The Nerdy Photographer Podcast

The most important piece of gear in portrait photography isn't your lens, your light, or your camera body. It's your ability to make a complete stranger feel safe and unselfconscious in front of you within ten minutes. And almost nobody teaches you how to do that. In this episode of The Nerdy Photographer, we get into the psychology of portraiture — not the artistic side, but the human side. We cover the chameleon effect, a well-documented psychological phenomenon that explains why your energy as a photographer directly determines the energy your subject brings to the frame. We talk about why raising your camera too early is one of the most common and most damaging habits in portrait shooting. And we break down exactly why "look natural" is the least useful direction you can give someone — and what to say instead. We also cover the power of the pivot: what to do when a shoot stalls, the energy drops, and more direction is making things worse rather than better. The answer is almost never what most photographers reach for first. If your portraits are technically strong but emotionally flat, this episode is for you. What's covered in this episode: — Why people freeze in front of cameras and what's actually happening psychologically — The chameleon effect and how your energy shapes your subject's — Why the camera is a barrier and when to put it down — Active prompts vs static poses — the language of natural directing — The power of the pivot when a shoot loses momentum This week's homework: On your next portrait session, impose two rules. No camera at your eye for the first five minutes — just talk. And replace every static posing instruction with an active prompt. Notice the difference in what your images contain. 🎙️ Listen to The Nerdy Photographer Podcast https://nerdyphotographer.com/podcast 📸 Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com/thenerdyphoto 🧵 Find us on Threads https://threads.com/thenerdyphoto 🎵 Follow on TikTok https://tiktok.com/@thenerdyphoto The Nerdy Photographer is a podcast and video series for photographers who want to understand not just what to do — but why it works. New episodes covering technique, gear science, creativity, and the psychology of making better images.

Nico Trinkhaus has congenital aphantasia — he can't picture anything in his mind's eye, not a face, not a place, nothing. It's part of why he became a travel and cityscape photographer in the first place, and it's shaped a signature style built on presence, stillness, and timelessness. In this episode, Casey talks with Nico about his 15-year photography career, his "Europe Rising" project born out of Brexit-era negativity, and his upcoming solo exhibition at Lisbon Airport — before the conversation shifts into the very personal story behind PhotoClaim, the company Nico founded after discovering 120 unauthorized commercial uses of his own photos. They dig into why companies have largely "stopped buying photos" in Europe, how U.S. copyright law has more teeth, what the Copyright Claims Board actually offers photographers, and how AI is reshaping — and in some ways worsening — the copyright landscape. In this episode: Nico's background in travel and cityscape photography, and his love of bold, saturated color Living with congenital aphantasia and how it shapes his photographic eye Why he shoots empty, early-morning scenes and calls his style "timeless travel photography" The "Europe Rising" project: using photography to counter Brexit-era negativity about Europe Curating his first solo exhibition at Lisbon Airport, and why he's moving toward physical prints and books The viral lightning photo that led him to discover 120 unlicensed commercial uses of his work How that discovery became PhotoClaim Why companies have "stopped buying photos" — and the legal gap between the U.S. and Europe The U.S. Copyright Claims Board: what it costs, what it caps, and whether it's worth using How PhotoClaim operates across international borders, and the particular headaches of working with stock agencies What to do the moment you discover your photo has been used without permission How AI image generation is actually increasing copyright infringement cases, and the EU's new AI-disclosure directive The backlash against AI-generated headshots, and why some licensing boards now require real photos Nico's number one piece of advice for photographers: slow down and observe before you ever set up a shot Chapters: 00:00 – Cold open & show intro 03:52 – Welcome, Nico Trinkhaus 04:08 – Dice Breaker: best investment in his photography business (the tilt-shift lens) 05:31 – Nico's photography background and style 06:29 – Congenital aphantasia and memory 11:51 – "Timeless travel photography" and shooting empty scenes 16:35 – The Europe Rising project 24:16 – Solo exhibition at Lisbon Airport; prints vs. social media 32:47 – The viral photo that led to discovering 120 copyright infringements 39:21 – Why companies "stopped buying photos" (U.S. vs. Europe) 43:31 – The U.S. Copyright Claims Board 45:25 – How PhotoClaim works across countries, and the trouble with agencies 50:56 – What to do when you find your photo stolen 56:12 – AI, copyright, and the EU's new AI-disclosure directive 59:34 – The backlash against AI-generated headshots 1:05:24 – Nico's #1 piece of advice for photographers 1:11:39 – Useless Information (Zimbabwe's $100 trillion bill) 1:12:46 – Where to find Nico and PhotoClaim Links: Nico's photography and travel guides: sumfinity.com PhotoClaim (copyright protection for photographers): photoclaim.com Nico's copyright-education videos: search "Nico Trinkhaus" on YouTube U.S. Copyright Claims Board: ccb.gov Internet Archive (for documenting infringements): web.archive.org Archive.today (alternate archiving tool): archive.ph This episode is brought to you by: Nerdy Photographer Contract Templates — https://nerdyphotographer.com/product-category/contracts/ Retouch4me — 20% off with code NERDY at checkout - https://retouch4.me?promocode=nerdy ON1 Photo RAW — https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/on1 Format — build your photography portfolio website - https://format.partnerlinks.io/nerdy Follow the show: @thenerdyphoto on social media. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode, and if you've got a minute, leave a review — it genuinely helps. About My Guest Nico Trinkhaus is an award-winning travel photographer celebrated for his atmospheric images of European cities and landscapes. Born in Berlin, he lives with congenital aphantasia, a rare condition that prevents him from visualising memories. Photography became his way to preserve the beauty he experiences while travelling. After 15 years of Photography, in 2026 he became the First photographer in Portugal to be recognized with the QEP Qualified European Photographer distinction in the category of Fine Art Photography Through his platform Sumfinity.com, Nico shares stories that honour both the diversity andcunity of Europe. His work, available as fine art prints, has been featured in exhibitions and publications across Europe. About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

It's Halloween on the Nerdy Photographer Podcast, which means it's time for this year's photography horror story. A photographer editing alone in his locked studio keeps hearing a shutter click. But where is it coming from? Full description: Our annual Halloween tradition is back. This year's story is "Until It Clicks". Chance is up against the deadline of his career: a big fashion campaign due in the morning. He's alone in the studio, editing late into the night, when he starts hearing a sound he knows better than any other. The click of a camera shutter. The door is locked. His studio manager went home hours ago. And his second camera, sitting across the room, is switched off. Turn down the lights, put on your headphones, and listen if you dare. About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

This is a spooky-season re-release. Casey welcomes Dr. Emily Zarka, host of Monstrum on PBS Digital's Storyed channel, for a conversation about monster folklore, spirit photography, and what our desire to document the supernatural says about us. In this episode: The Twitter debate that started it all: why (and whether) vampires can be photographed — soul folklore vs. silver folklore Working through the "photographability" of werewolves, mummies, zombies, and ghosts based on soul mythology The history of 1860s spirit photography and the spiritualist movement William Mumler, the photographer who faked ghostly portraits of deceased loved ones — and the trial where he got away with it P.T. Barnum's staged "ghost photo" of himself with Lincoln's spirit, made to expose the trend as fraud Why spirit photography took hold after mass wartime loss, and what it offered grieving families What monster folklore more broadly reveals about how humans process real horror and cruelty Global vampire folklore and why Western "Dracula-style" vampires are just one version among many Dr. Zarka's favorite monster (the undead), favorite monster movie (The Mist), and favorite non-traditional monster (the Manananggal, from Filipino folklore) Useless information segment: How Lazzaro Spallanzani proved in 1793 that bats navigate by sound rather than sight — by blindfolding bats first, then plugging their ears, and watching which one made them start bumping into things. Guest: Dr. Emily Zarka, host of Monstrum (PBS Digital / Storyed) — watch on YouTube or at PBS.org Episode Promo: Kit - https://partners.kit.com/nerdy Support The Nerdy Photographer Sign Up for The Power Up - https://nerdyphotographer.com/newsletter Get some artwork from the print shop - https://art.caseyfphoto.com Buy some Nerdy Photographer Merch - https://nerdyphoto.dashery.com Use our link to buy new gear from Adorama - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/adorama Use our link to buy used gear from KEH - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/keh Follow along with us on social media @thenerdyphoto About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

In this episode, Casey Fatchett talks with nature and landscape photographer Vicky Thompson about her journey from a teenage film photographer to a respected voice in her photography community — and about the recurring experience of being underestimated, doubted, or outright told she was in the wrong place because of what she looks like. In this episode: Vicky's start in photography at 13, using babysitting money to buy her first film camera How Gordon Parks' civil-rights-era photography shaped her eye and her values The role Instagram played in leveling up her technical skills Being mistaken for a guest — or told outright she was "not supposed to be here" — while working as the hired photographer Why she shows up prepared to give "150%" and how that mindset has shaped her career How social media has helped shift assumptions about who photographers are Preparing her daughter, a college sports photographer, for the realities of the industry The resurgence of film and instant cameras among younger photographers Why Vicky sees photography as a community, not a competition Episode Promos Nerdy Photographer Contract Templates - https://nerdyphotographer.com/product-category/contracts/ On1 Software - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/on1/ Format, websites for creatives - https://format.partnerlinks.io/nerdy Retouch4Me - https://retouch4.me/ - remember to use promo code "nerdy" to get 20% off About My Guest Vicky Thompson is a nature and landscape photographer based in Northern California "I have been featured in every local news channel in Sacramento, as well as local magazines like Be Local Sacramento. I have been designated as one of 10 "must follow" black woman photographers by Focus Camera. I helped to curate the first ever "photography month sacramento" with a gallery exhibition of many local photographers, entitled "Sacramento after dark". Website: https://photosbyvicky.net Instagram: https://instagram.com/photos.by.Vicky About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact    

This is a spooky-season re-release of episode 76. Casey welcomes back photographer Jeremy Harris to react to scary and unexplained stories submitted by photographers around the world — some paranormal, some very much not, all genuinely unsettling. Stories covered in this episode: A quiet night shoot on a bridge, and the fatal mugging that happened roughly five minutes after the photographer left Solo exploring the haunted tunnels of Sloss Furnace in Birmingham, Alabama — cold chills, a moving shadow, and a self-professed skeptic who still ran A giggling child's voice coming from an empty graveyard while waiting to shoot the Milky Way A "haunted" county jail where cameras glitch and inmates scream at midnight — solved (mostly) by over-recorded VHS tape and a broken AC unit Finding two brand-new (probably stolen) motorcycles inside an abandoned cottage A rising tide that cuts off a photographer's escape route in 15 minutes flat, ending in a Coast Guard rescue A dead crow, a "fear boner," and a 150-year-abandoned power plant A high schooler stranded in dense fog after dark, terrified by what turns out to be a Highland cow New Zealand possums mistaken for a mythical panther mid-hike Exploring the real history behind New Jersey's Overbrook Asylum and its connection to unnecessary lobotomies The short history of "spirit photography" — double exposures and long exposures that convinced 19th-century audiences they'd captured ghosts Support The Nerdy Photographer Sign Up for The Power Up - https://nerdyphotographer.com/newsletter Get some artwork from the print shop - https://art.caseyfphoto.com Buy some Nerdy Photographer Merch - https://nerdyphoto.dashery.com Use our link to buy new gear from Adorama - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/adorama Use our link to buy used gear from KEH - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/keh Follow along with us on social media @thenerdyphoto About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

Street and portrait photographer Tom Hoops joins us to talk about his unplanned path into photography, why he builds his portrait style around rawness instead of polish, and why he founded The Underexposed Community. In this episode: Tom's origin story: picking up a camera to shoot reference photos for paintings — and never going back to painting The early Flickr community (including photographers like Jack Davidson and Brett Walker) that shaped his eye Why he tells photographers starting out to avoid Instagram, other photographers' work, and how-to books until they've built their own body of work His case against the "corporate headshot" look and what he's chasing instead Shooting underexposed on purpose, working on location, and why he sets his lights once and then forgets about them What actually separates working photographers from hobbyists (hint: it's not the gear) The industry problem of shrinking access time on assignments — and what publishers get wrong Why he started The Underexposed Community and what it offers photographers looking for real peer connection Timestamps: 3:33 — Introduction and dice-breaker question 4:41 — Tom's background and path into photography 9:09 — The moment he knew photography was his profession 10:54 — Looking back at early work, and the fashion photography learning curve 16:52 — Why he tells new photographers to avoid studying other photographers early on 23:22 — Why lighting setups matter less than people think 25:05 — Rejecting the corporate headshot look; shooting subjects "powerful" instead of polished 30:55 — Where the "raw" feel actually comes from: direction, location, editing 39:01 — Advice on turning photography into a full-time living 44:15 — Founding The Underexposed Community 56:55 — Tom's advice to photographers just starting out (or to his younger self) Episode Promos Nerdy Photographer Contract Templates - https://nerdyphotographer.com/product-category/contracts/ On1 Software - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/on1/ Format, websites for creatives - https://format.partnerlinks.io/nerdy Retouch4Me - https://retouch4.me/ - remember to use promo code "nerdy" to get 20% off About My Guest Tom Hoops is a portrait and fashion photographer known for his distinctive, emotive style and ability to capture raw human character. Working between studio and location, Tom's images blend strong composition with a cinematic use of light, creating work that feels both contemporary and timeless. His photography has been featured internationally, and he is recognised for his intuitive approach to directing subjects and uncovering authentic, powerful moments. Tom is also the founder of Wild Dogs in Paris, Wild Dogs Editions and Underexposed. The Underexposed Community: https://underexposedcommunity.com Website: https://TomHoops.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/TomHoops About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's work at https://caseyfphoto.com   If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

Photography culture treats technical perfection as the goal and any deviation from it as failure. This episode argues that some of the medium's most resonant images come from exactly the opposite — and explores where the line is between a mistake worth fixing and a "failure" worth keeping. In this episode: The wedding reception story: a dead flash transmitter, a dozen unusable frames, and the one accidental low-light portrait that became a favorite Why photography's fear of technical failure is a holdover from the film era's real economic costs — and why that instinct outlived its original reason How editing tools (noise reduction, sharpening, highlight recovery) reinforce the assumption that all technical deviation is a problem to solve The aesthetics of error: lens flare, film grain, vignetting, and uncorrected chromatic aberration as characteristics photographers deliberately chase rather than mistakes to eliminate Dragging the shutter, explained: combining a slow shutter speed with flash to capture both a frozen subject and streaking ambient motion First curtain sync versus second curtain sync, and why second curtain tends to look more natural The difference between unintentional failure (worth minimizing) and intentional failure (a deliberate, informed choice to break a technical rule) — and why mastery is the prerequisite for the latter Homework from this episode: The Broken Session Go out with the specific intention of making technically incorrect images. Use a shutter speed that's too slow, manually focus past your subject, shoot straight into a light source. Try to come home with three images that are technical failures but emotional successes — where the flaw is doing some of the work — then ask honestly whether a "correct" version of the same shot could have done the same thing. Support The Nerdy Photographer Sign Up for The Power Up - https://nerdyphotographer.com/newsletter Get some artwork from the print shop - https://art.caseyfphoto.com Buy some Nerdy Photographer Merch - https://nerdyphoto.dashery.com Use our link to buy new gear from Adorama - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/adorama Use our link to buy used gear from KEH - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/keh Follow along with us on social media @thenerdyphoto About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact  

Host Casey Fatchett talks with alternative process photographer Britt Bradley, known professionally as Nitrate Fox, about wet plate collodion photography, the history and politics baked into a 170-year-old medium, and Bradley's self-published photo book Jamnesia, which documents the roller derby community in tintype. In this episode: Why Bradley chose a non-gender-specific artist name — and how it changed their exhibition acceptance rate Collodion's history as "a perpetual representation of the white male gaze," and how seating, standing, and exposure time shaped who was centered in 19th-century photographs How collodion's UV sensitivity affects the rendering of different skin tones Sharing copyright and physical plates with sitters as a way of redistributing power in the photographer/subject relationship The physical demands of wet plate: working within feet of a darkroom, racing the clock before a plate dries, and a 120-degree, quarter-mile sprint story from shooting on Fremont Street in Las Vegas What "truth" in photography really means — from treaty photographs to Dorothea Lange's contact sheets to Pete Souza's approach to documenting the White House Museum and archive access: how members of the public can actually request to view historic photographic collections Studio rules: "no negative self-talk" and "we always ask for consent" — and the story of photographing derby skater Aveda after her double mastectomy Why Bradley shoots roller derby "from the inside out" as a skater themself, rather than as an outside documentarian What three years, six states, 50+ leagues, and 500+ tintypes taught Bradley about derby community, care, and identity Embracing collodion's unpredictable artifacts as part of the story, not a flaw to eliminate Advice for anyone starting out in alternative process photography Episode Promos On1 Photo RAW - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/on1 Nerdy Photographer Contract Templates - https://nerdyphotographer.com/product-category/contracts/ Siteground Web Hosting - https://siteground.com/go/nerdy Survey Monkey - https://get.surveymonkey.com/nerdy About My Guest Britt Bradley (Nitrate Fox) alternative process photographer and artist. Her work explores identity, empowerment, subculture, and personal narrative through hand-crafted photographic processes that bridge contemporary storytelling with 19th-century techniques. Bradley's work has been exhibited nationally and was recognized as a Photolucida Critical Mass Top 50 photographer and a LensCulture Critics' Choice selection. She is the author of Jamnesia, a monograph documenting the world of roller derby through Wet Plate Collodion. Website: nitratefox.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/Nitrate_Fox TikTok: https://tiktok.com/Nitrate_Fox Book: Jamnesia: The Alternative Art of Athleticism — self-published, limited edition, available now at nitratefox.com Follow the Nerdy Photographer Podcast: Instagram - https://instagram.com/thenerdyphoto Reddit - https://reddit.com/u/thenerdyphoto Threads - https://threads.com/thenerdyphoto Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/thenerdyphoto.bsky.social TikTok - https://tiktok.com/@thenerdyphoto About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

In this nerdlet, Casey makes the case for deliberately slowing down — and why the unlimited frame rates of modern cameras and phones may be quietly working against better photography. In this episode: Why cheap, abundant frames change the psychology of shooting: when a missed shot costs nothing, the incentive to study each one disappears How high-volume shooting shifts the real creative decision from the moment of capture to the moment of culling Where burst shooting genuinely earns its place (sports, wildlife) versus where it works against you Henri Cartier-Bresson's The Decisive Moment (1952) and what "proactive" attention to a scene actually looks like The cognitive science angle: stimulus-driven (reactive) attention versus goal-directed (deliberate) attention, and why slow photography demands the latter Ansel Adams' concept of pre-visualization — forming the finished image in your mind before you shoot — and Casey's two ways of using it, including prepping mentally the day before a shoot The "film mindset": simulating the constraints of a 24 or 36-exposure roll with a digital camera, including no chimping and no in-field deletions Homework from this episode: Pick a hard limit — 12, 24, or 36 frames — for your next outing. No deleting in the field, no chimping, no exceptions. Before every shot, pause for a few seconds and ask what the photograph is actually about. When you review the results, pay attention not just to which images worked, but to how differently you moved, waited, and looked. Support The Nerdy Photographer Sign Up for The Power Up - https://nerdyphotographer.com/newsletter Get some artwork from the print shop - https://art.caseyfphoto.com Buy some Nerdy Photographer Merch - https://nerdyphoto.dashery.com Use our link to buy new gear from Adorama - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/adorama Use our link to buy used gear from KEH - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/keh Follow along with us on social media @thenerdyphoto About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact