I recently traded e-mails with a student from one of my Lightroom classes who told me that she liked my teaching style because I showed her how to do things then gave her time to try them out while being available to give feedback or answer questions. I appreciated that feedback because that’s always my goal.
As someone who is mostly self-taught – after a great introduction from a photo class taught by my now good friend Emilie Knight and a few other valuable mentors – I am a firm believer that while it is good to get inspiration, knowledge and information from workshops, websites, videos and the classroom, it is absolutely critical to “complete the circle” by taking the time to do the work. Sit down at your computer and figure out how to use whatever software you choose to create the images you envisioned. Watching me doing it and taking notes isn’t going to help you.
People like to tell me about how hard they think Lightroom is. It’s not hard – in fact it’s remarkably simple – provided you take the time to learn how to use it. If you’re looking for that big “Easy Button” you won’t find it. But if you take the time to learn how to use it you won’t need the Easy Button. For me the goal of software is to not have to think about it. Learn what the capabilities are, just like you learn the capabilities of your camera. Before you know it you’ll be taking photographs and visualizing the results because you will know exactly what the capabilities of the software are.
Get out and photograph. Apply the inspiration you get from others and get to work making your own photographs. You need to get out and take pictures – YOUR pictures. Not your version of my pictures or someone else’s pictures.
When I do my classes or presentations I show people my photography, show people how Lightroom works, talk about what inspires me or how I see, but I don’t want to do it for them. Enjoy my work, hopefully be inspired by some of it (hey, inspiration can inspire to do or to not do, you know!), see what the possibilities are then go do your thing. That’s one of the problems with sharing technical data. When I show a photo and someone asks me what lens I used, or what the shutter speed was, they’re not thinking about the photograph. They’re distracted by the how and not paying attention to the why. I encourage people to think about it instead of asking the question. That’s how we learn.
If someone asks me for the technical information and I say “Canon 5D with the 70-200 2.8L IS USM at 190mm, f16 @ 1/30, ISO 100” and they write it all down what does that do? It’s just a bunch of gobbledygook. But if they look at my photo and think to themselves “looks like a longish lens because he got in close, shutter speed is pretty short because he froze the movement and there’s pretty good depth of field so he probably used a small aperture” guess what? They get it! It doesn’t matter whether you get the exact numbers but as long as you get the idea that’s close enough. Then take that and apply it to your own situations.
Don’t get me wrong. Going to the classroom or attending a workshop is great. It’s fuel for the fire. Another tool for the toolbox. But take that fuel or that tool and go out there and make something with it. Something that’s special. Something that’s yours.