Sinopsis
Tales, techniques, tricks and tantrums from one of the UK's most in-demand portrait photographers.
Episodios
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EP165 AI Won’t Take Your Job. But Another Photographer Using It Just Might.
29/07/2025 Duración: 01h09minThis one starts with a dodgy lane choice, a Starbucks coffee, and a misjudged underpass. As always. I’m back in the Land Rover — which might be its final podcast outing before it finds a new home — and today’s episode is a rambling, reflective road trip through customer service, creative resilience, and the rapidly growing presence of AI in our industry. The day started badly. Cold shower (thanks British Gas), broken editing software, and a head full of terabytes. But it ended with a reminder of why kindness, craftsmanship, and conversation still matter. A haircut from someone I’ve known for 18 years. A deep chat with the owner of Michel Engineering while he lovingly took apart my ancient-but-beautiful record deck — the very same design featured in A Clockwork Orange and owned by Steve Jobs, no less. And then... a disappointing interaction with a distracted barista and a headset-wearing drive-thru operator. Same building, worlds apart. Customer service, it turns out, is alive and well — just not always where
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EP164 Inside Graphistudio: Heirlooms, AI, And The Future Of Photography — With Mauricio Arias
15/07/2025 Duración: 52minJoin me in the foothills of the Dolomites for a warm, funny, and surprisingly philosophical conversation with Mauricio Arias — Graphistudio’s strategist, storyteller, and, as I’ve dubbed him, their “Product Philosopher.” We dig deep into why printed work still matters in a digital world, how to make your images sing in print (and what that print will brutally reveal), and what photographers need to believe if they want clients to invest in heirlooms, not hard drives. There’s laughter, there’s wine (not during the recording, I promise), and there’s a lot of heart. This one’s for anyone who’s ever asked: does my work really need to exist on paper? (Spoiler: yes. Yes it does.) Links: Graphistudio: graphistudio.com Mauricio Arias: mauricioarias.art What Graphistudio Can Teach Us About Craft, Confidence, And Creating Heirlooms Featuring Mauricio Arias – from Episode 165 of the Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast This summer, I found myself at the foot of the Dolomites, tucked inside a sun-drenched meeting
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EP163 The Secret Sauce: Calm Under Pressure, Trust In The Kit, and a Dash of Irish Whiskey
04/06/2025 Duración: 26minThis week, I’m recording late in the lounge with a glass of Irish whiskey, reflecting on the usual mix of chaos and joy in a photographer’s life. Some good news first: the Mastering Portrait Photography podcast has landed in the https://podcast.feedspot.com/photography_podcasts/ https://podcast.feedspot.com/portrait_photography_podcasts/ https://podcast.feedspot.com/uk_photography_podcasts/ I share stories from a beautiful small wedding at Le Manoir, talk about how AI is both transforming and disrupting our industry (and how I’m using it to write useful code for the studio), and confess to completely changing my Instagram strategy so it actually makes me smile—feel free to check it out @paulwilkinsonphotography. The highlight? Racing through three days of corporate headshots in London, where the CEO arrives and my flash promptly refuses to fire—just classic timing. A reminder: knowing your kit inside-out and keeping calm is what clients are really paying for. If you fancy joining me in Oxford for a day of p
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EP162 Beyond Soft Shadows – What Really Makes Light Flattering?
10/05/2025 Duración: 26minIn this episode, I dig into a question that’s always lurking in the back of a portrait photographer’s mind – what really makes light flattering? It’s a term we all use, but what does it actually mean? Is it just about soft shadows and low contrast, or is it more about the connection between the subject and the photographer? I talk through this while reflecting on a busy week – from a stunning wedding at Head Saw House to a corporate shoot for Barclays, and a spontaneous portrait session that reminded me why I love this job. I also share some thoughts on the updated Mastering Portrait Photography book, which hits shelves in September, complete with fresh images and a whole new chapter on AI post-production. If you’ve ever wondered what makes a light truly flattering – and why it’s about more than just the gear – this episode is for you. And as always, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, be kind to yourself. Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for mo
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Ep161 AI Wrote Me an Email… and Other Adventures in Photography
27/04/2025 Duración: 18minIt’s a late Sunday afternoon, the sun is shining, and the smell of freshly cut grass (and the inevitable hay fever) is drifting through the studio as I sit down to record this episode. After a whirlwind few months — including seven incredible weeks photographing on Crystal Cruises — it feels good to be back behind the mic, even if I’m a little sniffly. In this episode, I’m reflecting on the magic of authentic portrait photography, the rapid rise of AI in our world (and our inboxes!), and why the human touch still matters more than ever. Plus, there’s news about upcoming workshops, a few tech tips for cleaner files and faster edits, and a good-natured rant about AI-generated podcast pitches. As always, it's a mix of stories, laughter, tech, and a reminder to stay creative — and stay human. Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe
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EP160 From Fear To Elation, The 9 Emotions Of Judging And Presenting At The Societies Convention In London
19/01/2025 Duración: 24minWell, it's the day after The Socieities Of Photographers Convention in London. What a blast! Judging, laughing, making friends, presenting workshops, representing Elinchrom Lighting and Evoto Ai, learning, exploring, creating and very little sleeping! The Convention is quite something to be a part of! In this episode, I try and explain what it feels like to be a small part of it whether judging the print competition, presenting or mixing with the trade - the various stages I pretty much always go through from fear to elation and everything in between. Enjoy! Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think! If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkins
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EP159 Change The Subject, Change The Shot, Change Your Lighting
11/01/2025 Duración: 24minImagine that every person had exactly the same fashion taste. Imagine if each of us had the same clothing or the same hairstyle. Imagine that everyone was the same height and build. Imagine that everyone had identical makeup. Just imagine. Of course, it's a nonsense - different styling suits different people. Short, tall, thin, round, dark-skinned, fair-skinned, red-heads, blondes, straight haired, curly haired: everyone looks for something different to bring out their best. So why do so many photographers light their subjects using the exact same lighting pattern without adjusting for the variety of life? Why? I can't answer that but I do have a view! Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think! If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answe
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EP158 Heading Home From The Awards
28/11/2024 Duración: 32minSo after three days of judging images for the British Institute Of Professional Photographers, it's time for me to step down from my role as Chair Of Awards And Qualifications. I have been in the role for three years and it is time for someone else to pick up the reins and run with it (if that isn't a mixed metaphor.) I have loved doing this and if it weren't for a million things I have to go on and do, I think I would do it forever! So as I drive home from my last round of qualifications - possibly the best one I've ever been involved in - here are a few musings of things I have spotted. This is a 'Tales From The Land Rover' edition so please forgive the audio quality and any mild road rage! Enjoy! Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think! If there are any topics, you
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EP157 After The Judging Is Done
25/10/2024 Duración: 34minSo after three days of judging images for the British Institute Of Professional Photographers, it's time for me to step down from my role as Chair Of Awards And Qualifications. I have been in the role for three years and it is time for someone else to pick up the reins and run with it (if that isn't a mixed metaphor.) I have loved doing this and if it weren't for a million things I have to go on and do, I think I would do it forever! So as I drive home from my last round of qualifications - possibly the best one I've ever been involved in - here are a few musings of things I have spotted. This is a 'Tales From The Land Rover' edition so please forgive the audio quality and any mild road rage! Enjoy! Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think! If there are any topics, you
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EP156 Creating Light At The End Of The Tunnel
29/09/2024 Duración: 26minWell, this hasn't been the easiest of years with inflation, geographical tensions and all-out confrontations, terrible weather and political transitions. And last night the trusty Land Rover Defender broke down one more time. Possibly one LAST time. But through all of that, we have to look for the possibles - the light at the end of the tunnel. But maybe it's us that has to create, rather than simply walk toward, the light. Enjoy! Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think! If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. Transcript EP156 - Creating Light At The End Of The Tunnel [00:00:00] Paul - Studio Rode Broadcaster
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EP154 A Bit More Different (And Other Thoughts On Judging)
05/07/2024 Duración: 42minAh, so it's the 4th July as I record this so Happy Independence Day to all my US friends and colleagues! In this episode, I do my regular round-up of things I've heard during judging - I was chairing the Click Expo Print Competition (the standard was incredible!) and I made a few notes from this and a few other things I've been involved in. I mention a couple of products and here are the links: EVOTO AI - https://go.evoto.ai/PaulWilkinson (if you use this link, you'll get 30 free credits!) ACDSee https://www.acdsee.com/en/index/ DXO - https://www.dxo.com/ Enjoy! Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think! If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@
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EP153 It Takes Work | There Is No Silver Bullet
27/05/2024 Duración: 38minThere are many factors to success and I have listed many in these podcasts, but the brutal reality is that it takes hard work. Lots of it. There isn't a silver bullet, no matter what every influencer, marketer, salesman, advertorial or Facebook campaign might try to convince you - and AI ain't gonna fix it either. All I wish is that I could stop seeing the ads that tell me otherwise! Before all that, though, I head up the episode with a quick chat with Colin Jones, CEO of The Societies Of Photographers. This is one more in my series of interviews-from-the-photography-show (I need a snappier title) and it's interesting that once more, training and education are at the forefront of his thoughts. Also, I mention a brilliant app called EVOTO.AI in this episode. At some point I'll do a deep-dive into it but rest-assured, this is well worth exploring if, like me, you create portraits for a living. The guys have kindly given me a link you can use that gives you thirty free credits when you register: https://go.
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EP152 Interview With Stuart Clark - Still Shooting At 97!
07/05/2024 Duración: 01h30minSometimes it's just a pleasure to sit back and listen. This is one of those moments - for me, certainly, but hopefully for you too. I had the pleasure of sitting and chatting with two icons of the industry - Sean Conboy and the inimatable nonagenarian, Stuart Clark who is not only still shooting at the age of 97 but is a considerable racontour (you can hear me and Sean laughing in the background throughout!) Stuart started his career in 1941, so his stories are not only entertaining but are fascinating as they cover every photography development from glass plate through to the state of the art digital wizardry we're facing today. This interview is worth listening to every one of its 90 or so minutes! Enjoy! Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think! If there are any topi
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EP151 What Does It Take?
25/04/2024 Duración: 47minSo what does it take to be successful (at least as a portrait photographer?) In this episode I muse on the key building blocks that every successful photographer I've encountered seems to exhibit, at least to varying degrees! This episode also features a quick catchup with Andy Blake from Kaleidoscope Framing (https://www.kaleidoscope-framing.co.uk/) who have been our supplier for nearly twenty years. Why? Because their products and their customer service are second to none! The PMI Smoke Ninja Photographic Competition is now in full swing - deadline is 5th May so what's stopping you? Head over to https://pmigear.com/pages/smokeninja-portrait-contest to read all about it. The Smoke Ninja is genius! Actually, it should be called the Smoke Genius... I also mention Datacolor's excellent products in the podcast, in particular the Spyder Cube, the Spyder Checkr Photo and the Spyder Checkr Video - they can be found at https://www.datacolor.com/spyder/products/ We have used these products for years and years a
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EP150 Sign Your Work | Your Signature Is Your Certificate Of Quality
03/04/2024 Duración: 23minEver wondered why you should sign your work? Well, in this, our 150th episode, we have chat about it. But before that, a quick catchup with Charlie Kaufman of Click Group at The Photography Show - head to https://www.clickliveexpo.co.uk/ to see details of one of the most exciting events in years! There is also news of the PMI Smoke Genie / Smoke Ninja competition - a fantastic opportunity to get creative and win some hefty prizes. I'll share the link for this as soon as I have it. If you're interested in any of our workshops or masterclasses, you can find them at https://www.paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk/photography-workshops-and-training/ Enjoy (and sign your work!) Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think! If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have ques
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EP149 Your First Strobe | Use What You Love, Love What You Use
24/03/2024 Duración: 25minIn this episode, I get to very briefly chat with Louis Wahl, CEO of WEX Photo Video. Turns out he is a really nice guy (and with luck, I'll get to chat to him in a full-length interview at some point in the future.) It's the great thing about the photography show - I get to meet loads of people! As well as the short chat, the episode is primarily a response to an email I received from 'Steve' asking what first strobe he should choose. Having sat and pieced together an answer, I thought it would be useful to make a podcast out of the answer. I guess you can be the judge of that! Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think! If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me
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EP148 Clarity Is King | Don't Confuse Your Clients With Woolly Wording!
19/03/2024 Duración: 47minWell, I'm back on the road with a microphone - but this time in my wife's nippy little Peugeot! There are a so many aspects of customer service but one of them is how you explain what you're going to deliver and how you're going to do it and, given the stories in this episode, that is something that is very easy to get wrong! Utlimately, clarity is king! Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think! If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. Full Transcript: EP148 - Clarity Is King [00:00:00] So for those of you with sharp ears, you may have noticed that that does not sound like my regular Land Rover biscuit tin on wheel
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EP147 Image Competitions: The Only Way To Fail Is To Fail To Enter
23/02/2024 Duración: 26minYay! Other than a crappy cold, a very good week. Won a Gold Bar with the Guild Of Photographers a couple of days ago which got me to thinking about competitions: why we do them, how to do them and the fear of failure (when in fact, the only failure is to not enter at all!) There are one or two other things to bear in mind and I step through them in the podcast. Enjoy! Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think! If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. Full Transcript: [00:00:00] I'm really sorry, it's just been one of those weeks. I have spent three days, three whole days at home feeling ill and mostly grumpy. Sorry, I don
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EP146 The Art Of Contentment
13/02/2024 Duración: 22minSuddenly it washed over me - that odd euphoric sensation of contentment. No idea what triggers it, but it's well worth holding onto! Also in this episode, a quick review of ACDSee 10 (the Mac version). If you'd like to try it yourself, please use this link (there is no kickback or finance attached, but it does let the guys at ACDSee know that the referral has come from me and the Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast!) Enjoy! Cheers P. If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode. PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think! If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. Full Transcript: EP146 On Being Content [00:00:00] Introduction and Studio Update [00:00:00] So in an effort to
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EP145 Yvonne's Law | Shooting For Dough vs. Shooting For Show
09/02/2024 Duración: 28minMastering Portrait Photography Podcast: Land Rover Edition This is one of our "Land Rover Editions" which is to say, slightly noisy. I'm on my way to and from the Hearing Dogs for a shoot, which is always lovely. Various topics, but mostly "Yvonne's Law: Shoot For Dough Before Shooting For Show". In other words, it's all about your client before it's about us and our lust for awards! haha. Sadly, it does mean you can't always create award-winning or qualification-worthy images on every client job, no matter how much you want to! 00:00 Introduction and Land Rover Editions 01:06 The Journey and the Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast 03:04 The Importance of Being Part of the Photography Industry 04:35 The Challenges of Recording Podcasts and Listener Engagement 06:00 The Timelessness of Radio Programs 07:05 The Arrival at Hearing Dogs and the Importance of Initials 07:45 The Challenges of Building a Website and Judging Image Competitions 16:08 The Arrival at the Wedding and Yvonne's Law 20:14 The Wedding