LIFESTYLE AND ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHY WITH LUCAS GILMAN - A REVIEW

Continuing my reviews of educational content, this week I’m reviewing another video purchased through Creative Live for $29. This video features adventure and action sports photographer Lucas Gilman giving advice on how to break into the adventure sports market. Being that this is my intended market, I found this clip well worth the money and it provided me several keen insights into this space.

Lucas Gilman

 LUCAS GILMAN

Overall, it’s a great class. At times, Lucas seems a little uncomfortable in front of the crowd, but I found the information shared to be very valuable. There are several parts that seem like more of a storytelling session and less relevant to the topic at hand. However, if you make it through these parts there is always a great nugget of information on the backside or hidden in the middle.

TAKEAWAYS

I won’t list all of his bullet points here (there are many), but I will mention a few key items I took away from this clip. One, work only with the best athletes you can. A great athlete will always make you look better than you are. Two, production and print cycles vary for each publication, learn about those cycles so you can market your work in the correct season. Three, with advanced cameras becoming less expensive, find a way to set yourself apart from the crowd. Use your head to do this, not just your camera. Four, use trade shows like Outdoor Retailer to make connections and build a network of people with whom you can share your work.

ADDITIONAL TOOLS

As an added bonus, Lucas mentions a useful software tool that he uses in his photography business. This may seem insignificant, but pricing is a gaping hole in the world of photographic education and this software, fotoBiz, seems to help streamline that process. I have yet to purchase the software, but it’s definitely on my list. Lots of useful information packed into a short video. There may have been too much information included which prevented getting very in-depth on any one topic. Overall, great information in a quickly consumable format.

STORYTELLING ON LOCATION WITH COREY RICH - A REVIEW

Photography education is important to me. I consume large quantities of books, PDF’s, videos, blog posts, and other materials in hopes of improving as a person, businessman, and photographer. Because of this large informational diet, I feel there may be a value in my opinion surrounding some of these materials and it’s my hope to share my thoughts here and hopefully help in some way.

STORYTELLING ON LOCATION

Let’s take a quick look at Corey Rich’s Creative Live class: Storytelling on Location. This class addresses shooting stills and video for a commercial client while on location.

Corey Rich

I bought this class ($129) because I really enjoy Corey and his teaching style. I’ve watched most of the videos he’s put out online and I will be attending his Summit Series Adventure Workshop later this year in Jackson Hole (full review to follow). I’ve followed his career because I enjoy his mix of adventure and climbing with commercial clients and personal projects and because he’s a storyteller and teacher at heart.

All of that being said, I felt like this class lacked the additional information that I seek when paying for educational content. A part of me feels like I paid for something I maybe could have pieced together for free from Corey’s other instructional videos. I did value the more complete story of Corey’s background and transition from stills into stills and video. I also enjoyed the added adventure stories and workflow insights on producing quality photography and videography in remote locations.

The mock shoot is a great means of instruction. It would be very helpful for people first working with clients and/or learning more about production and project improvising. I think this section of the course could be improved with additional content about working with Art Directors and clients as well as some basic information on pricing and business practices.

PARTING THOUGHTS

Overall, I learned a few valuable things and I have re-watched the class in pieces several times. My hope is for Corey to put out a class on rope work for adventure photographers. I'd buy that one in a heartbeat! For what it is worth, I think the Storytelling on Location class is educational and informative, but I also think it is a little over-priced.