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PODCAST

The Terrible Photographer

The Terrible Photographer is a storytelling podcast for photographers, designers, and creative humans trying to stay honest in a world that rewards pretending

society & culture personal journals

All Episodes

31:57

The Cliff - Why Freelancing Has No Floor

The Terrible Photographer ·

2026/03/03

Every job has a floor. A salary. A review cycle. Someone in authority who tells you you're doing fine, keep going.Freelancing has none of that. There's no feedback mechanism that tells you you're okay. No quarterly check-in. No laminated menu that says: this is what we are, this is what we cost, this is what done looks like.There's just the work. And then the silence after the work. And then waiting to see what the silence contains.In this episode, I'm talking about the specific

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54:10

The Mask - The Hidden Cost of Performing Expertise...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2026/02/24

A photographer friend once gave me three words of advice that I've never been able to use: just be yourself.Not because the advice is wrong. But because it assumes a stable, available self waiting underneath—one you can just step into when needed. For a lot of us in the creative industry, that self got covered over so gradually we didn't notice it happening.In this episode, I'm getting into something I haven't talked about directly before: the mask. Not just the professional version—the

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63:39

Heresies - The Hyde - How Photography Is Used for...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2026/02/17

London. 1886. A respected doctor stands before a mirror and drinks a potion he swore he would only use once. He doesn’t grow horns or sprout claws. He simply becomes... lighter. The weight of Victorian morality, the heavy wool of his reputation—it just slides off his shoulders. The first time, it requires the chemistry. By the end, Hyde doesn’t wait for an invitation. He just arrives.This is Episode 52 (Part 5 of the Heresies series)—where we say the things the photography industry would

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55:01

Heresies - The Corpse - How Instagram Trained You to...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2026/02/10

I posted a question on Threads: "Where are you posting your images these days?"The answers were scattered. Glass. Grainery. Pixelfed. Substack. Flickr, somehow. Very few said Instagram.There is no home anymore.Instagram was built by photographers, for photographers. Square format mimicking film. Filters mimicking darkroom techniques. A grid layout that functioned as a digital portfolio. For a while, it worked. Photographers got discovered. Built followings. Landed clients. Built

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66:59

Heresies - The Oracle - Why Photography Influencers...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2026/02/03

It's 3 AM. You're scrolling through infomercials. A televangelist is selling "Miracle Spring Water" for $50—promising financial breakthroughs, healing, transformation. All you have to do is send money and believe.Fast forward to 2026. A YouTube thumbnail: "This CAMERA changed EVERYTHING 📷🔥" Description: "Amazon affiliate links below."Same hustle. Different spring water.In this bonus heresy, we examine why gear influencers are the modern-day televangelists of photography—how they've built

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47:58

Heresies - The Cult Member - Why Your Camera Brand...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2026/01/27

Rochester, 1888. George Eastman releases the Kodak camera with a brilliant slogan: "You press the button, we do the rest." Serious photographers immediately panic, calling new users "Button-Pressers" and "Kodak Fiends." One writer declares photography dead: "When everyone is a photographer, then no one is an artist."Same fear. Same argument. Different century.This is Episode 2 of Heresies—where we say the things the photography industry would prefer you not think too hard about.Today: Why

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24:51

Basics, Deconstructed - Editing is Violence - How to...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2026/01/22

Most photographers drown in the edit.Not because they can't see what's good. Because they can't choose what matters.This episode is about the violence of editing—the courage it takes to kill good images, the ego that dies in the process, and why great portfolios are built on rhythm, not range.I tell the story of a La Jolla shoot where I took 1,900 frames in two hours and couldn't figure out which ones to keep. About losing my sense of up and down. About the underwater feeling of staring at

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49:08

Heresies - The Proxy - Why Listening to Your Clients...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2026/01/20

When a client says "I want exactly this," are they hiring you to execute their vision—or are they asking you to solve a problem they can't articulate?This is the first episode in a five-part series called Heresies—where we say the uncomfortable things the industry doesn't want you to think too hard about.In this episode: Why listening to your client might be killing your work. Why taste is a technical skill, not a preference. And the difference between being a problem-solver and being an

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40:45

Amature - Why I Envy Photographers Who Don't Get Paid

The Terrible Photographer ·

2026/01/13

There's a woman in Bangkok who's been selling noodles from the same corner for 43 years. She turned down Bon Appétit. Not because she's shy. Because she didn't want to cook for strangers with expectations.This episode started with a voicemail from Jason, a listener in North Carolina who shoots photos of his kids and has no interest in going pro. He called me out for ignoring non-professionals. And he was right.What I didn't expect was how much his email would make me confront something I've

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42:12

The Fresh Start Fallacy - Are You Building a Boat or...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2026/01/06

The war is internal, not technical.Lessons From a Terrible Photographer is a book for creatives who feel stuck, burned out, or disconnected from their work, even though they know what they’re doing.It’s not about gear or technique. It’s about the internal stuff no one talks about, and focusing on why we make work, not just how.Preorders help determine the first print run. Copies ship once printing begins.Preorder here:https://www.terriblephotographer.com/the-bookEPISODE DESCRIPTION:Three

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39:49

The Long Middle - The Third Space - How to Actually...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2025/12/30

The war is internal, not technical.Lessons From a Terrible Photographer is a book for creatives who feel stuck, burned out, or disconnected from their work, even though they know what they’re doing.It’s not about gear or technique. It’s about the internal stuff no one talks about, and focusing on why we make work, not just how.Preorders help determine the first print run. Copies ship once printing begins.Preorder here:https://www.terriblephotographer.com/the-bookYou've mastered the craft

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38:43

The Long Middle - Part 3 - The Enemy - How...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2025/12/23

Influencers talk about cameras. This book is about the things cameras can’t fix. The war is internal, not technical.Introducing the First Edition Collector’s Box.Get yours here: https://www.terriblephotographer.com/the-bookWhy does a $600 light get dismissed while a $3,000 light gets respect, even when they produce identical results? Why do wedding photographers apologize by saying “I’m just a wedding photographer”? And why do we hide the work we’re actually doing because it’s not the

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29:12

Basics, Deconstructed - Framing - Deconstructing...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2025/12/17

Influencers talk about cameras. This book is about the things cameras can’t fix. The war is internal, not technical.Introducing the First Edition Collector’s Box.Get yours here: https://www.terriblephotographer.com/the-bookWhen Vanity Fair published Christopher Anderson’s portraits of the White House’s inner circle, the internet reacted to the politics. But as photographers, we need to look closer. We need to look at the framing.In this bonus episode, Patrick Fore deconstructs the word

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37:26

The Long Middle - The Costume - Why We Hide Behind...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2025/12/16

Influencers talk about cameras. This book is about the things cameras can’t fix. The war is internal, not technical.Introducing the First Edition Collector’s Box.Get yours here: https://www.terriblephotographer.com/the-bookWhy do photographers wear so much black? Why do we feel confident on stage but panic at networking events? And why is it so hard to find real community in the creative industry?In Part 2 of "The Long Middle" series, Patrick explores the costumes we wear—not just the black

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36:12

The Long Middle - Part 1, The Island - Why Mastery Is...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2025/12/09

Influencers talk about cameras. This book is about the things cameras can’t fix. The war is internal, not technical.Introducing the First Edition Collector’s Box.Get yours here: https://www.terriblephotographer.com/the-bookIn January 2007, Joshua Bell—one of the world's best violinists—played a $3.5 million Stradivarius in a Washington D.C. subway station. Over 1,000 people walked past. Only 7 stopped to listen. He made $32.If you've ever felt like you're playing your heart out while

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49:05

The Curator's Disease - The Cost of Turning Your Life...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2025/12/02

Influencers talk about cameras. This book is about the things cameras can’t fix. The war is internal, not technical.Introducing the First Edition Collector’s Box.Get yours here: https://www.terriblephotographer.com/the-bookBelle Gibson faked cancer. The Stauffers rehomed their adopted son when the content became too difficult. Ruby Franke is currently sitting in a prison cell.It’s easy to look at the monsters of the influencer economy and think, "I am nothing like them." But if you peel

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29:56

Noise in the Shadows - When the Enemy is Competence

The Terrible Photographer ·

2025/11/25

June 6, 1944. Robert Capa is wading through the freezing water of Omaha Beach. He captures the most important images of the 20th century, and technically, they are a disaster. They are blurry. They are grainy. They are imperfect. And that is exactly why they matter.In this episode, Patrick explores the physics of light, the "hostage negotiation" of the exposure triangle, and why we are so terrified of grain. We look at how the market has colonized our vision, leading us to trade atmosphere

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28:50

Basics, Deconstructed - Good vs. Bad - If It Feels...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2025/11/20

In 1863, the Paris Salon rejected Édouard Manet's The Luncheon on the Grass for being too messy, too flat, too "unfinished." Today, it's one of the most important paintings in art history. Meanwhile, the "perfect" paintings that won the medals? Nobody remembers them.In this episode, we're deconstructing the biggest question photographers face: What makes a photo "good"? How do we measure it? Who decides? And why do we keep building portfolios that are technically perfect but emotionally

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56:12

Still Terrible - A Confession About Fear, Failure,...

The Terrible Photographer ·

2025/11/18

In this episode, I talk about the question that has been following me around like a stray dog with abandonment issues:“What am I doing wrong?”A late-night Zoom call.A missed phone call that might have cost me a job.Fabric mocking me at 2 AM.Postponing Christmas.Pretending patience is a virtue when really it’s just a financial liability.This one is not a framework or a lesson.It is a confession.A pressure valve.A look at the part of the creative journey nobody posts about because it is messy

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48:19

Bloody Knuckles - Let’s talk about A.I.

The Terrible Photographer ·

2025/11/10

This is the episode I’ve been avoiding.Not because I don’t have an opinion about AI — but because I have too many feelings about it. Gratitude. Fear. Anger. Wonder. All tangled together.AI has become my external brain — a tool that helps me function, organize, even parent. And at the same time, it’s the thing that might end my career.In this episode, I talk honestly about what Adobe’s new AI tools mean for photographers, artists, and the humans behind the craft. About the moment when “photo

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55 results

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