In a world that is increasingly lacking in characters, you are an absolute diamond. Entertaining, thought-proving and erudite with genuine compassion and empathy. It’s a joy to see you back, a true master of your craft.

You have genuinely really made Sophie's day. She is buzzing. Thank you :)

Zack, I started watching you at the beginning of my photography journey 6 or 7 years ago. I’ve always really enjoyed your content. I like longer videos as the detail you go into is invaluable and I like your presentation style. I’m glad you are back doing videos. I subscribe to a lot of photography channels and I would say your content is up there with the best of them. Keep up the great work :)

Never understood average watch times. Never understood why people watch half a video. If I’m not going to watch a video I leave in the first minute. Your videos I watch start to finish, even if I can’t do that in one sitting it’ll just stay paused on my Apple TV until I’m ready to finish it. Keep up the good work, stay safe!

So glad you are back.

Thanks a ton Zack. It is great to have you again sharing amazing videos....that WE LOVE!!

I'm really enjoying your return to the Tube! Watched your cooking vid with my wife, and we both enjoyed it a ton. You've always created content in your uniquely Zack way, and that's a refreshing breath of fresh air. You're honest and authentic. Thank you. I've been creating videos these past two weeks of photo projects to do from home, and am on video 4 of what I plan will be 12-14 vids. Cheers to you and your family in these interesting times!

I live in Akron, OH and would describe it just like you do Atlanta: not a lot of people out, everybody drives...makes for some frustrating street photography. I go out for an hour and shoot and I might only see like 10 people. I feel very defeated much of the time. Though it is frustrating, it has made me try and find what makes my home unique and capture that instead of wasting time thinking of what I don't have. So thanks for pointing out Street Shotz. I watched one of his videos and it made me feel comforted knowing other people are out there trying their best with what they have...and with a great attitude I might add. Cheers Zack!

It's always great to see your videos Zack, thanks for being honest & real! I've posted my first video and am planning more soon.

Damn, I love you brother. Love you honesty, your courage but most of all you heart! You are a good man.

Thank you for acknowledging what photographers are going through right now - let's try and help each other where we can and keep reaching out. You've always inspired me to hang in there. Thank you.

Recently did subtitles using Adobe Premiere. They've made it pretty easy. Thanks for all your inspiration, instruction and encouragement! You make learning and doing photography a joy. Can't imagine it without you.

Hi Zack. I have to say again that I really appreciate how open you are about depression and anxiety. I haven’t been able to pick up my camera for a while because I’ve been struggling with anxiety and some burn out. Your attitude is so refreshingly honest. As far as the average watch time is concerned, maybe some people are watching the whole video and others are watching a few seconds and moving on. I’m loving your content now, so I think you should keep being your awesome self.

Do your own thing Zack. Online ventures often create the deepest rabbit holes. I appreciate one must compromise sometimes and in this case follow some formulas to maximise exposure and monetise but I’d hate to start making content which appealed to others but not me. I have no doubt you know this. You’re an awesome guy and I’d love to meet someone like you one day to learn from and collaborate with. I’ve followed your work for a few years now and have benefited from it greatly. Your honesty and vulnerability is legendary. Wish you all the best!

It's so good to see you back making content again. You are the most honest and real photography expert I've ever come across. Like you, I recently started making content for my channel and currently have 6 subscribers. I'd love for you to take a look. Thanks for the inspiration across many years.

I have followed you years from Oslo Norway. Thanks for sharing great ideas for photos

Great stuff Zack!!

Man, the first part of the video it’s how many of us feel like, it’d be nice a whole video of that (reading comments and giving feedback) great video.

Really enjoyed the Stuff and Things - all 19 minutes, they flew by. What makes your content special is the unfiltered honesty and the transparency, the sense of someone putting themself out there and not hiding anything, not pretending, so I would say (for what it's worth) you shouldn't lose any sleep trying to think of what content might be popular, but keep making the content you feel is important to make and share. I think your sense for that is really taking your content somewhere interesting and uncommon. A lot of photographers - I know I have and still do - struggle with self-doubt, anxiety and depression, so hearing someone who we all admire talk from the heart about those same struggles - where so many times (and quite naturally) people want to keep the glossy finish on top - is really special. I've subscribed to Street Shotz channel and will give his videos some of my burgeoning screen time this afternoon (I need to do a bit of work first, this is the end of my morning KZfaq with Coffee time) so thanks for sharing, new forms of entertainment in this lockdown are always welcome! You've already been really supportive this week with some kind words about my first videos on KZfaq. I had been thinking about starting a channel for a while now, and this really wasn't the content I had in mind, but it's the content I've found myself making these past couple of weeks. In case it helps with comparison, I can share some of my early statistics ... currently on 13 subscribers so I would safely qualify for that sub-1000 shoutout. My three videos currently have 278 views in total, with 10.2 hours of watch time. Average view duration is quite low at between 10-15% which I understand because my videos so far are all slow burners. I think they're worth sticking with, but I can see why people might not! In terms of reach, 363 impressions with 10.2% click-through and 202 unique viewers for the 278 total views. 97% of my audience is not subscribed - I think it's people I know or my girlfriend knows clicking from social media. Then there's a lot of statistics that KZfaq doesn't have enough data for yet! Anyway, this comment turned out long ... all the best to you Zack, please keep doing what you're doing because it's all awesome!

I'm obviously one of the 3% - but I have absolutely no clue how to make that number bigger. I have only recently subscribed , but really enjoy your down to earth, this is how it is type videos (and the occasional animal cameo). In regards to the length of videos, I will admit if it's a longer video (by anyone), I will wait to watch it when I have more time (or when I'm doing something else but can still pay attention.) which sometimes can be weeks later. But usually anything under 15-20 mins. gets watched pretty quickly after it shows up in my inbox. I love playlists- as long as it's your own stuff. And there is nothing wrong with reminding people to subscribe, only takes 3 seconds of a video to do. Keep up the good work - and just be you!

Can you just keep being you! Photo, cooking, and being honest about everything. You are amazing and I thank you!

Hey Zack, personally I prefer a longer video. I feel like we get more information and get to know you better. By the way, my wife watches with me. Your a very personable chap! Just a thought, you could source your video editing out if it helps you free up some time. Keep on keeping on sir and thanks again for your work.

Soothing to have a rambly video with the occasional pet cameos and other silliness. Keep it up. :-)

Zack, love your videos and content! Been watching for many years. Your videos sparked my interest in pursuing photography as a hobby... I'm not great but I love it. I do it for me and no one else. What I want to see out of your content are the things that interest you. Don't make videos based upon what you think we want to see. What most of us want to see is what interests you. Allow your passion of the subject or topic take over. Your passion, sincerity, and "realness" is what drives most of us to watch your content. If you're not interested in the topic it will show and we'll lose interest as well. Don't concern yourself with feeling forced to make content just to make content. We're here for signal... not noise.

Another great video!

I really cant give an insight on stats. But I can tell you why I watch your content: Community. You are good at bringing people together. Oh, right. I had an idea/question for any future videos: How do you feel about film? Lately I've been sucked back in film photography. 120 to be exact. And I love it. There is just something... gratifying about doing everything yourself: deciding on exposure, the film stock, chemicals for the development etc. I'm looking at the negatives i shot last weekend and it feels... fulfilling. 1 of them actually turned out ok. Anyway, keep creating.

Zack, I'd STOP looking at stats. Keep it going, it's all great stuff. Oh, what wine is that?

I know some KZfaqrs that struggle to make their videos 10 minutes long for the algorithm whatever that means. I watch your videos and 20 minutes seem to fly by. Honestly it is the quality of the content that matters. Some five minute videos are succinct and to the point and some topics require longer discussions. I would say make whatever feels right. I follow a Danish wildlife photographer named Morten Hilmer and he can put up a 48 minute video of himself in a photo-blind photographing crows and it is fascinating and calming and 48 minutes seem to pass in the blink of an eye! He also does these Bushcraft videos where he sets up camp, cooks, goes on little photography excursions and they can be over an hour long and there is no talking. And they are brilliant. If you have a good story to tell it doesn't matter the length.

Hi Zack, thanks for being real. I appreciate it.

I personally don't think your videos are too long, Zack. Those overedited videos that are popular on YT are really not my thing, maybe I'm just a very old 35yo, but I'm really not interested in the history of world in 5 minutes. I also feel a bit lonely during quarentine and feel you are like kind of a friend. Cheers from Brazil!

I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying your new videos. I have less than 1,000 subs and just getting back at it. I stopped making music photos and returned to my first creative love of painting. My channel is all about making art.

I like the long videos, doing my part to keep the average high. Haha As a fan of JRE podcasts, I like the longer conversations and the variety of topics that come up. Thank you!

Hi Zack, looking at KZfaq stats and knowing what they say is ok. At one point you said " is 2% ok? If not how do I increase it?". And that's exactly why you shouldn't do it. You don't need to do it for the stats. What makes your content great, is your personality and how you do what you do. If you don't feel like making a video - don't force it (although I'm happy about seeing more content from you recently). It'll be ok. Apart from that ... I'm with you about that women thing. There should be more of em watching. Thumbs up! Stay Healthy and balanced. Gretings from a country representing 5.1% of your viewers :-)

Awesome vlog Zack. I wish I could get the back the passion that had me read, watch tutorials, practice and sleep only 3 hours a day, the way I used to when I first started. Man where did all that passion go? Hope everyone is doing fine, if not I'm sure everyone will be back doing this crazy thing we call photography in no time!

Zak been watching you for years! I have way way less than 100 subscribers (15) I've been shooting around 10 years here in Leeds, UK but struggle to find my voice for youtube. Often bottle it due to thinking people won't give a shit what I have to say. Lockdown has started to change that. Keep on being you! Cheers.

One of my personal favorite things is how you have a no shit way of telling it. You are not blunt by any means but you have a way of cutting through any bs to get to a point in a manner that makes sense to me. P.S. The Transform video well honestly it helped me not check out when I was in a very dark time. It also helped me discover that photography was a way forward for me in life. Although photography is a hobby it is a hobby that led me back to other hobbys like baking, cooking...It also led me to a point that life sucks less from a physical point.

I don't know anything about stats or running a KZfaq channel. I'm just a dude who watches a lot of stuff... From my perspective, the most important thing for you to do is just keep being you. I enjoy hearing about what's going on in your head and your inner battles. We all have at least some of that in one way or another. You seem more human than most people on KZfaq and I feel more of a personal connection even though time-wise I haven't seen nearly as much of your stuff as a lot of other channels. There's guys I've watched for hours and hours and I don't really care about them as a person. Your videos make it easy to see you as a real guy. Short videos, to me, are usually only good if it's something quick and funny. Otherwise its just fluff content. I only discovered your channel recently, after it was mentioned in an FStoppers video. I started clicking through videos and I enjoyed your recent stuff with the kind of personal thoughts and feelings, but also really loved the APSC vs full frame video that you did. I love seeing videos that go against the grain and aren't worried about sponsored talking points or agreeing with everyone else. I loved that it's "real". Keep up the good work, I'm looking forward to seeing more. Sorry I'm not much help with stats or how to monetize. Oh, for what it's worth, this is BY FAR the longest and most thought out comment I've ever left on a KZfaq video... Again, because you're more human and "real" than pretty much everyone else on KZfaq.

Also, I was one of the ones who didn't want to see a stats video but this was educational and entertaining as always. I don't use this KZfaq channel to post content. I do so on the other ones I have but have neglected to long. It also is time consuming but one has to put in the work to make something happen. Thanks for the video Zack!

Zack, I made notes as I watched after you asked the first question. Ideas for activities: I have been making coloring books out of animal photos using Photoshop. The first of which is on my zoo's new activities web site. I have a blog post with the instructions. I will be publishing them weekly. This could just as easily be good for taking photos of your pets, or even the kids themselves, and have them color the pages. I recommend that you check the colors of the longest crayons in the box and have them wear that color. It may be tough getting new crayons for a while. The zoo also posted one of my animal wordsearch puzzles. You can keep kids busy with those (even though they are not photography related unless you use photography related words) If we are busy doing things for others, we are less likely to feel sorry for ourselves. If even for just a few minutes. Average View Duration It is more likely that the average time is such that people look at the video and decide right away that they don't want to finish, while the rest of us watch all 19:41 seconds (the duration of this video) for example. So it balances out. Duration of videos. Longer is fine right now, but in the long run, most people can't spare more than about 5 minutes. More than that may mean marking it for watching later. Which, if you are like me, is a really long list. Or was, until the Shelter-In-Place order. Steven Gotz artofzootography.com

I work for an industrial company as their photo/video person. Some of what I do is documentation. Most of what I do is edit videos that are sent to me and do my best to make them look ok enough to put on our KZfaq channel. On the subject of stats, I have found that a click through rate of 2-7% is average. If you have a banger, it’s around 10-15% (rare). For the watch time, I’ve played with this a bit and most are around half the length of the video. If I do a promotional video that is around a minute, that will still not get a 100% view time because people will skip the end screen. I hope this helps some. I’m just happy that I can feed my family with my camera, as you say. Every video of yours, I watch until it goes to the next video and I usually will watch it on both mobile and computer, just to mess with the stats. This new iteration of the channel is about perfect for me. A bit inspirational, a bit technical, sometimes serious, and I always feel at least a little better about the world after watching. Keep it up! I’m very interested in how you end up raising your female viewership. Sorry about the length, I guess I had some stuff to say. Stay safe my friend.

Personally i prefer videos that pass the 10 minute mark and beyond when it comes to educational content. I love to listen to knowledgable people with the heart in the right place because i dont really have a proper mentor to absorb from, so you sir are a huge asset for me in many ways. Although the most important thing for me is that you dont get too into creating content fof the sake of creating it because that is potentially soul-crushing. We all widh you the best and i am just happy to absorb everything you want to share and remember this: you dont owe us or the internet anything. What you choose to share is heavily appreciated and if you get overwhelmed its in all of our best interests that you do what you need to do to make sure you stay well. Mental overload is not a joke and we love you too much to let you go through that for any avoidable reason. Lots of love from Sweden and keep on going strong!

Zack. I normally watch your videos with my partner but realizing now that pushes the stats that it’s mostly men. He has been a fan of yours for a long time. I have subscribed myself and will watch some of your videos on mine instead of his. ;-) Yes, playlists are a good idea to sort out your content into groups of subjects. I tend to do a lot more content during my day job (marketing) and realize that my passion (singer/songwriter) channel Is overdue for something new. I am motivated to put something up in the next week so perhaps if you’re going to push it hold off till then. I love your honesty and I appreciate your vulnerability shown in your latest videos. Keep up the good work!

Hi Zack, I'm a female subscriber of your channel that has found you at the recommandation of a friend and I can honestly say that I have Subscribed to it instantly. Spent a whole afternoon just watching your videos and today just got across this one. Wanted to say that I started working on my own channel recently and, even though I realise I am commenting one year later....any feedback you can provide me with would be super helpful. As far as your audience goes....I get the opposite, I have more male viewers than female but I think that's mainly because the industry itself... Have an amazing day and keep being awesome!!

Another great video. Regarding the first part of your video and I know you've talked about it before. About a year ago I had a complete meltdown. I was trying to do too much, trying to make everyone happy, trying to 'make it', and all I ended up doing was too many things, both professionally and personally, and none of them properly, which annoyed me more and spiralled downwards. Photography had been my life for a long time but at that point I didn't even want to pick up a camera. I had to shoot for work, but I had given up and was doing the basics, pumping out average images, I hated doing that, and I hated myself more every day for doing it. I'd just taken on too much and it all became overwhelming. I've always been a very positive person and never thought I'd ever fall into depression. At time I would laugh at funny things, but all I wanted to actually do was cry, and sometimes did both at once. I ended up phoning a colleague and just saying that I needed to talk. I walked into their office and just let everything out, literally having a meltdown and ending up in tears. I never ask for help, I've been through a lot of personal and professional trauma in my life but never felt like this before. I always had the ability to just keep going. For me to ask for help I know myself how low I was, but it was the best thing I did. Just having someone to listen who had nothing to gain or loose from giving advice was invaluable. I'd encourage everyone who needs to to do the same. On their advice I started to unpick my life, making a list of things that were pissing me off, and literally taking one task as a time until those things were either cut out of my life, or I got them done and out of the way. It helped enormously. A year later, and despite what's happening right now, life is so much better, work was really taking off (until what's happened recently!) I'm happy shooting again, producing the best work I've ever done, and I'm concentrating on the important things.

What you said about wasted time rabbit hole.... describes my situation to a T. Thanks for sharing. Makes me feel like I'm not alone.

Lovin’ these videos Zack, it’s hard not being able to go out making pictures on the streets at the moment. I guess we’re all trying to entertain ourselves & keep busy in some way. I’m consuming a lot of KZfaq content right now and I’m always happy when I see a new video from you pop up. Keep ‘em coming 👍🏻

That photo of the ship is epic. :)

I have a youtube channel with less than a thousand and have not made content for a while but I am going to start now we are in lockdown. Loving your videos whatever the content.

Hello, I've followed you for a few years, and even though you didn't put out content very often, I stayed as a subscriber. But when you did upload a video, it was worth the wait. Most of today's content is very high paced. What I like about your videos is that you take your time, and delivers very good content, at just the right pace and the right length. I'd rather watch a 20 min "Stuff 'n things", where the content is engaging and full of character, than watch a "9 min" were the video is shortened so much that it lacks the character that you gives it. Take your time and deliver the good content that you do. On the topic of playlists, at least I would like if you could organize you videos in different Playlist. Maybe one "stuff 'n things", "burnout", "date night in the kitchen" and one "photo critique". I'm very happy to see that you're back and producing the good content that you do.

I think a lot of us have felt what you and some of the commenters say about being burnout and down. What I’ve found helps in my case is to be gentle a tolerant to myself. I’ve changed the “I have to” mindset to “I want to” or “I need to” when it comes to making things. Hope it helps. Thanks for these videos.

Glad your back! great content as always. barely starting my channel, wouldn't hurt some views my way.

I just hit 1000, but my watch time isn't there yet.. ILL BE THERE! gotta be more consistent, thanks for inspiring, man

a street shotz collab would be so fun to watch. hope that happens!

Stop motion assignments are always great! Use of still photos, toys, lighting and ALOT of time is required. My son has done a few Lego ones in the past.

Don't watch the counter Zack, you're content is gold, just realize that we're KZfaq viewers and our attention spans are that of a toddler.

No judgement. Cheap box wine is awesome. Keep the videos coming. I really enjoy them after work with a glass of cheap box wine!

Zack, I am one of the 3.8% .I can tell you that your realism is what drew me to your channel. I think if you keep being you and keeping it "real" you will be fine on your "lady" viewers. I appreciate and respect you. Thank you for being a bottom line type guy.

lol...What am I sitting at time wise? 31 minutes... Zack you do you brother and the rest will fall into place. Your original Onelight Workshop came along as I was going through a divorce and life sucked and it inspired me to hold on and move forward. I love my camera and I hate my camera and at times wish I had never picked it up the first time, but yet I am lost and incomplete without it. I still get a little aggravated when I shoot and people do not respond the way I would like them too, but then I realize I am really doing this for me and not for their appreciation. I would do it if no one ever saw it because I have to, at times I hate it and other times it's all I think about except for bacon I am always thinking about bacon. I am glad you are creating again and I look forward to seeing more from you. Thank you for the time you invest into this art form, you do not realize what it means to some of us.

Hey Zack. My 2 cents: Don't worry about the average watch time. Some people will stop a video right away (time watched 0) and some will watch the complete thing. The average will say 50%, it says nothing about your content. People who have autoplay or click by mistake will always close it and will count detrimentally to your average. I like your content as is. Sometimes long, sometimes short. You don't waste time rumbling around an old bone of a topic or boosting self promotion. Keep it up. 2% is a decent response in nowadays internet. That's just cognitive dissonance between the algorithm and the public. I rarely click on "recommended" videos, unless there's nothing new from my favorite channels. Some people will not click it because of the thumbnail, but most because of the title or duration. That's why many channels do the "click bait" slope, and that's something that irks me a lot and makes your audience feel cheated. Gear reviews get a lot of views and that's why some channels only do that, but I'm not suggesting you do. Some former very interesting and creative channels are now close to informercials. Your content is unique. Loved the cooking video btw.

Interesting stats :) not sure how I came upon your channel, but it is funny that the video that you got most referral from is Ken Wheeler's video ( also known as the Angry Photographer) :D

I attempted to do a divide and conquer with my KZfaq channels. I have a family based channel (which is this account) where I made it a goal to get the kids outside last summer and part of getting them out was recording us (oh how I wish I had a newer body for autofocus in video). Then I have another channel called Beard Brain (I sent you my cooking vid on Twitter) that's supposed to act as my creative outlet for writing/performing but it's been on/off stage for 2 years. This worldwide shutdown is getting me back in the swing of things though. The kids and I are working on a stop motion movie for our family channel that I'm hopefully shooting the start of next week and up by the end of next week. We have all of our props and scenes created so now it's down to the hard part. With the new COPPA restrictions in place on KZfaq it's near impossible to grow a family channel as you can no longer use endscreens, have comments etc. So directing people through to your other videos and interacting with your viewers has been removed. I'm now mainly using it as an educational and family building process so they can learn some new skills and problem solve some things as well.

Some thoughts from an old gal who has been following for quite a while... •It's really lovely to see you back here. That's not intended to pressure or induce anxiety, just an honest expression of joy and gratitude. •yes, you can absolutely read your stats as something to induce pressure to post. Might I suggest a reframing...there is a whole group of people who are here for you. We're with you. When you come here with your work, we'll be here with you & for you. We're for you. •playlists...yes, please. When someone shows up at a restaurant hungry, it doesn't make sense just to list the latest thing the chef made, rather than giving a menu. People show up here hungry. They don't necessarily want to rummage through the fridge to find what they're looking for. Playlists can keep people on your channel longer, and make great use of material you already created. You made it. It's there. But maybe not so easy to find. Leverage it, by all means. •It's totally cool to ask people to hit like and subscribe at the beginning of the video. I suspect many women are like me, and listen/watch your videos while doing something else like washing dishes. If my hands are still in dishwater by the end of the video, I'm just not in a great place to hit "like" even if I really do. •a list of what's coming up in the video (in the description) helps to keep viewers engaged. Timestamps are helpful sometimes, not not necessary. •Cheering you on. From someone whose bff is citalopram. Peace.

Another nice vid Zack, love the lighting... and those tunes @19:25! 🎶 🕺 track name?

only 70 subscribers :( I am so glad that you are back on youtube.

Thanks so much for the transparency it was great to see stats from another KZfaq channel. I think the Click Through Rate at 2% is low but I don't know to be honest. I like to see mine between 7-10% not even sure if that is any good but that is my goal. Cheers.

I'm relating on an age bracket, Bloke and self doubt rollercoaster level, I get why the Demographisc is a bit (LOT) lopsided. Length is fine, some dont stay long at all that brings the view duration down, just don't go too long, some of my visits have been 'oh 20 minutes, I will have to come back later'. Keep being positive for those reching out, love your work. Chil

It was interestimg, really liked the photo from the assignment. See the stats is fine, go ahead and analyze and profile me. I feel your strong suit is helping others, please don't forget that..

If content is interesting, I’ll view to the end. Just keep doing what you’re doing. 👍

Keep on keeping on! Really enjoying watching your videos. I was drinking wine along with you, i can’t let you drink alone 😉

Man, waiting for the next video, i said i'd watch, you said you'd post =D

Yeh love Stuff and Things...........

playlists of your stuff . yes! by subject

Great work Zack! Big fan, watching your latest videos is inspiring me to create content for my niche. I have some initial ideas now, once I get it all fleshed out, it would be great to get some feedback after I launch!

One of the apparently few women who watch your channel fairly regularly (and I LOVE that there's so little "fluff" - I hate that people drone on for 5 minutes about personal matters before getting into content...so thank you!!). A few thoughts on female viewership. First, from what I've heard, the photography world in-general has more of a male presence than a female one, so changing that in the larger photography community will help change your own M:F ratio as well. With that context in-mind, I think your videos tend to be highly analytical and serious. Rules and critiques and...maybe look at getting a bit lighter with your content. Personality-wise, you get down to business. If you look at PixImperfect, he always looks happy to be shooting his videos. He's warm and welcoming. Sometimes you look at bit...depressed. Another thought: the thumbnail on your videos is (almost) always a picture of you. And other than the intro, the videos are just you sitting in your home/office. More variety would be good. I'd suggest showing some of your own work (justify your expertise), showing more of other people's work (this helps you connect with your viewers), shoot things in other locations, and bring other people into your videos. Bringing in people from your network is one of the fastest ways to tap into their viewers as well. Just stay genuine with it (you already do a great job with this). Collaborate with people you respect. Collaborate with people who invigorate and inspire you (this will help show a bit more of your playful side). One last tip is really just to continue focusing on what YOU are doing rather than worrying so much about what your viewers want to see. Keep being true to yourself. You will attract viewers who value what you're already doing rather than trying to force yourself into a mold. You've only got 33 videos out - you're really just getting started! Let me know if you want to connect and chat more! :)

Hey Zack! I’ve been working at getting my channel off the ground and thanks to this current pandemic (and guys like you) I have the free time to create more content and will be uploading more frequently. I would love for you and others to see it. 👍

Zack you’re the man,I was back home for the Easter weekend and I was board shi###ss so I thought I’ll have a few beers and get the camera out and then the wife came in from work winging about she wanted to dye her hair so the camera thing never happened anyway she dyed her hair and their was a bit of dye left a couple of more beers and then I thought bollocks I’ll dye my hair bear in mind I’m 54now let’s say it’s a little bit coppery I just thought I would share that with you all I think all the guys and gals that subscribe to this channel have so much talent where just living in a strange time at the moment love the channel cheers

Great video Zack! Love the format. Not over produced. You are an inspiration for my channel too. Would love to have you on my podcast also. Let’s connect! Cheers! 🤘🏻

Ok! Suggestion for project: Self-portraits! A classic genre and one we can do while locked away in alone a cupboard. (I turned 70 on Wednesday (yep, I'm one of your 10% old farts) and I decided to record myself on that day.) Regarding content: The moment I feel someone is producing content to up their stats I unsubscribe, so keep doing what you're doing Zack. On depression - it's a horrible condition which can be crippling. You talking about it will help many people.

Your videos are a fine length. Just keep doing what you're doing and don't let the stats dictate how you do what you do. Your authenticity, combined with your expertise, is why I enjoy your content (and I like you). You would lose some authenticity if you made decisions based on these stats. On the other hand, that gender divide is crazy. I don't know how you change it, but 70/30 sounds like a good goal.

I’ve only recently found your channel and look forward to each video. I do wonder if your viewing time is affected by various things. I stop the video when I get phone calls or other things happen and sometimes I accidentally hit the next video button if I move my ph. And for your stats I’m 55 and female lol

the idea is to be informative... which you are by the bucketful ... we like to learn about your style and the way you light... I am a Strobist today because I learned your way of lighting I learned the gear and learned how to light... what happened was the gear became a secondary thought process 3 speedlights and 3 stands... my camera body 2 lenses and 1 trigger...and I pay my bills. Noti in this time frame but yeah... I used to ;) ... corona sucks.

Zack, would love to see other books in your show. Which photographers (portraits of course) do you believe have some of the most inspirational books out in the world? I just received Chris Buck's, "Uneasy" which I am enjoying. But want to hear from you about how we can stay inspired and perhaps motivated (without going into the "I will always suck - mode" of things in life). Thanks!

Brilliant video Zack ! Really needed to hear some of these things. I am under personal stress because of this COVID19 new world we live in, and just thinking how on earth am I going to make money while I sit at home ? At the same time there is this strange pressure to be productive during this time which is weighing heavy on me. I am just taking the time to absorb what is going on out there and around me instead. I hope to eventually get cracking on being creative and productive.

Just a quick one; based on my knowledge in social media marketing, If your impressions or reach are over 1-1.5%? you are above average, especially in photography. Think about it like this. 1% that's 70 Million of the world's population that you've gained the attention of and if you can convert and retain just 0.1% of those 70 Million as subscribers (which ironically you have) that will result in 70K subs. To me, anyone in the photography space with at least 50k subs... shoot even 10K on any one of the four major platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & KZfaq) is doing god damn well in the social space. I only just hit 3K this weekend after 4 years on my Instagram but I am still hitting that 1% average, on VERY rare occasions 2 or 3% But Zack, you've got a solid platform. I certainly wouldn't stress out even from your long hiatus - you will be good for a very long time

Just do what you wanna do.... and people that like your content will watch it and that would be a lot of people cuz your content is good!!

Zack, don't change of you are. You have a beautiful personality. You are honest about your struggels. Many of us don't have the guts to admit of what they are fighting with. However, don't try live in past but now. Looking at your stats... why should we be looking at your stats? Just be as you are and you will organically grow. You have nearly 75k followers - this is a beautiful number already. Also what do you want to become? A youtuber or do you still want to be a photogapher? Being honest, I am in the same boat as you are. For all my life I am dealing with things the world is sigmatising about. I am different because of whatever reason. I am trying to find means to change myself but I always fail because I force it and it does not come natural. Yes, I am photographing too... but /*-*-/#$#%%$%$# You have many talents: Your voice is pleasing to listen to. You are a photographer. Your stage appearance comes across natural and without fear. You have taught me a few things in the past. You have family.

Not sure how the statistics about the view duration work, but from a user endpoint I open longer videos multiple times. I absolutely love longer videos, especially when I do a coffee break from my own projects or when I do work where I don't have to concentrate too much I like to watch them in the background. But because of that, my behavior is often like that: 1) I go through my youtube subscriptions (which are sorted / filtered by category / topic thanks to a wonderful extension from a Romanian guy) and open the videos that seem to interest me in tabs 2) Throughout the day i start watching them when I've time. Sometimes i open one that is very long but I've just a short moment, so i stop it and keep it to watch later. 3) Often i don't get to watch all at the same day, so my browser will open and reload the tabs the next day again and at some point of the day, I really enjoy watching the longer videos. It takes me much longer to actually see them, but they're also the ones that i appreciate the most because i keep them for my "relax times". So depending on how the KZfaq statistics work it might count me as one person that watched the video for the full length, or it might count like 2-4 attempts where i stopped watching and 1 attempt where i watched the whole length.

I would like to make a comment about the stats, as someone who is following you and gets inspired by your videos or posts, during the last 6 years. Yes, stats matter but is not everything. Yes, it's good to be aware of the length of your videos and maybe edit them a bit more but what really matters is your personal style. Your honesty, your straightforwardness, your unconventional ways of sharing your opinion, your gestures, your pauses, your expressions, cannot be measured or described by stats. You can't control the ability of focus or engagement of a viewer of your channel. It's not your business to do that, after all. What you CAN do though, is to continue creating content that YOU enjoy and it's closer to your truth. That is the content that is most interesting and inspiring to us too. 😉 After all, KZfaq stats for a youtuber is like EXIF data for a photographer. You know very well IF and HOW MUCH they matter. One thing about playlists: you can see them as a way to categorize the different types of your videos, so that someone new to your channel can find more of what likes the most.

Sophie's image reminds me of Gilmar Smith's work. 👍💯

❤️

I'm female and a follower ! Think a lot of photography channels are very 'lad ish', and either mucking about too much or being far too techy. In general I'd say us females tend to want more creative content, but that's just my opinion. Hope this helps

Hi zack, your should aim for a ctr between 6-10%.... and I'm below 1000subs, french Canadian channel. Old photographer turned web developer and now doing youtube spare time... keep on the good work !

I would love to see a video about your current equipment

I enjoyed the assignments you used to give in the beginning days of dedpxl.com. Instead of reviewing all of them, maybe you could pick a few to discuss. Best, most interesting, one with potential but not quite there yet....

Hey Zac I'd be interested in what you determine to be the key stats there is a hell of a lot there. I've not long started (99 subs) with my Chanel mainly because I wanted to teach myself some basic editing techniques etc. It's been a steep learning curve where I quickly learned audio really matters! I'm basically doing the fix one thing at a time method to learn as I go. On the watchtime I think the average viewer watching 50% is pretty damn good. The way KZfaq serves up content probably means you get loads of clicks who watch for a very short time before realising it's not what they are looking for pulling the average time right down, which means a hell of a lot of people are watching to very close to the end.....just my interpretation! Hope you do a follow up on what you've learned

Assignment: portrait of a person using a mix of continuous light and a little bit o' flash.

Hey Zack, proud member of the 3.8% women audience here! I don't think this is anything to do with you or your content, which I've loved and learned from for many years. You shoot commercial work, which is *still* very much a male area of the business. You deal with serious lighting, which often means serious studio space and/or an assistant, and lots of women photographers are (or were, until two weeks ago) shooting events, families, etc. - retail work (and there are plenty of cultural reasons for that, I think PDN did something on the subject a couple of years ago?) and no studio space. So I think the content most women are looking for is just more geared toward those areas. (And don't get me started on "natural light photographers" lol.) I regularly still recommend your CreativeLive courses (oh please tell me you get some sort of percentage for those) to anyone who says they want to learn about lighting, and I've never heard anyone say, nah, I didn't get much out of that guy. It's impossible not to learn from you. But it's less relevant to most of the women photographers than in-person sales, etc (or basically anything CreativeLive does *these days*). So I honestly don't know what you could do to change that, while still addressing what you actually do. It's just a bigger issue than you. Also, you're very real, and frankly, not everyone comes to KZfaq for *real.* Unicorns and rainbows sell, as well as guys making coffee for the first three minutes of their videos. I'm looking forward to the burnout video, especially now when I'm as frustrated as everyone else. I have a brand new portfolio, stacks of promo mailers ready to go out, I'm all dressed up and no place to go. I spent December to February shooting new work for this. I'm afraid to even address the damn things, because I assume there are so many layoffs to come (it's already happening at the major talent agencies, the ad world will be next) that who knows who will still be working at these places in 3 months or whenever we're let out of photo jail. Those are hard truths, and most people just don't want to talk about it.

Zack I really think that it all comes to one thing... the amount of content you put on there. Unfortunately quantity > quality... my channel for example, gets a positive critique in general but the amount of people that see them are very very few. Btw I design and make fine furniture by hand

Hawke Danger!?!? Wow!

Hey Zack just so you know the boxed wine was invented in Australia. If you want to sound Aussie we refer to them as "Goon Bags!"