Benjamin's Story & Business Tips
Lesson 27 from: The Photographic Style & Aesthetic WorkshopBenjamin Hardman
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Benjamin's Story & Business Tips
Lesson 27 from: The Photographic Style & Aesthetic WorkshopBenjamin Hardman
Lesson Info
27. Benjamin's Story & Business Tips
Lessons
M0: Orientation
1Series Hello & Introducing Benjamin Hardman
01:43 2Coffee with Alex - Benjamin's Story
22:38 3Benjamin's Workshop Introduction
01:39M1: Gear & Prep
4High-Resolution Setup
07:26 5Lightweight Gear Setup
05:33 6Backpack Breakdown
11:38Aerial Photography
05:51 8Gear & Clothing
07:26 9Research & Preparation
06:18M2: Shooting & Editing
10Seals of Glacier Lagoon
06:56 11Editing: Adobe Lightroom Basics
40:59 12Capturing Glacial Detail
08:23 13Editing: Macro Detail
15:17 14Exploring on Foot
09:47 15Editing: Image Stitching
17:18 16Photographing the Elusive Reindeer
07:21 17Editing: Subjects in Sunset Light
16:58 18Documenting Iceland's Jagged Peaks
06:21 19Editing: Atmospheric Mountains
14:56 20Mountain Drone Photography
10:50 21Editing: Aerial Abstraction
17:20M3: Finding Your Style, Curation, and Social Media
22Benjamin's Style
03:30 23What Inspires Benjamin
02:40 24Creating Your Own Voice
03:01 25Curation: Computer to Phone & UNUM
10:16 26Social Media Q&A with Alex
08:47M4: Running A Creative Business
27Benjamin's Story & Business Tips
05:23 28Presenting Professionally
01:39 29Printing Your Work
12:29 30Staying Inspired
01:02M5: Wrap Up
31Workshop Takeaways
06:03 32Workshop Summary with Alex
32:50Lesson Info
Benjamin's Story & Business Tips
New session, new module. And now we're going to dive into the world of business, as a photographer, as a videographer, basically any creative industry. There are so many things to consider that any other industry has to deal with as well. And that is how to run your company. This is a massive subject, but there are some things that I've learned in my journey. I've made so many mistakes, and there's been so many hard times, but I feel like there's some valuable things I can share with you. And I wanna step back a bit and look at how I got to this point. And really that was through my studies, and not many people know, but I actually studied accounting and finance, That's my degree. And I successfully completed it. I was doing a lot of random things at the time, you know, working, doing assisting on wedding shoots, and all these types of things, mowing grass, playing in a hardcore band. But the crux of my life for those three years was accounting and finance. And it taught me so much abo...
ut how companies work, how taxation works, and these are things we have to consider at the end of the day. Before moving to Iceland, I needed to save some money, and I had a pretty stable job. I was working as a bookkeeper. So I was doing all of the records of daily expenses and things that the company was basically spending their money on. And by saving some money, I was able to set myself up for a good position to make the move across the world. And it wasn't too much money, I think it was like, I saved up over the course of a year. I think it was like $10,000. And that was pretty much the most money I'd ever had. And I was like, wow, this is so awesome to have this space to work with now. And I'm gonna move to a new country, and I'm gonna try and be a photographer, and who knows what's gonna happen. So I had moved over to Iceland with, with these savings. Of course, they depleted much faster than I could have ever imagined, because moving to a new country costs quite a lot of money. In the process, I had began to make connections around town, and the concept of being a photographer really became more and more of a reality over the course of the coming year. And I had a job as a housekeeper. So I was not exactly able to fund a lot of my travels, but doing that hard work, taught me so much as well in that first year of living in Iceland, and any chance I could get, I would try and go out and take photos, and meet people and try and, share my work, connect with companies. And this quickly, quicker than I could have ever imagined, turned into a company for me, and I needed to seek this accounting advice, so I pitch to you, to in the early stages of your company, just have a meeting with an accountant, and someone, even take a crash course in accounting, and you'll really be able to kickstart and propel your own business. For me, my journey didn't begin in the traditional sense of pitching jobs to brands, and calling people and trying to hustle jobs and, really trying to bring in those dream shoots. For me, my journey in photography began with just a burning passion to be in Iceland, to be completely immersed in the landscape. Through that, that led to some interest in what I was doing, because my perspective of Iceland, especially being a foreign person, was quite unique to the people around me, and this sparked some interest, and turned into jobs naturally. Sometimes not the the dream job, but it really opened the doors. And especially in the beginning when I was still learning how to translate my passion in photography to a business, through full immersion in my craft. I've really been able to propel my connections, my relationships with brands, because this level of intrigue and the intensity of my passion for this country, it was shining through, and it still is shining through today. And some of my first and most valuable clients, and connections have stemmed out of this passion. So, you don't have to be immediately on the hustle to get your business alive and kicking. For me, Iceland, and immersing myself in this country, became the center point of my business as a photographer, and something you can really take away from this is that, whatever you're passionate about, if you immerse yourself in that, completely immerse yourself in that, that's going to shine through to the people around you, and be something that companies are gonna be looking for. And they're gonna seek you out because you are really invested in that specific craft that you are trying to hone in on. And it goes a long way to just follow your passion, and let that be the center point for what you do as a photographer.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Matt Grandbois
Very Informative & Awe Inspiring Both Benjamin and Alex have played huge roles in my photographic style development over the years and it is great to hear first hand exactly what inspires and drives Ben to keep pushing his creative boundaries. Personally, I love his minimalist approach and it was super insightful to watch him explain how he developed that style and how he actively produces photographs in a cohesive manner. 10/10 recommend this workshop to anyone looking for a very unique and profound perspective with the intent of expanding your creative horizons.
Alec Brown
First Workshop The first workshop I have ever purchased. I've always been hesitant to invest in a workshop, however this went above and beyond my expectations. Fluid in progression, great insight and a super relaxed learning curve full of information. I feel this has prepared me to take my own personal photographic journey to the next level. Executed to perfection. Nice work guys! 10/10 recommended.
Janelle Dransfield
Moving to Iceland now...? Loved this workshop! I really liked the way the modules are split up, and the way you watch Benjamin go out on location for a shot, then immediately sit down and watch his editing process for that specific shot. So much editing to learn too, since he doesn't use presets! The workbook is also super thorough, so printing it out allowed me to pay close attention and just add little notes here and there. The Iceland road guide is also SO helpful and in depth. Can't wait to use it. Also loved that Ben talked about printing your own work. Would be cool to maybe see something from Wildist in the future that goes even more into depth on that (calibrating your own printer, working with a print shop, dropship sites, etc.) Awesome course. Thanks, Hardman.