 Like a great number of people who picked up a camera at some point in their lives, I was drawn to the idea of being a professional photographer, of being paid to take photographs, the thing that I enjoyed doing. Although, and I'm going to whisper this quietly, I never really had a burning passion to be a professional photographer. How's it? How's it? Welcome back. Thank you ever so much for being here today. Yeah, I just, there was a thing that I never really jumped out of bed as a teenager or something like that, thinking I had a burning desire to take photographs and be paid for it. It was a career choice that I sort of landed in almost by accident. You know, growing up in South Africa in the 80s, I was required to go and do conscription in the army for two years. And I didn't really feel like doing that. So the option was to go and study at a tertiary level. And because my marks were so poor at school, I ended up doing photography because I kind of enjoyed it. And, and you didn't need any marks. So, you know, double win for me. I was very lucky that I got accepted into Petroi Teknikon photo school. And I must say a big shout out and thank you to Harold Carlson for actually seeing some potential in me. So I held because I know you watch the channel from time to time. But this is more a kind of a case of why I stopped taking photographs, you know, professionally, you know, it for money. Because I really, I just, it was never there as a burning desire. And certainly when the first lockdown happened in the UK, I'd already been on the fence for a number of years about my family portrait studio. I'd been there for, oh, I think at that point about eight years or so. I wasn't really entirely happy with it. So that period of, of enforced withdrawal from family portrait from professional photography gave me a chance to reflect, to think about the things that I really enjoyed about photography, that, you know, what was it that, that I liked? And what I actually liked was not getting up at seven o'clock in the morning, go into the studio for, you know, a couple of shoots, you know, a day, possibly spending my weekend, spending my evenings, you know, trying to sell photography to people. In the UK here, most family portrait studios work on a basis of kind of doing a pro bono, not pro bono, you know, just, you know, shooting on spec. So you find an excuse to have people come into the studio, you know, free shoot, what have you. And then you try and upsell afterwards. It's, it's not a hard sell thing. I know some people can do hard sells, but it was something that I was never 100% comfortable with doing it. I mean, I know you can make a good living from doing this. And certainly here in the UK, there are a number of studios who, who turn over millions a year, you know, and I'm not going to name them, but you know who they are if you live in the UK. And these places can be, but they feel like a factory. They feel like it's a production line. And especially so when you are just a single person taking photographs, when it's just you, because not only was I taking all the photographs, I was doing all the marketing, I was doing, you know, all the, the sweeping of the studio. I can't tell you how many times I pushed a broom around my studio, mopping the floor, cleaning the windows, responding to emails, sorting out orders. There was all the stuff that nobody ever tells you about when they say, Oh, you can, you know, become a professional photographer. This is the glamour lifestyle, lead the lifestyle that you want to do pursuing your passion. When it, the taking photographs part of it, it's such a small, small fraction of your life as a professional photographer. And not only that, you can't actually photograph what it is that you want. There's a saying in the photographic world that you shoot for the sale and you shoot for the soul. And, and I thought, I'll be clever. I will let, I will make people want my soulful pictures. I will produce arty is that word, arty portraits of their children that they were actually love that people will come from all around to have pictures done. And ultimately, it wasn't really what people wanted. So all from this way, it wasn't what enough people wanted, especially where I live out here in the sticks. So for years, you know, I was kind of, I was, I was, I was, I was really struggling with the idea of, you know, being a professional photographer, because I wasn't happy doing it. And then that period of, of I started, you know, forced me to, to think about what did make me happy. And, and it gave me a chance to breathe. And what I realized with it, what really makes me happy in photography is helping other people, is helping other photographers find their way of talking about photography, not about the nuts and bolts, not the lenses and the technical aspects, which, which within the business side of photography, when I went to workshops and seminars and things, that was genuinely what the conversation, you know, centered around talking about lenses and things. And, and, and I think out of all the people whom I met throughout my career as a business photographer, very few of them knew about photography and as a wider thing, you know, is like you could say people knew, obviously, Adam's and Aberdon. But if you mentioned somebody like Peter Lindbergh or, you know, Dan Winters or, you know, you'd be like Sandy Man and Dianne Arbaz. These, they were like, no, no, not heard of these people. Who, who are they? Because if it didn't center around how to make money from photography, they weren't really interested. So this is kind of why I thought, you know, I want to start talking to people about photography, but the thing that I enjoy the, the art of photography and that channel name was already taken. So I had to take another channel name. But, but that was the point. I wanted to talk to you about what I love about photography, which is, which is the, which is the art of photography. Why we photograph, why I was drawn to photographs and taking photographs as a youngster, when the idea of it being a business wasn't something that I considered. I was just, I was in it for the, for the strict definition of being an amateur, which is obviously, you know, just doing it for the love of it. So fortunately, YouTube allowed me to do this, allowed me to have a platform to actually reach out people who I never would have managed to speak to, certainly not within my own small little, you know, group of, of, of influencers, but people who I knew, you know, and certainly not at studio because I never, I never met any other photographers. I mostly on a day-to-day basis. I would meet them every few months when we got together and in places to have workshops and, you know, and discuss business things. But the day-to-day of being a photographer, I never spoke to anybody. I never had anybody come into the studio who, or very rarely, whom I could talk photography with. My job was to sell things. So, so having this, this platform, having this ability to have these conversations and to meet people like you who are exceptionally excited about photography, who, who want to pursue it for the pure sake of being a passion. This is why I kind of turned my back on professional photography because it's not something that I enjoyed. Now, you know, I am able to photograph whatever is that I, I, I want to. And if I want to, I can share them with you. I'm not forced to do anything. My income is not dependent on whether or not the people sitting on, actually this very couch because this used to be my studio, right where I am, whether or not they are going to spend some money or not. It was too up and down. It was, you know, it was too open to influences from outside, from beyond my control. And that's where YouTube really has sort of stepped in because obviously, you know, I get income from, from the ads that are shown in the videos and, and the, you know, the course content that I sell, you know, teaching people, the things that I have learned over the years and helping to make them better photographers. And that's far more sustainable, I think, in the long term than having a portrait studio. Just look at what, look at what's going on right now. There are so many pressures on people's discretionary spending that I was talking to somebody the other day who's just in the process of actually closing down his studio. And we were both like, can you imagine still being a professional photographer in this financial environment? I can't imagine. I can't imagine how scary that must be. So I'm glad that I'm actually here talking to you guys, you know, sharing our common love of photography, because it makes me more financially secure. There's, you know, it's not dependent. You're not, you know, you don't have to spend money to be here watching me. And, and, you know, I can get money from, you know, advertisers and sponsors who are not as emotionally attached to the wider world of things or always be advertisers, irrespective of the financial things in the wider world. So that's, you know, so that's a really, you know, it's a great thing. And it's, and certainly I'm happier. And I think, you know, it's, this comes through in these videos where this is exciting. I'm getting a chance to talk and to share things with, with you guys. And, and I'm immensely grateful for you all being here because it is, it's a wonderful community. There's, I get feedback. There's actually interesting, I get to develop relationships with, with, you know, you guys who watch these videos that never happened at the studio and people don't keep in touch and hey, how you doing and comment on things. So it's wonderful to be in this environment where not only have I rediscovered my own, you know, enthusiasm for photography and this channel certainly has stoked that, but I also get to see the enthusiasm from you, from your excitement about thinking about photography in different ways. And if I can continue to prompt these thoughts to encourage you to think about photography in, in, in directions that you possibly hadn't have considered and to rekindle the, well, I say enthusiasm, I keep saying enthusiasm, but that's the whole point, rekindling the enthusiasm. There's, you know, I don't often do this, but I do call myself recently and I found a couple of threads on Reddit where people talking about the channel and a lot of people said that, you know, the content that was being produced and, and what have you, that it helped re-inspire them to take photographs, to continue taking photographs. And, and that is the greatest thing. That is why I'm so pleased that I kind of actually stopped breaking my back on the millstone of, of my studio, that I, I kind of, I don't know if it was an albatross around my neck because it certainly wasn't that full on and, but it was, I think it was holding back. I think it was holding me back from fulfilling the potential that I really wanted in photography, that I'd made a misstep by thinking that I was, you know, restricted to being just a portrait photographer of families and that I could do nothing else, that there was nothing else for me to do. So this is kind of really it's, it's a way that I just, you know, that, that we have within ourselves, I think the method and the means to express something unique about the world. And, and I'm lucky that I found a platform that I can help, I can help you express yourself. And, and I, I've said this in a number of videos that it is the greatest thing for me to see how much people continue to find enjoyment in photography. And, and if you are considering, you know, at some point being a professional of, of exchanging your photographs for money, then I would say go for it. Actually, just, you know, if it's what you want to do, then by all means do it. But do understand that there is a huge difference. There is a huge difference taking photographs for yourself and taking photographs for somebody else with the express intent of selling them. But what I do know is how to find inspiration for your photography. I mean, and I'm not talking about, oh, going photograph this, that, the next thing I'm talking about finding it in here, finding your drive to take photography. I can send you off a guidance about, you know, images that I feel would work for you and help you develop your photography forward. I sort of think of these videos as chats, like we're sitting here in my lounge, you know, having just a chat about photography, because this is kind of really what it boils down to, is finding a place where we can actually just talk about photography. You know, not, this is how, 10 secret hacks to, you know, doing better photographs, because I really, I don't understand this. Well, I do understand completely why videos are titled this way online, you know, seven begin and mistakes and all that sort of stuff. It's because they drive clicks and, you know, and I've been experimenting with titles like that as well. And they, some of them work and some of them don't. It's kind of, you know, it's a sort of, it's a thing. Right. But photography should be a happy place. I don't want to keep ramming down your throat. Oh, these are the mistakes you're making and stuff. No, they're not all making mistakes. It's part and parcel of learning something. You know, it's not what it makes mistakes. It doesn't really matter. What this is all about is just kind of, we're having a chat. We're having a nice little conversation about, you know, things that we find interesting. Some topics are more interesting than others. And that's, you know, that's kind of how it is. And some videos get a lot of subscribers and some lose a lot of subscribers. It's a yin and a yang. But ultimately, you know, if you are enjoying all of these, these, these videos and you're here and you've been, you know, you're a supporting channel, I want to thank you ever so much for helping me become more enthusiastic about my own photography, about photography as a, as a, as an art form. I'm now a lot happier, a lot more comfortable with photography than I was this time three years ago. This time three years ago, I was in a complete state. I, I was a hated my photography, but I wasn't doing photographs for myself at all, not as sausage. And, and I think a lot of professional photographers often feel this way too, that there are many pressures on them to create photographs and not necessarily ones that they want to take. Anyway, just third for thought here on a Monday, just, you know, the sun is shining and always sort of things. I think, you know, I'm going to go outside. I'm going to potter around in my garden, enjoy the fact that I'm not actually in my studio, sweeping the floor, answering millions of emails, but rather creating wonderful content for you guys, my lovely, lovely audience who I appreciate so, so very much. Thank you for watching and I'll see you on Wednesday.