Episodes

I have always had a love / hate relationship with Lightroom, meaning 20% love and 80% hate. There are just parts of this app that drive me crazy, or seem like they’re designed by someone that has never edited a photo in their life, or used a computer, or knows what a mouse is. Recently however, one feature has completely changed how I do my edits… Masking. Lightroom has had masks for a while, but a few recent updates have really taken them to the next level. On this episode I want to share how ...

Corporate portraits can be challenging. Everything from tight spaces and limited time, to a mix of personalities and desired goals, the photographer has to become the fixer. Adding to that, telling the story of what someone does in a single photo might be one of the most difficult things you’ll ever have to do. When it comes to these types of commercial shoots, there are many possible directions you can go. Some people opt for the traditional portrait, the ones against a backdrop. Others try to...

LA based photographer Ian Spanier was first on the show back in 2019 for a conversation about Classic Portraits & Classic Lighting, discussing a portrait of actor Jeff bridges. His lighting style immediately struck me as something so classic, and timeless. Since then, Ian and I have become friends, and when he was invited to do a lighting workshop for the photography students at California Baptist University in my hometown he invited me to sit in. Watching his laid back style was inspiring. Ian ...

I get guest suggestions often, very often in fact, and almost all of them are for amazing photographers, but on occasion the suggestion stops me in my tracks. On those very rare occasions, no matter where I am or what I am doing, the photographer is so good that I need to ask them to be on the show right then. This is an example… On April 13th I saw that I had a DM on Instagram from Jaime (@elespaiz) making a suggestion that I do a show about a specific image, a global publicity photo for “Jura...

Alex Buisse is an adventure photographer based out of Alberta, Canada, but it would seem that Chamonix, France has his heart – at least photographically. Alex is a climber, but around the same time he fell in love with that, he also fell into photography. The combination of those two passions allows Alex to create some absolutely stunning photographs. These two disciplines seem to feed each other, and by Alex’s own admission have caused him to climb bigger and wilder mountains so that he would ...

At WPPI this year I ran into Vanessa Joy, my first time meeting her in person. We chatted about the classes and workshops she was doing at the conference, and the friend I was with suggested that I get her on the show again. I had such a great time when Vanessa was on the show the first time, talking about how to Elevate Your Wedding Photography, that when she agreed to do it I jumped at the chance. As I was thinking about this show, I knew that I wanted to do something different than the first...

George Schaub is a photographer’s photographer, and that may be the best compliment I can give anyone. George has a been a professional photographer since 1966, when he was the House photographer for promotion, brochures, and events at International House, NYC – and he’s been a writer for almost as long. From the 1970s through the 2000s his career took off, with articles published in Studio Photography magazine, followed by articles and illustrations in the New York Times Sunday Arts and Leisur...

Rick Sammon has said that he specializes in not specializing, and I am seeing that approach to photography more often. Today’s guest is Will Cadena, and his portfolio include Weddings, Bar / Bat Mitzvahs, Corporate Events, Commercial work, and Cinematography, and the entire body of work is world class. Will brings a sense of space to his images, with subjects that pop off the background. His lighting never leaves the subjects without their environment, while at the same time keeping the backgro...

A few days ago Jeremy Lanthorn (@Snackem on Twitter) sent me a guest suggestion: @stevebrazill check out @LeviVentura_ and this shot of @GableSteveson at the NCAA wrestling tournament. Would make a great BTS episode. I get a lot of guest suggestions, and while I reach out to most of them, many never answer back. In this case, I replied to the tweet, Levi Ventura answered back almost instantly, and here we are with a new show. I wasn’t familiar with Levi before this, but I hope more people will...

NOTE: This is not an official Nikon USA show. This is a podcast first and foremost, and Nikon was kind enough to allow my guest, Mark Cruz, to come speak about the Nikon AF system options. This is not intended to be a technical training, but a conversation with Mark to better understand the choices you have in customizing the current line of Nikon camera AF systems. Obviously, there are still some constraints here. I try to keep the shows at a reasonable length – for some behind the scenes reaso...

I don’t think Dr. Larry Tiefenbrunn, or Dr. T as he’s known to many, ever sleeps. Larry is a practicing pediatrician, and active photographer, and he’s the founder and CEO of Platypod. I first met Larry through Rick Sammon, and we have been friends ever since. His company Platypod makes some of my favorite photo accessories – the larger Platypod Max and the smaller Ultra, one of which is next to me every show. Their most recent product is the Platyball, a unique bullhead available in the Ergo a...

I get guest suggestions on a very regular basis, and most of the time I actually do follow through on them. Unfortunately, I often don’t get any response. Periodically however I not only get a reply, but we end up with a great show. That is the case with this episode, and describing my guest is going to take a bit of setup… A few days ago I received an email from a gentleman named Michael Ryno. I don’t know Michael personally, but his email caught my eye. He mentioned a photo group that is near...

These last few years of the pandemic have been an interesting time. While I would definitely hope to not do it again any time soon, there are a few things that have come out of the pandemic that have been amazing. One of those are the various virtual photographer hangouts I have been invited to, and the amazing people I have met through them. In one of these Zoom hangouts I met William Snyder, who was on the show with his Stevie Ray Vaughn album cover image, and in the same hangout I was also in...

NOTE: This is not an official Canon USA show. This is a podcast first and foremost, and Canon was kind enough to allow my guest, Rudy Winston, to come speak about the Canon AF system options. This is not intended to be a technical training, but a conversation with Rudy to better understand the choices you have in customizing the current line of Canon camera AF systems. Obviously, there are still some constraints here. I try to keep the shows at a reasonable length – for some behind the scenes re...

I feel like I have been studying Joe McNally’s work since I first picked up a camera, so this should be the easiest show post I have ever done. He is an absolute master of light, and I own his “The Language of Light” Volume One, I need to get Volume Two. I have watched classes through KelbyOne and CreativeLive, and twice I have sat at the end of his PhotoshopWorld Keynotes wishing it wasn’t over. Yeah, this should be easy. But no, this is a tough one. Joe McNally is a legend, and most anyone yo...

David Bergman is a legend in the world of concert photography, and he is someone I have looked up to for a long time. That may be the best summary of David I can come up with, that I am a fan, and honored to call him a friend. For those not aware of David’s work, David is a New York based commercial photographer and photo educator who specializes in action, music and portraiture photographer. David is one of the rare talents that can pull off any genre of photography. He is also a world class e...

I have the feeling that Sam Abell has more stories than almost any photographer you know. Thirty-four years as a staff and contract photographer at National Geographic tends to have that effect. Sam is an Ohio based teacher, artist, and photographer. I would argue that his magic is that those three skills merge to create, in Sam, the perfect storyteller. His story started like many of my guests, learning photography from his father. It was after graduating from the University of Kentucky that ...

I have followed Zack Whitford on Instagram for as long as I can remember, in fact I think he was one of the first I followed after joining Instagram. You know how you have photographers whose work you like because it makes you feel an emotion, just makes you smile? Well, Zack is one of those photographers whose work speaks to me on multiple levels. His images span from travel and humanitarian, to rock stars and red carpets, and all of it, every single image, makes me stop. For some, I just love...

Usually, I struggle when I write these. To start with, I’m not a writer, but more importantly I want each post to convey to you how much I admire the guest I am writing about. Today however, I gained inspiration from my guest, Leah Horstman. Leah is someone I have followed on Instagram for a long time, and a prime example of when Instagram helps me find new creatives to follow. She was a music photographer whose work I admired, so following her @lah_rockshots accounts was a given, but then the ...

Trying to write a post about Ryszard Horowitz has proven to be tougher than I had imagined. Ryszard Horowitz is a legend, literally. His life, and his journey through the art of photography, is almost impossible to distill down to a blog post. There is simply no way I do him, and his legacy, justice here. Still, I will try… Ryszard Horowitz was born in Krakow, Poland four months before the Nazis invaded his homeland, and his entire family ended up being sent to a series of concentration camps. ...

If you’ve been watching the show for a while then you may have seen the “Aurora and the Night Sky” episode with Dave Williams. Dave is a travel photographer, based out of London, and one of the most adventurous people I know. More on that in a minute. I met Dave by chance a few years ago at Photoshop World. I was interviewing people in a hallway when I asked two people walking by if I could ask them some questions (they kindly said yes). What I didn’t realize at the time is that it was Dave Wil...

I first met Australian music photographer Michelle G Hunder when she was a guest on the Sunday Night Photographer Hangouts I used to do with Adam Elmakias. We had such great time on those shows. After hanging out with Michelle there, I started watching her Twitch channel, where she does everything from workshops and viewer challenges, to interviews with some amazing photographers. As big as Michelle is on Twitch, it’s her photography that has gotten her where she is today, and the designation a...

The Canon EOS R3 looks to be a beast of a camera. Like so many others, I want this camera, and like 99% of those people I won’t be buying one. Why? Because the Canon EOS R3 is for people like Jeff Cable. Ok, also because it’s more than I can afford for what I shoot, and yes, I would buy it in an instant if I could, but for now I am sticking with the not buying it. So, why do I say it’s for people like Jeff Cable? Jeff is the market this camera is made for. I won’t go through all the specs here,...

Periodically I get a guest on Behind the Shot that makes me nervous. This episode is one of those moments. Wish me luck… David Hume Kennerly is a legend. In fact, I would wager money that other ‘legends’ look to David Hume Kennerly as the standard by which they are judged. All of that is to say that there is no ‘starting point’ when trying to explain the photojournalist David Hume Kennerly. Still, the blog is here, and I have to start somewhere. Travel with me back to 1972… (insert way back ma...