First 2,500 Hours of Deliberate Practice Learning the Art of Photography
This post marks the one quarter point of my 10,000 hour photography apprenticeship, which is an emotionally challenging milestone. In some ways this seems to have happened very quickly. Yet I am also very aware that it has taken me nearly 20 months to get this far, and at this rate I will not finish for another five years (60 months).
Objectively, I have achieved the following in the 2,500 hour of work over the last 20 months:
- Pressed the shutter release on my camera tens of thousands of times
- Achieved Licentiateship of the Royal Photographic Society
- Become familiar with the works of over 100 of the most famous photographers
- Studied painting and other forms of visual art in addition to photography
- Written posts about the nature of art, photographic composition, colour theory, etc.
- Moved stylistically from straight photography to a frequently semi-abstract style involving long-exposures, multiple-exposures or intentional camera movement
- I have carried out 5 commercial assignments for a high-end residential builder
- Have had an image accepted into an International Salon.
If you have any comments on this review, please post them below.
To see more posts on other photographic topics, or to follow my learning progress, please like or follow me on the social media channel of your choice to the right.
A Quarter of an Expert?
Do I feel more competent than I did at the start of this photography apprenticeship? Well yes, but lack of confidence or self esteem is not something I have ever been greatly troubled by. Objectively, I understand more fully what constitutes a good image, I appreciate that I have much learn, and my photographs are better for this.
My camera handling skills have certainly improved:
- Due to almost daily use over the last 18 months I am familiar with the positions of most of the camera; controls, buttons, dials, etc.
- Shoot mainly in manual mode with the histogram display helping me check exposure levels
- Having set the 3 memory settings on the camera (25th January 2019), I can move swiftly between Quick and Easy Street Photography, Moving Subject and ICM, then back again to manual.
My post-processing has improved significantly as one might hope at this stage of my photography apprenticeship. See: “Second Revision: Workflow at 2,000 hours” post.
Changes in Personal Circumstances
At the start of the project I notionally had a full time job, although the businesses was closing down. Over the last 20 months this closure has happened, enabling me to concentrate full time on my photography apprenticeship.
Whilst still the treasurer of the Stoke Poges Photographic Club (SPPC), and I remain primarily loyal to that club, I have also joined the Amersham Photographic Society (APS). The APS is a bigger club which meets pretty much every day of the week except Tuesdays, which is the day the SPPC and many other regional clubs meet. Its 150 members include several fellows of the RPS and some that sit on the distinctions panels for LRPS, ARPS and even FRPS. The club is in a strong position to mentor members through distinctions both for the RPS (see post “My Successful LRPS Resubmission“) and PAGB (Photographic Alliance of Great Britain) whose Certificate I am applying for in November of this year.
Top Images
This is one of my most hopeful images for FIAP Salons. Although the previous version, as seen on the Flickr site if you click on the image, didn’t do so well in competition and wasn’t accepted by the one Salon it has been entered into.
Now, face brightened and part of the left hand-side cropped off, I feel it is much improved.
My best performing entry into the Amersham Photographic Society’s competitions in the 2018/ 19 season.
Shot during a workshop with Leeming and Paterson on 18th November 2018.
One of several minimalist seascapes shot in Anglesey, Wales.
Originally created as a fun image of a friend whilst on holiday in Switzerland. I assure you he is most definitely not blind, despite his choice of eyewear. The shocking concept of waterboarding a blind person emerged after seeing the images next to each other in Lightroom.
Was the only one of my submitted image to be accepted into the Cheltenham International Salon, and therefore my first ever acceptance into a FIAP Salon.
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Top Posts – Photography Apprenticeship Learnings to Date
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Interest and Experience
| Genre | ….. | No/ Little Experience | ….. | Some Experience |
| Much Interest |
Portrait Black and White Still life HDR |
Abstract Street Experimental Travel Architecture |
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| Less Interest |
Fashion Aerial Contemporary Documentary Photojournalism |
Advertising/ Commercial Nature/ Wildlife Sports Wedding/ Event |
My current focus on multiple-exposure composites of London combines all the genres in the top right box of this matrix.
Goals and Aspirations for Hours 2,501 to 5,000
Formal qualifications
Over the next 18 months I will be working towards:
- CPAGB, I have applied for an assessment this November: requires 10 images of a standard that “Would do well in a good Average Club domestic club or inter-club competition”, judged individually by 6 judges awarding 4=”yes”, 3=”near miss”. Total of 200 points required for the award.
- ARPS, if the body of work I’m producing this summer using multiple exposures to create impressionist images of London is deemed worthy by the PIC group and others at APS, I will apply for this in 2020.
- AFIAP, this qualification requires entry into a lot of salons.
- At least 40 Acceptances with at least 15 different photographs.
- This success must have come from at least 15 different salons with FIAP Patronage, and
those salons must be spread over at least 8 different countries. - At least 4 of your 15 photographs must each have gained at least ONE acceptance as a
PRINT as well as any PDI.
- BPE1, requires 25 acceptances into British Photographic Exhibitions.
Throughout the next season I also intent to compete vigorously in club competitions at both the SPPC and APS.
Style Development
I am very aware of the fact that currently, if I go shooting for a day, I come back with a set of images that look as though they were taken by a bunch of different photographers. This is obviously not a good thing, and for me a source of deep anxiety.
Having all pictures look “the same” is also not good; I am also very aware of the need for variation in any body of work, i.e., use of difference lenses, camera angles, detail and establishment shots. However, I need to find an elusive thread to recognisably bind them together.
Sean Tucker, in his YouTube “Defining a Style for your Photography“, claims that style is something that evolves naturally. After taking a lot of photographs, one’s habits become entrenched and images tend to follow a certain pattern. He claims that his Instagram account, SeanTuck, shows a change in his style over time. Speaking to him about this, on his Instawalk on the 26th May 2019, he down played the issue of style claiming that he didn’t think he actually had a style, at least for his street photography. He conceded that his portraits were recognisably his.
Technical Skill to Acquire
Although I have recently been given a Wakom tablet, I am remiss in that I haven’t learnt to use it beyond the very basics.
I am also weak in my knowledge and experience using the Pen tool in Photoshop, particularly in conjunction with the Wakom tablet. A powerful combination I am currently missing out on.
I also anticipate imminently moving completely from PC to Mac based hardware.
Artistic Development
Generally I need to improve the quality of the work I’m producing to the level of the FIAP International Salons.
I need to widen my style of image making in the following priority order:
- Monochrome
- Portraiture
- Nature/ Wildlife.
Related Posts:
- At Zero Hours
- After 100 Hours
- After 250 Hours
- After 500 Hours
- After 1,000 Hours
- Half Way – After 5,000 Hours
- After 7,500 Hours
- Goal Achieved – Final Review
Social Media Rankings:
- Facebook: 8 page likes
- Instagram: 91 Followers
- Twitter: Two followers, 14 likes
- Flickr: 13 Followers
- 7 Comments on the site page (including 3 from me).
Absolutely no promotion during this period, or indeed ever.