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This is why you’re failing as a photographer – But here’s how to fix it

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Even if we’re not told, nobody likes to have the realisation or go through the experience of failing at something. Many of us go through things in life that we’re failing at without even realising it because we just don’t understand what we’re doing wrong and how we could do things differently.

It can be even worse when somebody else points out that we’re failing, as photographer Justin Mott does in this video. But he does offer some fantastic advice on how you can stop continuing to fail and get yourself on the right track to a successful future as a photographer.

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Travel like a photographer – advice for the soul

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“Travel isn’t always pretty.  It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind. ” -Anthony Bourdain

This headline might come off a bit pretentious for some of you, I mean how do photographers travel any differently than the rest of the population?  Fair question, but for better or for worse, we are different in our own way.

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To serve and protect: photographing the last two living northern white rhinos on the planet

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In 2018, Sudan, the last remaining northern white rhino passed away of natural causes at the Ol Pejeta conservancy in Laikipia County, Kenya thus ending the existence of their subspecies.

Not far from Sudan’s grave lives Fatu and Najin (mother and daughter), the last known living northern white rhinos on the planet.  A loss of habitat and poaching of their valuable horns to be sold off in the black market for traditional eastern medicinal purposes bound for countries such as China, South Korea, and Vietnam has led to the demise of their species.

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Reasons why your photography business is failing

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The biggest and most common mistake I see in photographers in all genres is that they aren’t honest with themselves. They love the idea of being a photographer , the romantic side of it all, sounds cool, right? They hate the work part, the hustle, the grind, the guts of what it takes to run any successful small business.

They just want to do the fun part of taking pictures, spending their afternoons hanging out in coffee shops and shooting only things they are interested in and talking smack. You have the right to do this but you aren’t going to make a sustainable living doing things this way.  There should be a name for those photographers, let me think, more on that later.

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Don’t let social media ruin your photography

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I’m at a Starbucks in Hanoi, typically it’s a peaceful location where I can write and think, but today it’s overrun with young people smoking cigarettes, occasionally smiling and laughing, but mostly consumed with their phones browsing Instagram and taking selfies to reload their feed with an annoyed older man in their background typing away.

This social media narcissism isn’t a scene unique to Vietnam by any means, it’s everywhere in the world.  At 40 years-old I’m ashamed to admit it, but I can be slightly guilty of spending too much time on my phone. However, in the past few years I’m more apt to reading a book rather than aimlessly browsing my phone and it feels damn good.

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Don’t ruin your wedding photography career before it starts

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So, you are about to embark on your first solo wedding shoot of your career.  You’ve got butterflies in your stomach, you’re stressed, and the pressure is most certainly setting in.  Don’t panic, read this carefully and you will be well prepared for photographing the most important day of someone’s life.

A little background on me, I’m the founder of Mott Weddings destination wedding photography studio in Vietnam. I’ve shot weddings all over the world for over a decade. I’m also on a reality TV show about photography show so I obviously know what I’m talking about because the TV doesn’t lie :).

Now that you know me well, do you take me as your lawful wedding photography coach? Read this and then say, “I do” in the comments section.[Read More…]

The Significance Of A Personal Project

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My daily stroll through the newly built but already decaying park near my apartment in Hanoi listening to Spotify on a brisk (by SE Asia standards) morning has me in deep thought. We only get this type of weather for a couple months a year here and I absolutely love it. I grew up in New England and this is the temperature I was built for, I truly am a different person. I’m smarter, more motivated, and dare I say a deeper man when I’m able to wear long pants and a sweatshirt.

[Editor’s note: some viewers may find the images in the article disturbing, so please proceed with caution]

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Things that make you a cocky photographer

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Over the years I’ve joked frequently with my best friend Marc and my brother about things that are cocky in life.  We sort of have this ongoing dialog pointing out cocky things and cocky people in the world, which is pretty cocky of us. They’ve given me a lot of shit since I became a photographer a decade ago pointing out how cocky our industry is and poking fun at me for my share of cocky moments like having an army of scarfs, our bio picture, and much much more.  Typically you think of athletes or celebrities as being cocky, and of course chefs, but don’t discount photographers.

I figured it was about time to address these cocky aspects of photography. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rules so I’ve pointed them out. If I offend you here please don’t take me serious, I’m just a silly dude saying silly things. If you are guilty of 3 or more of these things, consider yourself cocky.

So, without further ado,  here is the 2017 cocky list:
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