Originally presented to the Ridgewood Camera Club and New Jersey Smug Group, the Set Your Passion Free presentation is now available free. Once you know what to do and not to do, you must put the rules aside and explore your own creative vision.

1. Set Your Passion Free
Scott Wyden Kivowitz
http://scottwyden.com

2. Once you know what to do & what not to do
Put the rules aside & explore your own creative vision.

3. Leave Your Comfort Zone
• Take Risks
• Break Boundaries
• Open Doors
• Go Nuts!
• “Poke the Box” - Seth Godin

4. Where Are You?
Where do you stand in the swarm of
photographers?
What are you doing different?
What risks are you taking?
What rules are you breaking?

5. Thomas Edison Once Said
“We shall have no better conditions in the future if
we are satisfied with all those which we have at
present.”

6. Photography Rules
They exist for a reason,
to act as a guideline of
the photographic process

7. What “They” Don’t Tell You
You are allowed to
break the rules

8. Darren Rowse - Digital Photography School
“While you probably won’t want to break these rules in
every photograph that you take – breaking them can bring
about some fairly spectacular results.”

9. The Rules
• Rule of Thirds • Fill The Frame
• Golden Ratio • Follow The Light Meter
• Tack Sharp • Keep Still
• Clean Angles • Get Down or Move Up
• Low ISO • Keep Horizons Level
• Hold Steady • Avoid Lens Flare
...etc

10. Keep It Steady?
Some photographers, like my friend John, throw
& spin their camera in the air.
In fact, there is a Flickr group full of them!
note: I don’t recommend throwing a camera.

11. Macro
Who needs it?
Have you tried
photographing
flowers with a
wide telephoto
lens?

12. Macro
...or photograph a
macro straight on
without finding the
perfect angle?
It could work
better than you
might think.

13. Bokeh
Always fun,
sometimes
overdone.

14. Focus
Not everything
has to be in focus
for a photograph
to be interesting

15. Blur
There isn’t one
still part of this
photo, yet it is
fun to look at!
See the guy
walking in the
background?

16. ISO Shooting at the highest ISO may not be favorable, but it can add drama by
using so much available light.

17. Angles
Photographs do not
have to be straight, to
be interesting

18. Lines
If this was
straight
(horizontal lines)
it would be
boring!

19. Color
Play with color
and light.
This color
photograph looks
black & white.

20. Vintage
Play with
processing by
making a modern
digital photograph
look old.

21. Curves
You don’t have
to correct for
them if you
don’t want to.
Let it go, have
some fun.

22. Tilt/
Shift
These lenses are
meant for
correction, but
can add a unique
look to
architecture,
landscapes and
objects

23. Negative
Space
There is
something about
dead space that is
so attractive in a
photograph.

24. Timothy O'Sullivan’s photographs had blown-out skies because of orthochromatic
material, which makes all blue skies overexposed. (1871 - 73 survey of the American West)

26. Surroundings
Photographing your
subjects, and their
surroundings.

27. Surroundings as
Background
Photographing your
subjects by using
their surroundings
as the background

28. HDR
High Dynamic Range
Love it or hate it.
Either way, the
technique can
make for a
stunning
photograph.

29. Be Sneaky
Don’t let an animal know
you are there.

30. Be Sneaky
Don’t let an animal (or
person) know you are
there.

31. Overhead
“They” say to get down to
a child’s level.
How about standing over and
looking down?

32. Upward
Shooting from a low angle can
add a neat perspective

33. Mobile
Experiment with cell phone
photography and the many applications
and accessories available.

34. Shoot Through
Shooting through
people can add an
interesting
perspective or
twist to a situation

35. Shoot Through
Shooting through
trees can add an
interesting
perspective or
twist to a scene

36. No
Detail
Let highlights
blow out
Let shadows cut
explore the
boundaries of
your camera

37. No
Detail
Deep detail-free
shadows can
create a highly
dramatic portrait

39. Cut Off
It is okay to cut the
heads or legs off people
if it works!

40. Filters
They don’t have to
be on the camera
in order to make
use of them
(two 10x ND
filters in use)

41. Giving It A Try
• Wrong Lens On The Right Camera • Use A Different Eye
(e.g., DX on FX)
• Dead Center
• Wrong Lens For Right Situation
(e.g., Telephoto for Macro or Tilt/ • All Minimalistic
Shift as Prime)
• All Distortion
• Upside Down Camera

42. Final Thoughts

43. Be
Aggressive

44. Be Kind

45. Experiment

46. Take Risks

47. Most Important

48. Have Fun
Doing It

49. Love The Rules

50. Set Your Passion Free
Scott Wyden Kivowitz
http://scottwyden.com
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Crowdsourcing A Photography Presentation Title
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