The Beginner Photography Podcast

498: Shane Wilkie: Turn Unpaid Gigs into Valuable Opportunities

• Raymond Hatfield

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In this episode of the podcast, I chat with BPP Community Member Shane Wilkie, who transitioned from photographing skateboarding to Hockey and sports photography and commercial work while focusing on emotional storytelling. Shane shares his experiences capturing university events, the emotional depth he aims to achieve in his photos, and the impact of his volunteer work on his career. He also discusses the importance of seeking constructive feedback and the enriching journey of creating art that resonates emotionally with viewers.

THE BIG IDEAS

  • Embrace Emotional Storytelling: Focus on capturing photographs that evoke deep emotions and tell compelling stories. Your images should invite viewers to feel and imagine beyond the frame. 
  • Build Confidence Through Practice: Consistent practice in varied environments helps you become more comfortable and proficient, leading to stronger, more impactful photos. 
  • Learn from Unpaid Opportunities: Volunteering or taking unpaid photography assignments can provide invaluable experience, grow your network, and enhance your skills while building your portfolio. 
  • Constantly Seek Constructive Feedback: Constructive criticism is vital in refining your craft. Engage with photography communities and mentors to gain views and critiques that will help you improve.

PHOTOGRAPHY ACTION PLAN

  1. Focus on Emotional Storytelling: Spend time conceptualizing the emotion you wish to convey before shooting. Pay attention to your subjects' expressions, body language, and surroundings.
  2. Build Your Confidence: Attend a variety of events, from local sports games to community festivals, to practice photographing different scenarios. Review your work critically, identifying your strongest photos and understanding what made them successful. 
  3. Volunteer for Experience: Reach out to local organizations, events, or non-profits that could benefit from your photography services. Treat each assignment as a learning experience and push your creative boundaries.
  4. Seek Constructive Feedback: Join local photography clubs or online forums where you can share your work and receive constructive criticism. Approach experienced photographers for feedback and mentorship. 
  5. Upgrade Your Gear: Research and invest wisely in cameras, lenses, and accessories that will enhance your capabilities. Experiment with the settings and functions to fully understand its capabilities, enabling you to use your gear effectively and creatively.

RESOURCES:
Visit Shane Wilkie's Website - https://www.shanewilkie.com/
Follow Shane Wilkie on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/shanewilkie/

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Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Shane Wilkie:

The host could come in with their cell phone and shoot a pretty decent photo of just the property, the rooms, the kitchen, What I've always tried to do with the images is to make images where the viewer would kind of see themselves in the image. You can picture yourself there having breakfast. And maybe if you're there, you might want a fancy breakfast because you're at a fancy place. It's almost like that weird marketing psychology.

Raymond Hatfield:

Hey, welcome to the beginner photography podcast. I'm your host, Raymond Hadfield. And today we're chatting with community member, Shane Wilkie, about his evolution into commercial sports and photojournalistic work. But first, the Beginner Photography Podcast is brought to you by Clouds Spot. With Clouds spot. You can sell your photos through Prince products and of course digitals. You can set up a storefront in just minutes and start earning more with every gallery you send. So grab your free Forever account over@deliverphotos.com and only upgrade when you are ready. So Shane has been a member of the beginner photography podcast community for a number of years. In fact, I interviewed him back in 2021 to talk about his start in, shooting skateboarding and his desire to grow actually into a professional wedding photographer. Well, It's a few years later and like everything plans change. Shane pivoted into commercial sports and photojournalistic work. And today we talk about how he, got into all three and we talk about his new personal photo project as well, all about self identity. So I encourage you to join Shane and I in the free and amazing beginner photography podcast community, which you can join by clicking the link. by heading over to beginner photopod. com forward slash group. And remember, Shane is in the group, so he wants to hear from you as well. So with that, let's go ahead and get on into today's interview with Shane Wilkie. Shane, last time you and I, spoke, you were like, Doing this interview from a drum set and today it looks like you're in like a proper office or something like this is a big upgrade. So also last time we chatted it was 2021 And I recently went back and listened to the interview. I don't know if you did as well. Did you

Shane Wilkie:

I haven't heard it since then.

Raymond Hatfield:

good call good call? I think you're shooting with like a rebel t7 or something like

Shane Wilkie:

Yeah,

Raymond Hatfield:

Uh, The T5, man, even older. This is great. watching you grow over the past few years has been, incredible to see. So I'm really excited to chat today more about kind of what you've been up to. So I guess first question, are you still shooting with a T5?

Shane Wilkie:

I am not. I've since

Raymond Hatfield:

No? What happened?

Shane Wilkie:

Ah, well, I, put aside some money with all the shoots I was doing with that Rebel T5 and, eventually upgraded to a Canon R6.

Raymond Hatfield:

My gosh, that's a massive upgrade to go from, such an entry level camera one, you jumped right into that, I guess we're not even like really into it yet, but like, was that a big transition for you or, or did that come pretty natural for you?

Shane Wilkie:

It honestly came really natural for me. the big reason for the upgrade, I mean, aside from the crop sensor versus full frame. Kind of, I just wanted that full frame look, but I have really bad eyes. You might notice me squint a lot through this, but yeah, so I was having a lot of trouble with the viewfinder in the rebel and just going to the EVF really made it a lot easier for me. And I mean, that autofocus system kind of speaks for itself. The newer Canon cameras.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. This is something that I hope, maybe people who are still maybe shooting with the entry level camera. Did you notice that the quality of your images? Got better, or was it just simply the quality of the camera? what was more noticeable for you when you upgraded?

Shane Wilkie:

I honestly feel like the quality of the camera. it was an easier tool to use. I think I had learned a lot about the camera I was using. So there was still things like, I noticed that it's full frame. I, I definitely noticed I didn't have as much reach. You know, that, the 1. 6 crop. So

Raymond Hatfield:

ha ha ha.

Shane Wilkie:

yeah, my lenses weren't as long. honestly, yeah, just the, camera itself. It felt nicer, like, you used Canon for a bit, right?

Raymond Hatfield:

yeah.

Shane Wilkie:

Did you use the mirrorless ones or were you,

Raymond Hatfield:

No, I switched, away from the Canon 5D Mark III when I switched to Fuji. So, still a DSLR.

Shane Wilkie:

oh, okay, yeah, yeah, I was, the reason I ask is I find that they're really light, the Canon mirrorless. They're just a joy to, joy to use.

Raymond Hatfield:

That's funny, that's exactly how I describe using my Fuji cameras. It really is, personal preference, obviously. it's good to hear that it has been an easy transition for you. So, again, last time we spoke, you had talked about staying T5 for a while because you wanted to start, you wanted to earn whatever your next camera was going to be. You wanted to earn it through your photography. you obviously upgraded. tell me how you earned it through your photography. What have you been shooting since then?

Shane Wilkie:

it was a lot of the same stuff, honestly. I branched out a little bit, but at the time I was doing, I think, mostly just events. The odd little couple's family shoot then. I think in the last time we spoke on the podcast, I think I was really aspiring to do some wedding photographer thing or portraits. I don't even really know where my mindset was. I don't think I knew as much about myself then and how I work as a photographer. And like, you learn your strengths and your weaknesses over time. So yeah, I guess I was doing a bit of everything then. And then, get the R6, mostly events. And now I've kind of branched a little further out into photojournalism and then doing some commercial work for like Airbnb's in the area and restaurants and other local businesses.

Raymond Hatfield:

So, just obviously following you for the past few years. and seeing your growth. That was one of the big things that, I've noticed a lot. Is, one, Your commercial work, I could point it out, like just when looking at your images, and I'm just gonna let you describe it. Tell me about, because I guess when I first started seeing it, it was you and your wife going to like Airbnbs and stuff. tell me, I guess, are you working for Airbnb, or like, what is this setup, what is this, system that you got going on working with Airbnbs?

Shane Wilkie:

So I don't work with Airbnb themselves. It's just with the individual, operators, like tourism operators here, the hosts, I guess they're called super hosts.

Raymond Hatfield:

yeah, yeah.

Shane Wilkie:

Um,

Raymond Hatfield:

are the people who own the homes?

Shane Wilkie:

Yeah, these are the people who own the properties and it started out as I was doing a lot of it like portfolio building so it was a trade of services for accommodations Yeah, I was just reached out to some of them explained that Hey, I really want to do this Here's some work I've done and you know for as many yeses as I got there was a lot more no's and you just roll with it and Then I just started doing it a little more and other hosts started noticing and reaching out to me and that's when it started to transition into paid work and I really took the approach of I don't want to say this in like a negative way because I definitely don't look down on influencers But I took the influencer approach to it where I was in a lot of the photos And that was, different, Yeah you were shooting

Raymond Hatfield:

a lot of, like, just landscapes and stuff at that point, right?

Shane Wilkie:

Yeah. you're essentially just setting up a landscape shot and you're getting in it, or setting up a shot where you want to show a nice breakfast, so you're it look like you're just enjoying yourself. Well, I mean, we laugh, we have so much fun doing this, we laugh at ourselves. It's hard to take your own photo in that context.

Raymond Hatfield:

You mean just simply from, a technical perspective? Or something

Shane Wilkie:

Yeah, like, well you know what, from a technical perspective it was like, a little bit to figure out at first. okay, do I want to use the app on my phone and control the camera that way? Or do I want it to fire a photo every couple seconds? So it was a little bit of a, how do I do this technically and then how do we make the best photo possible? Which like, We kind of figured out early on was just like have as much fun as possible. And like the good photos, they tend to come.

Raymond Hatfield:

So what did you do? Did you decide to, did you just use your phone to snap the photos? Or did you use the, I guess was that the intervalometer? Is that

Shane Wilkie:

Yeah. That's what I was using. That's what ultimately worked better because then you're not three to one pose. It's, we could sit, have a conversation and kind of forget that the camera was across the room, just clicking away.

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh, wow. Yeah, that's a good idea. That's a good idea because I feel like, it's funny whenever I look at, like commercial work, whenever I look through a magazine and I see people like laughing and sometimes there's this tendency to like go overboard, maybe it's that the models feel like they have to earn their money or, the photo editor is like, we have to choose something that really says, You're having a blast, like this is the best moment of your life. But like, with your photos, I never feel that way. I look at them, and they feel very natural. But there's also still this really clean, polished look to them. that feels, well, professional. professional and natural. Like, it's a good blend of the two. I'm glad that you shared how you got that with the intervalometer. That's a good trick right there. tell me how you would set up some of these photos. let's take this breakfast example. let's run a little bit with this. how would you set up a good breakfast shot? And I guess, two. why did you need that for the Airbnb when the people weren't, maybe the next guess wouldn't necessarily make that same breakfast, I would think, look at the views, look at the house itself. Look at the amenities. But you're focusing on breakfast, so tell me why you did that as well.

Shane Wilkie:

Yeah. Yeah. So the idea that I kind of go with there is that I mean, really the host could come in with their cell phone and shoot a pretty decent photo of just the property, the rooms, the kitchen, like in this case of being breakfast. what I've always tried to do with the images is to make images where the viewer would kind of see themselves in the image. You can picture yourself there having breakfast. And maybe if you're there, you might want a fancy breakfast because you're at a fancy place. It's almost like that weird marketing psychology. And that you always want to make it look bright and happy. And that's like kind of where you mentioned the really clean look. So yeah, just that thought of, well, you could have breakfast here and enjoy yourself like this, you know? and I definitely take

Raymond Hatfield:

I mean, when I look at it. I think, I want to have that much fun. Like, this looks like a blast. This is great. but I also think about like some of your, earlier photos, cause again, in the last time we spoke, you told me your entrance into all of this was through video, through skateboard

Shane Wilkie:

It

Raymond Hatfield:

which turned into skateboard photos. And, when I think of, skateboarding photos. There's like this grittiness, like do whatever it takes to get the shot type feel to the images, whether it's high ISO, whether it's low light, whether it's, slow shutter speed, whatever it is. And then guess the word polished isn't what I would necessarily use to describe the world of skateboarding images, but that's kind of where you're at now. so was that a by product of. seeing where you wanted to go? Or was this more of the style that was within you? Does that question make

Shane Wilkie:

no, you know what it does because it's something that like i've been really kind of seeing in my work lately And like i've started to really accept and then take that and run with it is that I think it was just always inside me from the years of Like film and skateboarding watching skateboard videos just consuming that much content because i've been really seeing lately How it's influenced how I see the world how I shoot and that like one little example I get low no matter what and I shoot up I caught myself at a wedding last weekend. I just was shooting up doing a lot of the shots thinking like oh, no No, this isn't really what's working right now But it's just the go to And the go to is to lay down on the ground or squat on the ground where it's like Skateboarding you always want to look up at the skater

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah.

Shane Wilkie:

And whatnot.

Raymond Hatfield:

them look much higher in the air.

Shane Wilkie:

exactly. Yeah. And you know what though? It's been really fun to shoot certain things like sports and even pro wrestling to take that experience from skateboarding. And you're kind of looking at it a little bit different than maybe someone who just only looked at sports photography, if they only shot soccer or hockey, baseball, et cetera.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. Yeah. okay. let's kind of go in that direction because, as you just mentioned, you're also shooting hockey. You're also shooting pro wrestling. you got some new projects coming up. you also just mentioned that you were at a wedding. So give me like this 50, 000 foot or 30, 000 foot overview of what is Shane Wilkie shooting together? Right. what are all the things that you're currently shooting right now? Cause it's a lot.

Shane Wilkie:

You know what? it's hard to keep track of commercially. I re like, I said, I'm really like trying to narrow it into photojournalism, events, that sort of thing. But, I mean, I'm still like, I do a wedding, but I don't necessarily advertise wedding photography. sports is kind of new. But that kind of came through photojournalism. My first gig, for the Canadian press was to cover a university basketball championship. there's kind of a bit of everything going on,

Raymond Hatfield:

That makes it fun,

Shane Wilkie:

yeah, but with the projects, it's something completely different because I knew I needed something for myself and I like film was that it still is, but I would just post my shots. At will, whereas now I'm been working towards something all year pretty much that I'm going to release in December so between that and the commercial work, it's been really uh, draining, but very uh, Rewarding like it's kind of not like I don't want it to sound like I dislike it. It's a labor of love for sure

Raymond Hatfield:

of course, I feel like there's 19 different directions that we can go in. but first, let's start where kinda, you went right there, which was talking about, doing some photojournalism work. how did this come about? where was this on the timeline of you getting into, shooting Airbnbs as well? Or was this? Sometime around there. I kind of want to build like a progression of how you got to where you are today

Shane Wilkie:

Yeah, so I guess if we pull back just a little bit before that You To like getting the Canon R6. I got that it was like December one year. And then that next year I barely did any paid work. More honestly, my first year I did more than my second year because I just took that year and really just focused on the photography itself, but I still was doing events and coincidentally, it was the university here, Cape Breton university that was consistently hiring me at events, always sports. And I wouldn't shoot the game, they would hire me to shoot everything around the game. But I started to be around, like, a lot of sports and, like, kind of, I don't want to say got known as, someone who shot sports, but, it kind of went that way. And then, because of that, that's where the photojournalism came up. Canadian press needed someone for a U sports basketball championship. So I took that opportunity there, and that would have been, Maybe a little bit before the Airbnb stuff, kind of right around when it was just starting to be an idea.

Raymond Hatfield:

Why do you think that the university wanted you to shoot all the stuff around? Sports and not necessarily the action itself

Shane Wilkie:

So the idea there was because they have a team photographer for the various, varsity teams. But it's kind of what we talked about, with the Airbnb photography is that it's photography for marketing purposes, where the goal for me was to get. people wearing the colors of the university as well as enjoying themselves at the event. So then you're looking for moments and you're almost exclusively at that point, at that point, I was exclusively looking for photos of people smiling wearing orange. And then it just like something clicked of like, okay, if the photo doesn't have someone's face smiling, Telling a story. It's not really what I'm looking for. And those photos I was getting, the school started, they were really happy with them because it was just shots of people enjoying themselves. I think I just had this knack for being able to walk around a crowd and just observe and just see moments or you know, hear a conversation and know what's a little loud so all those people might, they might laugh. Anything, they might smile. it really snowballed from there. But yeah, that was essentially it, was to have photos of the game experience to make that appeal to fans that might want to come.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, I see. so before we move on, I want to stick with this for just a moment because, I want to know, were you nervous before you showed up to something like this? Because I think any, photographer who's never taken a camera into a crowd to photograph people, the idea is terrifying. And you think that everybody's going to get mad at you and say, why are you taking a photo of me? And get like argumentative. Were you worried about that? And did any of that happen?

Shane Wilkie:

I don't think I was like scared beyond belief, but I was a little bit unnerved by it. And it went really well that first time in those first few times. And I've been admittedly pretty lucky as far as interactions with people not wanting their photo taken, or just awkward interactions in general. You know, we all have a couple of them.

Raymond Hatfield:

Of course.

Shane Wilkie:

yeah, pretty lucky with it. But I wasn't that scared. And I'll tell you, it hits me on the ones when I'm least expecting it.

Raymond Hatfield:

What do you

Shane Wilkie:

Like if it's maybe an event kind of like the CBU one shooting crowd stuff every now and then it's one where it's like Oh, I've done this exact a room this exact type of event so many times, but for whatever reason today I'm my nerves are up and it's just kind of sometimes it happens. Sometimes it doesn't I'm sure you might have felt that with weddings sometimes. Like sometimes you might roll up with a little more confidence than others. did you ever find that?

Raymond Hatfield:

no, I was always on my game, ready to go, perfect gentleman, tons of confidence, every single time. No, of course I did, yeah, no, it was difficult, yeah. No, it sucks, especially cause some weddings you'd go to, this is what I would find. The bigger the wedding, I would get more self conscious, and I think that it was because, nine times out of ten, I would just shoot by myself. So it's like with a smaller wedding, Mm hmm. Everybody knew that I was a photographer. Everybody knows that there's typically a photographer at a wedding. and like in their brain it matched, but at these larger weddings, where I wasn't as visible throughout the entire day, maybe I was over here with a couple while people were over there when I would go to take photos, I wouldn't have this. Instant bond with people just because we were in the same place at the same time at the same event, if that makes sense. So, yeah, I totally get that. So does that mean that you'd walk around with like a jersey or like a media pass or how would you start to build that

Shane Wilkie:

no, you're exactly right. every time I had one of those university events, they had free shirts. I just grabbed a shirt and I would just accumulate CBU shirts. And what I learned was how to like how to blend into a crowd is to wear the dress like The people. And I mean, having a media credential helps so much. It's something that certain types of events now, I, I either request it or I just bring my own, like,

Raymond Hatfield:

You mean like from another

Shane Wilkie:

no, no, I

Raymond Hatfield:

just, that says

Shane Wilkie:

it's just a blank one. I'll just put business cards in

Raymond Hatfield:

Uh

Shane Wilkie:

anything for that little, like we talked about, like that confidence, I guess, because, I would rather have it than not, if it's just going to mean that I feel like I'm on my game,

Raymond Hatfield:

right. Yeah, and a random creepy dude with a camera probably isn't gonna have a media pass badge with that with information inside. So yeah, that's. a that is a great tip right there I don't know if I ever would have thought

Shane Wilkie:

you know what, too, just to go off on that with the random creepy doo with the camera thing, that's a good point because, it's kind of one of those things where, like, if you're a little nervous, but you're standing back with a telephoto lens really far away, that looks creepy. But if you walk point blank with 35mm, 50mm, and you get right in someone's face, they know you took that photo. you had the courage to go up and take the photo. You're probably there to as the photographer because it's an event. And then it's funny because over time with that confidence, doing that at events, it's kind of like gave me more confidence. The odd time. If I'm out in public, I wanna photograph in the street. If I just want to take a photo, I'm a little used to it now.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. You know what's funny, kind of a side story here, I just went up to Milwaukee to watch a Brewers Dodgers game with Jim in the group, and we were doing like this little photo walk beforehand, right? I'm working on this project. It's nothing official yet, but it's Dodger fans at other stadiums, right? So what I'm looking for is Dodger fans with whatever the home team, so, somebody wearing a Dodgers jersey, and then in this case, somebody wearing a Brewers jersey as well. And there was this couple, and they were a good looking couple. The guy had a, on a Dodgers jersey, which I'm pretty sure that he just like, I don't think that he was really a fan, but he just like had all the stuff. And then, his girlfriend had, On all the brewers stuff. And I was like, this is great. They're a young couple. I'm going to ask to take their photo. So I said, Hey, can I take your photo? Like you guys look great together. And obviously like the two teams and they're like, yeah, of course. But what I forgot to mention here is that I was just taking all these photos with just my phone. So at this moment, I was just so used to like being in that mode of asking people to take their photo and then using say my Fuji camera, like a proper camera, that I didn't even think that it would be weird if I just pulled up my phone to take a photo of these two random people. And they looked at me almost immediately like, wait, what is going on here? And then I took the photo, and I left, and I thought, wow, that was, uh, super weird. Uh, but that just speaks to your point that, the more that you do it, the more you get comfortable with it. And, I do think that you're onto something where, like, the confidence of just going up and being like, Hey, this is what I'm doing. Can I take your photo? it does say something, and I don't know if you found this. Do people get less argumentative? The closer you are to them taking their photo, the more obvious that you are taking their photo, do they become less weird about you taking the photo. Does that make sense?

Shane Wilkie:

Yeah, I find if I'm closer, it's generally, it goes over better.

Raymond Hatfield:

That's weird,

Shane Wilkie:

yeah, and you would think it's the opposite, but almost depends on if they see me as I'm about to take the photo or if I just took the photo. do they see me when the camera's coming up to the face or down from the face? That kind of will be the telltale if it's going to be, hey, you just took my photo,

Raymond Hatfield:

yay! We just got a

Shane Wilkie:

yeah,

Raymond Hatfield:

Yay! Yeah.

Shane Wilkie:

but you know what? It either, in that case it goes one of two ways. They either just look at you and smile because they want, yeah, you're gonna take my photo. Or they give you that, what the heck is this person doing? Look.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, and then you just probably just end up deleting those photos anyway, so. let's move on from there, right? So you were doing the sports. and then what came next in your progression? Because I also know, we want to talk about curling a little bit. is that kind of the next progression or was that later on?

Shane Wilkie:

so, curling came from a bit of sports and, other, like, commercial experience. the World Women's Curling Championships came here this March past. And, Curling Canada had been looking for photographers for it, so myself and a couple other local photographers were all, picked by them to come and shoot the event.

Raymond Hatfield:

real quick? I gotta know in Canada, is this like a big sport? Is curling like a big sport? Cause in the Olympics, it always looks like a major sport, but is it like in real life? Is this like a big sport in Canada?

Shane Wilkie:

I'll start by saying this was the first time I've attended a curling game or you know what I mean? So but it I don't want to say it's not big because I don't want to like throw shade at curlers or like

Raymond Hatfield:

No, no, no, of course, I just didn't know if you and your buddies would all get together and like, Hey, let's go watch curling like maybe we do for football or baseball here in America, or even

Shane Wilkie:

Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's no no

Raymond Hatfield:

clearly okay, it's no hockey. Okay, that's all that I needed to know. Yeah, not that there's no validity in it, that's not what I was getting at, but, I gotcha. Okay, so curling, go on.

Shane Wilkie:

I guess I had a bit of hockey experience like shooting hockey too like just not just doing university sports sideline stuff. I eventually got a bit of, experience shooting like in game stuff. And then, yeah, like I said, because of that and the commercial experience, I was reached out to about the World Curling Championships here. And really they wanted us to shoot everything around it. Kind of like I mentioned, like the action around the games, the crowd experience. for marketing purposes for future events. And

Raymond Hatfield:

is like right up your alley.

Shane Wilkie:

exactly. But at the end of the day too, I knew how big of an opportunity this was. And I'm going to preface this by saying I was a volunteer photographer for it. I did not get paid a dime for it. So I knew that. I wanted to get as much out of it as I could because I won't, I might not get that chance, even if it's, not paid, like the ego got put completely aside for it, and it was how can I learn, how can I be better? And so, what I would do for that, once I got there, and having never shot curling, is okay, Get there, go a little early, stay a little late, just so you can get all the shots you need. But then watch the game closely. I mean, I kind of knew how the rules and how it worked, but mainly it was watch the other photographers. You know, world curling photographers, the other curling Canada, photographers, then the ones from like the wire services, watch how they dress, how they move, where they go, how they shoot, when they shoot. and I really like all week went every single day. and was paying really close attention to the other photographers and how could I do that? So then midweek I made this pitch to my contact. They're like, Hey, I've been here every day. this seems to be going really good. What do you think? I get out on the ice for half the game later tonight for the Canada game. I'd love to get one shot. And I was like, shocked. They were like, yeah, no problem. And then, so I got to go out for, through the rest of the event that week. I had to still fulfill my commitments of shooting around the rink. But then, yeah, I was getting out to shoot during a live TSM broadcast. Which like, yeah, that was, that was cool. And then like, you know, you get off the ice and then you're getting all the messages from, it's the photos of you from like people around the building. So yeah, like, It was a lot of progression through that week, and I'm sorry if I strayed away from your question with

Raymond Hatfield:

Not at all. In fact, this is great. The idea of taking a gig for free, but then using it, to better yourself, learn from others, see how this is done professionally, network, and then even ask, for more opportunity for you to grow your portfolio is phenomenal. And that's something that I don't think that enough people, do. So I think that you sharing this is extremely helpful. And I don't even remember exactly what my question was, but like, whatever it was, whatever you shared was much better than that for sure.

Shane Wilkie:

happy to talk about it, because I think that that's one thing that, for me, I didn't hear enough of, and when I was learning photography and trying to consume as much media as possible, I didn't really ever hear anyone say, like, ask questions and And the taking calculated risks side, and taking chances, cause the end of the curling story, long story short, I used my access to get out onto the ice during the gold medal celebration, which Canada won in Canada. So that was huge. And funny enough, I got a photo from the celebration that ended up being published in a magazine.

Raymond Hatfield:

Really?

Shane Wilkie:

so it kind of goes back to what you said about taking the gig for free to, kind of better yourself. Cause. I can honestly say that was like the single most rewarding thing I've done in photography.

Raymond Hatfield:

Mm why do you think your photo was chosen rather than, you said that there was other, official photographers and, photographers from wire services. why yours do you think?

Shane Wilkie:

you know what, I really don't know because of the one that got chosen of Canadian curler, Rachel Homan, like lifting up the trophy and kissing it. I think there was four other photographers and we were all shoulder to shoulder, all took the shot. And maybe I just was standing in the right spot. I don't know. Maybe the magazine had. Access to only my photo, and you know, it was funny I shouldn't have got that photo because I made such an amateur mistake I was so worried about being where I needed to be to run out at the right time Raymond I went out both my camera bodies had blinking red batteries

Raymond Hatfield:

Shane!

Shane Wilkie:

And you know what? I'm pleased to say I made it through got all the shots and neither of them died

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh my gosh.

Shane Wilkie:

Like, how does that

Raymond Hatfield:

Just you saying that, my anxiety is like, oh no. Oh no, that's the worst. that's only happened to me

Shane Wilkie:

oh yeah, it's Horrible cuz I was all cool guy when the first one was blinking red like whatever I got another one here And then like, oh no

Raymond Hatfield:

Not both

Shane Wilkie:

Yeah,

Raymond Hatfield:

Okay, so, you learn from that? Did you buy more batteries or did you buy a grip? or are you shooting less? Like, how are you going to avoid that ever happening again?

Shane Wilkie:

I always Even if I have a full battery, I have a full one in my pocket, too Like one of my spares is always in my pocket.

Raymond Hatfield:

Good call, good call. That's like, a pro tip for wedding photographers is always carry an extra pair of pants in your car. Just in case. Because there's nothing worse.

Shane Wilkie:

do you know what's funny? Where I mentioned I shot a wedding last week? I totally, because I've heard you mention it on the podcast, I had a pair of pants and a shirt in a bag, in the back

Raymond Hatfield:

Yes! Yes! Go

Shane Wilkie:

Because you know

Raymond Hatfield:

you have to use them?

Shane Wilkie:

Oh, no, no, I

Raymond Hatfield:

you have to use them? thank goodness they were there, yeah.

Shane Wilkie:

gear malfunctions. It's not always just your camera gear,

Raymond Hatfield:

always just your camera gear, exactly. Exactly. No, I had a wedding a few years ago and this couple like already were kind of like, it's not that they were on the fence about me. But they originally wanted to book another photographer who was booked for their date. And then that photographer referred them to me. And just in talking to them, I was like, Oh, okay. They want a little bit more of what this other photographer does than what I do. But it's not so wildly off that I can't deliver. I will do my best here, right? so I always felt like I was battling this uphill battle, like the entire engagement shoot, the entire wedding, all of it. And then at the end of the night, they were doing this like sparkler exit and like they were throwing rice or whatever. And I was like, all right, I'm good to go. Like. I promise you, I had checked all of my stuff before, waiting for them to come out. And then once they opened up those doors and started walking out, yeah, my camera did the same thing. It was like, oh, uh, flashing battery, you only have, like, one photo. I got one shot. I only got one shot

Shane Wilkie:

it actually died

Raymond Hatfield:

Actually died. Yeah, actually died. I would turn it off, pull the battery real quick, put it back in, turn it back on, hoping that maybe it would cool it down just enough to give it one more shot, and it never did, so I only got one shot, and surprisingly, they never said anything about only having one shot of this, hundred foot, sparkler exit, where you'd think that they would have at least, like, a dozen photos, but they never said anything, and it was their, like, profile photo for a while, still to this day, I have nightmares of that moment, I have no idea what happened, but, Terrifying for sure. So yeah, I got home and ordered like seven more official Fuji batteries online and I had to take out a second mortgage because as you know like official batteries are like so expensive but And I never want to find myself in that position again. So Anyway, I want to move on and talk about, your upcoming projects as well, because you told me about this, in your email that you've been working on this for a while. This is a big project and you even kind of alluded to it there. Tell me what it is that you got going on. And I already have some more questions, but I'll wait until we get kind of a scope of what this is. What are you working on?

Shane Wilkie:

I'm doing a project that focuses on A couple things kind of like my upbringing. i'm adopted I was adopted when I was three months old, and I've kind of just, all my life like, I've always held that as part of my identity. It was very special to me, and I was very open about it. And then in through my 20s and whatnot, it became a little more of a sensitive topic, and I could never figure out why. And I avoided it. It led to a bad alcohol addiction all through my 20s. And then, when I got sober and when I was 30, Something happened where I really had to tackle these emotions head on. And this project has kind of been my way of doing that, to represent these feelings with my photos. yeah, it's like, I applied for funding from a grant that the city here in city, Nova Scotia was offering through the creative catalyst program and I got approved for 2500 dollars. Towards this project to cover just certain costs. I mean mainly printing to do Exhibition towards the end of the year in December there, but yeah, so doubling back there There's a big focus on like the adoption side of it But also how I never felt like I fit in with peers My community as well as how I use skateboarding as that outlet and I found skateboarding at a time in my life where I've never My parents had separated, like, sports. I loved them, but it wasn't really working, for me at the time. I should say it wasn't working for me. That's a weird way to say it, I guess. But it, almost like, I wasn't getting out of it what I could've. Because I wasn't putting enough in. And then skating was this something completely new thing for me. And eventually through skating is how I, found a camera which kind of is why we're here so I almost think of it as like that's the perfect focus for like a first project is Depicting these feelings that kind of led me to get to photography.

Raymond Hatfield:

Wow. Thank you for sharing that. it's a very open thing to share and obviously your, your struggles as well. how do you plan to showcase this emotion? Is there even a word for the emotion that you're trying to capture, I guess. Walk me through how you plan to create this project where you're putting so much feeling and emotion into visual images.

Shane Wilkie:

So How I went about it really was I had to just learn how to see differently and That sounds kind of funny to say but like I had to learn how to see feeling through my camera And like how to convey that and that Looking at other photo projects and photo books became pretty vital and learning about new photographers just because, it's different than trying to take a photo of someone having breakfast to try to portray this nice warm feeling of, Hey, look how gorgeous this Airbnb is. where I have to say like, oh, how do I portray that? This was what my home life felt like versus this is what it was like, or this is how I didn't know why I was angry towards, I don't want to say everything because that's just like a stereotypical teenage thing, I guess. But like, you know what I mean? Like it was, Looking at photo projects as well as I was very fortunate to become really good pals with a local photographer who more or less has been a mentor to me and really opened my eyes to like seeing different types of photography and showing me photographers who could be like, Hey, check this guy's workout. Maybe this is kind of what you're going to be after. Or, Oh, Hey, she does really good black and white work. Look at this. he really would kind of like question things, I would say. And I think that's just huge in photography. honestly, I listened to your episode this morning your newest one about criticism with the,

Raymond Hatfield:

Mm hmm.

Shane Wilkie:

I forgot the guy's name. I was listening to it at work, so apologies to the, guest. Your episode was great. but anyways, just how, like seeking proper criticism in photography, doing it in person. the value of going over a photo together. And it was a lot of that went into like approaching the project. And then it was, pulling the strings of using connections to get an in somewhere because I need a photo of this type of thing. um,

Raymond Hatfield:

would you know that you need a photo of this type of thing? what is this type of thing?

Shane Wilkie:

so that's a good question because that was a really hard challenge of knowing. Almost like the checklist of what I need and what I kind of did with it was I picked Okay, this is where I want the project to kind of end. How do I work backwards story wise and I would think Okay, well, I need a photo to kind of capture, certain things. I would write them down. Then I would research that type of photo. And then maybe go out and try to look for something that felt to me like it represented that.

Raymond Hatfield:

you have an example that you could share? I'm just trying to paint a visual picture in my head of what this looks like.

Shane Wilkie:

Yeah, totally. so there's a photo in the project where I shot it actually at a wrestling show. I really wanted to show innocence. in anger, but you don't know why, like you're just a kid and you're just mad. And you're trying to process all these feelings of growing up where in my case, it was feelings of growing up mixed with just other emotional and mental struggles. And I noticed there was these kids at this one wrestling show and they were giving the middle finger to every wrestler, good guy or bad guy, didn't matter. They were so happy to just yell and participate. And I got this one photo of this kid and the innocence in his eyes and his face. And he's two hands up, giving the middle finger. And it almost looks like he's giving it to no one or he's not looking at anyone in particular. And it's that feeling of, you know, you don't know what you're looking at. And coincidentally framed behind him is someone holding a sign that says, shut up on it. Just kind of adding to that anger and that.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, right, yeah. before this person even showed up, they had the mind, the peace of mind to get a poster board and write, Shut. Up. Yeah, yeah, that fits that. So when you describing that sounds to me like you saw the scene and you thought, Wow, This perfectly encapsulates something within me. was it like that? Or did you think to yourself, I need a photo of, childlike anger. Now I'm going to just look at the world through that lens.

Shane Wilkie:

So I kind of knew I needed innocence. I needed it in positive and negative. Like kids angry, kids just being kids enjoying themselves. And in that moment, when I took the photo and I saw those kids, I didn't kind of jump to that's the one I need, as much as I jumped to there's something there. And it's kind of about, I felt like it was more about knowing To go with your gut and when you know there's something in front of you. And to wait and be patient.

Raymond Hatfield:

Hmm.

Shane Wilkie:

it was kind of from there, just a matter of waiting for the right moment.

Raymond Hatfield:

Tell me more about what you're going to do with this photo. Cause this is a grant. Is it by the city? Is that right?

Shane Wilkie:

Yeah, it's, by the city.

Raymond Hatfield:

So, are you going to put that image, like, are you going to print that up big? Some kid, you know, double middle fingers with a sign that says shut up behind it. Like, where is this going to go? Does that make sense? are you thinking to yourself, this is a personal project for me, maybe that's not going to be one that gets printed, I guess walk me through that decision process or fill me in on what I'm missing.

Shane Wilkie:

So do you mean where within the sequencing of project or where the image will live afterwards, like print

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. where's this photo going to go? Yeah.

Shane Wilkie:

you know what? I'm printing them all, and I'm gonna have a gallery exhibition, but outside of that, I really don't know yet

Raymond Hatfield:

So there was no stipulations by the city, like your art is going to have to be put on billboards or, buses or anything like that. There was no, nothing like that. You could do whatever you decide to do with your images.

Shane Wilkie:

Yeah, that's correct, for the most part, as long as you're not using funding for monetary gain, to create a product, essentially. So yeah, but, kind of to touch on, too, where it fits, kind of, within the sequencing, is I think it's, really that early on stage within the project, which, Kind of where I talked about earlier, about working backwards, which, that's interesting, is you can go out and take all these photos and think, these are all just really pretty photos, but isn't it when you go put them next to each other you think oh, that doesn't fit, or, oh, those two look good together.

Raymond Hatfield:

hmm. So you're physically printing out all these photos, what, small and then just trying to like arrange them on, the floor, on a table? Is that what you're

Shane Wilkie:

I haven't physically printed anything yet, but it's all, often just like arranging them on a screen, or just like, even shuffling through them in my phone. but even just like the thought of thinking of like if I have one image, what might look good next to it kind of thing. For instance, like what color could look good next to it? what tones are going to look good? if I have a really crunchy high contrast on one side, I maybe want to complement it with something on the other and just be conscious of that.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. Yeah. So, let's say, it's the end of the year, it's opening night of your gallery, right? People are walking through. What do you want them to say to you? What's the feeling that you want them to walk away with?

Shane Wilkie:

Definitely the feeling that, This can happen to, people where they have these feelings, I guess, but can't vocalize them because for me, I haven't really been able to vocalize them until recently, but I would really want people to know that you may have certain types of feelings that you're harboring, but, or emotions or other, but you can have an outlet like photography, like art, like sports, just cause like, for me, that outlet was skateboarding. So that's. Why it's featured in the project and just so yeah, like kind of inspire people to like I don't wanna say get into art, but maybe if making art makes them feel better or learn more about themselves or anything. Yeah. Like kind of raise awareness in that sense, I guess, especially for youth. There's not a whole lot to do around here. it's funny. There is and there isn't if you're a youth. You're maybe not as open minded to certain things, so certain, bad choices might appeal a little more. So, if I could get one kid, like, kid to just look at it and get inspired to, like, draw, how cool would that be?

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. No, that would be cool. and I think that's definitely like a driver for me as well. the older that I get I feel like my art, I guess if you want to call it that, has become less about creating pretty things. in whatever it is that I capture and more about creating something that's going to make somebody feel

Shane Wilkie:

Mm hmm.

Raymond Hatfield:

and in particular, I felt somewhat recently, I think with a bit of a rejuvenation of the podcast that like my art is more encouraging. Somebody else to make something, if that makes sense, I was listening to a, another podcast today with a basketball coach, and this guy has been coaching basketball. For the past like 30 years and he was talking about how he talks to his players in college and He's like when they go through something challenging he's like I try to give them grace and I try to talk to them like talk to me about what you're going through right now because not to be rude or anything, but like I've made it You know, like I've made it, I'm like 55 years old, I've made it, you want to make it. So like, wherever you are, I've been there in some sense, how can I help you get to whatever that next step is? And it's like, he doesn't get paid maybe as much as say, players do. But like, he has found a purpose and an art in that form of creating something right there. And that's kind of where I've seen the podcast being lately. But, I guess from a tactical standpoint, I want to know from you, how will you know when you're done with this project? How will you know that you've captured the right images? How will you know if you've done a good job or not?

Shane Wilkie:

well, there is a deadline for it. I do have to have it out before the end of the year. But I think it's kind of one of those things where it's does it ever end? Mm hmm. You know what I mean? Like as photographers, are we ever satisfied to some degree? Because I know myself, I could probably finish it and think that, oh, there's like three, I could have three ideas will pop up right after I put it out. You know what I mean? So I kind of see this as something where I may release it in December, but I can just keep shooting this feeling and I can keep chasing this because I think that's something I've really learned through this project is the importance of personal work. especially with how much commercial stuff I do, that, just to have that sketch pad and to have that, just chasing a feeling versus like photo for a client. at the end of the day, if you go out for a client, you have to get X amount of images. They have to be good, probably exposed and focused, blah, blah, blah. But if you go out for yourself, you may only have to get one image. You may not have to get an image. You may turn your camera on and take 3, 000 images. You may not turn your camera on at all, but it's that for you aspect of it, where I think that I'll probably just keep the project going, just keep shooting and see what happens with it.

Raymond Hatfield:

Shane, I'm not even going to ask you any more questions because I can't think of a better way to end it than right there. That's as motivational as it gets, for sure. people listening and I'm going to want to know as well, where can we find out more about you and where can we see some of your images, especially from this project, online? Where's the best place to do that?

Shane Wilkie:

So my website for sure. nothing about the project is on there just yet. I'm kind of going to roll it out on social media first, but my website's just my name at Shane Wilkie. com Instagram at Shane Wilkie. People use Facebook and want to check me out with Shane Wilkie photography on Facebook. So, check me out on there. I haven't rolled out anything for the, project just yet. That's gonna kind of come out in the coming weeks. Uh, when does this episode air?

Raymond Hatfield:

September 17th. So just about three weeks from now.

Shane Wilkie:

Oh, okay, cool. Yeah, so by then, hopefully I do plan to have something, on my Instagram at the very least announcing the project where I'm gonna release one photo from it. It won't be the kid with the middle finger, so you're gonna have to wait for that one.

Raymond Hatfield:

that's the one that I wanted to see. Is this going to be one photo a day? Is this going to be one photo a week? Like how are you going to roll this out?

Shane Wilkie:

So I'm only releasing one and it's only for promotional purposes that's to promote the gallery and all the images will be for the first time viewed in person at the gallery. I don't want people to kind of see them on a screen before they see them hanging in print.

Raymond Hatfield:

Sure, sure. Of course, Well, I love that idea. and Shane, after the gallery happens, I'm going to have to get you on in the beginning of next year to learn more about the experience, learn more about the printing process, learn more about the feedback that you got and, all that good stuff. Are you up for that?

Shane Wilkie:

I would love to. And I mean, I'm more than happy to share all the images in the Facebook group too. I definitely was happy to see that pop back up.

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh, man, you and me both for sure. Perfect. Well, Shane, man, thank you again so much for coming on today and, sharing everything that you did. I'm really excited to keep up with this and, see all your images from this project. It's going to be good.

Shane Wilkie:

Awesome. Thanks for having me, Raymond.

Raymond Hatfield:

Another huge thank you to community member Shane for coming on the podcast. Let's go ahead and recap what we have learned today. Number one, Blend in and build confidence, by blending into your environment, you can capture more authentic images because you're not standing out, when you wear the clothes such as team colors at a sporting event, you will blend in, also Shane shared the tip of, trying to obtain media credentials to boost your confidence and access. And if, venue doesn't give them away, you can always buy a badge that definitely looks official, and that works as well. In fact, that was a tip that we learned in film school, just by having a badge. You're perceived as just you belong there. It's a weird thing. So anyway look into it. Takeaway number two is to take unpaid opportunities for growth when starting out and you need practice and experience Seriously, do not be afraid to take unpaid opportunities These can honestly help you learn not only new skills, but also expand your network and eventually Hopefully lead to paid gigs and recognition, but this is kind of the whole paying your dues thing. If you work for free, at least try your best to get the most out of it by again, learning new skills and expanding your network. And takeaway number three is to capture emotions with intent using narrative techniques. What does that mean? Try to enhance your storytelling by working backwards from the emotion that you want to convey. I've said this before, photography is storytelling. So when you can do this, it's really going to pay off. Right? Plan your shots. of what you want to capture by working backwards again on the emotions that you want to convey. And then, you can plan those shots by focusing on those specific feelings, like Shane's approach to photographing the innocence and anger at that wrestling match, as well as Pancakes for breakfast, there's a whole gamut there that you can go on. But when you start with the end in mind, meaning what's the feeling that you want people to feel and then work backwards, meaning what shots would it take to get there, your skill as a photographer is really going to expand I would love to hear your biggest takeaway in the free and amazing beginner photography podcast community where Shane hangs out as well So come on in let us know what your biggest takeaway is You can join us by heading over to beginner photopod. com forward slash group And I hope to see you there That is it for today until next time remember the more that you shoot today the better of a photographer you will be tomorrow Talk soon