My childhood wonder turned a burning passion that eventually led me to take photos of the Grand Canyon in 2009 on a family trip a drive that took over 24 hours). I snapped pictures of just about everything and was relatively pleased with the work in the moment but, upon reviewing them in the room afterwards, I realized that they were"uninspired". Later into the trip, my family and I visited Las Vegas where I was able to witness a gallery presented by Peter Lik, who is widely regarded as one of the top nature photographers in the world.

Upon seeing Peter's work, I was flabbergasted at the quality and composition of the photos. This was the work of a world-renowned photographer! After visiting the gallery, it was as if a newfound appreciation and understanding of photography became available to me. It was then that I decided to devote my life to the pursuit of making photos that matched Peter Lik's caliber of photography.

After countless hours of reading books on photography, consuming all the content I could... the epiphany came. While cooking for my family, I wondered if I could cook a gourmet 6-course meal, and it hit me! I could do just about any task so long as I had a system, or recipe, to follow. What if there was a recipe to follow to take the best possible photos?

And hence, the Tim Shields' 4-step photography method was born. Upon applying my new method, the photos I took began to gain recognition-people actually wanted to buy them! Once others began to recognize my work, the confidence came, which breathed new life in my passion for photography.I've been able to share my 4-step method with the Photography Academy community and help photographers all over the world take their passion to the next level.