Stories
What Survives What Makes It Through As creatives, we all know this problem even if we don’t always have a name for it. We’ve shot videos that never landed, designed something that looked right but failed to communicate, written songs or stories that meant something to us and somehow reached nobody else. The work felt...
“The Stage, Not the Script” Photography, for me, isn’t about chasing the perfect frame. It’s about stepping into the storm. Standing in the arena. Letting life unfold. Victor Skrebneski once said photography is about capturing a magical moment in time. I don’t believe you chase that moment. You prepare for it. You set the stage....
Forget lighting. Forget LUTs. This isn’t about soft glow or golden hour. This is about camera movement that buzzes like caffeine withdrawal and focus pulls that hit like vertigo in a dive bar bathroom. The Bear doesn’t shoot scenes. It traps you inside them and dares you to find the exit. This is storytelling that...
There's a lot of slick cinematography out there. Too polished, too pretty, too over-cooked. You know the stuff I'm talking about: safe, middle-of-the-road compositions spoon-fed to viewers with all the nutritional value of a microwaved burrito. It's okay. It works. But nobody ever left a shoot bragging, "Damn, I nailed another perfectly average shot today."
You’ve heard it everywhere.
“User-generated content is the future of marketing.”
And yes, there’s truth in that. People trust people. Real customers sharing real experiences can create an emotional connection that no ad campaign can match.
The Problem I See Every Day
Most businesses that reach out to me for marketing materials, whether it’s photography, videography, web design, graphic design, or brochures, don’t have a clear, efficient creative process.
They think they do, but they don’t. And it shows.
As we watch the TikTok ban linger in limbo, it’s still technically in effect but currently unenforced. It’s a reminder of just how volatile the platforms we depend on can be. Add the rapid rise of AI and the constant churn of new platforms, and it’s easy to feel like you’re navigating quicksand.
Let’s be honest: if you’re frustrated by how much time your kids spend glued to their phones, scrolling through TikTok, or gaming online, buckle up. It’s only going to get more intense. I get it. I’ve got four kids at home, and sometimes it feels like their screens are the fifth member of the family. I’ll be halfway through a sentence, and they’re zoned out watching a YouTube video or answering a group text. But here’s the thing: if history is any guide, this isn’t the end of the world.
If you’ve spent even a few minutes on LinkedIn, you’ve seen it.
The lifeless B2B posts look like they were copy-pasted from an internal memo or dragged straight out of a PowerPoint deck. They’re overly formal, visually uninspired, and about as engaging as reading the back of a cereal box.
On January 7, 2025, Getty Images and Shutterstock announced a “merger of equals” set to create one giant visual-content juggernaut. According to the release, the new combined company, operating under the Getty Images Holdings umbrella, will feature a substantial arsenal of stock visuals, event coverage, and advanced technologies, including generative AI.
The corporate spin is all about “expanded opportunities,” “synergies,” and a “premier visual content company.” But let’s cut through the noise: