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“Never play for your peers…”

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Was listening to Joe Rogan talk about becoming successful as a stand up comic.

He says it starts with an “ember”. A fire, passion, which drives us to work hard. You know, the “D” word….discipline.

But one thing he warned about and I found most interesting is the idea behind playing for your peers.

In other words, creating jokes that other comedians “get”.

The problem he states, besides this ruining any real chances at success, is most folks don’t get the jokes.

Are jazz musicians the same? Me thinks so.

You don’t see arenas packed with crowds to hear the best jazz bands.
Do you? Lady Gaga, yes. Jazz, no. (think small clubs filled with smoke and arrogance)

Gaga plays to her audience. A comedian who speaks to their audience and makes them laugh has a chance at success.

“It’s very problematic to play for the comedians. Because comedians like weird shit…”
Sez Joe….

I can say the same thing about photographers and photography. Call me a capitalist profiteering swine, but whenever I see ANY kind of photography with impact, I ask myself:
“Yes, but can it make money??”

Is there a game plan?

Or is it simply appealing to our peers. Depends, I guess, what you want to achieve.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”

Is money evil?

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Is money Evil?

How do you feel about money?

Money isn’t everything, but all too often is viewed upon with scorn, negativity and skewed perceptions.

I personally struggled with this all my life, but am working on it everyday.
It’s an uphill battle.

We run businesses, and therefore we must have goals and plans, right? Of course.
NO plans, no directions. No ‘map’.

When you know what you want, you get what you want. This is the first step in marketing your photography business.

You also need to know how much you want to make.

I heard someone say: “I want enough to pay the bills an cover expenses.”
Uh? Can you be a little more vague please?

The fact is, you need to embrace money as an essential tool. Money isn’t evil.

Evil people do evil things with money. But not you, or I.

We expand our lives because of it and have a balanced, centered inner game.

I talk about what changed and what worked for me in a webinar from a few years ago.

How I got OK with making money.

If you don’t reconcile this struggle it won’t go away. Hate, resentment, anger or life’s unjust struggles won’t justify, fix or balance out the inequities of life.

Embrace the struggle. Be good with money. And make some. Lots of it. It’s ok.

Still relevant, timeless and valid.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”

They only come out at night…

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Years ago I had a huge epiphany.

It was a Friday. I had been working hard all week. And I had a big wedding the next day.

Worse, I was nervous, scared, stressed and felt out of control.

“What the hell was going on!??” I stressed to myself.

The added stress of worrying about being stressed compounded itself.
If you follow my drift.

I went to sleep and slept like a baby. I woke up early, well rested to a beautiful sunny day.

And I felt great. I felt strong and confident.

I wondered…“what was that all about?”
As I pondered last nights near nervous break down.

And it dawned on me. I was tired. That’s all it was.

I had no idea that being physically tired and mentally wiped could wreak that much damage on my psyche.

I do now. It’s like turning into a grizzly bear when all it is is hunger.

I realized then and there that being tired and under stress had some serious potential to cause damage. And I added that knowledge to my arsenal of ninja weapons.

It’s good stuff to know.

It’s even better to know how to use it in one’s life.

Why?

Because when you’re tired and weak, the boogey man comes out.

He brings all his friends. They are called doubt, fear, anxieties.. you know what I am talking about.

Add to that any uncertainty going on in your life and it becomes a real challenge. It’s why having rituals and goals are so important.

And it’s one of the reasons why so many can’t handle the stress on being self-employed, let alone being self-employed in photography.

At the end of the day, stop. Breathe. Relax. Write in your journal. Focus on what you did great that day.

Do NOT let them win.

It’s no time to listen to the reasoning that these fears bring on and to make any major decisions.

It’s all about being self aware and in self- control.

It’s what being a radiant warrior is all about.

It’s why having a sense of entitlement never really works.

Be a warrior. A grown up. Not a child. Know when the boogey man is attacking and take responsibility.

You’ll feel better in the morning.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

Here’s a ritual I believe in….Every month I run TWO mastermind meeting for members. These are information rich, strategy loaded brainstorming sessions from real, legit, in the trenches photography operations.

Seriously….you play favorites? What’s My Favorite Aperture?

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Bigger, faster, wider…that’s my rule of thumb.

In other words, what is the widest aperture I can get away with considering:

  • lens choices available
  • situation….in other words, what and who am I photographing
  • the lighting and certain challenges, limitations or options available
  • the subject matter

Some examples, from recent shoots….and some explanations as to why I used whatever aperture I used.

Family sessions outdoors….I shot this at 5.6. I would have easily gone wider, BUT, I had a beauty dish and was limited to how wide an aperture I could use due to the maximum shutter speeds available. In this case, no faster than 1/200th of a second. Yea, I know, high speed sync would solve this. Working on it….

Two year old…..shot at 200mm at 2.8. I kinda, sorta got lucky. As you may know, with a two year old, that’s the way it goes. You do your best, and get what you get. The stars were all aligned in this shot. The lighting, the subject and me. She gave me a nano second of her time. I love shooting at 2.8 for obvious reasons. The  selective focus, bokeh and compression.

Another outdoor shot at f2.5 at 1/200th of a second. This is the Zeiss Batis 85MM 1.8 lens. In this scene I am limited because of the ambient light. I would have opened up the lens even more, but couldn’t because I was syncing my beauty dish to the maximum shutter speed of 1/200th. Yes, I know…high speed sync. I am on it.


Studio sessions. I use f8 as my go to aperture.
Why? It’s functional, there’s no real need to push the lens wider. Meat and potatoes….Two examples below.

Commercial gigs……first shot, wide angle lens….aperture plays  a small role so I’d use f8 in a scene like this.

Commercial gig for restaurant….here I used a 200mm at 2.8

Family on location….200mm at 2.8 Family in studio….at f8Family on location….200mm at 2.8. This is risky! You need to be very confident everyone will be in focus and on the same plane. This becomes a judgement call. I called it, and it worked. Had I not been so confident I would have likely shot this at around f5.6:

This family in studio shot at f16…I needed to get every one in focus, so I cranked up the ISO and the lights so I could shoot at that aperture.Two more…scenic shots. Scenic photographers use this strategy a lot. Shoot at about one stop wider than the smallest available on the lens. In this case, using the 14-24 Nikon lens, at 14mm, at f16. This ensures front to back sharpness.

If photography were as challenging to master photography like it once was, 99% wouldn’t even pick up a camera…

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Yes, there was a time, pre-digital, when photography was much, much harder to master.

And this created a vacuum.

And a market. An ‘easy’ one for the willing.

If you were willing to learn and master, somewhat, the complexities of photography, and you have half a head for business, you could do alright.

And make some money with images that, in todays standards, may get tossed.
Sounds weird, but true

And we felt special, yessssir. We were magicians, wizards, who knew the secrets to this amazing craft that so few knew.

It was like a secret society.

Truth is. It’s gone. Poof! The genie is out of the bottle long ago….
but you knew that.

I for one am over it. Long ago….

Me thinks in many ways I am a realist. And to me, it was, is and always has been a business moreso than a craft.

Let me repeat that….it’s a business. Photography is, sez Yoda.

As the ease of entry rises, the need for marketing rises too.
(Unless it’s a hobby)

It’s a hard cold reality behind the industry. But, for those who get it, and understand that when you become a marketer of photographic services first and photographer second, you have a much, much better chance at making some dough.

Because of the mindset. Big difference.

The mindset of the photographer who rises above this, rises above their ego and childish ways, and thinks, acts like a strategist, creating innovative moves to build a business…well, think of a sprawling metropolis.

Not a vacant lot.

Big difference…..

What about you? Did you get into photography because it was easy?

If you did, there is a good chance you have the same mindset. One that’s always looking for the easy way to make moneeeee.

Or, are you serious about turning it into a business?

Think about it….and chose a direction.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”

After 22 years of marriage I finally taught my wife to curse…

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I’ll never forget it.

My mom was hanging a picture or something.
I do remember her holding a hammer.

I think I was all of 14 yrs old, me and my four younger sisters, running around, making life chaotic, loud as only a family of five kids can be loud.

My mom stopped, turned at us and yelled: “If you kids don’t F*CKING keep quiet…”…

Stunned silence.

Crickets.

The sound of a hammer rustling and grip tightening in her hands.
Our jaws hanging in shocked awe, eyes bursting wide with fear.

Never, we never, ever heard our mom swear. Ever.

It sure makes a room go quiet.

On that note, I noticed my wife started ‘cussin in the last year or so.

Finally. But I do feel bad, somewhat. She is not one to descend into vulgarities and bad taste. That’s my department.

See, I like swear words. It’s a habit of mine. I find it refreshing.
Cleansing. Offensive.

Sorry, is what it is. I know, I know, I’m a bad influence on her.

It’s one of the eventual side effects of being married over time.
You become to some degree the other person.

It’s the same with branding your photography business. (Not that being a potty mouth is a smart move around your clients. No no…)

But, good branding will eventually sink in. It takes time. Just like teaching your innocent sweet wife to go biker mouth.

Branding means in large part becoming a part of their hearts, minds and souls.

They think warm, positive, fuzzy feelings about you and your studio. They believe
in you. The feel committed. They love you and your product.

This is achieved over time, through years of sessions, offers, affiliation marketing, promos, events, displays (offline and online), sales room experience, reception rooms, publicity, networking, ads….you get the picture.

It takes time. A lot of time. And keeping your mouth clean of course.
Save the curse words for home when you’re with the kids and you absolutely must have silence.:)

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”
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How and why I teach photography 101 in my community

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I was asked a few years ago to teach a photography 101 class at our local library.

At first I was repulsed by the idea. But after some consideration I gave it the green light with a few conditions:

*The class had to be for serious amateurs. I didn’t want a basic 101 for those
with zero experience
*The class size limited to 12 attendees

Fine. They set a date, announced it, filled up the class with about 20 on a waiting list.

Whoa….ok. The interest is there.

After I ran my first series I noticed a few things:
* the students were eager. They ALL showed up consistently and ALL did their assigned
homework
* I really enjoyed teaching it.
* My style of teaching seemed to be a hit.

Go figure. It was working.

And I had NO idea what I was doing insofar as exactly what to teach. I made it up as I went along, following certain parameters:

*I did NOT want to go all techie, you know, let’s look at ALL the camera settings, file types, bla bla bla
*I wanted to PUSH the students to learn to SEE light, learn composition and create a style their own

This of course required some serious distractions. And this was of paramount importance to me.
Teach them to see, and they’ll learn for a lifetime.

I bombarded them in each class with establishing my credibility (showing images I created), going over the basics of exposure (ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speeds) and how tones & light works (source, distance, angle,shadows, mid tones, specular highlights).

Rinse, repeat….over and over. And do the same while going over the images they submitted each week.

This worked. NO endless rambling about camera settings. Just pure learning the art of “seeing”.
My version of tough love.

They never asked about histograms, file types, camera types, lenses or any other academia distractions.
The way I see it, those questions will arise and get answered organically as they master the art of seeing.

I wouldn’t want to teach this any other way. It wouldn’t be fair to them, and it won’t be nearly as fun to teach.

So when Kirk Saint asked me how I taught these classes, I offered to run a webinar style meeting. Which I recorded, and placed in the forum.

That, AND my powerpoint files for members to use as models in case they want to teach something similar in their community.

Members access HERE.

Yours in photography and success,

Robert Provencher

“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”

It’s what you don’t know that holds the greatest opportunities…

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Food for thought.

I noticed, in me, and in others, a rookie mindset mistake.

EXAMPLE: Think about anytime you started something totally brand new, but something you really wanted to know more about.

It sorta goes like this…..
“I need to learn all I can, so I can look like I know what I’m doing. It’s all about how much I know….” (ego)

The key words….”all about how much I know…”

This is one of the biggest limiting mindsets to getting ahead.

Truth is, it’s all about recognizing how much you don’t know.
That’s the core fundamental mindset of being a good student. No matter your age.
No matter your experience.

As soon as you think you know it, you’re doomed. The gates close.

The is kinda expected at first, since newbs will be newbs.
We’ve all been there.

But the real opportunity presents itself later on, as we get more skilled and masterful.

As we get better, at first, we stumble and fumble…unsure….worried….stressed…. it’s all so new and confusing.

The big mistake= trying really hard to get to the point of “knowing”.

The better place to be is to always be an open, empty vessel…take it all in.
Be modest.

This my friend is harder to do at first because we’re newbs and we want to look good (ego) and it’s equally hard to do when we get better because we think we’ve made it. (ego)

Ask questions. And put your ego aside.

There is no getting to the point of “knowing”.

It’s a fallacy. An illusion.

In photography, both in the actual technical side (lighting, posing, photoshop etc etc….) and in the marketing and business side, we’re always, always in a continuous state of movement and flux.

Stop learning and die.

Stop moving ahead, challenging yourself and your ego on all levels, and the mold and spider webs take over your mind, your heart and soul.

I call this CBS…calcified brain sh*t.

The beginning of the end.

The solution: Ask yourself what you don’t know vs being worried about how smart you are. This requires being a good student and putting your ego aside.

Trying to look smart when you’re starting out is silly. Think about it.

Trying to look smart when you’re got good is much easier…easy to fool many for a while….for a while….

It requires a surrendering, of sorts. An innocent, child like curiosity.

For the most part, I feel very lucky to have been blessed with an insatiable curiosity. I am addicted to workshops, webinars,  documentaries, google and wikipedia…

What success in business and in photography I can directly link to this aspect of my personality.

My daughter has it too. Like her dad. She drives me nuts at times, with 101 questions about something. She HAS to know more, to understand.

I get it. Be patient dad, she’s young. Her curiosity is a good thing.

It will bring her far in life. Let your curiosity work with you.

Let your ego rule, and the doors to curiosity are slammed shut. Air tight.

Nothing gets in. Stay real and authenticity will float to the top of your being.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”