Hey All - Backyard bird photography and beyond (nearby lakes, ponds and wildlife centers) is a ton of fun and very rewarding. It can also be frustrating.
I help you reduce your frustration - so you can get great images – with my latest KelbyOne class, Backyard Bird Photography and Beyond.
Have fun,
Rick
In today’s crazy times, photography is providing a much-needed outlet/release for our feelings – and a way to creatively express those feelings. It’s also a private escape into a world in which we can create our own reality (in camera and with Photoshop/Lightroom/plug-ins) – privately and publicly.
If you feel as though you may benefit from some photo therapy, here are four suggestions:
1) Check out my book, Photo Therapy Motivation and Wisdom - discovering the power of pictures. It’s available in both paperback and as an e-book. It’s all words and is designed to motivate and inspire photographers at all levels. My favorite chapter is, “What Does Your Photography Mean to You?”
2) Join the Photo Therapy Facebook Group. I started the group during the pandemic. It’s a wonderful place to share your images and to get honest feedback. Each week we pick a new banner photo from the photos that our members post. We also have weekly live events in which you can participate.
3) See all the Photo Therapy videos. The Photo Therapy YouTube channel grew out of the Photo Therapy Facebook group page. Here you can find all our live broadcasts.
4) Need a follow-up photo therapy session? Check out my book, Photo Quest – discovering your photographic and artistic voice. Like Photo Therapy, this book is filled with words of motivation and inspiration, not only by me, but by more than 30 of today’s top professional photographers. It reads like a Who’s Who in the World of Photography 2020.
5) Getting motivated and staying inspired in important photo therapy. Learn more in my KelbyOne class: Get Motivated and Stay Inspired.
Stay safe!
Rick
It’s here! My all-time favorite photo tips in one on-line video class: Sammonisms – Speed Learning Advice for Making Awesome Photographs. It’s my latest, and 20th, KelbyOne class. Click here to learn.
This class features my 52 “Sammonisms” illustrated with some of my favorite photographs from my travels around the world and throughout the United States. You can watch the class on your home computer or mobile device. I’ve also included a PDF that you can download for quick reference when photographing in the field.
Sammonisms are short sayings that, like quotes, convey a photographic idea quickly and easily. Basically, my Sammonisms are quotes and photo adages that I have adopted and modified to share with my photo workshop and seminar participants – with the goal of helping them make better images. Now I am happy to share them with you!
It will take you less than an hour to watch the class, but the lessons will last a lifetime.
My Sammonisms work for digital SLR, mirrorless and even Smartphone photographers.
What’s more, this class is like a mini-travelogue, taking the reader to Antarctica, Mongolia, Italy, France, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, Papua New Guinea, Iceland and Alaska – as well as locations throughout the United States, including New Mexico, Arizona, Death Valley, Mt. Rainier and the Slot Canyons.
I actually did not come up with the term, Sammonisms. Two of my workshop participants, Mike Ince and Laurie Apfel, wrote down my tips from a workshop and presented them to me at the end of the workshop. Thanks Mike and Laurie!
As I always say, I hope you learn a lot and I hope you have a lot of fun with this class!
All my KelbyOne classes are listed here.
Stay safe,
Rick
You’ve heard of Vision Boards – a board on which you place photos and notes of your goals and dreams. Vision Boards are effective because they are a constant reminded of what’s possible.
Here’s a creative twist on a Vision Board – a Vision Calendar for photographers. Pick 12 locations you’d like to revisit in 2021 (and beyond) and choose your favorite photograph from that location – one for each month. Visualize you are photographing in that location (or in a similar location). How’s that for photo therapy!
Thanks to my friends at Printique (an Adorama company), creating a calendar has never been easier or more affordable. Easy thanks to the intuitive software design on the Printique web site. Affordable thanks to the discounts they are offering my friends and Photo Therapy Facebook Group members: 20% on a order (one-time order only).
Use this code to get your 20% discount: Calendar2021.
Click here to start your Vision Board calendar . . . and of course any type of calendar.
New to creating calendars? Here are a few tips to get you started:
• Make sure the resolution of your photos meet the resolution requirements. The larger the file size, the better the image quality.
• Keep all your pictures in either the landscape or portrait mode.
• When resizing, make sure important parts of your image are not cropped out.
• Know that fancy fonts may look cool, but some are harder to read than others. Pick your font carefully.
• To keep a theme going, you can choose one color for a background and use it throughout your calendar.
• If you plan to sell a calendar, keep your audience in mind. Think about what kind of photo they would like to see for a month.
• Have fun creating your calendar. The process can be as much fun as seeing the printed result
Rick Sammon
Founder, Photo Therapy Facebook Group
Author of Photo Therapy Motivation and Wisdom – discovering the power of pictures. Info on this page.
In the early 1990s, I developed an international project, The Seven Underwater Wonders of the World. Now, I working on a follow-up project: The Seven Photographic Wonders of the World.
Stay tuned to learn how YOU can be involved.
Rick