Impact: The Conservation Photography Podcast

#135: A stunning new publication has entered the world. Mother is a passion project by photographer Melissa Schäfer. Bringing together visually captivating stories of connection with Mother Nature, this dreamy new magazine features the work of 15 photographers from around the world and underscores how conservation photography is not a style. It is a statement.

Best part? Melissa had NEVER made a magazine before.  It was a project full of firsts. And despite having no idea about the "how", she charged forward.

Melissa talks about how she pulled it all off, and her experience is sure to deeply inspire you if you have a passion project you want to pursue but feel a little nervous about.

View the publication online, or order your free copy of Mother Volume 1 before they disappear:  https://www.themotherbear.com/mother

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/135 

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#134: Enjoy this special encore of a fan-favorite episode! Conservation photographers at all stages of their careers dish on experiences, insights and advice that'll help you in your own journey as a photographer. 

In this episode, which features key moments from many of the inspiring interviews we've aired the show, we're walking along the career path of a conservation photographer – from launching into a very first project, to finding your style, to raising huge amounts of money for conservation as a seasoned professional.

You'll discover sources for creative inspiration, key moments of persistence and humor in photography, to skills and tips you need in the conservation photography field.

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#133: Making awesome nature photos is the "easy" part. The hard part is getting people who see the photos to care and make a behavior change. How do we do that??

Conservation communication expert Brooke Tully breaks down fascinating insights and ideas that'll get you fired up for how you'll use your photos to shake things up.

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/133

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#132: From diving with sharks to publishing books, from co-founding a collective to taking out a car loan for camera gear, Shane's journey as a professional underwater and ocean conservation photographer is packed with smart tips and invaluable resources for your own adventure in this field.

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/132

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#131: Today is February 14th, and for many this Day of Love is a reminder to take some time for ourselves.

As conservation photographers, we all carry a strong emotional load with our projects, so taking time to practice self-love and self-care is essential.

Anna Pantano, an expert in mindfulness, stress reduction, and tools to help step out of tough moments.

Get the insight you need to manage the stress of your conservation photography projects and find out how to create personalized boundaries of self-care.

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/131 

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#129: Even though professional conservation photographer Roy Toft travels the world throughout the year, he still is laser-focused on this backyard photo project.

Learn what he's up to with camera traps in his southern California backyard, and why it matters so much to local conservation efforts.

Prepare to be inspired to start your own project at home!

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/129 

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#128: Whether conservation photography is a hobby, a side-gig or you're a full-time pro, you need to know how to document income and expenses for tax season. 

(Even if this work is a "hobby" for you, the IRS might not see it that way and you need to have your ducks in a row come tax time. )

It's my mission to help you feel organized and prepared in ALL aspects of this field - including the biz side - so today I'm excited to talk with Tiffany Bastian from Bastian Accounting for Photographers!

Tiffany dives into what we need to know to prepare our businesses for tax season, and other aspects of running a successful conservation photography business, including: 

• Why a separate bank account is the BEST thing you can have (even if photography is a hobby)
• Tips to set yourself up for a stress-free tax time
• The benefits of using accounting software like Quickbooks
• Her membership that teaches you how to build the structure of your photography business
• and more

Tiffany is passionate about helping photographers reach their dreams and becoming more proactive instead of reactive by making finance management accessible and not anxiety-driven.

As she puts it, "If you can show people how to do this stuff and that it's not hard, it doesn't become so anxiety-driven."

With energy and infectious enthusiasm, Tiffany opens up the dialogue on how we can make finance-related matters less overwhelming, so that workloads become more streamlined and proactive in the long run.

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/128

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#127: Finding out your photo story idea has been done can definitely be disheartening.

But don't despair! It doesn't mean the end for your story. (In fact, as a conservation photographer it's a good thing. I explain why in this episode!)

By taking a "quarter pivot" on the idea, you can keep moving forward confidently.

Here are 5 strategies that'll help you find a new approach (and new excitement!) for your photo story idea.

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/127

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#126: Have you ever wished you could see inside the mind of a photo editor? To understand why they make the decisions they make about stories and know what it's like to actually work alongside them?

Or have you dreamed of assisting on a photo story so that you could witness the ins and outs of how it all works?

This honest, wide-ranging conversation with Sabine Meyer of  Audubon Magazine and conservation photographer Morgan Heim gives you surprising insights into the work of visual storytelling while encouraging you to follow your creative instincts.

We cover: 

• finding joy in art
• how Sabine chooses photographers for stories 
• what goes into selecting which stories to publish in the magazine
• why working locally is critical to photographers landing assignments
• the role of trust between photographer and editor
• the surprising things to highlight about yourself on social media
• embracing the freedom to break rules and explore creativity in photojournalism
• bold creative choices to bring life to seemingly "been done" and controversial stories
• how to stay top-of-mind with editors by helping out other photographers
• and oh my goodness so, so, so much more

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/126

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#125: A big challenge nature photographers face is feeling overwhelmed by the thought of photographing people.

It's intimidating to capture a moment with someone if you don't have much experience in portrait photography or shooting for a story.

Yet, people are often a crucial element of effective, compelling conservation photo stories. After all, many conservation stories are about volunteers, activists, scientists, community members... 

Luckily, there's an easy 1-hour exercise that helps to build confidence and overcome this fear so you can create beautiful stories with your images.

Simply photograph someone you already know doing something. That's it! 

I know it sounds too easy, but trust me when I tell you that this exercise will work wonders for you. 

In this episode I take you behind the scenes of a short photo shoot of my partner, Nick, doing a craft.

I walk you through: 

• why it's important to do zero-pressure photo shoots to build your creative muscles
• the difference between photo stories and photo essays
• exactly what I was thinking as I was photographing so I could make interesting, diverse images
• what I was looking for as I composed images
• working with what you have when you're a "fly on the wall" photographer
• how many images I took in one hour (!!!)
• how I edited a big set of images down to only the best 26

This episode is filled with insights to use next time you pick up the camera  -- and I hope it's to do this very exercise! - that'll help you break through barriers you might be feeling about photographing people. 

Curious to see the images that I made in this shoot? See some in the shownotes!

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/125 

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#124: Great photographs stem from great opportunities. And when you're photographing people, great opportunities stem from great conversations.

Interviewing your story characters is your chance to build a relationship and uncover important storytelling details that'll inform your images.

Here are essential interview skills that'll smooth the way to outstanding photos for your stories - straight from a professional ghost writer who has spent thousands of hours interviewing characters!

Liz Green of Green Goose writing is here to teach you her top 4 strategies for fun, joyful, stress-free interviews.

What you learn in this episode is useful for ANY time you're going to photograph a person, from volunteering at local nonprofits to assignment work!

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/124

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#123: You spend a lot of time and effort creating beautifully crafted photo stories about conservation issues that are REALLY important.

So it's no wonder you want to make sure those stories get in front of as many eyes as possible.

Understanding how to repurpose your photo stories, or come up with fresh ways to get that out into the world in front of different audiences, will help you accomplish MORE impact with LESS work.

You'll Learn:
- why it's important to tell a story over and over (but differently each time!)
- why considering different audiences matters to conservation
- how to think about story angles and framing
- and we break down a case study from one of my Conservation Photography 101 students so you can see allllll these steps in action! 

Make the most of EVERY story you photograph! This episode shows you how.

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/123

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#122: What category of images are you primarily creating, and is that in alignment with the photographer you aspire to be?

In this episode, I talk about the 4 categories in the Visual Impact Quadrant™ and how you can shift focus depending on your goals as a conservation visual storyteller. 

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/122

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#121: Good news and bad news. The bad news is, there's no magic bullet solution for time management. There's no one strategy you can flip on and swoosh, your calendar is cleared for creativity.

The good news is, there are LOTS of solutions available that you can build a time-strategy tool kit out of.

This means you can pull the just-right-for-right-now solution from the kit when you need it.

We dive into 4 of these options in this episode PLUS mindset strategies that make the time strategies actually work. 

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/121

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#120: There's an inevitable question that comes up when you're working on a photo story or project that you know you want to get published: what images can you share on social media?

What's smart to share and what's oversharing that could shoot you in the foot later on?

We tackle this conundrum by asking one simple but essential question.

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/120

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#119: Achieving success in conservation photography is simple as long as you have these three ingredients: curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to pivot.

As Jules Jacobs proves, these traits help you make bold moves, open doors to opportunities you'd only ever dreamed about, and find surprising friendships along the way.

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/119 

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#118: It could have gone all wrong. But this savvy Conservation Photography 101 student turned it into an exceptional opportunity (and one we can ALL learn from).

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/118 

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#117: Imposter syndrome. Self-doubt. Uncertainty. It's all super familiar territory to *everyone* in our field.

Yes, even the pros feel it (all the time!).

So if you're feeling it, know you're not alone.

Hit play on this episode for a comforting reality check and - as always - helpful strategies that help you to cut through the noise and the nerves so you can focus on confident creativity.

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/117

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide

#116: There are BIG perks to making small additions to the agreements you use with nonprofits when you donate images.

This one simple tweak sets expectations, underscores your value as a photographer, and sets the stage for future paid work with the nonprofits you're volunteering with.

Get the full show notes + downloadable transcript + links to resources mentioned  at https://ConservationVisuals.com/116

🎓 Get the Mini-Course: 6 Must-Have Shots for a Photo Story
https://conservationvisuals.com/6Shots

📸 QUIZ: What's your hidden visual storyteller personality?
https://conservationvisuals.com/quiz

🗺️ Guide to Conservation Photography
https://conservationvisuals.com/guide