Photzy Action Cards Review

This is a guest review of the Photzy Action Cards by freelance photographer Polina Raynova.

Have you ever found yourself feeling overwhelmed while sitting on your desk with a bunch of tabs opened on your browser, striving to learn new photography skills or simply trying to get a better understanding of those “leading lines”?

The more time you spend on educating yourself and watching tutorials the more time you’re missing out on being outside and actually putting this stored knowledge into practice.

Now, there’s no doubt that making an effort to improve your photography skill-set is crucial, but is there a more fun and engaging way to learn new things, something more light-hearted and game-like?

The guys from Photzy, a renowned photography community, already have an answer to this question.

If you’d like to learn more about their innovative idea and their newest project called the Photzy Action Cards, you’ve come to the right place!

What are the Photzy Action Cards?

As its title suggests, the Photzy Action Cards want you to go out there and explore – they send you on a quest of discovery so that you can learn how to apply the basic rules in your own way.

Here’s what you get when you purchase the Action Cards:

1. The “Genre” Action Cards set

This consists of 31 Cards. Among the topics you’ll find: Landscape photography, Low Key Photography, Minimalist Photography, and many other useful topics.

2. The “Composition” Action Cards set

This one will guide you through the depths of the basic rules of composition. The topics provide useful insights on Understanding Color Contrast, Secrets of Patterns or How to Convey Texture.

It also includes a couple of free bonuses, that help you to plan each topic, and teach some additional steps along the way.

• Free Bonus 1: Action Cards lesson plan or how to tackle the tasks in the most efficient way.
• Free Bonus 2: Video tutorial about reflectors and other self-made lightning gear that you can build from scratch.

If we think about what got us interested in photography in the first place, lots of us are probably going to give similar answers.

Being a photographer means you’re an explorer, you see the world in your own way and you want others to take a peek at your version of life around you.

The Photzy Action Cards are designed to tickle your adventurous spirit – to get you to learn the rules, because yes, rules are important, but what matters the most is how you apply them to your work.

Let’s take a closer look at one of the Action Cards and see what the logic is behind them:

• An estimate of time and skills you’ll need to complete the task
• A short summary of what the Cards are about and a Key Lesson
• A few sample images for inspiration 
• Suggested equipment that you’ll need
• Useful tips to get you started, along with recommended camera settings
• The assignment itself
• A “How did you do section?”

Each of the Cards is constructed in the same way, giving you both various tasks to conquer and valuable tips & tricks on how to turn it into a successful photo shoot.

Photzy Action Cards | Pros

1. A way to Stir your Imagination

For me personally, this would be where the greatest advantage of the Action Cards lie. We’ve all been expected to “think outside” the box at some point in our photography career. The truth is this more easily said than done especially if you surround yourself with conventional ways of learning and interacting with the world.

The Action Cards give you a different perspective on how to enrich your skills, and maybe this can be the “kick-starter” you need to boost your creativity.

It doesn’t really matter if you’re an experienced amateur photography or an absolute beginner – both sides can benefit, and everyone needs to practice their art.

I’ve been into photography since I was a teenager and I’ve also studied it in university, but still when I opened up the Card “How to convey texture”, it made me think about how many different surfaces there are within hand’s reach.

The leaves of the plant next to the nearest window, the shiny teaspoon in your cup, or even the glossy fur of your pet dog – how often do you notice these on a daily basis? The Action Cards motivate you to get out and photograph things around you.

2. Beautiful Design

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but let’s face it… everyone who loves photography has a special attitude towards ‘covers’!

The Photzy Action Cards definitely do come in quite an eye-pleasing design. I really like the breakdown of the different sections and how information is organized as a whole. 

Also, the sample images are on point, relevant to each particular task – they give you a good idea of what a well-thought-out photo should look like.

All in all, the Cards grab the reader’s attention to the point where you feel challenged to try out these ideas on your own.

3. Chance to Involve other Photographers & Share knowledge 

At the bottom of each Action Card there’s self-check system where you can evaluate your own achievements yourself.

What you can also do is bring another (or more than one) fellow photographer to the game, so that you have the opportunity to review each other’s work.

In this way, you’ll definitely set the bar for achievement even higher, and the level of involvement will change for the better too. 

Being a photographer may sometimes become a bit of a lonely endeavor and with these Action Cards, you have the chance to socialize with other photographers, and even build your own community where you push each other to be better at what you do, then share the experience. 

Photzy Action Cards | Cons

Finding minus points about the Action Cards was honestly a bit hard, since I genuinely love the product and the whole idea behind it.

One small area that could be improved is the way the Action Cards are actually distributed to you. When you purchase them from here, you end up having 65 files PDF files that you’re responsible for printing. 

On the one hand it’s a positive thing since you can just upload the digital files to your phone, tablet or computer, but on the other hand if you want to print them out, it will involve additional costs.

If you decide to print them on a budget you will soon find out that using a high quality paper and good color printer is essential to maintain the premium feel that the design leaves you with. 

As a solution to this, I’d suggest the product could have two different editions: one with digital files only (which might be cheaper), and one with physically printed cards where the cards are at their best both paper and colorwise. This edition could also have a collectable value.

Photzy Action Cards | Discount Price

I thought about including the cost of the Actions Cards as a Pro, but since everyone’s budget is different, I decided to leave it for you to decide.

The Cards were launched for over $300, which I honestly think is astronomical. However, I’m happy to announce that Photzy are now offering them for the hugely discounted price of just $39 – quite the reduction! (I just hope it’s still available when you read this.)

I got my calculator out to discover this is an 88% discount! No wonder they’re selling like hot cakes – if you check out the sales page for more than a second, you’ll see ‘Someone from XYZ just purchased the Action Cards’…

At first I thought this was a smart marketing gimmick, but it turns out that every purchase is ‘Verified by Proof’, a company that prides itself on reporting on genuine sales.

Basically it means that someone around the world is buying the Photzy Action Cards every 2 seconds, which is a great indicator as to the amazing value for money offer that’s available right now… or at least, when I wrote this.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Cards have a 365 day money back guarantee, but judging by the Facebook comments and happy testimonials (also verifiable), it’s highly unlikely you’ll need it.

Photzy Action Cards Review | Final Thoughts

Although the Action Cards have a minor disadvantage mentioned above, I think Photzy have definitely created a great product.

Its originality is something that few products nowadays can achieve, particularly in the saturated ‘learn photography‘ market.

In my opinion the Cards are both suitable for beginners and for more advanced photographers, especially if more than one person is involved in the tasks. 

‘Learning through play’ has proved to be the best educational method, but somehow it hasn’t been very popular in the photography world.

If you’d like to change that, test yourself and others, you can accept the challenge and try the Action Cards for yourself. Ready! Set! Go!

Disclaimer: All recommendations are impartial and based on user experience, with no bias to the products or the brand. The products in this post may contain affiliate links.