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🗞️WELCOME TO ISSUE NO. 6

Welcome back to “STEADY, COWBOY”, a newsletter I use to document the work I’m doing as a photographer & creative entrepreneur to become world class at the craft and build a profitable business along the way, so that you might accelerate your own journey upward. I’m:

• Obsessed with fulfilling my potential as a photographer.

• Sharing what I’ve learned, so that you can get where you’re going quicker.

• Super psyched you’re here. Let’s go.

🛰️CAPTAIN’S LOG

I feel victorious. 100 day video challenge is officially complete, and I feel ten feet tall. From late July until October 31st, I posted a reel every single day. Before I get started on it, though, this song is gonna be our victory lap music for today.

Here’s me walking the dog after uploading that 100th video, I'm psyched, Frank couldn’t care less.

Today, we’re going to recap the five biggest things I learned on this journey, and we’re also going to take a look at a new Instagram carousel format I’m testing (and the initial results I’m seeing).

🔬EXPERIMENTS & LEARNINGS THIS WEEK

1. 🎬VIDEO - Five biggest learnings from this 100 day challenge:

   1. Don’t let money stop you. Your iPhone and some $20 wired headphones are more than enough.

   2. This is rocket fuel for getting your work in front of others. As a photographer who was pretty frosty about this whole “video” thing, I waited way too long. I felt uppity about it, i.e. why can’t I just keep posting stills? Oren John said something on a YouTube video earlier this summer about “learning how to make content that moves well on the internet” and that really hit me like a truck full of bricks, because I’d spent years not figuring out how to make work that moves well on the Internet. Consider this me making up for lost time.

   3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I took a class called Cut30 that taught me a lot of the basics. I highly recommend it. Also - if you see somebody who’s making really cool videos and you want to learn about it, why not ask them a question or two? What’s the worst that could happen, you don’t hear back from them?

   4. If you feel nervous, think about it this way: There are people out there that are one step behind wherever you are in your journey. There are people out there who love what you love and could benefit from learning what you already know. Every single one of us is somewhere along our own journey.

   5. Relentless usefulness is a pretty productive strategy. 

2. 📸PHOTO - Using carousels to teach: This is something I’m testing in carousels, because I want to see - can I use this format not just to show off new work, but also to be useful to others and deconstruct how I shot something? It’s certainly lower-touch than shooting and editing Reels, is it as impactful?

Here’s what’s in the second image slot:

And here’s what’s at the back of the carousel:

Second-to-last image slot: Camera settings, some commentary, etc.

I have no idea if this is going to stick, but early read is positive: I am seeing 2-3X the amount of “saves” that a normal carousel would do, which indicates to me that people might be saving it to come back to later, which might mean it could be helping people. Gonna keep messing with this.

🎞️STILLS

Four posts this past week, go get ‘em G! I told y’all I’d get back on this horse and this is me starting to back up the talk.

1. 📸 Some studio portraits w/ Isabela

   1. Why I like it: Denim in a white wall studio 4 ever.

   2. What I learned: Two things here: One, Rembrandt lighting is going to be one of your best friends. A quick YouTube tutorial will tell you everything you need to know, but here’s the elevator pitch - put a little more contrast on one side of your subject’s face. Adds dimension and depth to the photo. Second, it takes some finagling to get a fan in studio to work right. You’ll see the horizontal image that’s split into two carousel shots as one of the few (and we shot a bunch) that I think I actually timed it right. To anyone who feels like they have to sift through a bunch of misfires to get to the good shots, I promise - you and me both, brother/sister. Isabela is a world class pro at this and I still had bunches of images that didn’t make the cut. My general sentiment is that if it’s a good image, it’s the subject, if it’s a bad image, it’s on me.

   3. Gear used: Sony A7IV, Sigma F2.8 24-70, Tiffen Black Pro Mist ¼ strength

2. 📸 Some flash studio outtakes w/ Lexie, Joy, and Will

   1. Why I like it: These photos are raw, imperfect, and fun, and that’s why I like them. These three young guns showed up to a Brooklyn studio and brought great energy. I love New York City and always enjoy shooting there.

   2. What I learned: I needed more firepower in terms of lighting. I walked in with a single speedlite, and in many cases that’s good, but when you’re trying to light three people, it’s just tough. That wasn’t enough flash. Were I to have time travel capabilities, I’d bring a second light.

   3. Gear used: Sony A7IV, Sigma F2.8 24-70, Tiffen Black Pro Mist ¼ strength, Godox V1S.

3. 📸 Some flash daytime portraits w/ Peyton

   1. Why I like it: We shot this at high noon, literally, on a hot August day in LA, and we still got some great images.

   2. What I learned: Noon on a summer day, photographers, you know the feeling: This is not gonna go well. High-peak sunlight can feel like a huge limiter, but I think this is yet another example of how much direct flash can change an image. When in doubt, break out the flash and let it rip.

   3. Gear used: Sony A7IV, Sigma F2.8 24-70, Tiffen Black Pro Mist ¼ strength, Godox V1S.

4. 📸 Some flash nighttime portraits w/ Hailey & Paulina

   1. Why I like it: Great energy throughout this shoot + it was super fun to get to work in Venice Beach at night. First time doing that, and man alive, that’s a chaotic place.

   2. What I learned: I think there’s something uniquely powerful about going where the action is. All the things your gut might tell you to avoid as a photographer (tons of foot traffic, unpredictable people, etc) but this is something I find New York City street photographers do uniquely well, making gorgeous images that lean into the chaos rather than avoid it.

   3. Gear used: Sony A7IV, Sigma F2.8 24-70, Tiffen Black Pro Mist ¼ strength, Godox V1S.

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🎬VIDEOS

My fav this week: Alright, first choice is absolutely going to be the Day 100 video. I feel really positive about how this one turned out. But the other I want to call out, which didn’t get near the same amount of traction, is the motorbike editorial video. This ability to deconstruct what makes somebody else’s work eye-catching and make it useful for other creative people is a skill I feel I need to keep working on because these videos aren’t really clicking. The climb continues.

All this week’s videos:

10/31: “Want more people to see your work?” IG / TT10/30: WSJ Magazine motorbike editorial IG / TT10/29: Content Playbook for Set Active IG / TT10/28: Lighting Tutorial, Part 3 “remastered” IG / TT

100 day challenge progress: Mission complete.

📈AUDIENCE GROWTH

Instagram: 8527, +414 this week, +5% vs. last weekTikTok: 902 followers, +81 this week, +10% vs. last weekNewsletter: 845 subscribers, +42 this week, +5% vs. last week

🙋GOT A QUESTION?

Have a question about cameras, lighting, editing, workflows, whatever? Ask me here - your question may get featured and answered in depth in next week’s newsletter.

ASK A QUESTION

🆓FREE PRESETS

If you edit in Lightroom, here’s a link to five free presets, no strings attached.

FREE PRESETS

📍FREE MOOD BOARD OF THE WEEK

For those of you who didn’t get the free “motorbike editorial” mood board yet, here’s a link - I thought this was a killer project in WSJ Mag. They do some lovely fashion editorials.Will have another new one in next week’s newsletter.

MOOD BOARD

🛠️TOOLS

I often get asked what cameras, flashes, etc I use. Here’s all that in one place.

TOOLS LIST

💬COMMENT OF THE WEEK

I thought this was so, so cool from Sibling Artists. Thank you for saying it. It makes the work worth it.

🔗SHARE

If you saw something you like or found interesting in today’s post - will you do me a solid and forward it to a friend or creator you think might like it?

Everybody have a great start to your week,

Garrett