Photo Forward
27 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 7 ratingsThe 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
#025: Pivoting Your Work to Find Your Worth | Paul Gero
April 20, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 58.3 MBHave 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 wo...
#024: Plus, Minus and Equals of Growth and Connection
April 17, 2022 16:53 - 17 minutes - 16.1 MBSo, 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 thi...
#023: A Freelancer's Clarity of Mind | Adam Glanzman
April 06, 2022 11:00 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBDo 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, ther...
#022: Reading Material to Shape your Visual Creativity (and Your Life)
March 31, 2022 11:00 - 20 minutes - 19 MBHey 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 f...
#021: A Tapestry of Art For a Visual Voice | Chris McDuffie
February 16, 2022 11:00 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MBOne 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, tha...
#020: A Message from Photo Forward
June 11, 2020 10:00 - 2 minutes - 2.61 MBIt’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 b...
#019: Mindful Photography to Change Your Career | Courtney Perry
April 23, 2020 10:00 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBTo 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 ...
#018: Photography in an Uncertain Time | Managing Social Distance and Helping Photographers
March 18, 2020 14:24 - 27 minutes - 25 MBWell, 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 gon...
#017: People Over Pictures | Alyssa Schukar
March 11, 2020 10:00 - 52 minutes - 47.8 MBToday’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...
#016: Getting Closer: The Art of Proxemics in Photography
March 04, 2020 11:00 - 8 minutes - 8.05 MBUnless 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 li...
#015: A Persistent Vision | Lauren Justice
February 19, 2020 11:00 - 48 minutes - 44.6 MBeverybody listening to this podcast probably knows either from practical experience or just intuitively that crafting a career as a photographer or other visual creator is no small feat. From staving off burnout to managing finances, freelancers have to DO IT ALL. So why is it then that freelancers so often fail to actually break out of the vicious cycle of feast or famine workloads? Well, our guest today is the perfect example of how to make it happen as a freelance photojournalist by divi...
#014: 5 Lessons Learned From Starting a Podcast in 2019
January 24, 2020 11:00 - 11 minutes - 10.6 MBPicture this: It’s late 2018. Feels like a lifetime ago, right? Like the whole damn world’s changed since then. Enter me: Freelancing pretty regularly, working at a past desk job and feeling creatively TOAST — I wasn’t happy with the quality of the work I was producing, but without any buffer time in my life to practice my craft and grow as a photographer. What would you do? Well, if you’re crazy like me, you’d respond emphatically with… start a podcast? Yep. That’s right. Hey everybody and...
#013: Photojournalism; Everywhere | Ruthie Hauge
December 18, 2019 11:00 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBHello everyone and welcome to the Photo Forward Podcast, where we explore 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. I’m your host, Ben Brewer. When you hear the word “photojournalist” – What comes to mind? A warzone or conflic...
#012: Introducing "Push|Pull" – A New Photo Forward Segment
December 12, 2019 11:00 - 4 minutes - 4.4 MBHey everyone and welcome to the Photo Forward podcast, where we dive in deep each week on the art of visual storytelling, exploring the stories behind some of the greatest photographers in the world. From their origin stories to finding balance as creative professionals, to how to actually make a living as a photographer, videographer, or multimedia creator – I’m your host, Ben Brewer So, this is a special little in-betweenisode, introducing a new ongoing series on this show. Now, one of th...
#011: SMART Goals for Creatives
December 04, 2019 14:16 - 9 minutes - 8.6 MBHey Photo Forward listeners — WE ARE BACK. Yes, finally at long last after a brief hiatus of me moving to Minneapolis-St.Paul, the Photo Forward Podcast is back and better than ever. We’ve got some incredible interviews lined up for the coming months and experimenting with new content on the show. Thank you all so much for your patience. So, without further ado, let’s get into this week’s episode on the beauty of SMART goals for creatives. Probably the majority of you all listening this rig...
Photo Forward is MOVING (A Quick Announcement)
September 20, 2019 10:00 - 2 minutes - 2.26 MBHello everyone and welcome to the Photo Forward Podcast, I’m your host Ben Brewer. Today, as you might have gathered from the title and a bit of irregularity in the schedule recently is more an announcement and some housekeeping than one of our usual deep-dive interviews with photographers, videographers and visual creators. So, as some of you might have known, for the past 6 years, I’ve been based out of Madison, Wisconsin. And as much as I’ve loved living in the Cheesehead state, sometime...
#010: Musically Inclined | Nate Ryan
July 24, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 55.3 MBOkay, show of hands. Who here, when you were starting your photography career or just getting into taking pictures said, “I want to be a music photographer!” or “I just want to go shoot photos at concerts!”. I think I can safely say that, at least, the idea has crossed the minds of most visual storytellers at some point. There’s something entrancing about the being a concert or music photographer — maybe it’s the spectacle of the lights and showmanship, maybe for the more video-centric amon...
#009: Creative Constraints and How to Harness Them
June 26, 2019 10:00 - 9 minutes - 8.28 MBI know you’ve always heard this old adage: “Think Outside the Box” . It’s often used as something like a motivational poster, acting as a pseudo-metaphor for creativity or innovation. But let’s take a step back to examine that: Think OUTSIDE the box. Think outside the BOX. That assumes there’s a box, some bound on creative output (more on that later). But it makes a critical assumption that I’ve got to say I disagree with: That substantial success only comes through side-stepping constraint...
#008: Dynamic Photographic Duo | Jenn Ackerman, Tim Gruber
June 19, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 55.5 MBIn past episodes of Photo Forward, we’ve looked at a ton of different topics in visual storytelling — from creating a long term documentary project to how to pitch that work to editors in the wider world. And in all of those stories, it’s been typically centered around solo operators, freelancers, and individuals. Well today is breaking that mold ENTIRELY. Crafting a successful freelance photography career is NO SMALL FEAT. From accounting to marketing to insurance and everything in between...
#007: Breaking Your Bad Creative Habits
June 12, 2019 09:00 - 7 minutes - 6.42 MBWe humans, big hairless apes that we are, have become proficient over millenia at a great many things – crafting tools, harnessing nature... you get the picture. But we’re also adept at something you might not even actively think about: HABITS. For better AND worse, our big human brains are very, very good at linking stimulus, response, and reward through connections in our brain called neurons. And, through a wild process called myelination, the neurons that “fire together” end up “wiring t...
#006: One Photo, One Story | Andy Manis
May 30, 2019 14:43 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MBHello everyone and welcome to the Photo Forward Podcast, where we explore 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. I’m your host, Ben Brewer. Associated Press. The A. P. If you follow the editorial, photojournalism or news ph...
#005: The Dark Side of Loving Your Work
May 22, 2019 09:00 - 11 minutes - 174 MBWork truisms: You hear them all the time. “Follow your passion”…. “When you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Pardon my French, but I think that’s bullshit – It’s not that simple. That can take you down a dark path, all the while thinking that everything’s going just peachy. As they say, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Let me explain. I’m not railing on, and I’m far from arguing against finding fulfillment in your job. What I do believe is that lovin...
#004: An Editor's Insight | Coburn Dukehart
May 15, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 117 MBAll you younger photographers, all you independent photographers, all you freelancers – break out the notebooks because this episode is not one you’ll want to miss. While we’ve talked in previous episodes about making photographs and crafting stories that are meaningful, we haven’t really looked hard at how to get that work seen by the world. (Don’t worry, in a future episode of Photo Forward, we’ll be talking with an expert on pricing and the financial side of creating your work.) But today...
#003: Photo Impairment Effect | Photo Forward Podcast
May 08, 2019 09:00 - 8 minutes - 15.1 MBTypically on Photo Forward, we’re sitting down for long form interviews with a new visual creator each week and gaining some big insights about their history, their work, and their visions for the future. And, don’t get me wrong, I love crafting those interviews. But I think there’s room on this show and in this community to share some of my own insights as a photojournalist. That’s why I’ll be periodically sharing shorter-form, more bite-sized stories of visual storytelling like the one you...
#002: Shooting From the Hip | Scott Strazzante
May 03, 2019 13:03 - 1 hour - 121 MBScott Strazzante (@scottstrazzante) is a former POY/NPPA National Newspaper Photographer of the Year, an 11-time Illinois Photographer of the Year and was part of a Chicago Tribune team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for investigative journalism. After spending the first 27 years of his career at Chicago newspapers, including 13 at the Chicago Tribune, Scott Strazzante joined the photography staff at the San Francisco Chronicle in 2014. Scott’s personal project, Common Ground, has been f...
#001: Don't Be Trendy, Be Timeless | Jerome Pollos
April 30, 2019 03:36 - 55 minutes - 106 MBJerome Pollos (@TheRomer) is an award-winning Northwest photojournalist specializing in documentary work, weddings and portraits for clients who love timeless, candid moments. Joining the U.S. Navy right out of high school as a self-described "troublemaker", he was sent to journalism school in Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN, studying broadcast journalism, TV and radio; writing, and a two-week course on photojournalism — which he unceremoniously failed. After a deeply emotional photography assig...
#000: Welcome to Photo Forward
April 30, 2019 03:34 - 2 minutes - 4.32 MBToday, more than ever, we're inundated with photos, videos, gifs... you get it. It can feel like a complete blur, verging on exhausting. But sometimes an image stops you in your tracks. It grabs you by the collar and doesn’t let go – That’s visual storytelling. THAT’S photojournalism. So who makes this arresting work and what can we learn from them? The Photo Forward Podcast is going to answer exactly that; exploring the stories behind some of the greatest visual storytellers in the world....