B&h Photography Podcast

No matter how you slice it, wedding photography is a fancy business. On this week’s podcast, we take that fancy up a notch in a conversation about luxury wedding photography with James Christianson and Otto Schulze. These former competitors took a giant leap to reinvent themselves as the collaborative partnership James x Schulze, while also adapting their sales strategy to a marketplace where the driving force is want rather than means. Listen in as they describe how they balanced economic risk with the creative freedom to chase small moments and beautiful light. You’ll also gain insight into how a luxury client’s buying psychology differs from the norm, and the essential importance of taking a client-first approach to projects.   “Confidence is the currency of the successful,” explains Christianson about the necessary shift in mindset. “If you can bring confidence in who you are and what your skills are—whether that’s with a camera, or skills with people, or both—that will take you a long way in being

Women photographers take center stage in this week’s show, in celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. We reveal the blind spot of photo history in a chat about the book A World History of Women Photographers, with photo historian and co-author Luce Lebart and contributing writer Pauline Vermare. Gracing the pages of this book’s 500-page heft are images and stories behind 300 women photographers, spanning both photo history and geographic reach. Listen in to learn about the exhaustive process Lebart and co-author Marie Robert undertook to find this range of talent and then commission essays from 160 women writers and curators. We also discuss how the position of women within photography has changed over time and across cultures. There are fresh discoveries to be made by even the most ardent photography devotees, as illustrated by the many photographer names and related resources we mention during the episode, also listed below in our show notes.  Guests: Luce Lebart and Pauline

When was the last time you updated your website? Despite the popularity and traction of social media sites, having a stand-alone website to promote your work and build your brand is key to connecting with your given audience. In this week’s podcast, we explore the dynamics of building and maintaining a professional caliber website with insights from both sides of the coin.  We start by chatting with website designer Alex Vita, who shares pet peeves as well as the best practices he’s honed over more than 13 years of work with photo industry clients. All will benefit from Alex’s insights on building a client-focused website as a way to build trust. After a break we get the artist’s perspective from the illustrious photographer, environmental activist, and creative whirlwind Benjamin Von Wong, who also happens to be one of Alex’s clients. Listen in as Ben and Alex discuss his web strategy and take a deep dive into the challenges of staying relevant and getting noticed in an oversaturated creative climate. We al

We’re all about flower power on this week’s podcast, in celebration of Valentine’s Day. Joining us in discussion are photography curator Danae Panchaud, co-author of the recent book Flora Photographica, along with contributing photographer and audience favorite Abelardo Morell. After describing the book’s genesis and scope, Danae delves into the extensive research process she and co-author William Ewing employed to sift through many thousands of photographs celebrating this wide-ranging subject. From sumptuous floral still lives to delicate blooms photographed in service of an activist cause to conceptual treatments depicting flowers as imposters of real life and beyond—this magnificent book offers fertile ground for consideration and debate. After a break we continue the conversation with photographer Abelardo Morell, whose featured images from the series Flowers for Lisa evolved from a single photograph created as a gift for his wife to encompass a wide-ranging exploration of and homage to great artists

"Selecting photos is a different skill than making them,” explains renowned picture editor Mike Davis in this week’s podcast. This essential understanding forms the core of Davis’s new book Creating Visual Narratives Through Photography: A Fresh Approach to Making a Living as a Photographer. Davis approaches this topic with a mix of clarity and candor, to offer deeply engaged yet highly accessible insights about making photos—and making sense of those photos—while also discussing the elusive art of selecting and sequencing pictures and other ways to create visual narratives. Some of the key points covered in our chat include the visual vocabulary Davis assigns to photographs, his ideas about elevating pictures beyond simply informational content, how making multiple passes through a photo edit can help a photographer remove themselves from the experience of making the work, and his three different approaches to image sequencing. Listeners will also gain a fresh understanding of ways in which both the art of c

Creating and sustaining a successful photo career is no easy feat. To help aspiring young imagemakers acquire the needed creative concepts and business skills, two New York-based organizations—ASMP NY and BKC—have teamed up to offer the innovative mentorship, education, and industry immersion program The Bridge. Open to individuals from 18- to 26-years-old, The Bridge embraces diversity and offers opportunity to underserved communities, regardless of formal photography experience. Best of all, this four-month, real world program is free to accepted students. We first learned about The Bridge during a chat with program co-founder Liam Alexander for the show ASMP-NY and the Future of Photo Trade Organizations in February 2022. Since the program’s second year recently wrapped with a gallery exhibition in Brooklyn, and plans are in the works to expand The Bridge to other ASMP chapters in 2023, we wanted to learn more about this valuable initiative in advance of the next application window this spring. For this w

In some locales, the period between Christmas and the New Year is known as the Wild Nights, where mischief reigns in the darkest days of the northern hemisphere. We’re digging into this theme for our last show of 2022, in a chat with photographer and producer of this very podcast, Jill Waterman, who has been documenting New Year’s Eve traditions and exploits around the globe for the past 38 years. We first spoke with Jill about this project in the two-part show Legacy and Commitment in January 2022. Since she’s now a full-fledged member of the podcast team, we thought we’d investigate some of her more memorable experiences a bit further. Jill is still shooting this series primarily with film, so our conversation ranges from the whys and wherefores of making that choice, to how the growth of the Internet became an essential research tool in the lead up to the Millennium and beyond. We also shed light on the elusive Austrian Perchten and Bulgarian Kukeri, and discuss parading Philadelphia Mummers, Bahamian Jun

For anyone seeking a new camera to gift or to hold this holiday season, we present the eighth annual installment of our Cameras of the Year episode! Featured in our discussion are 16 new cameras from Canon, FUJIFILM, Hasselblad, Leica, Nikon, OM SYSTEM, Panasonic, and Sony—presented in alphabetical order. In addition to a detailed review of each camera on our list, we also discuss trends such as the shift from separate cameras for photo and video to a single camera geared to content creation, recent advances in high resolution EVFs, the benefits to cameras with internal memory, an increasing prevalence of AI technologies, the continued relevance of Micro 4/3rds and APS-C models when full frame cameras are shrinking in size and weight, and much more. Along the way, we even come up with some new terminology—Exit Level Cameras! Tune in for yourself and find out what it means. Guest: Kevin Rickert Episode Timeline 3:30: Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera 4:29: From separate cameras for photo and video to

In an era brimming with instant gratification, some things are worth the wait. This is an apt takeaway from our chat with photographer Charles Daniels about his long-outdated film from the legendary Boston Tea Party and other 60s-era music venues, rarely processed until recently. Joining Daniels in conversation is his long-time partner Susan Berstler, and Gerald Freyer from Film Rescue International, the unique image processing and digitization specialists entrusted with his mother lode of 4,000 plus rolls. Listen in as Daniels tells of his rise from club denizen to emcee to cultural ambassador, introducing 60s-era British invasion rockers to America, with a Leica, two Nikons and a mic in hand. Berstler describes how the unprocessed rolls stockpiled in their home became a COVID project, which then went viral after the launch of a Go-Fund-Me campaign. After a break, Freyer explains how Film Rescue International’s unique processing and scanning technologies can breathe new life into lost and found film, saving

Food, glorious food—there’s no better time than the holiday season for a bountiful exploration of food photography—a fan favorite. For this episode of the podcast, we’re delighted to connect with food blogger, educator, and content creator extraordinaire Joanie Simon. Listen in as she discusses the magic behind her aspirational, achievable shooting style. Besides examining the limits to reality when shooting fake food, Simon describes her collaborations with a dedicated crew, offers advice about a photographer’s responsibilities when working remotely, and describes her personal evolution through camera brands and models to arrive at the Nikon Z mirrorless system she shoots with today. Discover all these things and much, much more—including a secret recipe for fake ice cream! Guests: Joanie Simon Photograph © Joanie Simon Guest Bio: Instead of an apron, Joanie Simon wears many hats. She’s a food photographer, published author, educator, and content queen, and her daily life is a bouillabaisse of camera gear a

Vintage cameras and analog film have grown to be unprecedented media darlings within our crowded digital landscape. With a superstar status fueled by insatiable demand amid a limited supply, in this week’s podcast we investigate both the beauty and quirks of these trending tools. Joining us in conversation are photographer / vintage camera buff Bill Bain, and expert camera technician / repair wizard Shlomo Weinberger from B&H Photo’s Used Department. Whether you cut your teeth on old school tech or you’re an analog adopter in the digital age, there’s a topic of interest for everyone, plus plenty of DYI tips to be had, including our favorite—liquid electrical tape! How many of you dedicated camera buffs knew about that? Guests: Bill Bain and Shlomo Weinberger Top Shot © Jill Waterman For more information on our guests and the gear they use, see: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/vintage-cameras-with-bill-bain-and-shlomo-weinberger Guest Bios: Bill Bain has loved photography since hi

Mike Tyson has long been a boxing legend, and for this week’s podcast we speak with the photographer who was there from the very start. Lori Grinker was just a student with a semester-long assignment when she first met Tyson as a 13-year-old kid under the tutelage of famed boxing trainer Cus D’Amato. Grinker’s inside access over the next decade offers an intimate portrait of Tyson that few others have seen, and is now published in the book Mike Tyson. Listen in as Grinker describes how she learned on the job as the only woman ringside, transforming from student to pro in step with Tyson’s meteoric rise. She also weighs in about gear choices, making distinctions between photographing with reflex cameras and rangefinders, and sharing thoughts on shooting black and while film vs digital captures in monochrome mode. Listen in to learn how she juggled documentary coverage with celebrity reportage and sports photography in what was truly a wild ride. Guest: Lori Grinker Photographs © Lori Grinker, Courtesy of Conta

It’s leaf peeping time in the northern hemisphere when trees break into riots of color as autumn plows a path from north to south. Two of the best regions for capturing the show here in the US are across New England and along California’s magnificent Sierra Nevada. To help get you up to speed when preparing for your own foliage excursions, we speak with landscape photography specialists in each of these regions—Jerry Monkman in New England and G. Dan Mitchell in California’s Sierra Nevada. After weighing in with informed opinions about when and where to find the best color this year, Monkman and Mitchell make suggestions about fresh ways to picture the scenery and discuss topographic and geological differences between east and west. We also talk gear—both DSLR and mirrorless—with Monkman opting for the Canon 5D Mark IV or EOS R5, and Mitchell alternating between the Canon 5DS R and FUJIFILM X series mirrorless. For all of the above and much more, please join us for this informative discussion and discover

Graham Nash is a true visionary. Whether in the lyrics he writes, the music he plays, the songs he sings, or the photographs he captures, he sees things a little differently and—most important—he sees beauty everywhere. As he describes it during our podcast, “It’s just energy. I see my life facing a column of energy every day. Where do I want to plug in today?” Listen in as Nash regales us with how multidisciplinary interests help him avoid writer’s block, his fascination for early Daguerreotypes, his historic role as a digital printing pioneer, his deep respect for Epson products, and much more. Stay to the end for Nash’s honest assessment of his singing voice, and to learn his secret to staying passionate and making the most of a creative life. Guest: Graham Nash Photos by Graham Nash, excerpted from A Life in Focus: The Photography of Graham Nash, and provided courtesy of Insight Editions. Cover photo © Joel Bernstein  For further details about our guest, his gear, and a selection of his historic

The art of photography offers boundless potential for altering and enhancing human perception—this is the focus of our conversation on this week's podcast. Listen in as we go down the rabbit hole of visual discovery with alchemist of photography Abelardo Morell. From his early desire to enlighten students by transforming his classroom into a camera obscura to his ever-expanding universe of ideas—and the subsequent tools he uses—to record moments in light, Morell is an undisputed master in conjuring magic from a cross section of art and science, time and space. Guest: Abelardo Morell Photographs © Abelardo Morell, Courtesy of Edwynn Houk Gallery For more information on our guests and the gear they use, see: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/the-camera-obscura-and-recording-time-and-space-in-images-with-abelardo-morell Episode Timeline 3:30: Abelardo Morell’s Street Photography Roots 4:29: The Power of a Visual Language 5:50: Creating a Camera Obscura in the Classroom 7:30: Making Pictur

A well-crafted portrait is a beautiful thing, and this week’s podcast takes a deep dive into creating individual, group, and family portraits, both on location and in the studio. Our guests are master portraitists Monica Sigmon and Michael Taylor, co-owners of SigmonTaylor Photography in Williamsburg, Virginia. Please join us for tips on everything from how to arrive at a signature style when working on location to the practicalities and pitfalls of establishing a dedicated portrait studio and turning client’s heads in today’s competitive marketplace.  After listening, if you’re still hungry for more portrait photography insights, look no further than Sigmon Taylor’s six-part series Portrait Studio Intensive, produced by the B&H Event Space in February 2022. Guests: Monica Sigmon and Michael Taylor Photograph © Sigmon Taylor For more information on our guests and the gear they use, see: www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts Episode Timeline 2:37: How does one arrive at a signature style when shooting por

Nature and wildlife photographers seeking to put their images to work for the good of the planet will love this week’s podcast. Our first guest, Jaymi Heimbuch, founded the Conservation Visual Storytellers Academy to teach photographers how to connect their pictures to a larger purpose. Listen in as Heimbuch discusses ways to harness the three A’s—Action, Audience, and Affect—and successfully target the people you want to reach with your work. After a break, we hear from Heimbuch’s star student, Anne Readel, who reveals how the viral spread of her story on No-Mow May enabled her to recast her message with different angles, increasing the story’s reach. Stay to the end for Readel’s offbeat story about living with your urban turkey neighbors. Please join us for this inspiring discussion about conservation storytelling, and learn how the aforementioned three A’s can be used to craft the focus of your nature and wildlife pictures and expand their impact. Guests: Jaymi Heimbuch and Anne Readel Episode Timeline 3:

There’s a special feeling to photographing sports action that hooks you from day one. Listen in as we talk sports with Sony Artisan of Imagery Jean Fruth, and longtime Sports Illustrated Director of Photography Steve Fine. In 2019, Fruth co-founded Grassroots Baseball to celebrate the amateur game at the youngest levels. In her latest book Grassroots Baseball: Route 66, Fruth photographs young players in the same heroic manner as the pros. When it comes to equipment, she recommends the best gear to fit your budget, while singing the praises of fast lenses, As Fruth’s longtime editor, Fine weighs in on the three pillars of sports photography and the vital importance of cropping. In Fine’s view, great pictures are a shared accomplishment between a photographer and an athlete in a moment that cannot be repeated. Please join us for this spirited discussion about Grassroots Baseball and learn how the aforementioned three pillars can be woven into Sports Photography gold. Episode Timeline: 4:30: Jean Fruth’s star

With a camera in his hand, Harvey Stein owns the streets, having spent the past 50 years capturing quintessential moments and making sensitive portraits of the people he meets there. In this two-part episode, he shares details about his photographic process while also conveying the wisdom he’s acquired in publishing 10 books of photographs. We first caught up with Stein at the 2022 B&H OPTIC Conference in June, where he spoke about his newest book Coney Island People: 50 Years. He describes his interactive approach to street photography by traveling near and far in search of the human animal. Although he packs a Canon 5D for foreign locales where vibrant colors can be an important element, Stein is most at home with his Leica M4, a 21 mm lens, and a finder that lets him maintain visual contact with his subjects. We also learn about his Manhattan darkroom, and all the money he’s saved by rolling his own film for all these years. In addition to his substantial photography chops, Stein is also an expert in p

Sapna Reddy and Matt Kloskowski have more in common than just colorful photos of birds in nature and soothing landscapes. In this week’s episode of the B&H Photography Podcast, we investigate how their respective work lives have fueled the technical mastery that allows their creative vision to flourish. We spoke with them both as part of our continuing coverage of B&H’s 2022 OPTIC Conference. We begin the show with Dr. Sapna Reddy, who balances a rigorous medical career in radiology with the creative freedom of time spent outdoors, capturing scenic landscapes. Reddy’s medical work is limited to a strict analysis of grayscale image data, yet her colorful landscapes provide a healing influence from the world of hospitals. Listen in to learn how she follows the light based on what nature delivers—choosing extreme wide-angle lenses for scenes with powerful foregrounds that draw the viewer’s eye and using longer focal length lenses for compositions that isolate elements. Reddy also tells of mastering the t