Podcast
Photo Forward
Hosted by Ben Brewer · EN
The Photo Forward Podcast explores the stories BEHIND some of the greatest visual storytellers in the world. From their photographic origins, to finding work-life balance as creative professionals, to how to actually make a living as a photographer, videographer, or multimedia creator — we uncover what makes them tick and their shutters click.
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Episodes
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#025: Pivoting Your Work to Find Your Worth | Paul Gero
Apr 20, 202201:03:40Tap to summarizeHave you ever stepped back in your career, whether you’re a visual creator or not, and thought, “Well, shit… is this it? Is this really as good as it gets? Is this what I want to be doing for the next X years of my life?” Don’t worry, that’s a positive thing (despite however dark night of the soul it may feel like in the moment) And, you are definitely not the only one feeling that way.In the business and corporate world, (yes I know a lot of you will bristle at the very mention of that word, but here me out) there’s a really common expression or phrase that so encapsulates today’s episode – “When you get to the top of the ladder you may find it is propped against the wrong wall.” Today’s episode is all about examining your ladder and things aren’t feeling right, knowing how to jump to the right ladder to take you to the top.Paul Gero is a portrait and wedding photographer and has been working professionally for over 35 years.Prior to creating a portrait and wedding business he was a photojournalist for two major metropolitan newspapers (The Chicago Tribune and The Arizona Republic)and photographed thousands of assignments from pro sports, business portraits, documentary stories to general assignment work. His images have been published in magazines around the world during his career.He has been a Sony Artisan of Imagery since 2014 and speaks often about Sony mirrorless cameras at professional gatherings.He and his wife Nicki run their business from their home base in Lake Mills, WI (his home state) after nearly 17 years in Southern California while raising their two children Kate and Sparky. Documenting their lives is his favorite and most personal photography project.In today’s wide-ranging and beautifully encompassing episode, Paul and I explore his photographic career and transition from staff photojournalist to freelance business owner, how moving from California to Wisconsin taught him about the power of truly local visual storytelling, what mistakes younger photographers are constantly making, and how he created a beautifully simple execution of a personal project safely in the midst of a global pandemic.
Transcribe →#024: Plus, Minus and Equals of Growth and Connection
Apr 17, 202200:17:34Tap to summarizeSo, this is an episode I’ve been wanting to share for such a long time. Like seriously probably a solid year when I heard about this concept for interpersonal connections and growth that clicked in such a profound way for me when I was able to tie it back to places in time of my own creative journey.Alright, so what is this Plus, Minus, Equals concept and why does it matter? Put simply, a key way to ensure you’re growing in your career (or really ANY area of your life you could apply this principle to) is deliberately creating connections with people way ABOVE your level, way BELOW your level, and RIGHT AROUND your level of (insert skill or proficiency here). You might hear all that and think, “Well, duh? Of course you want to have a variety of folks in your circle”. Well, obviously yes, but think RIGHT NOW to your closest connections in a particular space (say your department, one of your hobbies/passions outside the office, or even just close friends). And tell me honestly how many of those circles truly contain a variety of skill levels? Chances are pretty slim that’s a damn near homogenous group. If you’re one of the many photographers listening to this episode, for example, do you really have any newbies or photo students in your close contacts? Or vice versa, how many world-class, awarded photographers could you honestly say is a connection you could call upon? If you have trouble answering either of those questions, trust me, you are so far from the only one. As we settle into our careers (creative disciplines, media or otherwise) we aggressively run the risk of our networks and connections becoming calcified into “people like me” who “think and do things like I think and do” (The brilliant marketing mind Seth Godin has a word for that – CULTURE)Okay, I say that a bit tongue in cheek, but it’s true. The farther along in our career and and personal lives we get, we fall into ruts of what we do and who we spend time with the most (not all in a bad way, but far more often and even a little insidiously, in a mindless, unintentional way).So, let’s break down the three elements of the Plus, Minus, Equal philosophy of connections and how it can make such a difference in your own growth and development.PLUS:While the word gets bandied about way too damn much for anyone’s liking and has nearly lost the gravity and importance that it used to have, PLUS in this model of connection and growth is really referring to the concept of Mentorship – or at the very least, learning from individuals in your field who have objectively created and achieved more than where you’re currently at (no shade here, it’s just a fact that you’re always going to be outpaced and outachieved by plenty of people. Just the same way you’ll outpace and out achieve plenty of folks in turn, but more on that later).In my mind, the key benefit of connecting and communicating with folks above your weightclass as it were in your field or in the particular skill you’re looking to grow in is this: hard learned lessons minus the struggle. As the old saying goes : “Only a fool learns from their own mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others”.Now there’s nothing quite like the teacher that is failure/struggle/pain/etc., but connection with an advanced figure in your field is a damn close second. And more often than not, can help you illuminate the “unknown unknowns” and pitfalls one couldn’t possibly see coming. The trite analogy would be the idea of summiting Mount Everest. Instead of learning lessons yourself (cough, frostbite, cough), wouldn’t you rather start on a solid foundation of learning from those who had come before in place of reinventing the wheel so to speak. Realistically however, each of these kinds of connection do come with a handful of pitfalls and the PLUS category of individuals can be one of the most sneakily detrimental to growth if you’re not careful.Put simply, you’re going to get rejected, shot down, and ignored by folks farther along in career or skill level. A LOT. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with that (they’re leading busy, accomplished lives and most won’t have the time to connect on a cold email/phonecall with a junior person they may never have met). On top of that, if you as the reacher-outer don’t approach it in the right way, you’re going to set off all kinds of alarms in the mind and inbox of the PLUS you’re trying to connect with – Hot take, if you use the word “mentor” or “mentorship” explicitly or throw out a phrase like “pick your brain”, you’re going to have a BAD TIME. Second, another pitfall of connecting with PLUS folks is objectivity. And what I mean by objectivity is this – The tendency in all sorts of industries or skills is to view the folks at the proverbial “mountaintop” as larger than life. As such, the real thing to avoid is any and all kinds of HERO WORSHIP. You can see through that kind of insincerity a mile away. If the kind of person you’re reaching out to needs you to butter them up to build a rapport and to open the door to learn from them, they are NOT the kind of person you want to learn and grow from. We’re all multifaceted beings and to distill them down to the pinnacle of their career or skill is not only super reductive to them as an individual, but once you lose that objectivity, how are you going to be able to think critically about the lessons and insights you might get? So where do you go from there with the PLUS folks on your connection quest? Make a list of 20 people in your industry or skill that you would want to connect with and, for each, nail down EXACTLY what the scope of that learning would be – specific and relevant enough that they’ll be able to understand why you reached out to them in particular. Better yet, do you have any mutual connections who might be able to reach out and make a no-pressure introduction? From there, if you’re fortunate enough for one or two folks to respond, you can try to build that relationship OVER TIME. (and just as a cheeky aside, there’s a really big part of the photo forward podcast that grew out of a need for more PLUS folks in my circles through interviewing brilliant visual creators, through the magic of technology, all around the globe that I may never have the chance to meet in person)MINUS:Alright, now that we’ve cleared out the hero worship and fawning over the greats, let’s move on to what I think is arguably the most important group to build connections with – the MINUS folks. Like I mentioned on the PLUS group, there’s nothing inherently negative or problematic with talking about a MINUS population who aren’t as skilled or far along as you. Just facts. So why would you want to grow connections with those who are objectively less skilled than you? In my mind, the true benefit of building these kinds of cross-skilled relationships is both a little counterintuitive, but super obvious when you spell it out. TEACHING (or as it’s been coined referring to teaching folks only slightly behind where you are “The Protege effect”. One of the most brilliantly simple and effective quotes that typifies this is the old (possibly) Albert Einstein adage “If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.” What makes a teacher a teacher is their ability to understand complex topics in such detail and with such alacrity that they can translate that domain-specific knowledge into lectures with students who know relatively far less. And not bore them to tears in the process.Once you yourself cease to be in the group of complete newbies on a topic or in a career field, you really do owe it to the world to give back to the collective knowledge and growth of the “next generation” in your area. I wouldn’t be anywhere close to the achievements I’ve gotten without learning from those above me, so to actively neglect that to those less far along than you is hard to describe as anything less than unwise (if you’re being generous) or (let’s call a fucking spade a spade) selfish and gatekeeping. So what could possibly go wrong with getting a deep understanding of your skills and teaching the up-and-comers? Well, in my mind, there’s really only one potential downside to over-indexing in the MINUS group of folks for connection and growth. It’s definitely possible to extend yourself too far in this direction and end up spending a disproportionate amount of time being the PLUS for new folks in your field that you end up not keeping pace with the EQUALS or learning your own lessons. If you’re constantly teaching, your’re probably not spending enough time building your own experience and run the risk of stagnating a bit in your own endeavors.Now when we get to action steps, this can be a bit trickier because so many of these interactions require a bit more serendipity and responding to MINUS folks that reach out to you personally. But it doesn’t have to be quite so passive! How you might ask can you manifest these connections into existence? This is where the beauty of Web 2.0 comes into play. If you have a lesson to share, there’s pretty much an unlimited number of ways to get that out into the world through blogs, LinkedIn posts or *wink wink* just start a podcast and put out episodes like this. And more than anything, don’t feel like you have to be a know it all to know enough to teach – You don’t have to have read the entire book, you just need to be a chapter ahead of the students.EQUALS:Last but certainly not least we’re left with the final group in this connection and growth concept – the one we always think of first when you think of networking and skillbuilding your EQUALS. While it’s kind of a duhh section to include in the episode (“Yeah Ben, real fuggin insightful to suggest that you should CONNECT...
Transcribe →#023: A Freelancer's Clarity of Mind | Adam Glanzman
Apr 6, 202200:46:52Tap to summarizeDo you as a photographer ever feel like you’re just not connecting with the right clients? Or that you keep getting assignments/work that just doesn’t light you up or bring you any creative joy to work on? Well, you are so very far from the only one. But it is avoidable, by honing your creative style and making work that draws people in. Put simply, Post eye-catching photos, get eye-catching assignments, put up a generic portfolio – get generic work. Pulling from the world of marketing, there’s a great principle that all photographers can take a cue from and it boils down to this. It’s effective to be better, it’s intriguing to be different, but the best creators of all meld these two facets into their work and are both better and different – That’s what catches the eyes of the public, editors, and art directors and gets you hired.Adam Glanzman is an independent freelance photographer based in Boston and is available for photography and motion work worldwide. He was a Staff Photographer at Northeastern University in Boston where he worked for four years before leaving to expand his own photography business.Adam's work has been recognized by Pictures of the Year International (POYi), the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), the Boston Press Photographers Association (BPPA), the University Photographers Association of America (UPAA), and College Photographer of the Year (CPOY). He was also selected to attend Eddie Adams XXIX.In today’s episode with Adam Glanzmann, he and I go through the development process for his eye-catching style, break down how he made the transition from staff to full-time freelance, and walk through one of his memorable personal projects and how that translated to future paid work assignments. Alright, time for me to get out of the way and let you guys into today’s conversation with freelance photographer. Adam Glanzmann.
Transcribe →#022: Reading Material to Shape your Visual Creativity (and Your Life)
Mar 31, 202200:20:43Tap to summarizeHey Photo Forward listeners — It is the winter (slightly post-holiday) season! A time to step back, reflect on the year behind us (what goddamn wild one…) and look forward to the future and how your photographic work can and should evolve. And yeah, there’s that whole giving of gifts thing… And as my present to you all, the podcast is back delivering weekly episodes on photography, creativity, and making a living as a visual storyteller. Yes, finally at long last after taking a while away from the podcast during 2021 following the unrest in the Twin Cities and examining how to make the show more inclusive, the Photo Forward Podcast is back and will be better than ever. We’ve got some incredible interviews lined up for the coming months and experimenting with new content on the show (Q&A segments/episodes are going to be HUGE, but more on that after the bulk of todays show. Thank you all so much for your patience. So, without further ado, let’s get into this week’s episode on my curated list of five of the best pieces of reading material for you, the photographer, or the visual storyteller in your life. (With a bonus item on the list that should just flat out be required material for every fucking human that’s sufficiently old enough to read it)Hello and welcome to the Photo Forward Podcast, the weekly show where we explore the stories behind some of the greatest photographers and visual storytellers the world over. From their photographic origin stories, to finding work-life balance as creative professionals, to how to actually make a living as a photographer, cinematographer, or multimedia creator — we uncover what makes them tick and their shutters click. I’m your host, Ben Brewer.
Transcribe →#021: A Tapestry of Art For a Visual Voice | Chris McDuffie
Feb 16, 202200:49:19Tap to summarizeOne of the core questions I’m always looking to find answers to on this show is “What makes a brilliant visual creator?” Is it the grasp of technical aspects like lighting, composition, and moment? Or a personal skill or special gift of connecting with individuals in your images? There’s obviously a nearly infinite number of talented photographers out there, so what gives certain shooters a true “visual voice”. Well, today’s guest is such a brilliant example of forging that visual voice, that photographic identity, that brand... by melding artistic influences to create as Aristotle so brilliantly said “A Whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.”Chris McDuffie, born and raised in St. Paul, MN, is the founder and visionary behind Chris McDuffie Photography. Chris became interested in photography while studying Business and Marketing Education at the University of Minnesota, which ultimately led his entrepreneurial spirit to start his own photography business shortly after graduation. He’s since been fortunate to land jobs with companies including: Activision, Cargill, Fairview, North Memorial Hospital, Minnesota Timberwolves, Target, TCF, ESPN, Nike, Bumble, GQ, and the New York Times. WHEW. Chris has been recognized by the MN Fashion Awards in 2015, and the Beautiful Humans Award in 2017.Since beginning his company, it has been his mission to bring creativity, honesty, and humor to both consumers and commercial clients. Being a life-long artist, his creative taste and aesthetic eye has been shaped by a rich tapestry of music, galleries, and theater in the Twin Cities. When not engrossed in work, Chris loves to spend time with his illustrious wife, Vanessa.In today’s episode, Chris and I had such a perfect back and forth about creative inspiration, what it means to constantly re-examine and hone your craft, and so critically building genuine relationships and networks across skills, across genres, and across creative styles to uplift the whole creative community. Time for me to get out of the way and into today’s beautiful episode with commercial and editorial photographer Chris McDuffie.
Transcribe →#020: A Message from Photo Forward
Jun 11, 202000:02:51Tap to summarizeIt’s only been a few short weeks since our last episode, but it already feels like the entire world has been flipped on its head. We all saw and were outraged beyond words at the murder of Goerge Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. Soon after, my city responded to a collective pain, sadness, and anger with protests that engulfed the Twin Cities in the days after Floyd’s death. The message was and is clear: Now is the time for change. Now is the time for justice. I’ve been slow to publicly respond because I wanted to ensure I shared this message as deliberately, clearly, and compassionately as possible. The photography and visual creator industries have long tip-toed around the issues of race, gender, and representation in our visual medium. But to continue on in this podcast and in our communities at large would be a tonedeaf mistake to our reality. Now is a moment and an energy we should not choose to ignore.While it feels strange to say, this podcast and the small community of followers I have online is a platform. And with that comes a responsibility to share, promote and connect with a more diverse group of creators. And though the podcast is still in its infancy, I’ve failed at that. In no uncertain terms, I support the Black Lives Matter movement, inclusion, and justice. And I’m a firm believer that if you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.That is why I’m going to be taking a brief pause from the podcast to connect with a more diverse group of creators to hear their stories, unpack their perspectives, and share their wisdom for all of us – and in so doing, make this podcast and those we serve with it comprise a much larger range of voices.As a person of great privilege in my own life, I’ll keep this short — it’s time for me to talk less and listen more ; More action and less words. So again, I want to thank all of you listeners and subscribers for your patience as I sought to find the words and the actions to be a small part of the solution to dismantling institutionalized racism in our communities. I should have done better months or years ago, but I didn’t. And I apologize for that. My goal for the Photo Forward podcast going forward is to ensure our community of photographers, cinematographers, and multimedia creators is one of inclusion, one of diverse voices, and one that lifts up all members our beautiful visual medium. I look forward to meeting that challenge in the months and years to come on Photo Forward. As always keep seeing, keep clicking, and keep putting your best Photo Forward. Cheers everyone.
Transcribe →#019: Mindful Photography to Change Your Career | Courtney Perry
Apr 23, 202000:54:06Tap to summarizeTo be honest, I didn’t plan on releasing this episode until later on in the summer, but with everything going on with the COVID-19 pandemic, this seems like honestly the MUCH MORE relevant and timely episode to be releasing to you all, the listeners of Photo Forward.These days, being stuck in isolation, a lot of us are being forced to grapple with the question “If I’m not taking photographs, am I still a photographer?” (or insert your applicable verb and profession here). We’re all trying to figure out WHO we are rather than WHAT we are or WHAT we do. That’s a painful process for a lot of us creatives, myself included. And it’s the self-same journey today’s guest has been on for years in, around, and through the photography world — and has some mindful wisdom to share from her experience along the way.Courtney Perry is a photojournalist based in Minneapolis, MN. Formerly a staff photographer at the Dallas Morning News, she now freelances for various local and national clients while based in the Twin Cities. Her home is filled with a spouse, his children, their dogs, and much love.On today’s episode, Courtney and I explore how to enjoy photography without basing your happiness on your work, how she’s been able to build a stable and healthy client-base as a freelancer, and why having a “dark night of the soul” moment in your creative career can be a game-changing event to sharpen your focus as a photographer or multimedia creator. Without any further ado, today’s beautiful and timely interview with photojournalist Courtney Perry.
Transcribe →#018: Photography in an Uncertain Time | Managing Social Distance and Helping Photographers
Mar 18, 202000:27:22Tap to summarizeWell, this is certainly not a podcast episode I thought I'd have to make but it's one that ought to be made. In this time of incredible uncertainty and confusion surrounding Coronavirus and COVID-19, I just wanted to provide a little bit of respite for all of you photographers all of you videographers, with just a few things to keep in mind and ways to come out the other side of this better than when you started.Which I know sounds pretty much impossible right about now. This episode's gonna get into seven ways that you as a photographer or a visual creator can really make the most of this time of social distancing as we try to fight the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. And on top of that,I want to provide some ways to help out some of our freelance brothers and sisters in the visual community, so today's episode is gonna touch on a little bit of all of that.
Transcribe →#017: People Over Pictures | Alyssa Schukar
Mar 11, 202000:52:14Tap to summarizeToday’s episode is all about connections. Not in the smarmy, LinkedIn Request, crap networking sort of way, but in the genuine engagement and empathic authenticity that you can only achieve from true photojournalism greatness. Who better to learn from than a photographer would you self-proclaim to rather be a good person than a great photographer, building meaningful connections with the individuals and building a rapport through words before ever picking up a camera to capture images, today’s guest, Alyssa Schukar is an excellent resource to learn from for any working photographer.Alyssa Schukar is a Washington, DC-based documentary photographer and educator. In her personal work, she is most interested in documenting how the environment and public policies affect communities.She believes photojournalists advance and improve the industry by supporting each other. In 2019, Alyssa and two colleagues launched Prism Photo Workshop, which provides support and advocacy for young photographers of diverse backgrounds (which we’ll get into all the details of in this week’s episode) She is also a returning faculty member of the Missouri Photo Workshop.In this weeks’ episode, we explore the process of transitioning from a staff position to freelancing work across the country, how to deeply connect with the individuals in your photos, even in a fast paced news scenario, and why the art of the personal project (and sharing it with editors) is the ultimate fast track to getting your work seen and being hired for similar jobs. Without any further ado, today’s killer interview with photojournalist Alyssa Schukar.
Transcribe →#016: Getting Closer: The Art of Proxemics in Photography
Mar 4, 202000:08:48Tap to summarizeUnless you’ve been living under a proverbial rock in the photography world, you’ve likely heard the quote attributed to Robert Capa “If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough.” Well, as it so happens, there’s some science behind the photojournalist great’s piece of advice.So, you’ve clicked on this episode of Photo Forward and you’re wondering – what in the hell is “Proxemics” and what could that possibly do for growing my photography career? Let’s dive in and learn a little something about the science of personal space in photographer.Coined way back in 1963, anthropologist Edward T Hall describe the phenomenon of Proxemics as “The interrelated observation and theories of humans use of space as a specialized elaboration of culture.” That’s a bit of word soup, so let's break down the whole system.Essentially, when you're interacting with other folks in your normal day-to-day existence, there's four “ranges” of space between any two people (from farthest to nearest): Public distance (12 to 25 ft), Social distance (4 to 12 ft), Personal distance (1.51 to 4 ft) and (bow chicka bow wow) Intimate distance (1 in to 18 in.)So, while we talk a lot about what lenses we mount to our cameras and what a particular focal length does to our subject matter, we don't often think about the Proxemic effect of the distance we place ourselves as the photographer. Just the same way that the proximity of me to the microphone changes the tone of the audio, the proximity of you to the subject of your photography changes the tone of your image and what it's trying to suggest. Sure, you might love the 85 mm focal length because of how it flatters the human face, but depending on the framing you might be shooting for, the Proxemic effect might be subconsciously telling your viewer something completely different entirely.Let's do a little thought experiment here just to describe what's going on with Proxemics and photography: Let's say you get a call from a client asking you to spend some time shadowing a local business owner (How about a cobbler to keep things interesting!) And capture some lifestyle and editorial images of Chris the cobbler at work. Before you ever set foot in his shop, ideally, you're thinking critically about what you want your viewers to think and feel when they see these images in the article. Regardless of what the shop looks like or what the lighting situation might be — but keeping in mind what your editor wants and needs from a design perspective — you want to put the viewer into the appropriate Proxemic zone- photographing Chris The Cobbler in the public distance of 12 to 25 ft is going to make the viewer feel distant and emotionally disconnected. Or conversely, as friendly as this cobbler might be, there's no editor in the world that wants a photo from the intimate distance range of inside 18” away.But, in a completely different assignment, say a dramatic portrait series focusing deeply in the emotions in gestures of the subject, you'd want to push the limits of the personal distance range around 2 ft to push the limits of your audience and what they can tolerate in their comfort zones. So, we've been diving on deep on how the proxemic distance that you choose regardless of the lens choice can make your audience feel the right emotional connection or disconnection when they see your photos. [Which, as an aside is something that the movie industry knows intricately. Take a look at the side of any cinema lens and you'll see they've got a detailed distance scale to make sure their precisely hitting their optimal subject distances, and obviously getting repeatable follow focus poles along the way.]But back to where I was going before... Studying Proxemics for your photography is going to make a huge difference in another big way in how the individuals that your photographing feel when you are taking the photo. For example, does the subject in the frame have a strong enough level of trust to have you inside that 1 and 1/2 to 4 ft personal distance? Or by photographing in that public distance, or you confusing or alienating the individual as to why you're not engaging in that social four to 12-ft distance?Of course, the caveat all of this is that wall these distances and Proxemics are formed from a number of auditory, haptic, and neurological cues, these distances and ranges vary by culture. So your mileage may vary depending on which state region or country you're listening to this podcast fromSo, what's the action item that you can take from this episode? Well, besides being aware of the Proxemics in your photography here's a fun experiment to analyze your work... Well I would love to tell you guys that Lightroom or PhotoMechanic has a great feature to sort by subject focus distance. But, it looks like they took that feature away, honestly because of how wildly unreliable these figures got embedded into the photo exit data. Womp womp. So, my task to you on your next shoot is to lock your lens in manual focus at the crossover distance between Proxemic ranges like 18 in, 4 ft, and 12 ft and think mindfully about what crossing into one range or another does to your image, your subject, and yourself as a photographer and how you approach your world.As much fun as creating this series in a vacuum and pushing content out into the void is… I want to hear from you guys! Are there topics or guests that you’d LOVE to get on the podcast here in 2020? Or are there some BIG NAGGING QUESTIONS you’ve got on photography or video production that you want me to cover on one of these solo episodes? Hit me up @BBrewerphoto or drop an email to podcast@photoforward.media . I want to make 2020 a much more collaborative, community-focused season of the Photo Forward Podcast and can’t wait to keep creating with you all throughout the year. So, as always — Keep seeing, keep shooting, and keep putting your best Photo Forward. LATER!
Transcribe →