If you’ve ever seen the work of our guest today, Jeffrey Czum, you can describe it as minimal magic. Jeff is a freelance digital creator from Buffalo, New York, and was featured as one of our Heroes of the Week on our blog a while back, talking about his "minimal makeovers,” where he creates fantastical worlds out of everyday scenes by removing distractions from a shot to highlight the most important elements. If you haven’t seen his work yet, you HAVE to check it out.

We talk to Jeff about how he finds inspiration in the most common places, and how he found his signature style from learning photoshop during quarantine as an outlet to express himself during the pandemic. His work has been featured on the New York Times, Accidentally Wes Anderson, and the popular Tumblr blog This isn’t happiness.

The stories and thoughtfulness behind Jeff’s photos are absolutely incredible, and the way that he was able to teach himself a completely new skill during quarantine is so inspiring.

Follow Jeff on Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/@jeffrey-czum-254391

Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/

Follw 

In this episode, we are joined by one of our very own Pexels Heroes, the one and only Luke Barky! Luke is a 26-year-old creative director, photographer, and videographer based in Cape Town, South Africa. Luke had his start in the advertising world 6 years ago before he started shooting professionally for the last 4. Luke’s energy and drive are absolutely infectious and we actually ended up covering so many topics, from how to find your style, to dealing with hustle culture and burnout, to the importance of community building in the creative industries.

Follow Luke: https://www.instagram.com/lukebarky/

Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/

Today on the podcast, we are joined by Fan Yang, the marketing manager at XP Pen, who makes graphics tablets, pen display monitors, stylus pens, and more. Fan will be telling us all about why every digital artist, no matter if you’re an illustrator, photographer, or graphic designer, needs an XP Pen tablet to take your creative journey to the next level. 

Feeling lucky? We are giving away an Artist 24Pro tablet to one lucky winner over on our Instagram! 

Win an Artist 24Pro tablet: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNIMuboFWla/

Video tutorial on the Artist 24Pro tablet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EETNlTfRhdo&t=15s

Learn more about XP Pen: https://www.xp-pen.com/page/about

Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/

Our guest today is our very own, Ricky Esquivel! Ricky is our in-house videographer who will be helping us answer the question - what the f are NFT’s?

I’m sure you’ve heard about them everywhere on the news and social media, and it can be very confusing knowing whether or not to believe in the hype! But have no fear! This episode will cover all of the essential information you need to decide whether or not this is something you want to consider getting involved in.

We will be covering:

Follow Ricky: https://www.instagram.com/rickyrecap/

Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/

On this week’ episode, we are joined by Christy Laurence - the extraordinary founder of an Award-winning Global Social Media Suite, Plann,  which helps millions of global brands find success online. Christy got her start in the Marketing & Advertising world, but after an unfortunate illness left her unable to continue working, she turned to posting and selling her illustrations on Instagram for income. That’s when her entrepreneurial lightbulb lit up, and the idea of Plann was born.

In this episode, we talk about how Christy creatively navigated being in the tech space with no previous background, and how she started Plann from the ground up with barely any outside support.

And if you’re interested in trying out Plann yourself, you can use the promo code "PEXELSxPLANN20" to help you get started.

Follow Plann: https://www.instagram.com/plannthat/

Follow Christy: https://www.instagram.com/christyladylaurence/

Today on the show, we have the lovely Angelina Hong! I’ve been looking forward to this episode for so long so I am personally super excited to share this one with you guys. Angelina was actually supposed to join us last season, but we had to reschedule because you know, life gets in the way sometimes. Nonetheless, she is joining us today and that’s all that matters!

Angelina is a photographer and entrepreneur who left an academically rigorous background to pursue her passion for photography and helping others feel their most beautiful self. On top of that, she is a social digital marketing expert, you’ll realize once you listen to this episode, who started her own business, AH Media, in 2018.

Angelina’s story on how she started on her self-taught entrepreneurial journey is so inspiring and really goes to show that you can do anything as long as you have the right mindset and put in the work.

Follow Angelina: https://www.instagram.com/angelinahongmedia/

Today on the pod, we have lifestyle & adventure photographer Jeremy Bishop joining us from sunny Central California. If you’re a regular Pexels user, there’s a great chance that you’ve probably come across Jeremy’s work. After all, his work has been seen by over 113 million people, and that’s just on Pexels itself.

He goes by @bluumind on Instagram, which is very fitting for his style that encapsulates that meditative feeling of sitting by the sea which is no surprise since he specializes in water photography & introducing brands to wild spaces.

He first began his journey in the creative industry by providing photography for free stock photography websites, and soon found a way to monetize his work in a disruptive industry. Since then, he’s worked for the legendary Chris Burkard and companies such as lululemon and Sperrys.

We talk to Jeremy about how his experience in the stock photography world has led him to where he is today, and give you a sneak peek of what it’s like being an adventure and travel photographer.

Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/

Follow Jeremy: https://www.pexels.com/@jeremy-bishop-1260133

She is a designer, comedian, performer, and educator on a mission to make the world a better place through her Meg-Tastic personality, which resonates throughout all aspects of her work.

She has worked with the likes of Buzzfeed, Google, and Slack, just to name a few, but has also taken on stages across the world, including Adobe Max, to teach and inspire others.

For her to have gotten here was not an easy feat. We talk about her journey of self discovery and breaking free from status quos in order to make a career that is not only fulfilling, but truly genuine to who she is as a unique individual.

If you feel stuck in your current career and feel like something is missing, I encourage you to listen to Meg’s story. Even if you’re truly fulfilled in your life and just need an inspirational pick-me-up, I also encourage you to listen to Meg’s story. So I’ll stop talking now, and let’s get on with the episode.

Follow Meg: https://www.instagram.com/yourbuddymeg/

Jill is the Social Media Editorial and Content Marketer at Later and honestly the sweetest person ever!

Social content can be very daunting, there’s so much going on and with all of the new feature updates and social change, it’s hard to know where to start, and if you’re even doing the right thing. But have no fear! Whether you are running a business, working in social media, or need some tips for your own personal branding or project, we gotcha covered.

I had the pleasure of recording this episode with Jill on an early Thursday morning where we talk all about best practices for social media and how to stay on top of the curve by identifying upcoming trends.

Every time I feel stuck or don’t understand a new social feature, I can always rely on Jill’s articles on the Later blog to help me out so you know that you can rely on her expertise.

Let’s get into it!

Follow Jill: https://www.instagram.com/jillwrren/

Today, we have David Suh joining us on the podcast! If you’ve been on photography TikTok, there is a good chance you’ve come across David’s videos. While he is a portrait photographer based in Sacramento, CA, David’s TikTok content revolves around helping everyday women feel like their most beautiful selves through his fun, detailed posing tips, and portrait tutorials.

Since launching his account during the start of the pandemic, David has grown his account from 0 to a quarter of a million followers in his first month and has since surpassed the 1 million follower mark.

But this wasn’t some hack, and while it seems like the closest you can get to overnight success, there is a reason why his content connects with people.

We talk about his story on how he found his purpose through honing in and understanding his own personal brand, and the power that comes from understanding social landscapes and building trust with clients.

If you’re a photographer or business owner of any kind, I believe you will have some great takeaways from this episode. So grab a notepad, grab a drink, and let’s dive into this episode!

Follow Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/