We Are Photographers

Jared Platt is an international wedding, lifestyle and portrait photographer and photographic lecturer. Jared began his studies in photography in documentary and landscapes, but today you will find his images are a perfect blend of the three genres. You can catch him teaching photography, lighting and photo editing at the B&H Event Space, on CreativeLive, on Profoto’s YouTube light shaping series "What's the Difference”, at the Canon Live Learning Center and at international photo conferences around the globe. Jared has been teaching photography for 20 years and has been a working photographer for the last quarter century. In this episode, Jared explores how growing up in a sleepy one horse town shaped his creativity as a musician and a photographer. Instead of becoming the professional musical theater actor/rock star he thought he wanted to be, find out how Jared integrated performing into a career as both a photographer and an educator. We learn about the correlation between excelling at individual spor

Katie Orlinsky has photographed all over the world documenting everything from conflict and social issues to wildlife and sports. Katie’s work has focused on climate change, exploring the transforming relationship between people, animals and the land in the Arctic. Katie is a contributing photographer with National Geographic and her work is frequently published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Smithsonian Magazine. In 2019 she was awarded the Alexia Foundation Professional Grant for her story Chasing Winter.In this episode, Katie shares how an assignment to cover the Yukon Quest - The 1000 Mile International Dog Sled Race in 2014 introduced her to life in the Arctic firsthand. Learn about Newtok, Alaska whose residents will be the first Americans to be relocated because of the effects of climate change. We discuss finding hope in difficult stories and Katie’s project teaching youth mobile photography so that they can tell their own stories in the Arctic. Katie takes us back to her documentary work

Victoria Will began her career in the photography industry as a photojournalist and has since transitioned her focus to celebrity portraiture, editorial, and commercial assignments. Her characteristically authentic portraiture has appeared in the pages of Vogue, New York Times, Rolling Stone, ESPN and W Magazine with commercial campaigns for brands such as Levis, Netflix, Hulu, Bose and Ralph Lauren. Victoria’s first monograph, Borne Back, is a collection of tintype portraits.In this episode, Victoria explores the evolution of her career starting as an intern at the NY Post. We learn about falling in love with the tintype process and why her body of work of intimate portraits of celebrities for her book is still emotional. Find out what challenges have become important life lessons, how perfectionism can get in the way and how Victoria's definition of success has changed over time. We talk about the power of therapeutic horseback riding and what she has learned about being human from her brother with down syn

Colby Brown is a photographer, photo educator, entrepreneur and author. Specializing in landscape, travel and wildlife photography, his body of work spans the four corners of the globe, 80+ countries and covers all 7 continents. He is also the founder of the humanitarian photo organization The Giving Lens, which blends the art form of photography with the focus and purpose of giving back to those in need around the world.If you’ve ever dreamed of a career combining travel and photography, Colby shares the reality of both the joys and the challenges. He describes the euphoric feeling of intimate encounters with silverback gorillas and chimpanzees in Uganda. Learn how Colby’s overcome the often one-sided nature of photographing people while traveling. Hear what important life lessons he’s learned from Mongolian eagle hunters and his son at age 3. We discuss the dichotomy of empathy and apathy, as well as contentment and complacency.This is We Are Photographers with Colby Brown and this is his story.Connect with

Ben Willmore has taught over 100,000 Adobe Photoshop users in person on six continents, not to mention the hundreds of thousands he's taught online. A senior engineer from NASA once said that this man gave the best technical seminar he ever attended. Ben has an uncanny ability to connect with users of every level and mindset; whether it’s first-timers taking their first sniff of Photoshop, or razor-sharp nerds and nerdettes who are on the fast track to technical illumination. The common echo that Ben leaves in his wake seems to be “Aha! I finally GET Photoshop!”In this episode Ben takes us on the road along with his wife Karen, whether that is sailing around the world for 2-3 months at a time or driving their 40-foot vintage bus called Creative Cruiser around the U.S. We learn what first peaked Ben’s interest in both photography and design. Find out how Ben approaches learning something new and why he developed the teaching style that eventually led him to the Photoshop Hall of Fame.This is We Are Photographe

Gary Hughes is a photographer, educator, podcaster and entrepreneur at heart. In 2008 he and his wife, Julie, founded Hughes Fioretti Photography, which is now THE place for headshots in Central Florida. Through both his photography and education, Gary’s mission is to empower photographers and entrepreneurs of all types to create the type of business that sets them free to live the life they want. His work has been featured in Professional Photographer magazine and he has been a speaker for IUSA, CreativeLive, and has written articles on photography for the Huffington Post.In this episode, Gary explores how he tried his hardest not to follow in the footsteps of his photographer parents, from touring in a van as a musician to owning construction and IT companies before buying a $300 Canon Rebel. You’ll find out Gary’s definition of creativity and the curious history of creative hobbies of his male ancestors. Learn why photographing 5000 people a year doing volume headshot photography brings him joy and is a pe

Kirk Mastin is the founder and CEO of Mastin Labs and the photography app, Filmborn. He has shot for The New York Times, LA Times, and had photos featured in National Geographic Adventure and Time magazine. Before founding Mastin Labs in 2013, Kirk shot weddings on digital and film as a hybrid photographer with his company Mastin Studio. Mastin Labs creates film emulation presets for Lightroom, ACR, and Capture One.In this episode, Kirk and I dive deep into what it means to be a human being having a human experience at this moment in time. From fishing as a child to surfing and sailing, we learn why he spends so much time on the sea. We explore his photojournalism background and the joy of documenting everyday moments simply as they are. Hear what images Kirk has made on the edge of danger, and why his ability to both see and feel color has led to what Mastin Labs is today. This is We Are Photographers with Kirk Mastin and this is his story.Connect with Kirk Mastin and all things Mastin Labs: Instagram, Faceb

Corey Rich has built a life and career around his passions for travel, adventure, and telling stories with his camera. With a background in rock climbing and photojournalism, Corey’s work spans a range of genres, from iconic still imagery for leading editorial publications, to television spots and films, to directing high-production-value commercial projects for Fortune 100 companies. Outside of shooting photographs and directing films, Corey spends a significant portion of his time teaching, speaking, and sharing knowledge with the next generation of storytellers.In this episode, Corey takes us behind the scenes on the making of his new book, Stories Behind the Images: Lessons from a Life in Adventure Photography. He shares what he learned about himself in writing the book and the through line of what he’s learned from the peak performance athletes whose stories he tells. We hear why Corey is most comfortable when he puts himself in uncomfortable opportunities. Find out why Corey always says yes when his dau

Erin Sullivan is a travel photographer, writer and speaker who focuses on stories of culture, wildlife, and conservation. You may know her as @erinoutdoors from her social media channels. She is the host of the new REI mini-series In Our Nature and a member of the Sony alpha Imaging Collective. In this episode Erin shares what she’s learned about topics from plastics to forest preschools while filming In Our Nature. She gives us a sneak peek into her recent TED talk and why she kept silent about it until it was done. Erin shares her personal experiences with burn out, depression and anxiety. We talk about letting go of perfectionism, knowing when to put her camera down, and what big changes she made for both her work and her life to be more intentional and fulfilling.This is We Are Photographers with Erin Sullivan and this is her story. 

Sandra Coan is an award-winning film photographer who specializes her client work in newborns, families and classic portraiture. Her mission as an educator is to teach others how to change their lives by building successful, profitable businesses they love. Whether it’s through improving posing and workflow, learning how to create natural looking light with strobes and flash, or through one-on-one mentoring and coaching, Sandra teaches photographers to live to their full potential in craft and business. In this episode we go behind the scenes on the making of her new book Crafting the Natural Light Look. Sandra shares how photographing her clients only with 3-4 rolls of medium format analog film per session keeps the joy of photography alive for her. We explore the challenges she’s overcome of being a teacher and author with dyslexia and she reveals how certain childhood experiences framed her outlook on life today. This is We Are Photographers with Sandra Coan and this is her story.Connect with Sandra Coan:

Seth Miranda's career in photography has been as unique as his images. In addition to his own YouTube channel featuring live demos and product reviews, you may know him from his numerous series for AdoramaTV including LiveView, Rewind (weekly industry news in review), and AdoramaXP on Twitch. Seth loves to share knowledge and as you’ll hear, is full of life and passion for everything he sets his mind to. For over 15 years Seth has specialized in photographing SFX, collaborating with Special Effects Makeup artists for MakeUp Designory, MakeUp Artist Magazine and many more facets of the industry. In this episode, Seth takes us along for a wild ride of his life’s journey, from a teenage BMX skater already getting images published to the wins and struggles of being a creative freelancer to his work today as non-stop content creator for AdoramaTV. This is We Are Photographers with Seth Miranda and this is his story.

Melissa Groo is a wildlife photographer, writer, speaker, and educator. She's a contributing editor to Audubon magazine, a bimonthly columnist on wildlife photography for Outdoor Photographer magazine, an Associate Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers and an Ambassador for Project Coyote. She speaks and writes extensively on issues of ethics and conservation in wildlife photography, and leads workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Melissa’s work has been published in numerous books and magazines, such as Smithsonian, Audubon, National Wildlife, and Natural History. Her work is represented by National Geographic Image Collection. In this episode we talk about Melissa’s love and empathy for wild animals from an early age. She poetically describes swimming with humpback whales, studying acoustic communications of forest elephants, and the moment she created her favorite image of all time. She explains why she’s dedicated to conservation photography and how you too can create stories that

Mariangela Abeo is a photographer, producer, writer and public speaker. She’s the creator of Faces of Fortitude, a movement in portraits that strives to lay a foundation for healing for those affected by suicide. Faces of Fortitude provides a safe, stigma-free space, virtually through social media, and in-person with appearances and gallery events, for mental health and suicide to be discussed. Mariangela recently stood on the TEDx stage for the first time in Youngstown, Ohio to deliver her talk entitled Celebrate the Survivor: Creating a Safe Space around Suicide. Her goal is to combat the mental health stigma at a grassroots level, where it all begins.In this episode Mariangela returns to the CreativeLive studios where Faces of Fortitude was conceived and describes the moment when the lightbulb went off during a class by Stacy Pearsall. We talk about her personal transformation in the past two years since she began Faces as a personal project on the weekends. Being self-taught, she explains what it took to

Chris Orwig is a portrait photographer, best-selling author and an educator at heart. He is a Sony Artisan, has written six books and authored over 100 online courses. His work has been seen in publications like Rolling Stone, Esquire Magazine and the NY Times. His clients include Google, Patagonia, Adobe and The Nature Conservancy. Chris is on a mission to connect with creatives who are like-minded, amplify goodness and make more of it.In this episode, we learn why Chris’ ultimate goal in portraiture isn’t actually the pictures. Chris opens up about what he did when he realized that he’d completely lost interest in portraiture. We go behind the scenes of writing his new book Authentic Portraits: Searching for Soul, Significance, and Depth. Chris explains the similarities of being in flow with both surfing and photography and explains how we all can learn to see our weaknesses as our strengths.This is We Are Photographers with Chris Orwig and this is his story. 

Elena S. Blair is a Seattle-based photographer, mother of three, and owns a thriving lifestyle family and newborn photography business. She is also passionate about building community and encouraging other photographers to find depth and purpose in their work and business through both online and in-person education.  In this episode, Elena and I talk about her photography and life journey over the past eleven years since she followed her intuition and against all logic bought a camera with insurance money after her house was broken into. We explore how she’s boldly turned traumatic life experiences into opportunity. Hear how being vulnerable allowed her to build a community and give people a space to express and share their own struggles. Find out where Elena repeatedly heard the phrase as a child, ‘Be careful what you wish for.’ You’ll learn why an abundance mindset isn’t just about money.This is We Are Photographers with Elena S. Blair and this is her story. 

Ian Shive is an award-winning filmmaker and photographer whose work documents some of the world’s most pristine environments and brings to the public important conservation stories from around the globe. In 2015, he led a team of filmmakers and scientists on a groundbreaking mission in Cuba for Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” and over the past few years he has launched several expeditions to document for the first time some of the Pacific Ocean’s most remote marine national monuments for two films, Midway: Edge of Tomorrow and Hidden Pacific. Ian is the founder of Tandem Stills + Motion, a leading outdoor photography and film production company.In this episode, Ian takes us on an exploration from filming great white sharks in Cuba to albatross on Midway Island to the vibrant underwater life surrounding several protected atolls in the Pacific. In a time of extreme environmental threats to our planet, Ian explains why he’s chosen to primarily focus on stories of hope. We go back to 8-year old inquisitive Ian w

Felix Kunze is a portrait photographer and studio lighting educator living in New York City. Born in East Germany and raised in England, he now spends his time highlighting the grace, strength, enthusiasm, and beauty of people through his impeccably lit photographs. His recent projects are centered around scientists, explorers, and environmentalists, to elevate their standing in society through photographs. In this episode, we discuss why Felix is focusing his photography on issues that will have more of an impact in fifty years than they do now. He tells the story of what it took to get a portrait of Greta Thunberg with direct eye contact and why access is the biggest challenge for any photographer. Felix shares what it felt like to photograph an image of eight of the surviving Apollo astronauts at The Explorers Club. We journey to the remote Gobi desert in Mongolia on an expedition of geologists to study a mass extinction from 365 million years ago and he reveals his formula for getting paid work through pe

Vanessa Joy has been photographing couples and educating pros worldwide since 2002. She focuses her business in the NJ and NYC area, and alongside her partnerships with Canon and Adorama she helps pros take their businesses to the next level. Her hit show Breathe Your Passion on AdoramaTV covers everything from photography skills, marketing, workflow and how to live and breathe your passion. Vanessa is the ultimate life-long learner and life-long teacher. In this episode we learn how she falls in love with photography over and over again to not get burned out. We hear why she has the coolest dad in the world who taught her a strong work ethic. Find out what motivated Vanessa to write her first book, The Off-Camera Flash Handbook. We discuss learning to walk away from the expectations of others and of herself as she continually pivots her career, including what she has in store for us all in 2020. This is We Are Photographers with Vanessa Joy and this is her story.

Daniel Dart is an artist, activist, filmmaker and photographer. In 2015 he launched DEC Projects, an impact focused strategic communications and international development firm whose tagline is aptly, 'Creating Global Campaigns & Content That Raise Awareness + Change Culture'.In this jam-packed episode Daniel takes us on a journey from being a punk rocker in the band Time Again to being incarcerated, appealing & having his sentence reduced by two years. We talk about his experiencing homelessness and doing criminal justice work with the White House. We explore a number of his projects including Rich City Poor Man, The Fight: Tunisia’s Battle For Democracy, and a partnership with Leica and the United Nations to bring Sofort cameras to refugee camps in Algeria. He takes us to remote places in the Middle East and explains why he created the global event series Future Changemakers. You’ll understand why Daniel’s work is centered around giving a voice to the voiceless and find out why he believes everyone h

Grace Chon is a commercial and editorial animal photographer, acclaimed for her highly expressive portraits of animals and authentic photos of people and their pets. Her clients include ad agencies, pet brands, magazines, publishing companies, celebrities, and TV shows. Grace is also the author of 2 dog photography books - Waggish: Dogs Smiling for Dog Reasons and Puppy Styled: Japanese Dog Grooming Before and After. In this episode Grace shares the secret to being an amazing animal photographer. We talk about the making of her book Puppy Styled after a series of images that will make you laugh and smile went viral. Grace explores her mission for her podcast Creativity School and why people thought she was crazy (including herself) when she left the advertising world as an award-winning creative director to be a pet photographer. Graces takes us on her journey learning to see fear as an opportunity for growth. She explains how she built a name for herself as an LA celebrity pet photographer and gives us a sne