Dear friend,

I’m very interested in aesthetics, and what makes a “good” photo– or an aesthetically pleasing image, which causes our soul to quiver.

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Dear friend,

First of all, realize the phone is a “real” camera. Ignore anyone who tells you otherwise.

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Part of Photography Entrepreneurship 101: you wanna make a blog, but you have no ideas. This is advice I’d give you:

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The Bay Area is my home. Here are my favorite joints in SF for coffee, photography, and food.

Download PDF >

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My favorite joints in DOWNTOWN LA for coffee, photography, and food.

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My favorite joints in Hanoi, Vietnam for coffee, food, and photography.

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Why shoot street photography?

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Why I’m happy: I create my own reality.

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Photography inspiration,
Shoot photos which excites your soul’s elation.

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Dear friend,

I want to share with you why I am a fearless photographer, and perhaps give you some tips, insights, and advice on how to become more fearless yourself.

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Dear friends, here is my current portfolio as of 2017– feel free to share, re-distribute, and re-mix these photos as you’d like:

Download Portfolio 2017

• Eric Kim Photography Portfolio 2017

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The secret to becoming a great artist: never compromise.

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Dear friend,

You only live once. Why live it according to the rules of others and society?

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Dear friend,

If I started photography all over again this is advice I would give myself.

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YOU ARE A STREET GOD
high roller, you don’t need no trip abroad.

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ERIC KIM STRAP: all BLACK.
Photography inspiration and courage
Untapped.

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LOVE: two gloves, flying to the heavens like doves.
Why love?
because
you create and make one another
You are two world wonders, clashing in spirit
But you hold each other strong; bronze rivets.

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CINDY NGUYEN,
All she does is win.

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Life is fleeting,
Hands kneading dough
The bread of life.

With you
Me, together– husband and wife.

In street photography, there is a sub-genre of street photos called “STREET PORTRAITS”.

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Dear friend,

If you want to make better street photos, here are some tips:

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Dear friend,

I’m very passionate about photography and helping you– why, and does it really matter to be a “passionate” photographer?

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Dear friend,

If you wanna start your own photography business, here are some practical tips I’d give you:

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ERIC KIM x HENRI NECK STRAP: creativity overflowing to the brim like tonic and gin. Why do I always say my name? Where should I begin?

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HAPTIC: creative tools, you don’t lack it. Images, keep stacking it. Lighten your backpack for your creative output, you can’t make art without you.

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Announcing ZEN OF ERIC // WHY APP?

Try out ZEN OF ERIC on Facebook Messenger.

• Facebook messenger link
• Facebook page link
• https://www.messenger.com/t/ZenOfEric

Dear friend,

If you’re a photographer, start your own photo blog. Much better than any social media.

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Dear friend,

Here are some fun photography assignments you can try out to re-inspire you:

1. Listen to your favorite music album, and make a set of images: 1 photograph per song. For example, I’ll listen to “DAMN.” by Kendrick Lamar, and each of his songs inspires a blog post, or a single photo. So make a visual music, photography album of your favorite 12 photos to your favorite 12 songs.
2. Buy an old film medium-format camera, FILM NOTES, and buy 5 rolls of Kodak Portra 400, and 5 rolls of Kodak Tri-X 400. Shoot all the rolls, and edit down a set of images of your 5 favorite color photos, and your favorite 5 black and white photos. Of course, you can use whatever film you want.
3. On a Saturday morning, go to your favorite coffee shop, and bring your favorite 1 photography book. Order a double espresso, and start inspiring yourself with images. Then, when the caffeine hits your blood stream, and you feel the inspiration flowing in your veins, go out and shoot for 2 hours. Choose your 1 favorite photo from the session, and upload it.
4. Only shoot selfies for a week, and at the end of the week, choose your 7 favorite photos. Print them as small 4×6 images, and put them in your own photography journal for yourself. Don’t share them with anybody.
5. Imitate one photographer whose personality you hate for a week.
6. Try to make 1 perfect replica of a photograph you’ve seen that you like. Aka, recreate Henri Cartier-Bresson‘s famous puddle jumping photo.
7. Only shoot JPEG for a month (no RAW).
8. Only shoot with an iPad for a day.
9. On a Saturday, leave your phone at home, and shoot for an entire day without listening to music, sending emails, or checking social media.
10. Delete all your photos from Instagram, and re-upload your 10 favorite photos. Then don’t upload anything new for a week. Or to be more ballsy, delete your Instagram and make a photo blog.

For more inspiration, buy PHOTO JOURNAL by HAPTIC.

BE STRONG,
ERIC

Photography 101 >

Dear friend,

Never forget: photography is hard.

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There are a lot of people I admire and follow.

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Dear friend,

I’m currently reading Einstein’s biography by Walter Isaacson and was inspired: the best way to be innovative and a “genius” is just to be curious.

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Live life with no fear,
You control the steering wheel: know you can steer.

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Dear friend,

We always talk on how to make better photos– but never why make photos.

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Street photography: the best way to fight the monotony of everyday life.
To fight the strife, of putting in 40-hour weeks
At a job that makes us bored and meek.

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In photography, I love to crush the blacks.

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Dear friend,

If you’re a street photographer hungry for inspiration, try out these assignments:

1. Shoot opposite: when you see a good street photography opportunity, turn around and shoot in the opposite direction.
2. Use your phone, and only shoot close-up macro photos of people’s eyes for a day.
3. Prefocus your lens to .7 meters, and only shoot at that distance for a month.
4. Only shoot street photography on a film camera for a month.
5. Everyday, you’re only allowed to shoot 3 street photographs. Do this for a week.
6. Copy the style of a street photographer whose style you don’t like for a week.
7. On a Saturday, shoot 100 street photographs, all with a flash.
8. Only shoot urban landscapes for a week, without people.
9. Only shoot street portraits for a month. All the street photographs need to be shot with permission.
10. Shoot street photography for an entire day, with headphones on, and keep the same song on repeat.
11. Lock up all your cameras, and only shoot street photography on your phone for a month.
12. Don’t upload any photographs for 10 months, and at the end of those 10 months, only upload your favorite 10 street photographs.

For more inspiration buy STREET NOTES and FILM NOTES.

BE STRONG,
Eric

Street Photography 101 >

Dear friend,

I think a lot of us are trying to find more meaning in our street photography.

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1. If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough (Robert Capa)
2. Make photos you would like to look at.
3. When in doubt, ask for permission.
4. The scariest looking people are often the nicest (lesson from photographing people with face tattoos)
5. The best camera for street photography in 2017: Ricoh GR II
6. Shooting from the hip is a crutch.
7. The best street photographers: Bruce Gilden, Josef Koudelka, Martin Parr, Josh White, Charlie Kirk, Junku Nishimura, Alex Webb, Sean Lotman, Jacob Aue Sobol, Anders Petersen, Eric Kim.
8. Shooting photos with permission is more difficult than shooting photos without permission.
9. You know you’re close enough when your lens doesn’t focus anymore (Thomas Leuthard)
10. Street photography is 80% balls, 20% skill.
11. When shooting layers, prefocus at 5 meters, at f/8, ISO 1600.
12. The best street photography book: STREET NOTES x Magnum Contact Sheets
13. The best film street photography camera: Leica and 35mm lens.
14. To make better street photography compositions, capture triangles, diagonals, and depth.
15. To study depth, study Alex Webb, Constantine Manos, David Alan Harvey.
16. To make better street photos, capture more emotion. Emotion via hand gestures, eye contact, and body language.
17. If you make 1 good street photograph once a month, you’re doing very well.
18. Street photography: documenting humanity.
19. Street photography doesn’t have to include people, but is often more interesting with people.
20. Don’t upload photos you don’t like.
21. The wider your lens, the more head-on you need to shoot (study Garry Winogrand)
22. The best lenses for street photography: 28mm (when using a LCD screen), or 35mm (when using viewfinder)
23. Always shoot 25% more of a scene than you think you should.
24. If your mom likes your photos, your photos aren’t good.
25. Avoid making “IKEA” street photos (Charlie Kirk, photos that don’t offend anyone, but are pleasant to everyone).

For more inspiration, buy STREET NOTES and attend an ERIC KIM WORKSHOP.

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY 101 >

Dear friend,

I used to give one too many fudge ice cream sandwiches what others thought of me, my photography, and my life.

Now I can give one fuck less.

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Dear friend,

What if we didn’t need or want the “best” in life– and we’re satisfied with the “good”?

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I’m not the best photographer, but I’m a great photographer.

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Dear friend,

I don’t know about you, but I hate being bored. To me, boredom is worse than hell, or perhaps even death.

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In photography and almost everything in life, BOLDNESS will elevate you from timidity to grandeur.

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Download PDF >

1. Camera in the hand, and don’t make any plans.
2. Understand you need to make a lot of photos to get a few good ones.
3. You don’t need to be in London or Rome, to photograph good pictures.
4. Let your own inner-critic be your best judge of your own photos.
5. Ignore social media numbers.
6. Only upload photos you like.
7. When in doubt, throw it out.
8. If your photos aren’t good enough, your camera isn’t expensive enough.
9. Don’t seek to add to your frame, seek to subtract, like a sculptor chipping away a block of marble.
10. Make interesting photos of a boring place.
11. Follow your own artistic taste.
12. Lace your photos with your own personal emotions and soul.
13. Don’t follow any photographic mold– follow your own voice.
14. Find inspiration from all the arts: theater, sculpture, poetry, drawing, paintings, illustrations, digital, or film. Fill your creativity to the brim.
15. There is no winning on social media.
16. You can never have enough likes.
17. Your wife or husband is often the best judge of your photos.
18. To see more photo opportunities, keep your phone in airplane mode.
19. When you see a fork in the road, go straight (Jay-Z)
20. When in doubt, click.
21. Only pack one camera and lens for a photo trip.
22. Don’t shoot from the hip.
23. Make photos; don’t take photos.
24. Shoot film to re-inspire your digital photography.
25. The best camera is your phone.
26. There is no red velvet chair in the social media throne.
27. Paint your own reality in monochrome
28. Photograph emotions in colors.
29. Like a child, follow your curiosity and your own wonderment.
30. Buy books, not gear.
31. For photography poetic inspiration, read King Lear
32. Don’t steer your photography style; let your style guide you.
33. Photography equipment: not every shoe fits every foot.
34. To make more photos, walk more.
35. There are no rules in photography, only tips and suggestions.
36. Let your photos cook before sharing them: don’t take half baked images out of the oven.
37. Don’t make an online photo gallery have more than a dozen photos.
38. Be your own photographic self-promoter.
39. If you start getting hate on your photos, you are staring to get successful.
40. Photographers are artists: to find more happiness, create more.
41. Realize you can make interesting photos in your own home.
42. Originality: take something old, and give it your own spin– says Eric Kim.
43. Street photography: capture your own reality.
44. Your first (digital) million photos are your worst (a play off the “Your first 10,000 [film] photos are your worst.)
45. The best zoom: foot-zoom.
46. To capture more emotions in your photos, capture hand gestures.
47. Every photographer shoots him or herself.
48. Share your photographic wealth.
49. When you have nothing to shoot, photograph yourself.
50. Photography is a meditation on death and life, so never fall victim to bullshit and strife and pettiness– be the best person you can today, and pray that tomorrow will (also) be a good day.

Be strong,
Eric

PHOTOGRAPHY 101 >

Because I’m great, I have everything.

Because I have everything, I’m great.

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Dear friend,

I’m the most prolific person I know. But why am I so prolific?

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Announcing ERIC KIM STRAP: Just Shoot It.

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Yes. I got rich from photography (Cindy and I earn over $200,000 USD from photography), and I will share with you what worked for me:

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Dear friend,

I always wanted to find my “style” in photography, and I think I’ve found it.

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Dear friend,

Today’s world is crowded. We are all photographers. How do you stand out?

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One of the best ways to help a plant grow is to prune it.

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Dear friend,

If you are reading this, and you own a smartphone, you are a photographer.

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Dear friend,

I’m the most fearless person I know, certainly not the most humble, but I wanna share with you some of my personal remedies on how I overcame my fears in life, to become the best version of myself.

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Dear friend,

I wanna share with you some secrets on how to take better pictures.

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Whenever you see something that you want to photograph, it feels like an itch.

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Dear friend,

I think a lot of us are trying to find more meaning and purpose in our lives– and using photography as a tool for self-knowledge and discovery.

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Dear friend,

I think the problem in today’s world is that we no longer know how to see.

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Pride, like a serpent in my heart
Constricts me from saying I’m sorry.

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Dear friend,

I want to outline why I think photography is the best art form.

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Dear friend,

I think a lot of us are trying to find ourselves.

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Everyday I’m hustling,
Creative leaves rustling.

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Dear friend,

I think the one thing that can fix all the world’s problems would be compassion.

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Dear friend,

I think what holds us back in life is that we compromise. We don’t go all in.

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Dear friend,

An easy way to create more: destroy more.

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If you want to become an entrepreneur, to make more money, gain more power over your life, more freedom, more autonomy– you need to become a creator.

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Dear friend,

It was always one of my life dreams to do photography and blogging for a living. And now I’m doing it. I want to write you this manual on how to do it– based on my experiences.

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Dear friend,

Who is holding you back in life?

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I’ve been thinking a lot of how photography can help empower us in life, and make us happier.

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Dear friend,

I believe street photography is the best tool to become not only a stronger photographer, but human being.

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