This Week in Photo (TWiP)

In this interview Marc Silber shares some sage wisdom and methodology around the five stages of mastering photography. In the book, Advancing Your Photography, and this interview you'll learn some fundamental ways to take your photography skills to the next level.

See for yourself and download a free chapter here !

About Marc Silber

Marc Silber is a 3-time bestselling author, photographer, filmmaker, and producer of the very popular YouTube series Advancing Your Photography, where he has interviewed scores of some of the biggest names in photography.

He started out learning darkroom skills and the basics of photography at the legendary Peninsula School in Menlo Park, CA, in the '60s and moved on to hone his skills to professional standards at the famed San Francisco Art Institute. Marc moved into teaching photography in workshops all over the country, he became renowned as an engaging and helpful speaker and coach, as his greatest joy comes from helping others.

He loves adventure and you will find him out backpacking surfing or snowboarding, or maybe just chilling, taking a walk-through Carmel with his wife and Golden Retriever.

Marc's website: https://www.advancingyourphotography.com/Marc’s YT: https://www.youtube.com/marcsilberMarc’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/marcsilberFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcsilbershowAYP Resource page: https://www.silberstudios.com/ayp-book-resources

In this interview, I'm joined by the amazing Nicki Sun. We discuss diversity and inclusion in Hollywood and the shifting landscape around storytelling. We talk about some old, and new challenges facing people of color working in today's entertainment industry.

Correction: In the interview, Nicki mentioned the movie "Sixteen Candles" when talking about the actor Mickey Rooney, but she actually meant "Breakfast at Tiffany's".

About Nicki Sun

Nicki is an on-camera personality and freelance producer, director, cinematographer, editor, and content strategist, and editor passionate about people, filmmaking, and technology. She was recently selected by Samsung to shoot a mini-documentary during COVID, which marked her directorial debut, and has launched TechNicki Speaking (a play off of ‘technically speaking’), as a tech and filmmaking channel, resource, and website catered to beginning content creators, while also spotlighting women and filmmakers of color.

https://youtu.be/sxyThsz8hek

Connect with Nicki

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/technickispeakingWebsite: https://www.technickispeaking.comPersonal site: http://www.nickisun.com

Nicki on Social Media

https://www.tiktok.com/@nickisunhttps://instagram.com/nickisunhttps://instagram.com/technickispeakinghttps://facebook.com/technickispeakinghttps://twitter.com/nickisun

Support Nicki on Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/nickisun

In this interview, I chat with Adobe Rising Stars Curt Saunders. We discuss his path into photography, and what keeps him interested and exciting about the art form. He has a mountain of insight and a fresh perspective on photography, and it looks like he's at the beginning of an exciting and promising career.

About Curt:

Curt Saunders is a portrait, fashion, and lifestyle photographer based in Brooklyn, NY. Curt’s work aims to explore themes of cultural identity, personal significance, and embodied creativity.

In 2020, Curt was named an Adobe Rising Star in partnership with Lightroom. Curt’s photo work has also been featured in collaboration with VSCO, Apple, and Target, with appearances on vogue.com, and teenvogue.com, among other digital publications.

Adobe's Rising Stars program aims to highlight the work and stories of 10 up-and-coming photographers from across the world. 

Website: http://www.curtsaunders.comInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/cosmicinsanityTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/cosmicinsanity1

This week portrait photographer Jesse Dittmar joins me to share some insights from his journey building and selling Non-Fungible Token (NFT) images.

Jesse's NFT collectionJesse's website

About Jesse Dittmar

Jesse Dittmar is a portrait photographer working with The New York Times and The Washington Post and brands like Apple and Hulu. The New Yorker, People, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and New York Magazine have all published his work.

Jesse has photographed the most accomplished figures of the 21st century, including Denzel Washington, Tom Brady, Serena Williams, Tom Hanks, Patti Smith, David Letterman, the cast of Star Wars, and hundreds of more.

Typically using black and white film, Jesse's photographs invoke a sense that one is standing in front of the subject along with him. He humanizes our most renowned figures and photographs those who are not famous in an equalizing manner. His portraits are iconic in their simplicity and intimacy.

In this interview Blake Rudis of F64Academy.com joins the show to explain why he thinks Adobe Bridge is the superior option to Adobe Lightroom. Could it be true? Find out as Blake tales the Lr v Br challenge!

About Blake Rudis

Blake Rudis is USAF Combat Veteran and a classically trained artist who started as a painter. Blake transitioned into printmaking and sculpture where he received his BFA in Fine art from the University of Delaware.

His passion for art shifted when he finally decided to double down on his love for the American landscape. In 2006 Blake took up photography, but he incorporates his knowledge of aesthetics and color theory in his courses and is known for his acclaimed Photoshop® workflow.

https://thisweekinphoto.com/f64academy

This week I'm joined by photographer, educator, and author Nicole S. Young. In this interview, we dive into Nicole's post-processing workflow and learn how she integrates Lightroom, Photoshop, and LuminarAI.

We also discuss her brand new Luminar AI course, "The Complete Video Guide to Luminar AI!"

About Nicole S. Young, in her own words…

Hi! My name is Nicole S. Young, a.k.a. “Nicolesy”. I’m a full-time photographer and author and I thrive on inspiring and encouraging photographers to improve their craft and grow as artists.

I love to teach, learn and share what I know through my blog, articles, videos, interviews, and training materials. I have an online store, where I create post-processing tools, such as preset, actions, and textures, along with some of my own self-published eBooks.

GRAB THE LUMINAR AI COURSE!

https://youtu.be/zwZ5B1mqaw0

GRAB THE LUMINAR AI COURSE!

In this interview, I dive into the world of Sigma lenses with Jack Howard, PR and Content Manager at Sigma Corporation. We discuss the price/quality issue when comparing 3rd-party lenses to OEM glass. We also discuss Sigmas's philosophy around crafting optics, and how things have changed over the years.

About Jack (in his own words…)

I'm a lifelong photographer. My first "real camera" was a Ricoh KR-30SP a gift from my parents at age 15. I still have it sitting on my desk. 

Early influences were all the National Geographic World Magazines, Ranger Rick type titles my mom subscribed me to, and slightly later, the Thrasher and Transworld Skateboarding magazines of the mid to late '80s. My friends and I started our own 'zine, which a couple of local shops distributed to.

My father was a lifelong photographer and taught me a tone along the way. I have never taken a photo class, all was learned from practice, books, magazines, and online. Studied History, English, American Studies at Rutgers University. Didn't want to study photographer b/c I both thought I would teach myself and would get disinterested if I pursued a degree, and I wanted it to always be a hobby or side skill. I wanted to learn how to think, how to see, how to synthesize information, and how to write on a variety of topics. 

I was on a path to go to grad school for an academic path when I first saw Photoshop. It was amazing and I was hooked. It was everything I ever wanted to do in the darkroom but even better.

See more at Sigma Corporation's website

Other random "Jack" facts:

Ansel Adams, Ann Geddes, Gary Fong, Annie Leibowitz, and Jack Howard…  what’s the connection?   Photographers who have made “Guest appearances” in “What the Duck” comic strip.

Of all the things I’ve been able to do because of a camera, flying in a Blimp is generally the one that garners the most follow-on questions, and that most people wish they could experience.

Zenfolio, a market leader in creative and business solutions for photographers recently conducted a photography survey focusing on the impact of COVID-19, and the outlook ahead.In this interview, I'm joined by Zenfolio CEO John Loughlin, and Pamela Vachon - Vice President of Customer Support and Success. We dive into their findings, as well as some predictions for the months, and years ahead.

Here's a small sampling of their findings:

* 63% of photographers saw a 40% decline in 2020 business due to COVID-19* Almost 78% saw a decline of at least 20%* Wedding Photographers were the hardest hit in 2020* Landscape & Fine art were least impacted

About John Loughlin

John Loughlin joined Zenfolio in mid-2018 after leading the digital magazine subscription service, Texture, and engineering its sale to Apple, forming the foundation for Apple News+. Before Texture, Loughlin served a decade as Executive Vice President/General Manager at Hearst Magazines, where he co-managed a division that generated annual revenues of more than $2 billion.

About Pamela Vachon

Pamela Vachon joined Zenfolio in May 2012 as a customer support representative. She was promoted to customer support supervisor in 2014, senior manager in 2017, and the Director of Customer Support and Success in 2018. Throughout her time at Zenfolio, Vachon has played an integral role in helping the company become the leading global SaaS solution for photographers. As a photographer herself, Vachon has a first-hand understanding of Zenfolio customer needs and the demands they face.

About Zenfolio

Zenfolio will be launching its new, reimagined SaaS solution built from the ground up drawing on 15 years of experience, extensive customer research and a multi-million-dollar technology investment. Designed by photographers for photographers, this comprehensive solution provides tools to run all aspects of their business with an easy-to-use responsive interface to show, share, market, and sell their photography via mobile, desktop or tablet.

Resources

* Q1 Survey PetaPixel article: https://petapixel.com/2021/04/01/study-delves-into-the-state-of-the-photo-industry-now-and-last-year/* Zenfolio NEW platform announcement: https://zenfolio.com/press/zenfolio-launches-new-solution-for-photographers-built-on-advanced-machine-learning-infrastructure* Website: https://zenfolio.com/* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zenfolio* Twitter: https://twitter.com/zenfolio* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zenfolio/* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyOU-gfrscvEpuwaZGIH0EQ* Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Zenfolio/

Los Angeles-based boudoir photographer Michael Sasser discusses how he was able to push through the lockdown and emerge with a business that's stronger than ever. This is particularly impressive considering at one point LA was one of the largest COVID-19 hotspots in the nation.

Michael Sasser, in his own words...

As a photographer, I always get the question “Why boudoir?” and the answer to that is simple really. Boudoir doesn’t just empower you, it empowers me, too. It gives me the chance to go beyond words. I could say to each of you “you’re beautiful”, but let’s be honest, nine times out of ten, you won’t believe me. I am privileged enough to get behind the lens of a camera and capture images so beautiful and so powerful that they can bring tears of joy to a woman’s eyes.

I get to be a part of the process of showing, not telling, a woman how truly remarkable she is. I get to see women truly believe in their worth, their strength, and their beauty, and I gotta say, I couldn’t imagine doing anything more magical. 

https://sasserstillsboudoir.com

This week I chat with the amazing Karen Hutton! We discuss her unique approach to storytelling through macro photography. How do you tell a story, up close? How do you move away from the technical side of macro, and get more into the emotional side?

Karen is teaching a course on macro photography at the KelbyOne Outdoor Photography Conference coming up on May 17, 18, and 19. Check out the overview video at the bottom of this post.

The conference features several amazing speakers covering a variety of topics, from landscape to portrait, to fashion, and more. The event is just $299. But early registration is only $149.

About Karen Hutton

Karen Hutton

Karen is a professional Fujifilm X-Photographer, International Landscape and Travel Photographer, Artist, Speaker, Author, Educator, and Voice. Through stunning imagery, humor, thought-provoking ideas and a genuinely positive outlook, she inspires people to discover their artistic voice in photography — while making it all feel like an unforgettable and eye-opening adventure.

Her voice? Over the years, you may have heard it in commercials, narrations, apps, trains, tutorials & television.

Karen’s photographic art has been featured internationally by Fujifilm, she has presented at Photographer Talks at Google, created popular online courses for Kelbyone, has been translated into multiple languages, speaks all over the country about photography, creativity, and inspiration, and leads photography retreats in the U.S. and Europe.

Her adoring fans + customers have called her “Pure JOY, LIGHT & absolute FUN!”, “An inspirational gem” and “Incredibly artistic. Captivatingly genius. World class!”

Guilty pleasures? When she’s not traveling the world, you can find her watching epic movie trailers, crunching popcorn at the latest Marvel Comics blockbuster and sipping Bulletproof coffee.

Karen's website: http://www.karenhutton.comKaren's Fine Art website: http://www.karenhuttonart.comKelbyOne Outdoor Photography Conference: https://thisweekinphoto.com/karen-macro