Signing the books as fast as I can! They'll be on their way to you soon, thanks so much for your support and patience 🙂

@ArizonaMMJ

5 жыл бұрын

James for your landscapes are you typically using the high res mode on the G9?

@mikerogers3274

5 жыл бұрын

Love the book. What a great idea. Pride of place next to Ansel Adams on the bookshelf.

The best thing about your videos are the little bits of personality you have in them

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers Craig, that's so nice to hear 🙂

@grantnewton5705

5 жыл бұрын

I agree!

@jeffbrown8117

4 жыл бұрын

That’s why I keep colony back haha. James is hilarious.

Composition is probably the hardest thing to explain or "teach" in photography, but you did it brilliantly ;) I had a photography instructor who said something very similar to your second point about what to exclude, and he used an analogy that I like a lot: Photography is a bit like sculpting. The statue is already in the rock, the sculptor's job is to remove everything that's around it. Likewise in photography, the image is already out there, your job as a photographer is to remove everything around it.

I bet Thanos would be good at photography Perfectly balanced as all things should be

@elevateyourmoodx100

5 жыл бұрын

Imagine him with a tiny Sony a5100. Enough said.

"I'm still dressing like a child" It's a life style I also subscribe to

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

I think we'll get on Michael 🙂👍🏻

@lylestavast7652

5 жыл бұрын

@@JamesPopsysPhoto (never give up your underoos !!!)

First, glad to see the shelf is still holding. Second, great video. Lots of useful info, as a newbie to the photo world I really appreciate it.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Great to hear! Thank you 🙂

Hi James, lots of great points here. I always have the rule of thirds grid set up on my camera, and phone as well. Comes in very handy for framing, and composition, nothing worse than a wonky horizon, ha.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Well said Derek :)

My dear young man, you are a HOOT! Yes, your content is good, but your delivery is the best part! Now, about this video, I teach photography basics at a local community college. Mainly the class is full of 55+ individuals. I am likely to play parts of this video, as another way to think about composition. No one way of communicating is perfect (certainly not mine). Steller job! Oh, and, you are not alone on the cabin fever front, all it seems to do in Philadelphia, PA is rain, and rain, and rain some more.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

That's great to hear, thanks so much! And fingers crossed for some dry weather soon 🙂

James, nice to see ya smiling and that things are going well! I am reality new to photography and just wanted to add to the conversation two things that seem to work for me while shooting. This is an effort to simplify composition. First I alway shoot about a 10 to 20% larger photo so I can crop it back to just that perfect spot that will yield the best photo and reduce the distractions. I do not have to wait for the perfect shot, I just deal with most of the rule of thirds and such in post processing. Second, (and this is the biggest challenge) I try to get the subject as tack sharp as possible. This involves planning a bit ahead on what lens and settings will give me the desired effect. Last part involves getting the subject sharp! I do this by shooting A LOT of photos. I can never tell which one will work the best but if I look at 20 to 30 shots of the same thing, I am bound to capture something wonderful. I often can choose to do photo stacking and other things if I plan that ahead of time. Hope this helps, I am very thankful for the tips and the fun that is always on your channel. Your a great guy! Moonpie

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Sounds like a great workflow! Thanks so much for the support 🙂

Just now stumbled on your channel. Loved the “fine dining” correlation to photography.

You offer some of the best photography instruction around! I love how you share concepts that help me build a framework of strategies for approaching a scene when I'm out shooting. This is so much more useful than watching someone shoot or edit without describing the thought process behind it all. Thank you!

Waffle away, love it. And the surprise cat appearance near the end, nice touch. Great as ever, thanks.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers Jacob :)

James Popsys in 2019: Cabin fever is a real thing Me: *laughs in 2020*

@divejumpshooter6947

3 жыл бұрын

Me: laughs manically in 2021

Yes! Can't wait for my book 👍

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mike! It'll be with you asap! 🙂

I really love all your videos and the personal and honest aspect of them, they really inspire me on my photography journey.

love your comment on other forms of art are about adding while photography is more about subtracting. point of view that I hadn't thought of before but its great to help beginners understand. keep um coming James!

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers Chris :)

Brill! A great introduction to a ridiculously difficult and probably infinite subject. And a great reminder to some of us old gits out there. Congratulations on the new book: If I wasn't so skint, I'd snap one up. Thanks, James.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Andy 🙂

"Photography is about subtracting and simplifying" - really helpful thought. Thanks James.

One of your best, a great explanation of good composition.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers Tom 🙂

"I've completely just made that up" I love your videos!!!

Your videos are so entertaining while being super informative and helpful.

Great video thanks James - hearing your thought process when composing is the most useful insight you can share with beginners IMO 👍👍

I had an "ahhhhh that's it" moment when you explained the tip with giving subjects room to breathe when the composition is simple/clean and there are no distractions. I like to make my subject very clear in my photography, but I feel like this is something I was missing. Thanks!

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Great to hear :)

"The elephant in the room" What did I see that coming XD Amazing video thank u!

I'm a beginner photographer and my first series isn't about story or subject, it's all focusing on light shapes and composition to train my eye. i'm a graphic designer so i have knowledge about composition and shapes and how much you leave in and what you leave out. When you start leaening graphic design you learn about the basic forms like shapes and lines and dots and how they work together, what do they mean and how do they feel, then you go on and learn color and so on, Step by step, means i think my approach in learning photography is the same, focus on the fundamentals to get a sense for it and go on to different generes and apply and experement from the basics. For example: buildings are great objects to start with, they have gemometric shapes and clear lines, so you just focus on their shapes and how the light hits them.

This was the first video I saw of you here! Besides the super helpful tipps im blown away by your pictures! Subscribing right now!

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much mate :)

Thank you for your mostly clear English. That gives me (German) a chance follow up your explanations. I like your analogies and comparisons to the daily live to explain photography effects or rules. Greetings from the Ruhr region.

you are an amazing photoshooter. i like the boat and mountain one, super powerful and it's making me feel tiny about the world. and the dog is also the right time to press that shutter. great works.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much 🙂

Great videos and great tips. I like the way you include a bit of humour and sarcasm, it makes the videos far more interesting.

Another really useful video James, at times i struggle with composition and find that when i get back home and look at my work on Lightroom, i often think i should have left this or that out etc. Thanks again.

I think this is the best video you've done that I have seen so far.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers Ron :)

Very enjoyable and informative video. Thanks mate :)

I love the analogy of fine dining and photography...I still have cluttered photos at times, primarily due to poor (or lack of) lens choice (not that I would necessarily be better with lots of lenses-still learning). Nice video.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Great to hear! I worried it was a bit too random 🙂

Wonderful explanation of the rule of thirds

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks! :)

Another hilarious video James, I always look forward to watching them! Keep it up :) Oh, and belated happy birthday :D

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much mate :)

Perfectly imperfect explanations ;) Like!

Great video and commentary love it.

Very ...sort of concise video on a difficult subject, from your perspective it makes it easier to know what to exclude and include. The Elephant in the room joke tho....so corny it was funny.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

haha, thanks!

Thank you , James. Very useful video and very entertaining.

@neilattuk

4 жыл бұрын

.....and book ordered.....

Glad to see the shelf didn't fall off!

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Still going strong...ish :)

I see a 🐑! How exciting! And 🐈, what a nice bonus. Very well explained and useful information as always too.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Haha! Pride of place, good spot!

Thanks for the explanations, I'm just discovering your channel, I love the way you present things :)

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much and welcome 🙂 That's very kind!

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much and welcome 🙂 That's very kind!

7:45 Spot on regarding reduction and simplifying.

Thanks James

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! 🙂👍🏻

Great tips... thinking about photography as what to take away from what is already there is a perspective I never considered. Thanks James!

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Great to hear Robert, thanks :)

@robertj5156

5 жыл бұрын

@@JamesPopsysPhoto Im fairly new to photography...it would be xtra cool if you could maybe critique an image or 2 on my IG @robertjmedia...if not that's still cool with me 👍

Excellent example of a frame within a frame at 12:40...

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers Owen! 🙂👍🏻

Great video. Loved the cameo cat appearance at the end!!!

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

The cheek of it!

That dog shot is stunning! :)

Great vid. Its good to go back to the basics such as composition. With all the GAS around this gets overlooked

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Great to hear :)

Great video James :) Maybe I should stop procrastinating and do some revision for my exams next week... but I just wanted to tell you that for my GCSE Graphic art project you were one of my inspirations and I did some pages about you and your work in my sketchbook and I managed to get a grade 9 in the project! So thank you for being such an inspiration!! :)

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thats amazing to hear Olivia, congrats! 🙂

Kudos. The shelf is still up.

Very useful video 🙂 Looking forward to my copy of the book 😊 hopefully it arrives before I go on vacation (to the UK no less 😅). Cheers from Germany 🙂

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Fingers crossed mate! Either way I hope you have a great time here - and it has stopped raining :)

Yet another really good video :)

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Patrick :)

also in music you subtract :) love your videos.

"The elephant in the room"... best line ever! Thank you for that.

You are hilarious dude! Great lesson too 😀

Super useful & super funny!

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Great to hear :) Thanks!

Interesting vlog and great photos. I dunno, though, a red post box with the elephant had its own artistic merit.

Get a raincoat and shoot! I've started to find I enjoy taking photos in the rain more than in good weather. You should give it a try.

@davidck2456

4 жыл бұрын

My camera isn't weather sealed :(

Good advice, James, and before your comment and the end about dressing like a child, I was thinking how much I liked your shirt!! LOL

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

haha, cheers John! Their on the Rab website :)

Good stuff Mr P! Understandable you don't like not being outside, but personally, I like a few studio videos. It's like a nice chat over a cuppa :D

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Ahh cheers Dean, great to hear :)

Thank you for pronouncing Sri Lanka the way you did. 😊

Very helpful ta very much! Particularly about the Rule Of Thirds, because I think I've been getting it wrong. I've got the grid set up on my camera but I've still been putting the main subject right in the centre of the frame instead of experimenting a bit where it might look better. I'll now be able to try it out! LOL By the way, I can relate to the 'Cabin Fever' thing in a big way!

Again, a great video 😃👍🏻 Any „lecture“ on composition might also be advocating the use of prime lenses or „zooming with your feet“. Many photographers (including myself) have used and do use the zooming capabilities of their lenses as an excuse to be a little bit lazy. That’s not to say zoom lenses have no place, because that would be a stupid thing to say. I wouldn’t want to get rid of any of my zoom lenses at all. But getting physically close is often better than zooming in because it can create a more „intimate“ impression, depending on the subject. As a bonus, walking around instead of zooming also might yield other, perhaps more interesting angles. Yes, that is not always practical or possible for one reason or another. That is where zoom lenses really shine. You point out (and rightly so) that anything you have in your shot should have a purpose. I would extend that to what goes on „off camera“ as well. You know, as in „why do I want to zoom in? Can I get closer physically without endangering myself or disturbing the composition? If so, why not do it?“

Thanks, James. I woke up this morning and thought...I should look into composition more. What does the trusty KZread have to say. And what appears in my recommendations? Why your video of course. Thanks again.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Your wish is my command Steve! 🙂

@stevew7719

5 жыл бұрын

@@JamesPopsysPhoto Ok, show me how you got the cat to pose on the wall outside your window towards the end of the video. I always thought training cats was difficult. Will your talents ever cease. ; )

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

They just want cold, hard cash! 🙂

Happy Birthday!

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers Henry 🙂

One minute in and I subscribed .

i’m not even a photographer i just like your voice

Photography is the art of omission

8:25 with a 1920x1080 monitor, it's perfectly visible. Great video, thanks a lot!

It's like I'm addicted to your videos😫😂

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much :)

ooh, I guess Happy Birthday! This just happened to be about a year ago.

Haha, that distorted rule of third overlay is funny.

i actually kinda liked the elephant photo with the red post box

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping you'd make that elephant joke :) Good job on the video, it's well thought out and I will be using your advice in both landscape and as far as possible in portrait photography as well. Till the next one :)

James the Third?? That's 3rd in case it was misread :-D Love the White Walkers' Dog

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers Peter :)

Hi im pretty new to your channel but I subbed becase your pretty entertaining and informative. I though this was a really helpfull video, thanks. I don't know if its something you would consiser but I'd really love to see something about how to find good images in an uninspiring location, or your own home town in which even the beauty spots lose appeal after a while.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Claire! I've had that asked before so I'll definitely give it a go at some point :)

that boat shot almost looks like infrared =p

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Haha, I see what you mean 🙂

Hello, everyjames! And thanks you for sharing! (-:

I kind of wish that camera manufacturers would enable the golden spiral as an option rather than just the rule of thirds grid to be visible in the EVF of the back LCD display. Not everyone wants to play tic-tac-toe.

An easier way to use the golden ratio is to remember the proportion 3:5, so it's a bit beyond on the first line of the rule of thirds. It looks better to the human eye because it represents the Fibonacci sequence, which is extremely common in nature, that's why the human brain accept it better as a composition

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Gotcha Alessio :)

OMG James that joke would qualify as a bad dad joke. Great video as usual though so I'll forgive you ;-)

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

haha, cheers John!

I was hoping you would be touching on the book. I look forward to that. Also, I wanted to ask you if you use your lenses full open sometimes. Seems like a lot of photographers say it will distort (for a better word) the edge of the picture. I have a G9 with an Olympus 12-40 lens f2.8. I use it at full open sometimes mostly inside shots, but maybe that's not good practice? Have you ever talked about your drone and what settings you shot with it? Some of those videos and shots of yours are amazing. Rlephant in the room jokes. Yup bad joke, but that's what brings everyone back to your videos. Keep making "bad" jokes.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for the support! I shoot wide open sometimes in bad light etc, but even in low light or when I want shallow DOF I try to stop down just a bit to help corner softness and vignetting 🙂

"I'm indoors because its raining"... then the cat walks by at 12:38 LOL Nice! Great channel bud!

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

haha, didn't even have a coat on. Hard as nails... Thanks mate!

Video looks particularly sharp today. Maybe it's just me. What are you shooting on?

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Might be the 15mm 1.7 :)

What is the name of the cat in the background near the end of your video. I can't wait to see the book. Thanks.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Not sure Emily - but it's a stalker!

Your kitty doesn't mind being outdoors ;)

The cat is the star, but a good vlog thanks.

Can't remember if you've said in a video or not, but are we still able to order a signed copy of your book or are they a limited run?

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

I can make sure yours is signed, sure! Just email me your order number if you get one 🙂

Adding / subtracting - great to be reminded of these "rules". Thanks.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers Harry!

12:40 Hi, cat!

I am okay with the compositions, yet not the landscapes. But fine dining is overrated :)

Hi James. Who did you use to publish your photography book? We would like to do something similar with our photos. Thanks Shane and Michelle

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Shane, a company called Mixam :)

I like to think of the rule of thirds and other photography rules more like a rule of thumb than a law. The same goes for that "You always want to keep your histogram right, not touching the left and not touching the right edges!" - Nope. If I want to shoot a silhoutette, I *want* that pitch black parts.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

I hear you :)

I love negative space. It seems to be frowned upon by people that are sticklers for the rules. But it works. The dog photo is awesome, and that is great use of negative space. It gives room for the subject. I will continue to use negative space in my own work because that;s the way i like it (ah ha, ah ha) and I really don't care what others think of my work anyway as i shoot only for me. I would have bought a book but my car decided to eject £552 out of my wallet on a very expensive service. Now i'm broker than a very broke thing with broken broke bits.

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

I agree Dave, I love negative space! And aaaaaah I know the feeling, hopefully that'll keep it running for a long while to come :)

You're kinda funny when you make some stops when talking, like thinking. jajaja. Thanks for the vid!

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

haha, thanks Cesar :)

Cat walks into a composition video and immediately sticks his head out of frame.

Another good lesson, Glad it was raining (Sorry)

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

haha, thanks :)

Sorry if this sounds stupid, but how much is the book in US money? Will you still sign it if I order now?

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

No worries, roughly 25 dollars - thanks :)

James! Is your book available to buy digitally? This way you get money, AND you don't have to sign or mail me anything. Win/Win? Great channel, thank you for all your videos!

@JamesPopsysPhoto

5 жыл бұрын

Hey! Not right now unfortunately as I've not had many requests for it. Thanks for thinking of it though, I appreciate the support :)