The Fastest Way to Improve Your Photography as a Beginner

Foreign.

Laugh, learn, and take your photography to the next level with your favorite cowgirls with cameras.

Kara, Kim, and Phyllis,

welcome to the Cowgirls with Cameras podcast.

I'm Kim Beer with Kim Beer Photography and be More business.

I'm Kara with Fast Horse Photography, and.

And I'm Phyllis with Phyllis Burchette Photo.

Good evening, you all.

Oh, we're in so much trouble.

We're recording in the evening again.

I don't think I've ever said good evening on here.

Well, and it is a little dangerous for us to be recording in the evening.

Like, the evening is not probably a good time.

So.

Yeah, you probably.

For those of you listening, you're in for a wild ride.

I know.

I think we're already sounding a little punchy.

Yeah.

Cause we're all getting old, and this is sundowning.

Well, well, speak for yourself there, Kimberly.

Oh, goodness.

Kara's not even gonna respond to that.

All right, so what have you all been up to?

I'm gonna share my news last.

Okay.

Y' all are gonna wait.

Well, we just got back from Arizona from the KL Bar Guest Ranch, where we got to shoot in the desert, which was pretty amazing.

We had a lovely stay.

We had great participants.

We had awesome horses from the Arizona Horse Company.

So.

Yeah, I've just been playing catch up from that.

Yeah, me too.

Feels like I've been back eight hours, and I've been back eight days.

How about you, Phyllis?

That's all I got to what she just said.

Yeah, Arizona.

Yeah.

But it was a.

It was a good trip.

It was colder than we expected it to be.

We.

I know.

You didn't even.

You didn't even take your heated vest.

I was surprised.

I didn't.

I only brought one sweatshirt, and it was so spicy.

By the end of the week, I was hanging it outdoors so it could air out during the day so I would have something to wear during the cold hours.

That's all I brought.

But mine wasn't spicy.

I don't understand what.

How you're.

I guess I just emit a bit of a spicy aroma after a few days.

I was gonna say it was actually cold for you and me, but I think Phyllis really enjoyed the heat.

Enjoyed the heat?

Yes, because we get the furnace on all the time.

Well, enjoying wasn't the word I would use.

You were overheated.

Sorry, I was overheated.

Yeah.

So all our participants got to enjoy if they wanted to, private rooms at this facility, which is amazing.

The KL Bar was beautiful, but they all got to do Their own private rooms.

But the three of us shared a room.

And then we walk in the door.

It was very cozy.

Phyllis is like, there's two beds that are like almost attached to each.

And then there's one bed clear across the room.

And Zillis is like, that's my bed.

And it was like a crib.

It had like little walls on it.

It was a day bed.

Let's get this right.

It was not a crib.

It's a day bed.

I was so glad you chose that bed because I did not want that bed.

I was very happy with that bed.

Other than one.

One issue.

It was right underneath the only heat source in the room.

And it was fleepin cold in Arizona.

Like it was colder in Arizona than Missouri in February.

Yeah.

And we were planning for T shirt weather, so we brought T shirts.

I did look at the weather forecast and I did bring sweatshirts or like sweaters, but not nearly enough for what we were.

What we were doing.

Yeah, those 35 degree mornings were a little chilly for us, but it was so fun.

I had enough clothes.

It was just had to wear them repeatedly.

Yes.

And at this event though, one of the things that we got to do at the event is we got to give away a special gift.

So I think that that special gift is a attachment to something we want to talk about in this episode.

So you two are better with a special gift than I am.

Phyllis, can you talk about our sponsor, Greater Than Gatsby, please?

Is what Kim is getting at.

I was gonna say

that sounded very vague.

Like I thought we were going somewhere else with that for a second there.

Yes.

A huge shout out to one of our great sponsors, Greater Than Gatsby, who is one of the leading creators of high quality Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions for photographers.

I use their actions, their Photoshop actions quite often.

Gosh.

They've been downloaded over a million times and are used by all types of photographers around the world.

They got a little something for everybody too.

Like they've got stuff for Lightroom, they've got stuff for Photoshop, and I don't know, Kim, if you use them as much as Phyllis and I do, but we.

They get a lot of use in this studio.

Check out their website because they even have some free actions you can and presets you can try out along with some overlays and stuff to bump up your creativity.

But thanks to Greater Than Gatsby, we're giving away a collection at every one of our events this year, as we did last year.

And Natalie Heller got to win this year since she chose the Bohemian Rhapsody collection.

So, yeah, awesome.

Congratulations to Natalie.

And I will say, one of the things I love about Greater Gatsby is you can go onto their website and they actually give you examples about how to use their presets.

And I have learned so much just from watching them use them and, like, do the tutorials.

And I think that is such an asset.

They have great tutorials and they have great.

If you are confused about how to load them once you purchase them, they've got great tutorials.

Even how to get them onto your computer and into your Photoshop or Lightroom, too.

Very cool.

Very cool.

Thank you.

Greater than Gatsby.

Thank you.

Greater than Gatsby.

Thank you.

Greater than Gatsby.

That is awesome.

That is awesome.

All right, Kim, go ahead.

We know you're dying to tell us.

I'm on pins and needles.

I want to know what's happening.

I'm going to be honest.

I'm a little nervous because sometimes when Kim has something new happen, it means more work for me.

So I'm just like, it.

Actually, this one does not mean any work.

She said it didn't have anything to do with photography, so.

Okay, just.

It does not.

It does not have anything to do with photography.

Come on, spit it out.

But Kara was right.

We are welcoming a puppy into our family on Friday.

Is it a corgi?

No, it is a smooth collie.

It's a little boy.

Oh.

His name will be Dumbledore because we are a Harry Potter household around here.

And I'm sure he will be called by the other names.

Albus Percival.

There's a wolf name in there somewhere.

And then there's Headmaster, which I'm pretty sure he will be running the ranch at some point, but super excited about welcoming Dumbledore to our family.

And I promise I will post a picture of him in the community.

You better.

And while someone else is talking during this, I'll send you to the picture so you can see him.

Well, I happened to come across it while you were Facebook.

I was Facebook stalking people and I came across just a post that you had commented on about puppies.

And I was like, kim's getting a puppy.

Kim's getting a puppy.

How on earth did you find.

It was totally random.

It popped up in my feed that you had commented on a post, and I clicked on it because you're literally never on social media and it was you talking about these cute little puppies.

And I'm going to be honest, I'M disappointed you didn't take both of them.

So.

No, no, no.

It's not even one of those.

Oh, wait, different puppies.

Okay.

It is a different puppy.

So, yes, I'm super excited.

I'm super excited and also super nervous because I haven't had a puppy in a really long time.

Yeah.

Your life's about to be like having a newborn.

Yeah.

We're about to experience the whole puppy hood situation because he is only nine weeks old.

So we're getting the whole puppy experience around here.

So very exciting.

Yeah, yeah.

So super congratulations.

I definitely will be sitting here waiting for you to text the picture while we're chatting today.

I will.

When you guys start talking so you can look at it while Phyllis is

talking, then you'll hear us going, oh, my gosh, it was so cute.

So one more thing before we jump on our topic.

Did we want to mention our May event we have coming up that we still have a couple spaces for?

Yes, absolutely.

Okay, let's do it.

Yeah.

Super excited about our May event, which is at the Circle Bar Ranch.

Circle Bar Guest Ranch in Hobson, Montana.

So this ranch is north of the Dry Head where we typically do stuff.

So it's not going to be a lot of the same type of scenery.

It's a very different type of ranch.

And I have to say, one of the things that I am most looking forward to is that red barn, because I have all types of creative ideas for that red barn, and they have a giant red barn.

So I think we can have a lot of fun with just the red barn.

And that's only like one teensy, weensy little part of this.

And this is an intermediate and advanced workshop.

But I want you to know if you want to come and you are a beginner, we have mentorships that will get you to the advanced level.

So you can join us and participate in all of this.

So please reach out if you still want to come.

We only have three spots available for this event, so if you would like to join us in May, there's still plenty of time to get your plane tickets.

Still plenty of time to plan to come.

And it is in such an amazing part of Montana.

You are definitely not going to be sorry about joining us.

And yes, and there is an.

And I was just going to say, and if you like to ride, this is one of the locations where you can ride every day.

And it's included in the price, which is kind of.

Yeah, cool.

Cool.

Really cool.

One other thing that I want to mention about this Particular event that I think is really important.

Well, first of all, we are officially at a buyout, so we will be the only people that are guests at the ranch.

That's one and two.

We're there a week before their season opens.

So we have fresh horses and fresh wranglers and fresh models who are not exhausted from dealing with humans for an entire season.

And I'm certain we'll be excited to show off all of the fun things that they can do.

And, you know, fresh horses are always fun to photograph, so might be a good time.

And as the closest airport would be Great Falls, Montana.

It's about an hour and a half from the ranch.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And if you're okay with doing three, you could go to Bozeman or Billings.

So three hours out, it'd be one of those two airports.

So what we're trying to say with all of this is if you're looking for something to do in May, this is your opportunity to come hang with us in May in a really beautiful location and to photograph a bunch of horses and cowboys and to have fun.

So put it on your schedule.

May 19th through the 23rd.

Five days, four nights.

There's private accommodations and shared accommodations available, and the information is on our website.

If you go to our website, cowgirlswithcameras.com click on events, and then Montana will be at the top because it's the next one we're doing, so.

Yay.

All right, are we ready to get into our topic?

We are.

Yep.

Nice.

So tonight or tonight?

Wow.

It is tonight.

I guess.

So in this episode, we are talking about how to set yourself up as a beginner to really accelerate your learning in photography in a pace that gets you to that space where you can attend an intermediate or advanced workshop with us and feel completely comfortable.

So my part of this or my contribution to this conversation is something I actually did a year ago, and that was create the Equine Photography for beginners course.

And Kara and Phyllis both contributed to it, but it is heavily Kim.

It is.

It's.

It's heavily Kim eyes, which means it's really good.

Well, it's really.

I do have to say I'm very proud about how well thought out it is.

And it really does take you from.

Even if you are a flat, haven't spent a lot of time with a DSLR or mirrorless camera, it gives you the education that you need to know to pick out your equipment.

It gives you what you need to know about exposure.

It gives you what you need to know about Even how to set up all of your settings on your camera.

And it gives you a lot of examples about how to use exposure compensation and to really set you up for success at being able to shoot in manual, which is where we mostly spend our time at these events is in manual.

There are little tests along the way that you, they're.

They're not graded, but you are good to participate in them and they give you a understanding of how well you are absorbing the particular subject.

I will say the one on exposure.

It will challenge you a little bit if you need to review before you go and dive in there and take it.

And then I also cover a little bit about post processing and editing, like so some of the basics around using Photoshop and Lightroom and then some best practices.

And then Kara and Phyllis both contributed.

Kara contributed about posing and Phyllis contributed about understanding horses and equine photography and how to make a really pleasing picture of a horse.

So I'm gonna be honest, I wish this was the course that I would have had when I first started photographing horses.

It's not a ton.

I mean, it's like seven hours of information and it's compacted with everything that I wished I would have known when I went on my very first equine shoot.

Because if I'd have had this, I would have had horses that looked really good at that halter horse facility instead of them looking like they only had two legs and me having to do a lot of Photoshop work, even though it was Photoshop 1.

And I literally had to go take lunch to let the images render.

So it would have just helped me tremendously.

And I'm very proud of this information.

And we do make this course available for anyone who comes to one of our workshops and retreats and needs it.

It's also available for anybody who joins the community at the paid level.

And if you're interested in just doing the course itself, please reach out and we can hook you up with that as well for a one time fee.

And you'll have ongoing access.

What I want to say about that, Kim, is that when I was first starting, if I would have had something like this, it would have saved me so much, like time and like wasted time because you don't really know what you're missing, what you need, and you're kind of just out searching like everywhere that you can search and pulling these like threads of information together to create something.

And this is like, it's pretty much everything you need to get started.

I mean, it's all there and you can kind of go through the process.

And it just saved.

I agree with you.

It would have saved me so much time.

So it was a really cool thing that you put together.

And it does.

It is something that's going to make beginners move forward faster.

You know, the thing that irritated me when I started as a photographer, it's that I would ask other photographers questions and they would not answer them.

Yeah.

Or they would half answer them and not fully answer them.

And when I was doing this, I tried my best to softly put you through the information, but also fully give you the information.

Yeah.

And I think that's really important to understand is that that's a Cowgirls with cameras kind of agreement tenet.

It's one of our nine focus points.

That it is collaboration over competition.

And I value that tremendously with our community, with our personal relationship between the three of us.

And I think this course reflects that.

I really, truly do.

It can't teach you everything about photography.

I don't know everything about photography, so I can't teach you everything about photography.

But it will certainly save you a lot of time and frustration and images that you would have wished you had more knowledge when you were in the moment.

Oh, for sure.

Yeah, for sure.

All right, Phyllis, you're up.

Well, I was just going to say, for me, I was on a different end because I'd been in the horse show business for so long.

I was on the other end.

I was the one setting feet.

I was the one getting ears.

I was.

I was the one getting my picture taken back then.

And so I think that made it easier to come into photography for me.

But, yeah, to have had something like that would have been cool as far as just the nuts and bolts of photography, too, you know?

Yeah.

Okay.

I just saw a picture come through, and I'm gonna not go.

I'm not gonna look at it.

Oh, I'm gonna look.

I'm gonna look.

While you're talking.

My phone dinged really loud in my ear, so.

Okay.

So I'm going to talk about when you're starting out.

I think, of course, you know, when we're starting out, you want to do everything.

I get it.

I did, too, when I was starting out.

There's so much to see and do.

You don't want to miss out.

It really feels ambitious, but I think it'd be really helpful if you can pick one direction to go in, because kind of scattered effort slows your growth.

And if you have something, if you focus on what you're wanting to put that effort into it really multiplies what you're going to learn.

And the fastest way to grow is to stop splitting your energy.

I say one niche, but I don't want to.

I mean, you can shoot horses and, and still shoot Western and English.

That doesn't, you know, that doesn't matter.

It's just you're still shooting horses.

But it doesn't mean you're locked in forever either.

Just if you do pick one, one or the other.

But it just means that you're choosing what I call a training ground.

When you narrow your niche, again, don't take that word literally.

Your portfolio becomes cohesive, your editing style becomes consistent, and your, I think your confidence even grows faster.

Because if you photograph one subject repeatedly, your skill really compounds much quicker.

Ask yourself, what do I naturally love shooting?

What subject truly makes my heart come alive when I lift my camera?

Pay attention to that.

The images that energize you instead of draining you.

The work you choose, even if no one was watching.

Start where your passion already exists.

And when you build in a space you genuinely love, you practice more, you notice more, you improve faster.

And you don't have to be everything to everyone.

You just need to excel where your heart already wants to be.

Pick one direction.

Decisions will be easier, your growth will speed up and your anxiety will decrease because you're not trying to split all your attention and you know 20 different directions.

I think when you stop chasing and you start building, that's when things really start to click.

Once you've chosen your subject that you want to excel in, knowing your subject will set you apart even faster than the pack from the pack.

Great photography isn't just a reaction, it's anticipation.

And you can't anticipate what you don't understand.

I don't care if that's bird photography or equine photography or what you're doing, or if it's your kids, you know, or somebody else's kids, it really helps to know your subject.

If you shoot horses, learn their behavior.

I have people coming to me all the time that are, they love horses, but they don't really know anything about them.

But they want to be a horse photographer.

The most important thing you can do is, number one, is to know your subject.

And in that case, of course, it would be horses.

You learn their behavior, you know when they're about to move.

You can anticipate if you want to shoot ranch life, understand the rhythm of cattle work.

When you understand your subjects, you stop guessing and you start timing Your shoots with focused intention, and your people will feel it.

They'll trust you more because they know that you get their world.

You understand what they're doing, what it's all about.

That's when your images shift from looking good to meaning something.

So if you pick a lane, don't just shoot it.

Study it, respect it, immerse yourself in it.

Because the more you know your subject, the more powerful your work will become.

And if you want to, you can always pivot later if you, you know, if you choose.

It's amazing how confident you feel, too, when you really focus and you.

And you spend a lot of time shooting, like, the subject that you want to focus on.

Like, your confidence just grows so much, and it puts you in a position where you can start getting creative and take risks, you know, and do different things.

So I think that's a really good way to, like, build your skill and grow fast as a photographer.

Beginner photographer.

I would agree totally.

Yeah.

Okay, so Kim's talked to you guys a little bit about the beginner photography course that she created.

Phyllis has talked about knowing your subject, knowing what you want to shoot, and, like, really kind of picking that direction to move yourself forward.

I want to talk about one of the things that really I felt moved me the forward the most.

So after I spent time understanding my subject, after I, you know, pulled information in everywhere that I could, I walked into a room at Potterhorn, actually, and I looked at the table, and I was like, who's the lady in charge here?

And I sat down next to her.

That was Kim.

And I did not leave the rest of the week.

And I asked her a million questions.

I'm sure.

I'm sure now she thinks about it lovingly.

But at the time, I was just like, a little bug on her shoulder, just, like, asking her questions, asking for advice, like, just having her talk me through, like, everything.

And then another time before that, I went to an event in Georgia where I did the same thing with Phyllis.

And I stood at her shoulder, and I was like, what are we shooting?

How are we shooting this?

And I asked her a million questions.

And that is why I think one of the fastest ways to grow has to do with community and your network.

And that is how you can support your growth and not spend a ton of time, like, just muddling around, reinventing things and trying to figure out where you need to be.

I know we've said this a hundred times.

Photography can be so weirdly, like, solo and lonely, especially for an industry that really needs people like you need to photograph people all the time, right?

I mean, we're photographing horses, but.

But a lot of times we have to go through people to get there, you know, so it can be for a hobby or a business that requires people.

It can be so weirdly lonely if you're a small business owner.

In addition to that, you are the one that oftentimes wears all the hats.

So you're the photographer, you're the editor, you're the marketer, you're the person who makes the deliveries.

I mean, you do it all right and you have to figure it all out.

You have to figure everything out and you're a lot of times doing it by yourself.

And when you're in that mindset where you have to figure everything out, it can be super overwhelming and it can feel urgent and like anxiety inducing.

So building community and creating that network is like a superpower shortcut option for you.

I feel like when you find your community, it can help you grow fast because it provides or it can provide a map of what you need to learn first.

For example, all of the stuff in Kim's course that's in our online private community.

And also we'll tell you the things that you probably don't need to know right now.

Like you've got steps you've got to take first and if you try to jump to some of this other stuff, you're going to get bogged down.

You're going to spend money on things you don't need.

And we all know photography is one of the easiest ways to spend money and not use it because you jumped ahead too fast.

It's also a great way to get feedback so you can stop like guessing and it can improve quickly.

You can use your community to get feedback on your work.

You can get feedback on your process.

Just get feedback on everything so that you're not guessing if it's working for you or not.

I have found that it's a great way to be accountable.

I have a small Monday morning group with my photography friends, Betsy and Tracy.

We've been, gosh, we're years into this now where we formed our own little Monday morning community where we hold each other accountable to our yearly goals that we set and we talk through them and we brainstorm stuff that comes up.

And if we have, you know, God forbid, if we have like a bad client issue we need to talk through, we do that together because we do similar things in our work and we can hash out, like how to respond to people or just how to handle that situation.

And then having that community also can give you perspective so that you can understand that this phase that you're in or the struggles that you're experiencing, they're just kind of a normal part of the growth process as a photographer and that what you're dealing with is not something you have to take personally.

And that was a big one for me because I have always been someone who has tied my self worth so wholly to the work that I provide to people that it's really easy to get kind of drugged down in that.

So having people really put things into perspective like was really big for me.

And then the last thing I have here regarding shortcuts is solutions.

You're going to get solutions from your community because most likely someone has already had this exact same experience or this exact same problem before it ever came to you.

Additionally, finding your people can also prevent you from reinventing the wheel.

There are all sorts of things out there that have already been invented that you do not need to puzzle out.

So instead you can just build upon them.

So I think about things like contracts that are already written.

We all need contracts, forms, things like post flows, email templates, even gear choices.

Like what do you need now to be an equine photographer?

You don't have to figure that out through guesswork.

There's people out there that can give you that roadmap for that and then participate in your communities and use them as networking opportunities too.

So comment.

If you're doing online communities, go online and comment on people's posts.

Ask questions, answer questions, be part of the help, join a challenge.

Use your communities to find a what I would call a same level buddy.

So someone that you can grow with and share ideas with.

A great example of that are our Cottonwood Ranch.

Oh yeah, photographers.

There is one particular cohort group that I'm thinking of that left that group and they started their own weekly meeting.

I don't know if they're meeting weekly now or if they're meeting every couple of weeks, but they meet weekly and they get on together and they have challenges they do together and they brainstorm things and they even set up their own like speaking events where they have someone come and speak to their group.

I mean they are knocking it out of the park, but I would definitely consider them like same level buddies.

Like they met at the same type of event and they are kind of learning and growing together just as a group.

And then when you can, you know, go even further and attend events in person or attend live events online where you can Actually talk to people, chat with people, and get deeper with folks, just like the girls at Cottonwood.

So for me, the big takeaway here is you don't need to do this by yourself.

Find a place where you can ask questions.

Find a group where you can get really honest and feedback or borrow ideas from to get you started.

Yeah, that's it.

Your community is huge.

And it was really huge for me when I got started.

And I love our little community that we've created.

If you don't know about it yet, head to cowgirlswithcameras.community.

you won't regret it.

There's so much good information there, including Kim's beginner photography course.

Well, I love that.

But first of all, I don't remember you even pestering me at that first powder horn.

I do remember photographing you at the first shoot, though, because I thought, who is this young person that has joined us?

I just rolled in and went right to the shoot pretty much on that first.

And you had very short hair.

I have to make an observation, though, Kara.

You came to my workshop before you went to Powderhorn.

So I said that.

I said that.

I thought you said it after, but anyway.

Well, I said.

I talked about it.

It's okay.

But I said before, before that I

went to Georgia because you're the one that went.

You came to mind.

That's how we got to know each other.

And then I think we even did the wild horses before you went to.

Yeah, with Corrine.

Or maybe what it was is you went to Powderhorn, then we did the wild horses the next spring, and you told me you should go to Powderhorn.

Yeah.

Or it's somewhere in there.

So that's when I went to Powderhorn,

meet this crazy lady named Kim.

And then Phyllis met the crazy lady named Kim.

And now there's cowgirls with cameras.

You just never know where your communities are going to take you.

You never know where your communities are going to take you.

And I do want to say this about the Cottonwood girls that came from that one cohort that meets a lot.

Yeah.

Here's the thing at the end of the day, which this episode is all about how to accelerate your growth as a beginner photographer.

Look at the images that those ladies, oh, my gosh, on a regular basis, put out.

They were fair photographers when they arrived.

Fair to good.

And I look at the stuff that they photograph now, and it is.

It will knock your socks off.

And so I think it's a.

A major thing that they lift each all other up and egg each other on.

So, yeah, they have grown so much and done so much work to make that happen.

And they, they have done it by supporting each other, which I think is.

And having fun and laughing and enjoying each other's lives and stories, which is the best part.

And now they travel to events together and they, we see them all over the place.

It's am awesome.

Okay, so I guess I'll take us out.

Thank you guys for a great episode and I'm glad that we all got together here at this.

It feels like midnight, even though it's not midnight.

So dark outside.

It is dark.

But I just want folks to know if you're interested in joining us at an event.

We have some pretty incredible stuff coming up, including the one we talked about at the top of this episode.

In Montana.

You can head to cowgirlswithcameras.com where we have all of our events listed.

We have some space, I believe, in Nevada.

We have some space in Colorado and we have some space in Montana.

A couple spots at all of those.

And then of course, we have our online community, which we've mentioned a couple times in here, which you can find@calgirlswithcameras.community and we're on all the socials, so you can find us at Cowgirls with Cameras on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.

And we'd love to have you come hang out with us in any of those places.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Cowgirls with Cameras.

Don't let the laughter and learning stop here.

Join our community on social media and

be sure to visit our website for

more opportunities to fulfill your photography goals.

Head to cowgirlswithcameras.com that's cowgirlswithcameras dot com See you next time.