Yesterday a friend and photography mentor David Apuzzo http://davidapuzzo.com/ asked me to come out for one of his lifestyle shoots and take some photos for myself. I often shoot lifestyle but I don't often shoot with female models or in a city, regardless I knew it would be a great learning experience. Watching somebody like David shoot is really magic because he never stresses when he is using his camera and it almost feels like a dance between himself and his subject. David also knows a ton about the business side of photography a particular part of photography I am not as well versed in. On that note I am a firm believer that you can not grow if you don't constantly get out of your comfort zone for me thats weddings and business. The other principle I believe in for growth is collaboration and through community we can find such collaborations. I believe you can learn from somebody who is an expert like David and you can also learn from somebody with no skills what so ever because they may have an opinion that is in essence the most simple which lends a view resembling the average population. Especially with photography I personally cannot progress unless I am collaborating in some way, I need critiques, I need social interaction with my camera and I need to push myself out of my comfort zone. To sum the purpose of this blog up I heard a quote on a Ted talk this morning that went something like this, "Alone a hunter can only catch rabbits but together the hunters can kill elephants." Now I am not one for hunting but to me this means you can either starve alone or live like a king if you work together. Don't be an asshole artist who believes they have the secret to success, collaborate with people who have their own unique style and share tools to help them and yourself progress your style further.

Davids Instagram: @davidapuzzophoto

Model: @SaraTray

Photos and editing done by @AtticusRadley