For artists, travelers, and anyone wanting to think visually You probably already take more photos than you know what to do with. But how often do you reflect on what you’ve made? Enter the photography journal — part visual diary, part creative compass. It’s not about documenting every setting or gear decision (unless you wantContinueContinue reading “How to Start a Photography Journal (and Why You’ll Thank Yourself Later)”
Tag Archives: photography tips
Why You Should Make a Zine (Even If No One Sees It)
Exploring DIY publishing as a powerful creative exercise In the age of algorithms and likes, it’s easy to forget that not everything has to be for someone else. Not everything has to be optimized for reach, engagement, or sales. Some things you make just because they help you grow. Zines — short for “magazines” orContinueContinue reading “Why You Should Make a Zine (Even If No One Sees It)”
The Image and the Essay: How to Pair Words with Photos Without Overexplaining
Practical tips for writing captions, essays, and zine copy that supports your images. There’s a delicate art to combining images and words. Done well, the right sentence can open a photo like a doorway, adding context, emotion, or resonance. Done poorly, words can flatten mystery, interrupt the mood, or worse: explain something that didn’t needContinueContinue reading “The Image and the Essay: How to Pair Words with Photos Without Overexplaining”
Your Hard Drive Is Not Your Portfolio: The Art of Curating Your Work
On selecting, sequencing, and killing your darlings to find your strongest images. You’ve shot hundreds, maybe thousands, of photos. Your hard drive is full. Your Lightroom catalog is organized (or… not). And yet when someone asks to see your portfolio, you freeze. Because deep down, you know the truth: Your best work isn’t what you’veContinueContinue reading “Your Hard Drive Is Not Your Portfolio: The Art of Curating Your Work”
The Photographer’s Blind Spot: What Are You Not Seeing?
How habits, expectations, and identity can quietly limit your creative vision. Every photographer has a blind spot. Not the technical kind, but the psychological one. It’s the angle you never explore. The subject you always avoid. The moment you overlook because you’ve decided, maybe unconsciously, that it’s not interesting, not beautiful, or not yours toContinueContinue reading “The Photographer’s Blind Spot: What Are You Not Seeing?”
MELISSA MARTINSEN 