Storytelling

Street Photography Has No People Rules: How to Find Stories in Empty Spaces
Video Tutorials

Street Photography Has No People Rules: How to Find Stories in Empty Spaces

Every Sunday morning I do a photo walk around Seattle, rain or shine. And for the first couple of years, I came home frustrated on the weeks when the streets were quiet. No interesting faces, no decisive moments, nothing that felt like “real” street photography. I’d basically trained myself to believe that people were the whole point, and without them I had nothing to shoot. That belief cracked wide open when I watched Sean Tucker’s tutorial on shooting street photography without people in the frame.

Why Personal Photography Is the Most Powerful Work You'll Ever Make (And How to Start)
Video Tutorials

Why Personal Photography Is the Most Powerful Work You'll Ever Make (And How to Start)

There’s a version of photography where you chase the technically perfect shot. Perfect exposure, perfect light, perfect composition. I spent a long time living in that version, and honestly, some of my most forgettable images came from it. The ones that stopped people mid-scroll, the ones that strangers at coffee shops asked me about, those almost never came from a calculated setup. They came from something real. That’s the problem this tutorial addresses head-on, and it’s one I needed someone to put into words for me.

How to Find Your Photography's Story (What Jeff Bridges' Photo Book Taught Me)
Video Tutorials

How to Find Your Photography's Story (What Jeff Bridges' Photo Book Taught Me)

I have a confession: I spent about three years chasing the same kind of shot I kept seeing on Instagram. Same compositions, same color grades, same light. I thought I was developing a style. I was actually just borrowing everyone else’s. It wasn’t until I started pulling photography books off shelves, the physical kind, that something shifted in how I thought about making images. That’s exactly why this Peter McKinnon tutorial stopped me mid-scroll and made me want to write about it.

What a 1977 Ford Truck Taught Me About Shooting with Character (And Why Your Subject's Story Is Half the Photo)
Video Tutorials

What a 1977 Ford Truck Taught Me About Shooting with Character (And Why Your Subject's Story Is Half the Photo)

There’s a question I get asked constantly on my Sunday morning photo walks: “How do I make my photos feel like they mean something?” My honest answer is always the same. The feeling usually starts before you ever lift the camera. It starts with what you choose to photograph, and why that thing deserves a frame around it. Watch the full tutorial on YouTube In this Peter McKinnon video, what looks on the surface like a vlog about trading in an old truck is actually a quiet, practical lesson in something photographers struggle with all the time: identifying visual character in a subject, reading light and color under real-world conditions, and letting a subject’s imperfections become the story rather than something to work around.

Capturing Life's Big Moments: Why Graduation Photography Deserves Your Creative Best
News

Capturing Life's Big Moments: Why Graduation Photography Deserves Your Creative Best

As we head into graduation season, I’ve been reflecting on why this particular genre offers such rich creative potential for photographers at all skill levels. Whether you’re documenting a family member’s achievement or building your portfolio as a professional, graduation photography presents a unique intersection of emotion, celebration, and visual storytelling. Why Graduation Sessions Matter I’ve noticed that photographers often overlook graduation work as a creative outlet. Yet these sessions contain everything you need to push your technical and artistic boundaries.

Learning from Award-Winning Women Photographers: What Their Work Teaches Us
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Learning from Award-Winning Women Photographers: What Their Work Teaches Us

Learning from Award-Winning Women Photographers: What Their Work Teaches Us I’ve always believed that studying award-winning photography is one of the best ways to improve your own craft. Recently, I’ve been inspired by a special photography publication that dedicated an entire issue to celebrating women photographers from across the globe. What struck me most wasn’t just the stunning images—it was how these photographers approached their work with distinctive perspectives that challenged my own thinking about composition, storytelling, and visual communication.

Celebrating Female Perspectives: What Makes Women-Focused Photography Powerful
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Celebrating Female Perspectives: What Makes Women-Focused Photography Powerful

A Fresh Creative Direction I’ve been reflecting lately on how important it is for photography communities to actively celebrate diverse voices and perspectives. Recently, All About Photo released their 55th magazine issue with a specific creative challenge: explore the subject of women through the lens. The results offer valuable lessons for all of us working in photography today. Why Subject-Focused Challenges Matter When a publication or photography organization narrows its focus to a particular theme, something interesting happens.