{"id":427335,"date":"2022-08-26T01:38:06","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T05:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=427335"},"modified":"2022-08-26T01:38:14","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T05:38:14","slug":"how-to-become-the-best-photographer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2022\/08\/26\/how-to-become-the-best-photographer\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Become the Best Photographer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
PDF TEXT: How-to-Become-the-Best-Photographer<\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Motivational Photo Thoughts<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How you can become the best photographer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Best, how so?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Optimal, optimus means \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the best\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. I like the American idea \u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be all you can be.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In photography,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Become the best photographer you can become.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Becoming a photographer<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In my vlog on becoming a photographer<\/a>, my belief:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your life task goal is to become the best photographer you can possibly become.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is done independently of others. Their opinions, metrics, likes comments follows, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t compare your photography with anyone else<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Comparison is the death of creativity and motivation in photography and life<\/strong>. By comparing yourself, your kids, your art, photos etc with others you are saying and doing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to judge the worth of this, I must benchmark it against something else external of my control.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For photography, why judge it against anyone else?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, it seems most photographers judge their worth in respect to Henri Cartier-Bresson<\/a>. All the Magnum<\/a> photographers have thus far lived in the shadow of grandfather Henri Cartier-Bresson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the reason why this is such a bad approach is that even Henri Cartier-Bresson himself give up photography<\/a>. Why? My theory is that he had hidden penis envy of his other painter artist friends; he secretly wanted to be a painter, not a photographer. Ultimately, he even deemed photography as not a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153legit\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 art form, that photography was simply a precursor to drawing and painting. Therefore, in order to advance, we must kill our masters<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why all artists are bad role models<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Also, the reason why I think it is so bad to find inspiration from any other artist, either dead or living is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides perhaps Leonardo da Vinci<\/a>, Michelangelo, and Raphael<\/a>, all artists of the past or present seem to have low self-confidence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For example, I believe the artists during the renaissance didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even see themselves as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153artists\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. They simply did what they felt they must<\/em> do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, painting seem to have been more of a side hobby for Leonardo Vinci than anything. He seem to be more interested in human anatomy and physiology, mechanics, engineering, etc. He was a fully formed man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Michelangelo; he seem to be driven by extremes. Note the Sistine chapel, and his great sculpture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t classify yourself as anything<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps in order to advance, you shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t classify yourself as anything. Maybe not even a visual artist<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? When you classify yourself, you chain yourself.<\/strong> Even Elon Musk, I like that he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t classify himself as anything. Yet he is one of the head designers for Tesla, and one of the greatest entrepreneurs and businessman of all time. Note how Elon never calls himself a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153entrepreneur\u00e2\u20ac\u0153.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Kanye West; I feel like he really got his wings when he no longer chained himself to just being a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153producer\u00e2\u20ac\u0153, or just a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153rapper\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or just a fashion guy. I think Kanye West<\/a> is the closest thing we have to an artistic uberman. Even Nietzsche said that the uberman would be a hybrid of Christ meets Dionysus. Note Kanye West and his YEEZUS album, full of dark Dionysian energy, meets his \u00e2\u20ac\u0153JESUS IS KING\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Christian spiritual reawakening hybrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to photography<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A radical idea I have is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if you channeled all of your money, and life force energy into photography? What could you become?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A simple thought is just use all of your money to travel, live abroad, or situate yourself in a place or city which is most conducive to your photography. For example, as of late I have been insanely productive in photography here in Phnom Penh Cambodia. I really think that Phnom Penh is a photo paradise<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life in Phnom Penh is insanely good<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this is where you could funnel all your money; investing in travel experiences, workshops<\/a>, anything that will give you fresh new eyes for photography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems to be a truism that travel is very very good for motivating you to make new photos. Why? That which is new, foreign, is a good way to reawaken you. Often \u00e2\u20ac\u0153travel photography\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 gets a bad critique, but, I think this critique comes more from toxic non-achieving photographers, who try too hard to be Magnum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, the greatest thing holding us back as creatives is this desire for legitimacy. However, this is bad. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t crowd source your self-esteem<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where should I share my photos?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Not Facebook, not Instagram. Share it on your own blog, or make a slideshow<\/a> and share it on YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Register your own domain and website on bluehost.com, and install wordpress.org. Not easy, but it is straightforward and effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if I want feedback on my photos?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If so, upload to arsbeta.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if I want more inspiration and motivation?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
  1. Learn from the masters<\/a><\/li>
  2. Books by KIM<\/a><\/li>
  3. HAPTIC PRODUCTS<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    What will you shoot today?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    This is the thought that should drive you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    SHOOT ON!
    ERIC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    ERIC KIM TRAVEL EXPERIENCES<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Become a photographer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Sept 30-Oct 2: SEOUL \u00e2\u20ac\u201d DISCOVER YOUR CREATIVE SOUL WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE<\/a> (Sept 9th cutoff for early-bird discount)<\/li>
    2. November 5th: DOWNTOWN LA \u00e2\u20ac\u201c MINIMALISM WORKSHOP<\/a><\/li>
    3. November 12th: VANCOUVER \u00e2\u20ac\u201c STREET PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on my mind?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      1. A fun photo assignment and project idea; just shoot photos of your receipts<\/a>, with your standalone digital camera in macro mode.<\/li>
      2. The best squat form is a mini squat, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153micro\u00e2\u20ac\u009d squat<\/a>.<\/li>
      3. My new aesthetic and approach is zen monk, or zen spartan.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        More turbo thoughts here ><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        The best photography equipment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        HAPTIC<\/a> OR NOTHING:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. HENRI NECK STRAP MARK IV<\/a>: The best neck strap in existence<\/li>
        2. HENRI SHOULDER STRAP<\/a>: To wear across your chest<\/li>
        3. ERIC KIM WRIST STRAP MARK II<\/a>: Become the photo GOAT<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          Discover all the best HAPTIC PRODUCTS ><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Design I am inspired by<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          I really like the new Bugatti mistral<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Also, the black orange color way of the Chiron super sport<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          BUGATTI<\/a> DESIGN is great!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Bugatti over Lambo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Rapper TYGA \u00e2\u20ac\u201d BUGATTI RAWW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Also JAY Z:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 6\/2 how does he fit in a new Bugatti? Haha fuck it you got me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

          Have a friend needing photo motivation?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          If so, forward this to them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          ERIC KIM NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Motivational Photo Thoughts How you can become the best photographer: Best, how so? Optimal, optimus means \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the best\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. I like the American idea \u00e2\u20ac\u201d Be all you can be. In photography, Become the best photographer you can become. Becoming a photographer In my vlog on becoming a photographer, my belief: Your life task goal is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":427319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-427335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/559DBE68-92EC-403D-B3D5-8C48002F3386.webp?fit=2048%2C1366&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427335"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":427339,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427335\/revisions\/427339"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}