New Challenges... and Episode 65 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

When I began the podcasts at the beginning of April last year, I thought I would give it 3 months to see how it went.

Each week I would talk about the story and decisions made behind a particular photo shoot, and then do a Critique section for people to submit their images to for feedback and advice on how to improve their photography and editing skills.

I knew if the podcasts were to continue beyond that, eventually I would run out of existing photo shoots to talk about, especially given the complexity and time taken for the kind of shoots I do – it's not like I would have a fresh one to chat about every week. However, I reckoned I had at least 9 or 10 months worth of material to discuss before I would have to worry about it.

By late autumn I could see the list dwindling, but by introducing Challenges, I was able to stretch the remaining stock much further. Because one week would be the Challenge, but the week before would be talking through the topic and things to be aware of before getting your camera out, I essentially managed to double the length of time I had before I was likely to run out.

However, we've more or less reached the point where all my best stuff has been reviewed, discussed and dissected so where to go next?

There's no doubt I was completely convinced that long before we ever reached this point, the Critique section would have grown, taken over, and completely dominated the podcasts. I mean, where else on the Internet can you get genuine, tactful, knowledgeable feedback from a professional photographer, for free, every week?

There are people out there who charge hundreds of pounds/euros/dollars to review your images and you still wouldn't get the insights I offer.

15 months on and I still have absolutely no idea why more people aren't chewing my arm off for this.

While I was making what has turned out to be completely unnecessary plans for how to deal with being deluged by Critique requests - and how I would have to select which images to review when there would be far more than I could fit into a 90 minute live, video podcast - the tumble-weeds were rolling past.

However, what has become apparent is the Challenges are always more popular than the regular podcasts, so I've decided to increase their frequency.

From now on, until another idea occurs to me, I'll be doing Challenges once a fortnight, while discussing the concepts and pitfalls of each Challenge the week before. And in those discussion weeks, I will also do Critiques.

If I have a new shoots to show off, then I can periodically slot them in. And if the Critique submissions periodically increase, then I can dedicate a complete podcast to them. But at the moment, it feels like these will be occasional, and the fortnightly Challenges are what will dominate.

So if there is a topic, subject or technique you would love to learn more about, and then be set a Challenge to attempt, then either head over to the Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook Page and let me know your suggestions, or drop them into the comments on this blog post.

Meanwhile, enjoy episode 65 below, where I talk about the inherent problems in photographing live bands in low light...

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0:00 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
05:20 - Photographing Live Bands on stage
18:37 - Photographing bands in local pubs/bars
35:28 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
1:30:18 - Challenge Suggestions Request
1:34:00 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to be notified of new podcasts and behind-the-scenes videos.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

The Big Lie of Social Media... and Episode 64 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

Inherent in the narratives we are fed from childhood, and are reinforced at every turn, is the idea that if we have a modicum of talent, and work hard, then it will be recognised and we will be rewarded.

And if we have more than a modicum, and are actually considered to be pretty damn good, then additional fames and fortunes await.

So we take our photos, paint our paintings, weave our willow, sculpt our clay or croon our tunes. We study, we practice, we have friends and family who tell us how talented we are. And periodically we even have a few people part with their own hard won cash to buy the product of our skills.

Surely, then, it is only a matter of time before the breakthrough happens – we will achieve a wide enough recognition that enough people will want to pay us enough money such that we can afford a good enough life, or at least sufficiently survive.

And yet somehow it never quite materialises.

Surely then, this must mean we are not as good as we thought we were.

Or...

We expand our narrative to include the ones that tell us it doesn't matter how talented we are, we'll never be a success if no one has heard of us. Marketing, publicity, getting our name out there for more people to recognise our awesomeness is what's required.

And aren't we extraordinarily fortunate that we live in a time of the world wide web, and social media.

Prior to this era, fame and fortune were only open to people who were found and nurtured by the gatekeepers. These were other people who got to decide whether we were worthy enough for the world to see us.

But now we can bypass them. There are countless examples of people who achieved their recognition on a global scale with nothing more than a fraction of a modicum of talent, and a Facebook account.

So we invest time and energy into creating a Facebook account, posting content, and trying to build a following.

And yet somehow it never quite materialises.

Oh, but, ah, but... if it's a visual medium we work in, then Instagram is the place where even those with a fraction of a fraction of a modicum of talent are achieving global recognition. Just think how many accounts we can find that have hundreds of thousands of followers and all they do is post selfies and motivational quotes they've stolen?

So we invest time and energy into creating an Instagram account, posting content, and trying to build a following.

And yet somehow it never quite materialises.

Oh, but, ah, but... you need a blog! Every article to be found online about how to promote ourselves online talks about having a blog. You could be an INFLUENCER!!!

But I've already got one of those and have been producing content for almost 16 years and have fewer followers than ever.

Oh, but, ah, but... a YouTube Channel is essential!

I upload my podcasts to it every week to the sound of tumble weeds rolling past.

Oh, but, ah, but... if you deal with other businesses then LinkedIn...

Got one.

Oh, but, ah, but... Twitter is really the place to be...

Really?

Oh, but, ah, but... TikTok! It's taking the world by storm don't you know?

Fuck off.

OK, forget social media – there are fortunes to be made in crypto-currencies...

At this point I should probably disconnect myself from the Internet and see if I can get a job stacking shelves in a warehouse somewhere.

But Kim, I hear you cry, what a waste of your talents that would be! Show us another photo...

Meanwhile, enjoy episode 64 below which has nothing to do with the above blog post and is nothing like as depressing. In fact, it even includes the wonderful mug I got from my daughter for Father's Day.

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0:00 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
3:22 - Warning: may start talking about photography...
04:07 - Moniaive Comic Festival 2018
13:38 - The editing sequence for the main publicity photo
26:17 - Introduction to the Critique section of the podcast
29:27 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
1:03:08 - Using Photoshop's Sky Replacement tool
1:12:48 - Coming up next week
1:17:00 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

Drinking Game... and Episode 63 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

Russ submitted a photo of his son to the Silhouette Challenge set for last night's live video podcast.

Shortly afterwards he re-submitted the same image, but had slightly adjusted the composition to allow more space in front of it. Alongside it he wrote, "As I sat looking at my original offering I could almost hear Kim's disembodied voice in my head saying "give it room to breathe" So here it is, not a second image but rather a revised version of the first one."

While not exactly a catch phrase (I certainly didn't invent the expression), it is something I probably end up saying at least a couple of times during most podcasts.

It reminded me of a conversation I was having with my wife and son a few months into the podcasts, when Rogan mentioned there were particular things I said every week.

It's perhaps not surprising, given that quite a few photos can be quite dramatically improved by making some fairly basic adjustments - either in the composition, the lighting, or by understanding the key story we are wishing to express.

It was then jokingly reckoned you could probably create a drinking game out of it.

Certainly there's no doubt that if you were to take a swig, or knock back a shot, every time you hear me mention:

straightening the horizon
making sure the subject is in focus
cropping
diagonals
backlight
where's the story
Facebook changing its layout again
and of course, giving it room to breathe

then by the end of the podcast you are likely to be well and truly plastered.

Not that I would ever recommend irresponsible alcohol consumption – so non-alcoholic beverages, or even consuming small tasty snacks could be alternatives...

Meanwhile, enjoy episode 63 below – but only if you don't have to drive home afterwards...

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0:00 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
05:20 - Reviewing images on the theme "Silhouette" submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
32:48 - How your choices affect the development of your "voice" in photography
1:39:05 - Coming up next week
1:40:40 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

The Silhouette Challenge - and Episode 62 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

There's something engaging about a silhouette – we can't help but feel a compulsion to work out what the outline is of, and to try and mentally fill in the lack of internal details.

This desire has no doubt evolved in us as a survival mechanism: when our distant ancestors couldn't see something clearly, the ability to fill in the gaps and work out whether it was prey or predator would have made all the difference in whether they ate, or were eaten.

In terms of photography, it means the viewer can't help themselves attempting to solve the puzzle – and by looking at our photo that little bit longer feel a slightly stronger connection to it.

The background also becomes extremely important in deciphering the image – either it is blank, and so allows the outline to be seen more clearly, or it might give some kind of clue because of the setting.

Create the right combination of silhouette shape and background, and the desire to look can become almost irresistible.

And when we live in a world where people will scroll through a long feed of hundreds of images on social media, it can mean the difference between whether your photo gets a like, a vote, a comment or a share, or is barely noticed.

So this week's photo challenge for the live video podcast is to create an interesting, engaging image using silhouettes.

Quick word of warning – DO NOT look through the viewfinder if you are pointing your camera towards the sun – your camera is a lens and you could seriously damage your eyesight. Best to use the viewscreen to line up your shot, or point the camera in the right direction you want, take the photo and then check it on the viewscreen to see if it worked.

See how you get on – I'm really looking forward to seeing what people are going to produce! But if you find you're struggling, then you can still submit a photo you're having difficulty with - just explain the problem and I can include suggestions and ideas in the podcast too.

Place your photo (just the one please) either into this event page in the Discussion section:
https://www.facebook.com/events/321568952747676/

or into the Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

Try and get it in before the end of the weekend, or by Monday (14th April) at the latest. Anything that arrives on Tuesday runs the risk of not being included in the podcast.

You can use a phone, tablet, point-and-shoot or DSLR (or mirrorless).

And then, make sure you tune in on Tuesday 15th June at 7.30pm (UK time) where I'll go through the photos, and give comments and feedback, and hopefully we will all become inspired by some of the submissions to go and try out new things with our photography.

Meanwhile, enjoy episode 62 below

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0:00 - Welcome, what's coming up, greetings and comments
3:40 - Introduction to Silhouettes
16:25 - Adding colour to a black and white silhouette photo
22:25 - Never look through the viewfinder when pointing the camera at the sun
30:48 - Critique of images submitted to the Facebook Group, "Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres"
48:47 - Removing redness in faces
1:05:05 - Coming up next week - the Silhouette Challenge
1:08:55 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/

First steps back into the outside world...

While Meg was clearly delighted to be out of the house and in a café for the first time in nearly 15 months, Maggie and I were on edge, trying not to show it.

With all three of us now double-vaccinated plus a few weeks to bring us up to best level effectiveness, now was the time to start making our tentative steps to reintegrate into a post-Lockdown society.

Meg's Down's Syndrome meant she was in a super-high risk category – 10 times more likely to die if she contracted Covid-19 – so we've been in shielding mode since the beginning. While others might have had a chance to learn the new normals during the times when restrictions were eased somewhat, we didn't want to take any chances so continued with our protective regime.

I have done only a handful of photo shoots over the past year, but they have always been outside and socially distanced. I've been very clear about the level of risks I've not been prepared to take. Fortunately most have been completely understanding, although I have also lost several jobs because of it.

Waiting for the vaccines to be created and approved.
Waiting for Meg to get her first jab.
Waiting for Maggie to get hers.
Waiting for me to get mine.
Waiting for Meg to get her second.
Waiting for me and Maggie to get ours.
Waiting for the immunity to build up after the second vaccine.

Hope, anticipation, and terror in equal measure.

15 months of living in fear that if I inadvertently did something wrong like touch an infected surface without noticing, or if someone else walked past me too close and I accidentally breathed in an infected out-breath, which could result in my daughter and/or wife dying or seriously suffering.

The weight of responsibility each time I left the house.
The weight of responsibility each time we took in a postal or food delivery.
The weight of responsibility each time I met someone in a carefully arranged socially-distanced setting.

Is it any wonder my ME/CFS has worsened?
Is it any wonder I have become more fearful of the world?
Is it any wonder that when I sat down in the café for a cup of coffee and a tray bake, I had to battle the primal parts of my brain, which were screaming at me it was all way too risky and we should leave immediately?

A few days before we allowed ourselves our much anticipated first trip out for coffee, before I would even arrange to hug my grandson, I made a 500 mile round trip to see my 84 year old father.

For reasons not remembered I didn't get to see him in the latter part of 2019, but that was all unquestioningly going to be rectified the following year.

Except of course it wasn't

And when Covid hit, the over 80s were the most vulnerable of all groups.

Could it be that the last time I'd seen him was going to have turned out to be the last time I would ever have seen him and I hadn't realised? This was certainly the case for so many.

So I knew I had to see him at the first possible safe opportunity.

I even did one of those home tests, with the swab on the tonsils and up the nose, an hour before I got into the car (wiping down the handles, of course, in case someone had sneezed while walking past it).

It was the first time my father and his partner had allowed anyone in their house since it all began.

A moment of hesitation, then one of the longest hugs my father and I have ever had – outdone only by the one we had as I was leaving.

So with no further barriers to begin our reintegration into society, Maggie, Meg and I walked down the road to Street Lights café.

On the corners of the first junction are the pharmacy where I've been picking up household prescriptions once a month, and the post office where I've occasionally shoved letters into the mailbox outside.

That has been the limit of heading down King Street. Beyond that it gets busier. This has been the place where either I have turned round and headed home, or turned off down one of the side streets to take me on my daily walk.

Castle Douglas is only a small town – population approx. 4,000. It's not like a city, or even an average sized town. The pavements were not heaving with people brushing up against each other.

But still I kept wanting to leap into the road every time we walked past someone.

It all felt wrong, as though I had wandered into a no-go zone and instant and unexpected death could happen at any moment.

Arriving at the café should have felt like heading into a safe place, but in some ways it was worse – it was heading into an enclosed space.

We masked up and used the hand sanitiser at the door.

We sat down at a table but didn't know whether we could take our masks off or not. No one else who was seated was wearing one. We looked around and back at each other for a few minutes, then tentatively removed them.

When the server arrived, we gave our order, along with our surname and a telephone number as part of the track & trace system.

The coffee was good and the tray bake was tasty, but I felt like a stranger in a strange land.

Everything was at once familiar and unfamiliar.

I knew the café and I recognised the people who worked in it, but the layout had changed: there were screens between the tables, and there were no menus to hand, instead everything was chalked in large letters on black paint on the walls. And the staff were wearing masks.

Now one part of me knows that we are now as “safe” as we are going to be. But the deeper, emotional, fearful side, who has no real idea how to risk-assess all this, wants to scurry off to safety and hide from it all.

However, if we can't cope with the world despite being double-vaccinated, then we are going to have to be hermits for the rest of our lives – and I can't live like that.

So it's time to learn, and create, the new normals. And the only way to do that is to do it.

We have to keep pushing ourselves back out into society until we feel comfortable with how to act and react – and that will take time.

Next on the list is the garden centre...

Misjudged - and Episode 61 of Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres

It seems I misjudged my viewing audience and what they might be interested in.

Last night's "Spring Fling Special – Ask The Photographer" had the lowest number of viewers watching live that I've ever had.

It wasn't that I lost them as the podcast went on – it was pretty consistent from start to finish – just that hardly anyone turned up.

This week is Dumfries & Galloway's Spring Fling Open Studio event – something I've been a part of for the best part of a decade or more. Traditionally artists and makers open their studios to the public and visitors can go and meet them all in person.

With the onset of Covid, Spring Fling shifted online and this year virtual studios sit on the https://spring-fling.co.uk website, but there are plenty of virtual studio tours, online demonstrations, interviews and other assorted videos to enjoy, as well as 2 real-world pop-up exhibitions.

All participants were asked to come up with something and I thought tying in my podcast would be a good idea – and what better way than doing an "Ask The Photographer" session?

One of the reasons for visiting creatives in their studios is so you can ask them all the questions you're curious about – from their practice and styles to equipment and motivations – so it stood to reason I could use the podcast to allow viewers to ask me anything.

Spring Fling have been promoting all the members and activities so I really thought I would have more viewers than usual – there would be my regulars, and then some newbies who had come via the event promotions.

But no.

Not only were there no new viewers, but most of my regulars stayed away too.

And I have no idea why.

Perhaps everyone thought it was just going to be a self-indulgent me-fest

But while some of the questions asked were of the "what got me into photography" and "what's my favourite photo" variety, most were requests for advice - "how do you relax people in front of the camera" or "what is good starting point for learning about lighting"

It's full of some great info I would love to have known when I started out in photography, and there are questions I would certainly have asked other photographers if I had the chance.

However, the packed-full-of-useful-info message obviously wasn't one people picked up or assumed before deciding whether to tune in or not.

I don't think the content was bad, but I clearly didn't promote it in the right way.

I just have no real idea what I did wrong.

Next week will be back to the regular style of podcast, and at that point I'll find out whether this was a blip or whether whatever it was I didn't get right has permanently lost me most of my regulars...

Episode 61 below

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0:00 - Welcome
0:34 - What is Spring Fling?
2:10 - Spring Fling Special podcast - Ask The Photographer
6:20 - What camera and lenses do I use?
10:50 - How to create textures?
13:25 - Favourite Landscape photo?
17:00 - Why did I get into photography?
21:20 - Why did I get into portraiture?
23:18 - What was a key milestone in the development of my photography?
30:35 - Why do I use Canon equipment?
32:25 - What about different genres?
40:30 - What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing portraiture?
47:14 - How do I relax people in front of the camera?
53:20 - Would I camp out if it meant I could photograph someone interesting?
55:45 - Who would I most like to photograph?
57:20 - How do I deal with difficult clients?
1:05:55 - What is a good starting point for people wanting to get into portraiture?
1:10:30 - What is good starting point for learning about lighting?
1:15:40 - How do I manage a team of people who have different agendas?
1:21:36 - What other podcasts are like, and coming up next week
1:24:38 - What genres do you find the hardest?
1:25:30 - Which do you prefer - taking photos, or teaching photography?
1:28:04 - Drawing to a close
1:29:30 - End

If you found this interesting/useful/entertaining, then please consider supporting these podcasts and blog posts via buymeacoffee.com/kimayres

Also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/kimayres – to help me build the numbers.

And, or course, if you would like to submit a photo for feedback, or just ask a photography related question, then do join my Understanding Photography with Kim Ayres Facebook group and I will put it into the following podcast:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240842990388815/