P#5 Q#7b: What's The One Thing You Most Want People To Remember To Add Impact To Their Photos?

With digital cameras, it's easy to throw away photographs that have no impact

Rob Sheppard: I think the biggest thing is to just keep trying different stuff. Don't be afraid to take lots of pictures.

Today, with digital cameras, that's just such a great thing. Take the picture, check it out on your LCD, see if you like it or not.

If you really hate a picture, you can just delete it. You never have to see it again and no one else has to see it either.

I think that so often people try too hard to make perfect pictures every time. My thing is take a lot of pictures and fail a lot because if you fail, you'll know stuff that you don't like.

Also it means you're experimenting and you're pushing yourself to do new things. So try new things, try different ways of shooting, and get rid of the junk. Then be happy with the good stuff that you get and learn from both.

Audri Lanford: Thanks so much Rob! If people want to learn about all the things that you have to offer, what is the best place for them to do that?

Rob Sheppard: People can do a couple of things. I have two Web sites that also show my books and workshops as well, but there's also information on them. One Web site is www.RobSheppardPhoto.com. There are some little tutorials, there are actually some videos on working with Photoshop, and there's information about my books and workshops as I said.

In addition, I have a new photo blog which is called www.Photodigitary.com, and that's a blog. What I try to do is have at least two posts a week, sometimes more, on subjects that are related to digital photography, to Photoshop, Lightroom, working with cameras, and so forth. That's new.

I also put information in there when have new books and special workshops and stuff like that. Those would be places that I would recommend people look at. It would be my main Web site, www.RobSheppardPhoto.com, and then also my blog, www.Photodigitary.com.

Audri Landford: Sure. I've been to both of your sites actually quite a few times. I also would like to just mention again that you do teach classes at www.BetterPhoto.com, particularly a class on this exact topic, Creating Impact: The "Wow" Response. I have to say, Rob, that that is perhaps the single best course I've ever taken, maybe the biggest impact in terms of transforming my own photography.

Rob Sheppard: Thank you, glad it helped.

In conclusion

Take lots of pictures to learn where you can create impact in your photography. Don't be afraid to experiment. Push yourself to do different things. View your photos with a critical eye, and throw away the junk.