The Beginner Photography Podcast

Create for Joy Not Just Profit with Erika Greco

• Raymond Hatfield

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#541 Erika Greco is a passionate amateur photographer from Charleston, South Carolina. Erika shares her unique journey into photography, which began in a magnet high school for the arts and evolved alongside her professional career in theater. A central theme in her story is the decision to keep photography as a creative outlet rather than a business, an approach that aligns with her desire to serve and connect with her community.

KEY TOPICS COVERED

  1. Journey into Photography - Erika shares how her high school exposure to photography sparked a lifelong passion, illustrating the importance of exploring different artistic mediums.
  2. Photography as Art vs. Business - Erika discusses her struggles with the pressure to monetize photography and her conscious decision to maintain it as a hobby, offering a perspective on the value of art for self-expression.
  3. Overcoming Technical Challenges - Erika elaborates on her transition from film to digital photography and how she navigated the technical challenges she encountered, providing insights into the learning process.

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS & CONCEPTS

  • Vergleichungsspiel: The concept of the "comparison game," highlighting the issues of self-doubt and standards in creative fields.
  • Photography for Service: Using photography to connect with others and support community needs, showcasing its role beyond personal artistic expression.

DISCUSSION & REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. How can photographers balance the pressure to monetize their skills with their passion for the craft?
  2. In what ways can photography serve as a tool for community engagement and service?

RESOURCES:
Follow Erika Greco on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/erikadgreco/

Download your free copy of
46 Creative Photo Ideas to Get You Out of a Rut
at https://creativeimageideas.com/

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond!


Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Erika Greco:

I think sometimes being limited can actually be kind of a good thing because it pushes you out of the box and makes you be more creative and makes you work on yourself instead of just working on upgrading your gear. Having to work with somewhat limited capabilities actually makes you more creative and makes you learn how to do things yourself instead of relying on some new piece of gear to fix the problem for you.

Hey, welcome to the beginner photography podcast. I'm your host, Raymond Hatfield. And each week I interview one of the world's most interesting photographers to learn what it really takes to capture beautiful images so that you can start to do the same. In today's rewind episode, we are chatting with community member Erica Greco about finding that balance between art and commerce. Now, if you have ever felt maybe overwhelmed by the pressure to turn your photography into a business, trust me, you're not alone. Many photographers struggle with maintaining their passion for photography, with the pressure to, you know, this hustle culture that glorifies working yourself to the bone at an unreasonable pace. Today's guest and community member Erica Greco shares her journey of rediscovering the joy of photography without commercial pressure, right? Balancing a day job and using photography as a form of artistic expression, to keep it fun. So in today's episode, you will learn why you should prioritize passion over profit, how to value your artistic expression and how to use photography to serve others. And as I mentioned, Erica is a member of the amazing and supportive beginner photography podcast community. And I would love to invite you to come and join us. You can join the community for free by heading over to beginnerphotopod. com forward slash group. Again, that's beginnerphotopod. com forward slash group. We'd love to have you. So with that, let's go ahead and get on into today's interview.

Raymond Hatfield:

I think for these community spotlight interviews, I think it just works best to just kind of start off by just let me know who you are, where you are and what it is that you do.

Erika Greco:

Yeah, well, my name is Erica Greco. I live in Charleston, South Carolina. So luckily, very beautiful spot to be into photography. And what I do full time professionally during the days I manage the box office and ticket sales for South Carolina's largest professional theater company but by night and weekend, I guess say amateur hobbyist photographer I love to shoot Families, couples, models, and then recently, thanks to COVID, I've gotten a lot more outdoor time and gotten kind of into like shooting birds and things like that, too. So, Yeah, that's kind of how I spend a lot of my time right now.

Raymond Hatfield:

You know what I think is so cool is that, like, you've been in the group for so long that I feel like I've really seen quite the progression in what it is that, you know, you shoot and even kind of how you think, sometimes when it comes to gear and the shots that you take and your editing that you do. So I really have a lot of questions for you today. I'm super excited to chat. But before we get into that, you do theater now. You love photography. Where did it start? How did photography become, important to you?

Erika Greco:

Yeah. So I actually went to, a magnet high school for the arts. I didn't go to like my local high school. I went to a special school for, my specialty that there that I studied was theater and acting. But they also had a great visual arts program and it gave me, it opened up the opportunity to take, art classes in different disciplines and I picked it for photography class. And really loved it. And then, to prepare for the photography class, I had to get an SLR film SLR for us, pre digital kids. Um, and yeah, so it was really in high school. I knew that I wanted to go to this great high school for the arts. And I thought I was just going for theater. Little did I know it was going to open me up to this other artistic passion that I was going to hold on to for the rest of my life as well. So. Definitely started at good old Patapsco High School in Baltimore, Maryland, where I grew up.

Raymond Hatfield:

What was that? Patapsco? Patapsco.

Erika Greco:

That was a mouthful

Raymond Hatfield:

right there. It's

Erika Greco:

the name of a river.

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh, okay. I got it. I got it. So, what happens next? Because, I think many of us get interested in photography, oftentimes in high school, whether it be the dark room, whatever it is, but how does that grow into, or I guess, let me step back. What sorts of things were you shooting? Mm hmm. Back then. And was that what interested you in photography the most

Erika Greco:

so back then? I think it was, I did probably more like street photography in high school, just walking around Baltimore taking pictures of, you know, just random scenes that looked cool or random people that looked cool. didn't do a lot of, staged photo shoots or anything back then. it was more kind of whatever was found in my environment. yeah, so that's, that's pretty much what I was shooting back then, and then, sorry, I forget the rest of the question.

Raymond Hatfield:

Haha, like, how does that grow into the rest of your life? Because after high school, we just kind of forget a lot of the things. What was it about photography?

Erika Greco:

Yeah, so I actually did for a while, my path wanders quite a bit. even though I went to this arts high school, I was the first person in my family to go to college. didn't see theater or photography as a real career field. I didn't really think that that was a way that I could. Grow up and make a living. So I kind of put both of them away for a while to study the highly practical field of political science. Oh, yeah. Um, yeah. Spent my four years at college studying political science, thought I was going to go to law school, thought I was going to work in politics, got close to the end of graduation, realized I in no way wanted to go to law school or work in politics, not in a million billion years, not with a 10 foot pole. Um, So I taught, I worked in education, I kind of did all sorts of different things, but meanwhile, still really needing something to, some sort of artistic and creative outlet. so even in college, I still have my little film camera with me. Sometimes it would take pictures around campus, but I did kind of get away from it for a while because I had this incorrect mindset that I didn't need to, or that I shouldn't be spending my time with theater or with photography if it wasn't going to be a business. If it wasn't going to be a job and why would I continue doing it or why should I continue, honing my skills or like investing in my practice. Things like that. So I kind of put it down for a while because I had this mindset that if it wasn't going to be a job or at least a side hustle, then it didn't have value and I shouldn't be pursuing it anymore. That's not what a grownup does with their time, you know, um, And if you weren't going to try to, and it was impractical. You couldn't make a living being an artist, of course. So of course we all know that. Right. Right. Which is completely incorrect, but I had that mindset. and so I, I put it away and I didn't, do it for a while, even for enjoyment until later in life when I realized that I was missing that, that piece, that creative outlet that I really wanted and needed and enjoyed and had learned learned that there is value in just that in something, not necessarily being a business because I do not do photography as a business. I already monetized one of my, one of my artistic passions. There's, I wanted to keep something just for myself. I still do want to keep something just for myself and just for my enjoyment. And I think that for a lot of years, I didn't realize that. I could, um, that that was okay. That that wasn't stupid. so yeah, then I eventually found my way actually back to, you know, a career in theater, which was like my first artistic love and, but still spend a lot of time on photography as well, even though I don't do it, as a business or I not aiming to make a business out of it, just because it's, you know, fulfills me.

Raymond Hatfield:

now tell me if I'm wrong here, but it seems like you struggled with that quite a bit because I know that in the group you have had conversations about charging, you've had conversations about the business side of things, and then it seemed like not too long ago you were just like, wait a second, No, I'm taking a stand. I'm not going to do that. I do really just love photography for what it is and I guess what it provides for you and in the artistic sense. You know, I know that you just kind of explained that there. But can you walk me through that a little bit more? Like, was it because you were feeling like the business side was taking away some of the enjoyment? Because I know that that's something that a lot of listeners also struggle with. So you share your thoughts on that?

Erika Greco:

Yeah. I think that, like you said, the business side takes away from the enjoyment. I mean, as a business owner, you know that a lot of your time is not spent shooting and doing the things you love. More of your time is spent on the business side of things. and I don't enjoy that part. My day job revolves a lot around customer service. And even my last job did, And so I didn't, I don't want to go, go home and do customer service on the weekends. I just have no, I have nothing left for that. No energy left for that at the end of the week. So yeah, it was really about that. Like, how did I want to spend, I love my full time job. I'm not going to leave it. you know, until they kick me out. So how do I want to spend my time outside of that? Is it still, dealing with customers and clients. And dealing with the business side of things when I work really hard at that kind of stuff all week and it just, it just wasn't, it wasn't how I wanted to spend my free time and I felt like if I tried to push myself to fit my photography journey into this box That I felt like I was just supposed to do. Like if you do photography, you should make it your job or you should make it at least a side hustle. You should make it income, income generating. And I was just doing that because I felt like I should, I felt like I was supposed to, I felt like that was the normal thing to do. but it wasn't for me. and I realized, yeah, that why fit my journey into this box that I don't like. So it doesn't fit. It just doesn't fit for me. And like I said, I, I work really hard at one of my artistic passions and turn that into a job. And that can take some of the like fun and magic out of it sometimes. so I needed something that was just, like I said, just for me. And I finally saw the value in that and realized. It's not everything has to be monetized, not everything has to be a hustle like art can just be art, and you can just do it for, your artistic expression it doesn't have to be. Because you're going to make it a business one day, you can. And if you do great, fantastic, but that's not for me, at least not right now.

Raymond Hatfield:

I love that so much. That's absolutely okay. And you're right. I feel like that is also something that gets pushed really hard on people is that if you're doing this, like you might as well just turn it into a side hustle, you might as well make that money.

Erika Greco:

Yeah, I feel like we live in this culture of like hustle, hustle, hustle, grind, grind, grind, get a hundred thousand followers, make your first million, retire at whatever age, like, and unless you, hit that standard, or if you're not at least striving for that standard, then your life isn't good enough, or what your activities aren't good enough, or you're not working hard enough, or you're, you know, you're not this or that enough. But at the end of the day, yeah, that's just someone else's path and someone else's box. And you don't have to fit yourself or your journey or your hobbies or your passions into, you know, someone, the mold, someone else. created. I just, yeah, pure rejection of that. Like hustle, hustle, hustle, grind, grind, grind culture. We gotta have some fun too.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, we do gotta have, okay, so then let me, play devil's advocate here for you. Can I ask what your other artistic endeavor is that you said that you've monetized?

Erika Greco:

Oh, well, I work full time in theater.

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh, I see. Okay. I was thinking, I don't know, pottery or, I don't know, something else that you were doing. And I guess the question that I was going to ask was, why did you choose to keep photography the passion, and then whatever the other thing is as the profit generator? But that makes more sense, because you can't really do the all of live performance on your own.

Erika Greco:

Yeah. So no, we've got a, we've got a quite large theater company. I do not perform anymore. I sell tickets and do customer service and stuff like that. So, but I, work in a theater. I'm very lucky. I work in a theater that I started as a fan of. So,

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh, that's so cool.

Erika Greco:

I was going, you know, as I've lived in Charleston for like 10 years now, and as soon as I got to town, I found this theater. it's called Charleston Stage. We're out of the historic Dock Street Theater, which anybody who has visited Charleston has seen. It's a beautiful historic building. And as soon as I got to town, I just, I started seeing their shows there. I loved it. I love the theater. I love the company. the director that I work for now, He's the direct founder of the company, so he's been there for a billion years, and, he writes a lot of the shows, too. So the first show, the first play I saw in Charleston was an original work by our director Julian Wiles. And so he was just this larger than life character to me, and then a job opened up. I saw it when I was ready to leave an old job. a job there opened up and I was like, this is it. So that's how I, how I chose to like, which of my passions to follow a career in and which to do on the side is just that the opportunity presented itself. And I jumped on it and Hey, if there was a photography opportunity that just was perfect and presented itself the way this theater opportunity did, then maybe I'd be in photography full time. Since I am in theater full time now. It's awesome to get to work with all these creative, amazing people that I admired from afar for so long. but it does sometimes take, you know, if you're working in a field that you love, it sometimes takes, a job. It becomes work, it's not just fun and play and passion anymore. it becomes work and I didn't want to do that to photography too.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, yeah. Well, I think it's great because like, I can hear it in your voice as you were describing this to me, just how, how much you do like your job, I think more than the majority of people. So, that's always exciting when you get to be able to say something like that, or just in the way that you say it. I think that that is going to help you, long term, but back to photography. that I think about kind of your, earliest days back in high school shooting there, I want to know, because you said that you were shooting film. time, the camera that you had, was that full manual or were you shooting an auto? Or what was that learning curve like for you?

Erika Greco:

yeah, so we were shooting on manual. I'm pretty sure. it's been a while now. It's been a minute. We talked about what year we were born and what year I graduated. Yeah, so we were shooting in manual. We learned about the exposure triangle and all that stuff. And I loved that a lot. loved the dark room, loved black and white, like swore I would never go digital, never go digital. That's not real photography. That's cheating. You never know when a photo has just been edited to look that good. Like, but now I do not own a film camera anymore. So

Raymond Hatfield:

that is too funny. So then I guess in those early days, was there something that you remember that was particularly challenging for you to grasp or understand or put into practice.

Erika Greco:

I feel like it was harder once I picked it back up years later in digital than it was the first time around. I think because the first time around I was in a class. it was pre, instagram and social media age. So just developing a picture that you took yourself and developed yourself and you know, had any sort of like artistic flair to it. Was like impressive. The bar wasn't so high

Raymond Hatfield:

as it is now.

Erika Greco:

And now you see, you can just, immerse yourself in crazy talented artists just by scrolling your Instagram feed. There's just so much good work out there that I feel like it really raised everybody's standards. so I didn't feel like I struggled with a lot. Back in high school, but I think it was because the bar was a little bit lower. It was like, Oh, man, I took this picture of a flower and I developed it myself. And this is so I mounted on some black cardboard. And this is so cool. where once I picked it back up in the age of, digital photography and you know, social media and just being exposed to a lot more good photography. That's when the challenges came because my standards. had been changed.

Raymond Hatfield:

Wow, so let me think about that for a second. So the standards had been changed, so photography got harder for you. In terms of, was it a personal thing? Were you just feeling like, oh wait, I'm not as good of a photographer as I think I am? Or were you trying something that you were seeing and realizing that it was harder than you expected? How so?

Erika Greco:

Yeah, so I think that they're the part of it was part of it is insecurity because you play the comparison game, even though you know, you're not supposed to compare your journey or your life to someone else's like we still all do it. And I think that there's a place for that. It made me improve. It definitely made me improve. where If you just, don't look at anybody else's work or don't compare yourself ever, do you really know in which direction to go to improve your work, but there can be joy lost in comparison for sure. So, yeah, I think that part of it is just all of a sudden I realized all the problems or all the shortfalls or all the, all the areas I could improve when I started seeing people who were, more advanced and more skilled and more experienced than me. And was really exposed to them just on a, regular basis versus like I said, in high school, it was just like, wow, I developed a picture. This is awesome.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah.

Erika Greco:

But, and I think part of it was also making the transition to digital. and relearning some of the basics after I put it. Put the camera down for a little while and then the transition to digital and there's just a lot more options. There's a lot more buttons to learn. So there was some kind of personal growth that had to be made as far as, being secure enough to have some confidence in my work. That's confidence is always an issue for me. and then, but then there was technical growth to be made to to make that transition to digital and just kind of get back in the group of things.

Raymond Hatfield:

was there anything from a technical standpoint in particular that you can think of?

Erika Greco:

Oh, gosh, like. Focus. I think having things being focused was like a whole an adventure. isn't that funny? Take you take a picture on your little tiny little screen. You're like, yes, I nailed it. Then you get it to a computer and make it bigger and you're like, oh man, that's that's completely out of focus. Um, so yeah, focus lighting learning flash. I never did flash, in high school and Yeah, I think those are probably the biggest things is consistent focus consistent lighting and then with part of consistent lighting being how to use artificial lighting, you know, when that natural light. is an option, or is it your best option? Or isn't the vision you have in your head?

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, right. Yeah, all three of those. Yeah, exactly. And I think when it comes to focus, I don't think that you're alone. That's definitely something that is very challenging. And then I think the world of mirrorless kind of changed everything again. I feel like everybody really got used to Oh, you haven't made the switch yet?

Erika Greco:

No, no, no, my camera is still it's still big and heavy. I just I can't do it. Look, I resisted digital For a while, the list is going to, is going to take even longer. So, no, I feel like I'm just.

Raymond Hatfield:

If it works though, you know, if it works, like why change it up? And if you don't rely on these tools for, you know, so one of the reasons why I switched from Canon to Fuji was just simply I felt like it helped me do my job better. And that was it, right? It was a smaller camera. It kind of helped me blend in a little bit. I could be a little less conspicuous, and on a dance floor, like, that's what you want. You don't wanna, at least I didn't want to be the guy with the giant camera and the flash in everybody's face, right? I don't think that, if it was just me personally and my personal photography, I'm not sure that I ever would've changed systems. So I don't blame you there. I would, I would stick with it until the shutter just falls right off the camera.

Erika Greco:

Basically, basically. And plus I'm like, I've spent enough money on all this stuff. I'm going to keep it for a while. But I think that that really, it's actually to like some really good advice that helped me that came from your podcast and it was about like, not gear chasing, like making sure if there, if you're buying something new that you know exactly why you're buying and exactly what hole it's going to fill for you, what gap it's going to fill for you. And to me, like mirrorless at this point, I don't even have a full frame camera. I have a crop sensor camera. And the only reason I would change it, it just because like, I don't know, like an illogical, like Little itch for some new technology. And that's not a good reason to spend a bunch of money. It's, it doesn't feel a need for me. It doesn't feel like gap. And that was really good advice. I got actually from your podcast that really helped. So every piece of gear, every lens that I bought and every piece of gear that I bought, I wanted for months, at least months, and I know exactly why I bought it. And that was because of you.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yes. I love to hear that. That is so awesome. That is so awesome. Yeah, I mean, that is such a hard thing. And I think about that too, in the same sense that a lot of people get told that if you're into photography, turn it into a side hustle. I think that today, a lot of people are told once you get into photography, got to go full frame. Got to get it, get it, got to get all the big lenses. And I don't necessarily subscribe to that. I went, cause that's kind of the path that I took. I went, the Canon XT and then the Canon 40D. And then I was like, I got to go full frame. You know, if you're going to be shooting weddings all the time. So I went to the 5D Mark II and it was amazing at how fast I realized, wow. My photos didn't change at all. Like, yeah, expect this monumentous monumentous monumental change to shift in your images, but really, you're still exact same photographer as you were before. And there are some technical differences, obviously, some better low light capabilities. But I think overall, it's not going to transform your photography. And I love I absolutely love that you are like, nope, sticking on to this thing. And if I do upgrade, I gotta know why. So then let me ask you, what would it take for you to upgrade to full frame?

Erika Greco:

The thing that gets me sometimes tempted for full frame is the low light capability. And another thing that I've heard from, excuse me, your feedback in the group and other people's feedback in the Facebook group, which is an amazing community by the way, is like, Oh, just up your ISO, up your ISO. But I don't know what it is, whether it's my camera or just my taste. I don't like it and it drives me crazy. And so the only thing that I think would, that would make me upgrade to full frame is It's just that the low light capabilities, but right now I work around it and maybe learn flash, which I think is a real asset, which is really fun. so yeah, I think that sometimes limitations and having to work with somewhat limited capabilities actually makes you more creative and makes you learn how to do things yourself instead of just relying on some new piece of gear to fix the problem for you. so sometimes what is this? Like scarcity is the mother of invention or something like that. Oh yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

Something like that. necessarily.

Erika Greco:

Yeah. So like, I don't have this great low light camera, so I had to learn flash. Well, flash is actually really fun and really cool. It can really like step up your photos and just change the way, you know, you can make, you know, pictures. There's as an artistic layer, to the things that you're able to produce. So, yeah, I think sometimes being limited is, can actually be kind of a good thing because it pushes you out of the box and makes you be more creative and makes you work on yourself instead of just working on, Upgrading your gear.

Raymond Hatfield:

Right. And it's a whole lot cheaper that way too. So let me ask you what, like personally, just for you, what's the highest that you would go as far as ISO when you're shooting with your camera?

Erika Greco:

Oh, gosh, I started to get annoyed above like. 400.

Raymond Hatfield:

400. Hold on. Oh, can I ask what camera you have?

Erika Greco:

A Canon 80D.

Raymond Hatfield:

80D. What?

Erika Greco:

80D. I actually started on a, I start, you mentioned that you had a 40D and I started my first digital, not film, I don't know what my film was, but my first digital camera was a 40D and then I upgraded to an 80D. and I love that camera.

Raymond Hatfield:

But 800 is the max for you, huh?

Erika Greco:

I mean, no, I will, but it starts to bother me.

Raymond Hatfield:

Wow. Well, yeah, you know what, then I think, because the 80D is, still a relatively very new camera. I think there's only one model newer than it, which means that. Essentially going full frame, you're only going to get about a stop more performance out of your ISO. So that means 1600, you know? So then I guess the question is, would you be willing to spend two grand to go up to ISO 1600?

Erika Greco:

Absolutely not. And my bank account, thanks you for pointing that out.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, well, hopefully that was a, was very rough and dirty, I guess, answer to that question, I guess, that you'd be thinking. But no, I mean, it sounds to me like, like you got to figure it out and that, that you're happy with it. So yeah.

Erika Greco:

Yeah. And instead I bought some killer lenses that I really had a good time with. The first one that I, so right now I have a, Tamron G2 24 to 70 and 70 to 200. And then I have a Sigma 150 to 600, which is my newest purchase.

Raymond Hatfield:

Wow.

Erika Greco:

And that's for birds and that has been so cool and so fun. And, it's funny how like photography has actually made me, made me get more exercise

Raymond Hatfield:

because

Erika Greco:

yeah, I'll put on like miles and miles and miles with that lens. And it's like six pounds. Um, it's not light. So I get a bit of a workout. I have figured out that my, the hand I support that lens with, like you can visibly see that the muscle on that, that arm is stronger, even though it's my left hand, even though it's my non dominant hand. So I was like, why is my, my, my bicep on my left arm stronger when I'm very much right handed and we're like, oh, it's because I hold that. That big lens, that big, heavy lens.

Raymond Hatfield:

that is so funny with my left

Erika Greco:

hand. but yeah, it's like. It's helping me get outside more. It gives me more exercise. So there's so much value, you know, in my photography, even if I, don't, try to turn it into a business. And yeah, instead of investing in that, full frame camera, just because I was supposed to, because it's somebody else's business. journey that they made up somebody else's box that I don't have to or somebody else's plan. I don't have to subscribe to because I didn't do that. I was able to, you know, yeah, I guess I get some killer lenses instead that I've had a great time with. I mean, started to find like where all the bald eagles are locally. And that's been really fun and really cool to see and gotten, yeah, super into birds guts. Oh, I, um, I had a painter, an artist, a painting artist, contact me for about a picture. I took of a group of Rosie at Spoonbills, which are crazy looking pink birds that are so, so cool. asking me if she could paint it.

Raymond Hatfield:

And she said, if

Erika Greco:

the painting sells, she'll send me a commission. So yeah, like I couldn't have, I wouldn't. And it was because I got out because I had this super cool new lens. I couldn't have done that with a, you know, just because I upgraded to a full frame camera because somebody else said I should.

Raymond Hatfield:

Right, right. And because of the crop factor, you'd actually be further away. So the photo wouldn't be as impactful with a full frame camera. So that's even better.

Erika Greco:

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I love all the Invested in, but like I said, I, I made sure I wanted them. They were in my Amazon cart for a very long time before I, pulled the trigger. And that, so that was really good advice. I use. Um, take them everywhere. And really, yeah, really get a lot of enjoyment out of the things that I have chosen to invest in.

Raymond Hatfield:

That's good. I love to hear that. One of the things I see often is, in like buy set camera bag, Or photography buy sell trade groups is always like people think that it's this badge of honor when they go to sell a camera and it's like, there's only 1000 shots on it. And it's like, what? Like, how is that a good thing? That means that you didn't use it at all. We should be praising the people who have 600, 000 shots on their cameras. You know what I mean? But

Erika Greco:

one of my one of my gears, it's probably not good. But one of my gears sticks a little bit because it's got sand in it, because I've taken it to the beach.

Raymond Hatfield:

On one of your lenses.

Erika Greco:

oh my camera.

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh

Erika Greco:

Oh my camera. I do take I don't think i've ever taken one of my more expensive lenses to the beach My camera and a cheap lens we'll go on the beach. I've done a model shoot out of the beach and, as well as done some astrophotography out there where the Milky Way has been visible. So that was super fun. and yeah, it still has some, there's a little bit of sandiness in one of the gears on my camera. But I, but I wear that like a badge of honor. It means that I have used it. Oh my gosh. My, when I did the, um. the beach shoot where I was shooting models. I was, it was the craziest site. I had my camera in one hand, but we were in the waves. So I had a flash on a flash stand in the other hand. And I was just trying to balance myself like in a low squat position because the model was like kneeling on the ground, low squat position. And I'm trying to get her getting hit by a wave, like the wave, like crashing over her. But that also means that I'm getting hit by a wave. I've one time at one point wiped out, got knocked over by one of these waves, luckily was able to like hold the camera and the flash stand high enough up in the air to save the camera and stuff. But yeah, I mean, if you, which some people, you know, would think is crazy. Like, why are you standing in the water with your camera? You could get your gear wet. And I'm like, well, what am I going to do with it? If not, like I didn't buy it to leave it in the bag and sit on the shelf. So I definitely, yeah, my camera's gone to the beach and the water, like. in and out of suitcases. I'm a little rough on it,

Raymond Hatfield:

probably. Well, thank goodness for those, those big lens muscles that helped you, you know, hold everything out of the water. Yeah, it all works itself together. That's hilarious. know, when it comes to photography, I love to know, especially in this day where I feel like Instagram is well, Instagram has come out and said that they're no longer photo focused or photo forward, whatever the word was there. Yeah, exactly. Right. So it's like, I'm always interested to know, like as a photographer, where do you find your inspiration from?

Erika Greco:

I mean, I mean, I never thought that I would like Instagram. I was very late to the Instagram game. but I do like Instagram these days. as far as seeing, work outside of the people around me, but I would say actually the most inspiration that I have found is from local photographers. And, local photographers and then like Facebook communities because two examples to two things that I think would or a huge motivational point for me and inspiration to me. one was the beginner photography podcast Facebook group because I can name people that I feel like have been in the group for years and we have watched their journey and we've watched them grow so much and it's a little bit of not competition. But it just motivates you to like, Oh, they're getting better. Like I should get better, watching them improve makes you want to improve too. It makes you realize you can do it because they started out, a beginner just like you and you, you saw their work, you saw when they were a beginner. it's not some professional, you know, or some. crazy advanced artists telling you, Oh yeah, sure. I was a beginner at one point. You're like, yeah, sure. You were born with a camera in your hand, but these are people that we have seen their work progress, you know, in real time, right in front of us. And that has been super cool to see in the community. And then the community is just so, so supportive. Oh my gosh, there's not a nicer Facebook community or Facebook group out there. so that's been a huge source of inspiration. Also connecting with local photographers and local models and seeing the work that they're putting out, has been another really great source of inspiration to so I would say I don't have like a favorite photographer that's kind of like. Out there some, you know, well, no name or some other influencer like you, um, Some other famous photographer. for me, it's really Yeah, the people that have grown kind of alongside of me and the local people that I kind of look up to and the people on Facebook, like both of those Facebook communities that we have a local photographer and model. Facebook community that people share work. And then, the beginner photography podcast, Facebook community. I would say that though, the people in those communities have actually been my biggest inspiration.

Raymond Hatfield:

I mean, first of all, I don't even know where to begin with that. because that's exactly how I feel about. like you, you know, you were in it pretty much from the beginning. You got to see people, and their skills develop as a photographer. And that's how I feel about you and so many others as well. I mean, it's been so much fun to see you. develop and your progression from, I mean, everything, even that we've talked about today from portraits of friends, family, you know, you've done some street photography, some astrophotography, night photography. I think you did some selective coloring there in the beginning, like we all do some slow shutter shots. I

Erika Greco:

will still, hey, I will still, that is a hill I will die on. Selective coloring is still appropriate in some situations.

Raymond Hatfield:

I agree, I agree. I'm right there with you. But it's a very, it's a very small list of appropriate situations, I believe. But, you know, over all that time, I feel like, especially now, because gone on to shooting models and birds as well. Over all of that, I want to know you can go back in time and tell yourself something earlier, what piece of advice would you give your, greener self about the world of photography?

Erika Greco:

Just dive in. Just, don't be so nervous. Don't feel like you have to know it all before you put a toe in. I think that I was hesitant to share work because it wasn't exactly where I wanted to be or because I saw work that I thought was better than mine and so I wouldn't share. and what do you have to lose? Dive in, get to know people. Like, there are really cool people in these communities, online and in real life communities. I mean, the, the photography group around here, like, meets for lunch once a month. dive in, get to know people, whether it's in real life or online and share your work and just, don't be afraid. What do you have to be afraid of? What do you have to lose?

Raymond Hatfield:

That's perfect. Oh my gosh, that is so good. I feel like you're one of those like, super wise photographers talking to me. I'm like, on every word. I'm like, this is so great. This is so great. Especially because, you know, it's one of those things where, when it comes to photography, every like, And as you know, when it comes to art, it's very subjective, but that means that, you have to project a lot of yourself onto the art itself for it to have meaning. And I feel like just in this conversation with you, I'm getting like this backstage, understanding more of your work and how you put yourself into your work here. And it's almost as if. All of your photos that I've seen in the past make more sense now after this conversation with you, which I love, and I think really lends itself to you wanting to dive in and make those connections and probably one of the reasons why, you are, so trusted within the group is because I can tell that you obviously have a passion for this and that, uh, that you truly do enjoy this. So this has been a ton of fun. I still got a few more questions for you. If you still got time. Yeah,

Erika Greco:

of course.

Raymond Hatfield:

Awesome. I kind of want to go back to the Facebook group for a moment because this is an area where, I love talking to you. I love talking to other members of the group, but there's a few things that I guess being on the outside of it, I'm still always kind of like, I don't understand why it works like this. So for you, you said earlier that you think that it's one of the friendliest places on the internet for new photographers. Why do you think that is? There are so many Facebook groups out there with hundreds of thousands of people. I think we only have. 5, 000 people in the group. I don't even think it's that, but there are groups with hundreds of thousands of people. Why do you think the beginner photography podcast, Facebook group works as well as it does?

Erika Greco:

I'm not just saying this to flatter anything. It's because of you and the culture that you set and. you're such a nice person and you made it clear from the beginning that like, no jerks allowed. This is going to be a nice place. This is going to be a safe place. It's going to be a supportive place. And people who are cocky and arrogant, like you're going to get a warning and then like, you're not going to post anymore. And I don't even think it took that many. I haven't even seen, the lovely, the lovely admins Give too many warnings to people because I think it, since you started the group, it's been very clear that was going to be the culture of the group. So I think that your personality and your intentionality around that, really built a great, a great community. I think you've selected great people to be admins and people who are like, just as, It's awesome and supportive and active and, thriving and seeing other people thrive. Like you, you've got a great, a great team of people, that are helping you out with that. Yeah, it's the culture that you guys set a hundred percent. I

Raymond Hatfield:

think I podcast out. That felt really weird. Don't you

Erika Greco:

dare. Don't you dare. It's true. It's true. It's true. And, and, you know, cause I know like, Kim Irish, Kimberly Irish, right? Is, one of the admins and she, and she's just a rock star. Like once she's the person that we have seen grow so much since the beginning. So I'll shout her out too. And she does such a great job with, she's always active in the community and it's always positive and it's always constructive and it's always supportive. And so I think that, yeah, just the influence that, you know, the group's creator and then the group's leadership has just really keeps it and it keeps it in a really good, really good direction. And it does work really well.

Raymond Hatfield:

I okay. Maybe I'll keep that in there because you have to,

Erika Greco:

because now you'd be cutting out Kim shout out. So, right.

Raymond Hatfield:

I know. Yeah. I know. Once you did that, I was like, well, this has got to stay in the episode now. Geez. You kind of tied my arm behind my back on that one. But no, I mean, really, it's, and I know that I've said this before, but it's like, I hate when, like, it's put on me because it's like, I'm not, I'm not the one posting all the time, I'm not the one, you know, it's, I really think that it's you, and that it's all the members of the group, because y'all have to essentially sign some sort of social contract saying that we're going to be nice to each other, and y'all abide by those rules, and y'all make the community what it is, if it was just me. it would just be me talking to an empty void. And that's just, that's just weird.

Erika Greco:

Well, I think you're, I mean, you still participate in the group, you know, whenever you have time, like you record videos to give people feedback and stuff. And so that people can see that and, see that that's always, always friendly and nice. And then I think that that is also a place that people really crave on the internet. The internet is so wild right now and is such a rough place. And so I think that people really crave that much like softer, nicer community. and so I think that, that that helps, the continuation of that kind of culture because everybody is willing to be a gatekeeper of that because it's so important and so rare and so needed on the internet. right now. So I think, yeah, I think that that because everybody really loves it. No one wants to see

Raymond Hatfield:

it spoiled. Right, huh? That's an interesting perspective that I had not thought of. I'm gonna have to think about that for a little bit, because that is something that it's like, as it continues to grow, I try to figure out like, how can we keep it this way without getting too crazy? Because anything too big, I think can go south real fast. And I'd rather have a much smaller community of friendly photographers, then absolutely, A community of a million people and it just like the Wild West, like you said, but, another question that I got for you is, is that when it comes to the podcast, I know that you've been listening for a number of years, long time. You have a lot of range when it comes to your photos, as I said, Astro portraits street, not all these things.

Erika Greco:

They're very all over the place. So it's good that you say they make sense now. And it's, it's really because it's like different phases of my life. I mean, from. I did some event photography and then COVID happened. So there was no more event photography. So I did a lot of nature photography and because I do don't do this as a career and I just do this as a passion, I can, that's the great thing is I can just go and meander any direction I want. And, and I have the bandwidth to do it. I don't have to, you know, worry about my Instagram look or my niche or whatever. I can do whatever suits that phase, that point in life. so I'm to hear that, My super random, super all over the place phases of photography make a little bit of sense now. Oh,

Raymond Hatfield:

100%, 100%. but I would love to know just because you've shot so many different genres and you've tried so many different things. Has there been a standout episode of the podcast for you?

Erika Greco:

one thing that I can't remember who it was on the episode. but one thing that really had a lasting impact on me was the people who. The idea of using your photography to serve,

Raymond Hatfield:

could have been the blooms Philip and I

Erika Greco:

think that was it. That's that. I think that was it. That's what I was going to say, but then I didn't want to be wrong. There's my lack of confidence. So yeah, they talked about using your photography to serve and that stuck with me so much. And that's another thing that I, I think you have the opportunity to do, like whether or not you make this, a career or a business, but for me, even when I am taking pictures of a family and stuff, it's a lot of times, well, all the time. I don't shoot people, I don't know. it's a family I know and I don't charge because I just, do this for fun and I'm not out there, like, nobody at me. I'm not out there advertising free sessions or anything like that. I know that that gets a lot, working for free gets a lot of hate in the comments. Photography community sometimes, but

Raymond Hatfield:

screw it. Clean. I shoot for free. Do it.

Erika Greco:

These are people in my life and I can, you know, serve them by like, I have fun doing it. I enjoy doing it. And I've got this camera, I've got these skills. And so even on a very small scale, it doesn't have to be some like mission trip around the world. where it can be, you can bring awareness to really important causes through photography, but you can also just like, Serve your neighbor, you know, I've had friends that need a headshot for, their med school applications or, whatever, and they need it, and they need it cheap, and they need it the very last minute. I'd be like, yeah, I can do that for you. so I think using your photography to serve in small ways and in bigger ways really stuck with me and made an impact on what I do. Even, you know, with connecting with local models, like that, a lot of that is like TFP trade for time for prints or trade for prints, or everybody has their own variation of that, uh, that acronym. but I can, you know, have fun and help a model, have a local model, you know, get some portfolio shots or. You know, somebody who maybe lacks a little bit. It's just getting into the game lacks a little bit of confidence can make them feel really beautiful and feel like, you know, a rock star or I've also volunteered for nonprofits and done photos for philanthropic causes and things like that. So using your photography to serve as has permeated throughout a lot of what I do.

Raymond Hatfield:

I don't know how to end it any better than that. That is such a great takeaway. I think that you are going to change a lot of people's minds and their ideas about photography, after hearing, this little chat that we had here today. So I'm really excited for this now, before I let you go, we know that you're in the group, but can you share anywhere else where we can find you online?

Erika Greco:

So I haven't updated my Instagram in a while, but the best place would probably be Instagram. It's Erica with a K E R I K A D Greco G R E C O. So Instagram. com slash Erica D Greco. I'll get some more photos up there sometime.

Raymond Hatfield:

no promises though, right? Yeah. Um,

Erika Greco:

don't know. So like I said, the internet's the wild west right now. So social media has kind of taken a little, backburner time, but when I do post it's there or in the community

Raymond Hatfield:

or in the community. Let me ask you one last question, the

Erika Greco:

community,

Raymond Hatfield:

just join, just join the community. I didn't say it. Erica did. Is there anything that I didn't ask you today that you want to make sure that those new to photography or those in the community, Know about it.

Erika Greco:

Gosh, I, I had these things planned out in my head and then I didn't write them down. So I, I feel like we've covered a lot of it, but I would say like one, you're never too old to pick it up. a lot of the people you see on Instagram are going to be younger than you. And you're going to be like, these kids, these, these young kids are so good. I'm never going to catch up, but one, you're never too old to pick it up. And two, you don't have to have, business aspirations to pick up photography. you can just do it. For fun and you'll have and you'll have a lot of fun. doing it. So just take the pressure off yourself. One to, be as good as someone else or two you have to make a business or you have to have this piece of gear. Take the pressure off yourself. Have fun. Your journey is your journey.

Thank you for listening to today's interview. Remember, come join us in the free and amazing community of photographers just looking to learn and grow their skills, just like you, by heading over to beginnerphotopod. com forward slash group now. Thanks again for listening to today's episode. And remember, the more that you shoot today, the better of a photographer you will be tomorrow. Talk soon.