagram.
4. Don’t take it seriously, but have fun. Fall into the joy of learning to express yourself better and more effectively as a photographer.
5. You can always reach out to me with your questions or comments. Reach me on my YouTube channel or on our contact form on AYPClub.com. Unless I get bombarded, I promise to answer every question you send me.
6. Have fun and fall in love with photography more deeply every day!
“I THINK IT IS IN COLLABORATION THAT THE NATURE
OF ART IS REVEALED.”
— STEVE LACY, JAZZ COMPOSER
In writing this book, I received so much help and support from so many people that it felt like the universe was telling me that my large network of supporters was behind me the whole way. And indeed they were.
I’ll begin by thanking Chase Jarvis, for inviting me to his studio for one of our very first videos and for his friendship and continued support throughout the years. Thanks to Bob Holmes for his friendship and for his continued advice and support along the way; he also contributed his time and support in creating our videos that are so loved. Similarly, thanks to Huntington Witherill for his advice and contributions in his videos.
I’d like to thank all those who contributed to our many, many interviews, especially those whose work you see here in AYP: Chris Burkard, Matthew Jordan Smith, Camille Seaman, John Todd, David Smith, Lena Hyde, Anna Kuperberg, Joey L., Hunter Freeman, Florian Schulz and Bambi Cantrell. Without them, the book would lack the dimension that it has.
I’d like to thank those who helped me edit and smooth out AYP: Jerome Milac for his belief in and continued support of AYP; Catherine Weaver for her expert guidance on editing, Pete Hoffman for his Photoshop mastery and David Jensen for his advice. To my fantastic digital film producers over the years: Rocky Barbanica, Sam Rider, Matt Cross, and Hollie Fleck for their production on our AYP Videos (and thank you, Hollie, for modeling.)
I would especially like to thank my followers who have supported me over the years; without you, I would have had no purpose behind my production, with you, it has meant the world.
And a big thank you to the team at Mango Publishing, especially Chris McKenney, who believed in and supported AYP, and Hugo Villabona, who has been my editor and guide through the project, making this much more fun than a solo expedition and Elina Diaz for her beautiful design.
» Five Stages of photography: Visualization is at the center as it is involved with each of the other stages. Each stage is interactive (with arrows going both ways) since by improving one, you improve the rest. For example: by improving your skills in Processing this will improve your ability to Capture and vice versa. The same is true for each stage of photography.
CHAPTER 1 THE CYCLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND ITS PARTS
“PHOTOGRAPHY IS A WAY OF FEELING, OF TOUCHING,
OF LOVING. WHAT YOU HAVE CAUGHT ON FILM IS
CAPTURED FOREVER…”
– AARON SISKIND, PHOTOGRAPHER
There is a natural cycle to photography, as there is to all parts of life. For example, if you want to learn to cook a certain dish, you follow a natural cycle of first getting an idea of how you want your dish to turn out, consulting the recipe, and getting out your kitchen equipment – pans, cheese grater, etc. (learning how to use each if needed), then cooking the dish, which hopefully comes out how you visualized it, then you share it with others!
I’ll be covering each of these parts in detail to help you break down the whole subject into its components to understand them easily.
Now, before I dive into these, I want you to promise me you won’t stop taking photographs until you learn all these parts.
As I mentioned in the introduction, I want you to take at least one photograph every
