Overexposed: A Pexels Podcast: Recent Episodes
Pexels
Overexposed is a series of discussions with modern creatives who have found success through carving their own unconventional paths. Hear empowering stories from entrepreneurs, designers, photographers, artists and leaders on how they brought their creative passions to life.This podcast is a part of Pexels, one of the world's leading photography sites that helps millions of creatives make inspiring projects—all using the free, high-quality images contributed by our community of photographers.
Till is a nomadic photographer, videographer and Youtuber who was born and raised in Germany, but has also resided in places like Denmark and Vietnam. He now lives in Norway, a place that enables him to seek out a simpler way of living, away from the hustle and bustle of city life, and somewhere he is able to become more in tune with his natural surroundings. You can tell by his photos that have a serene, and calming feel to them, full of vast landscapes and wildlife. While Till’s formal education is in human nutrition and biology, he taught himself everything creative. After using Pexels for quite some time, Till decided to try sharing his own photos and documenting his experience on Youtube. In this episode, we talk about Till’s adventures as a nomadic creative, and his experience as a photographer on Pexels.
Follow Till:
Pexels
Instagram
Website
Youtube
Shelly is a photographer, educator, and podcaster currently living the transatlantic life, splitting her time between London and San Francisco. Shelly’s career has quite the trajectory. She got her start in finance and also worked in the pro sports industry for a number of years. While photography has always been in her life in some shape or form, Shelly didn’t take it full time for many years. In this episode, we talk about how Shelly knew when it was time to leave her corporate job to make photography her full-time career, and the tips she learned along the way so you can do it too.
Follow Shelly:
https://www.instagram.com/shuttershelly/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shellywaldman/
https://bit.ly/photocamp_
Dylan is a photographer & creative based in Lancaster, PA. He fell in love with the color in old film photos when I was younger and have been shooting ever since, telling stories through the colors, subjects, and composition in his work. When you look at his photos, you can see that Dylan has a talented eye for capturing candid moments in an aesthetically pleasing way. In this episode, we talk about how Dylan used aspects of what he loved about film photography as an inspiration for his photography style now.
Follow Dylan:
Pexels - https://www.pexels.com/@dylanspangler/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/dylanlspangler
Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/dylanspangler/
Linkedin -https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanlspangler/
Twitter -https://twitter.com/DylanSpangler
This week I am joined by Eric Deine, a self-taught photographer currently based in Dubai. Having been forced to leave his home country in Cameroon due to turmoil, Eric had to make a living for himself in a completely new country, where he stumbled across photography by chance. Falling in love with taking photos but also out of necessity, Eric spent countless hours on YouTube and photoshoots teaching himself the ins and outs in order to survive. It is one thing to have to leave everything behind once, but having done more than he should need to, Eric has the most incredible story about perseverance and how one can make a successful life despite extreme challenges.
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Taj Singh is a mindset coach and founder of Savita Hana. After struggling and overcoming her own mental blocks at a young age, Taj set out to empower others to do the same by developing a program that allows others to accomplish their goals and transform their lives.
In this episode, we talk about Taj’s own self-development journey, how to balance work and life as an entrepreneur, getting over the guilt of charging for your services as a business owner, and concrete tips on how creatives can achieve their goals.
Follow Savita Hana on Instagram
While Womens’ History Month was in March, we believe that celebrating women shouldn’t be restricted to just one month of the year. This podcast aims to share stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. This week, we have three incredible women from our Women in the Creative live panel. Hear from Sally Woellner, Product Design Lead at Canva, Creative Producer and Commercial Photographer, and Tomi Ogundayo, Social Media at Typeform. This was such a fantastic conversation, and we are excited to share it with you!
Through Her Lens Photo Challenge
This episode contains a content warning, as we do talk about issues regarding sensitive topics around mental health
In this episode, we have Phil Desforges joining us, who is not only a talented creative but also an incredible human being all around.
Phil is a Canadian photographer, filmmaker, political advisor, and advocate for mental health. Having discovered photography during a dark time in his life and living with ADHD and anxiety, mental health can be seen in many aspects of his work, and hopes that it can help others going through the same things.
We talk about how Phil uses his creativity as an outlet and his work in photojournalism in representing some of the most important events in politics. Phil’s story is incredibly inspiring and I know you will take something away from it.
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Nubia Navarro, also known as Nubikini, is a graphic designer and color chaser from Venezuela, currently living in Bogotá, Colombia. She is also one of our very own Pexels Heroes.
Looking at her work, you can see her talent in being able to incorporate eye-catching palettes and fonts together in a way that has captured the attention of brands like Adobe, Airbnb, and Facebook as a few of her clients.
In this episode, we talk about how to define your own style and stay true to what you love, which can be one of the most challenging parts of being creative, and despite her successes, how she also deals with imposter syndrome from time to time.
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Josh is a street photographer and urban explorer from Minneapolis, MN whose passion and focus is capturing both the beauty and the harshness of his home. Shooting in extreme weather has allowed Josh to capture images of the vastness of his city while keeping intact the intimacy of the people who live there. His photos have racked up over a quarter billion views on Pexels, and rightfully so.
In this episode, we talk about the essentials of street photography and tips on how to capture candid moments in the world around you.
Follow Josh:
On Pexels
On Instagram
Today, we have Ginger Sherry joining us to talk about all things social.
Ginger is New York-based Digital marketer and creative entrepreneur specializing in branding, and social media marketing for creatives. As an entrepreneur herself, she started The Divine Social with a mission to help make others feel less alone on their entrepreneurial journies.
In this episode, Ginger shares invaluable tips on resources for entrepreneurs, how to take advantage of social trends, and how to overall step up your presence in the digital space. Whether you are an entrepreneur, marketer, or photographer, this episode is for you!
Connect with Ginger here:
https://www.thedivinesocial.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thedivinesocial/
https://www.instagram.com/gingersherry333/
We are kicking off this brand new season with creative director and photographer Jasmeet Sidhu. Jasmeet's experience spans from tech to film, to journalism. Throughout her career, she has worked with some of the most notable names and companies in the world in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Toronto. She has worked with the likes of Hillary Clinton, Anna Wintour, NAS, and has photographed Sia, Cage the Elephant and Taylor Swift, just to name a few.
We talk about the risks she took to take her career to the next level, the mindsets that are valuable to succeed in the creative industry, and a reflection of what she’s learned through all of her experiences so far.
Jasmeet's work can be found here:
https://www.jasmeetsidhu.com/
Angelica Rehn is a photographer, videographer, colorist, and photography teacher. Her creative career first started when she was acting and modeling, but once she held a camera in her hands, she realized that photography gave her much more room for self-expression.
After a successful career starting in acting and modeling, she had to pick up her life and from zero when she moved from Russia to the US with her 9-year-old son, knowing little English, and having no friends and relatives. For the first few years, she focused on learning how everything worked, learned English, and did any job far from photography in order to survive. Now, she runs her own photography company where she is able to grow her own client base, while still having the freedom to explore her own creativity through self-portraits and beautiful travel photography as she is known for on Pexels.
Angelica’s story of resilience, grit and never giving up is one that will show you that it doesn’t matter what your circumstances are, there is always a path forward if you really believe in it.
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Angelica's website
Sasha is an Indonesian-born and raised visual designer based in Boston who recently found herself in love with film photography. Her background in advertising lends itself well to her eye for composition and creative perspective. Previously, Sasha has delved into mobile photography to establish her niche. At the time, she found comfort in being a spectator on the sideline of the film community until the pandemic gave her a nudge to finally pick up a camera.
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Katie Cerami is an adventure and luxury travel photographer, videographer, and drone pilot, having traveled to over 20 countries. She initially got her start in photography as a flight attendant, documenting the places she visited on the job. Once she got her very first mirrorless camera, she started taking it more seriously, making it jump to becoming a full-time content creator during the pandemic. In this episode, we talk about how Katie was able to take what started as a hobby to strategically build her personal brand to be able to book partnerships with high-end notable brands that she once thought were impossible to work with.
Katie's Website
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Malcolm Clayton wears a lot of hats. He is a curator, brand designer, photographer, and custom sneaker hobbyist based in New Jersey. From a young age, he had big dreams. While they were never handed directly to him, he always knew how to think outside the box and make things happen for himself in various disciplines. In this episode, we talk about the power of believing in your own ideas, and how patience and ambition can lead you to your goals.
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This episode is a replay of our Instagram live with Amnesty International, talking about representing freedom of expression in photography, as part of the challenge we are hosting. We are looking for unique, innovative, and visually compelling images which celebrate the right to express thoughts and opinions freely.
There are a few days left so if you haven’t already, submit your photos for the chance to win up to $1000 and help break stereotypes, challenge the status quo, fuel stories, and power movements.
Submit your photos here
Nina is a 23-year-old photographer from the midwest who enjoys traveling and creating art through photography and modeling, what she calls being a “modelographer.” After buying her first camera on a whim at Best Buy in high school, Nina’s creative journey started experimenting with portraits with her friends. As a self-taught photographer, Nina made the jump just a few years ago to pursue her passion as a full-time job. We talk about how she was able to go from having a couple of gigs once in a while to being able to make a comfortable living doing what she loves.
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JJ Jordan is a Polish visual designer & photographer currently based in London, UK. Having started photography just 5 years ago, he has since won the Portrait of Britain Award from the British Journal of Photography in 2019. While portrait photography has always been close to his heart, the pandemic became an obstacle for him to continue his practice. Nonetheless, he married his love for visual design and photography to find a new style in creating surrealistic product photos. We talk to JJ about the evolution of his creative process and how the practice has led him to discover more of the artist he is today.
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Brian is a 24-year-old photographer based in Miami, FL. Originally from Cuba, Brian started shooting photos in 2018. While his current location doesn’t lend well to his passion for street and cityscape photography as other cities like New York, Brian started to develop an interest in portraiture, embracing the spirit of spontaneity.
Instead of always trying to find the perfect location, in this episode, we talk about how Brian is able to make the most out of what he has in front of him, and how seemingly “ugly” locations can be completely transformed with a little creativity.
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Whatever your goals may be on Pexels - whether it’s to get featured on a major website, to receive millions of views, or as a way to attract potential clients - this workshop is for you! We will go over everything you need to know to optimize your Pexels page.
Hear about success stories from those who’ve gained opportunities through Pexels, the best way to set up your profile, and tips on how to rack up all the stats.
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Our lovely guest today, Yelena Odin, is from our very own Pexels team. Not only is she a talented photographer herself, but she is currently leading the Pexels launch in Russia and working with Pexels Production.
In this episode, we talk about how Yelena was able to launch communities from the ground up, the importance of creating and fostering creative communities, and what you can expect next from the projects she is currently working on.
If you are somewhere that doesn’t have a local Pexels community yet and would be interested in getting involved, please reach out to us and we’d love to get in touch with you once we launch in your country. Without further ado, let’s jump into the episode.
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Madison is a freelance graphic designer and photographer from Northern Idaho who has been one of our Pexels contributors for over 5 years. Currently living in Boise, Idaho, she spends her time working with clients, collecting (way) too many plants, and trying to curb an unfortunate thrifting addiction.
With experience as a designer who uses Pexels and as a photographer who contributes her own photos. We talk about the best practices to make your photos stand out and stats skyrocket, and how she tackles and overcomes challenges as a creative, freelance entreprenure.
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Manny is a Content creator and an avid traveler with experience shooting weddings, concerts, portraiture, travel, aerial photography.
We talk about what it’s like switching from an Astrophysics degree to pursuing photography as a career, his recent projects of making DIY drones, and how to find unique spots in a new location. This episode gives a behind the scenes look at what it takes to live the on-the-go lifestyle
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Our guest today truly does it all - Designecologist (Aisan Nourbash) is a Toronto-based designer specializing in many forms of design, from Interiors to Graphics for her “work-life” & a great hobby of visual art & photography for her “fun life”.
We talk about her experience as someone who not only has an eye for capturing great photos but also from the perspective of what editors and artists look for when curating photos for their projects. From teaching herself how to use Photoshop to starting an online print shop and recently moving into the NFT space, Aisan's passion, patience, and consistency are what got her to where she is today. She shares so much valuable advice on how you can also live your creative life on your own terms.
Designecologist on Instagram
Designecologist on Pexels
Designecologist Website
Our guest today is the wonderful kateillustrate - a digital artist and illustrator who has worked with the likes of L'Oreal, LEGO, Starbucks, Huawei, and Adobe.
While Kate has been working in the creative field for almost 7 years now, she didn’t have the most linear start. Upon completing her Bachelor’s & master’s degrees in Economics at prestigious schools and landing a coveted job at a big company, Kate thought her life was set. But she always felt like something was missing, that she wasn’t really following her true calling.
Despite hesitation from others, she left a life that seemed perfect to pursue what makes her happy - a career in illustration. While she has nearly 70,000 followers on Instagram, has shared her story on TEDx and regularly works with some of the biggest companies in the world under her own brand, the greatest reward that has come out of her journey is learning to break free of the preconceived labels that society imposes on traditional career paths to fully being able to trust herself to seek happiness and freedom on her own terms.
We talk to Kate about the risks and rewards that come from choosing your own happiness and freedom first, and how she was able to create her dream career on her own terms.
Follow Kate: https://www.instagram.com/kateillustrate/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Today I am joined by another one of our amazing Pexels Heroes, Hamid Tajik. Hamid is a photographer, filmmaker, and colorist based in Iran who actually had his start learning how to edit photos before taking them. If you are familiar with Hamid’s work, you will see that each of his photos carries a life of their own, through the meticulous planning and introspection that goes into bringing his imaginations to life.
We talk about why every photographer should learn color theory and what Hamid’s patient process looks like in creating his shoots from start to finish amid today’s fast-paced society.
Hamid on Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/@hamidtajikph
Hamid on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamidtajikph/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/hamidtajikph/
Today I am talking to another one of our beloved Heroes here at Pexels, Mathilde Langevin.
Mathilde can be described as a calm-conscious minimalist seeking balance through a simple & mindful life, which is very evident if you know her work. She loves to photograph and write about all things wellness for lifestyle brands + creatives.
I first stumbled across Mathilde’s work after seeing her photo constantly popping up on the Pexels home page. Her work has an airy and minimally aesthetic feel to it that is very pleasing to the eye. With a style that seemed like it took years to polish, I was so stunned to learn that she only really started picking up the camera and teaching herself how to shoot just over a year ago during the pandemic!
In this episode, we talk about how she was able to cultivate a signature style in such a short time, and how her multidisciplinary background in psychology, commercial marketing, and yoga has influenced her work today.
To kick off this season, we have the incredible Fran Monks joining us! Fran is a British portrait photographer who aims to celebrate the under-celebrated. Her work has been featured in national and international magazines and newspapers and has worked with the likes of BBC, Oxford College, and The Financial Times.
One of her most notable recent projects has been documenting the lives of those around the world and how they’ve been experiencing COVID through Zoom photoshoots, from some of the first vaccine trialists to US Scientists, to what lockdown looks like in Europe. We talk to Fran about what it means to be a portrait photographer, beyond just the camera and the photo itself, but how to tell the story of your subjects. I am so inspired by Fran’s story and I know you will be too!
Follow Fran: https://www.instagram.com/franmonks/
Fran's website: https://www.franmonks.com/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
After 17 consecutive weeks, it’s hard to believe that Season 3 has come to an end! Thank you to the incredible guests that have generously lent their time and expertise, and you guys, for joining us on this journey.
This episode is a short and sweet recap on what went on this season, and what you can expect in Season 4 coming July 2021.
This week on the podcast, we are joined by Pexels Heroes Josh & Care Willink. Aside from being incredibly talented photographers and super parents, they joined their love for photography with their passion for travel adventure, as Third Coast Tribe.
Josh & Care, along with their two little girls, share their love for discovering everything the great outdoors has to offer through photos and videos they share on their social media and Pexels, documenting their travels and adventures in hopes to inspire others to also become lovers and protectors of our beautiful home we call earth.
In this episode, we talk about the ups, downs, and amazing journey of raising a traveling family, and how photography has taken them all over the world. Their work has been featured in Today's Parent, Forbes, Yahoo, and Huffington Post to working with world-class brands such as Teva, Escape Campervans, Reima, and Schwinn bikes.
I promise you that you will fall in love with their family as much as I have after listening to their incredible stories.
Follow Josh & Care (Third Coast Tribe): https://www.instagram.com/thirdcoasttribe/
Another solo episode coming your way!
This time, we talk about the highly debated topic around smartphone photography: should professional photographers use it? Can you still take quality photos with a smartphone? Will it replace DSLRs and professional photography for good?
We weigh the pros and cons, and suggest why and how you can embrace the future of technology.
If you liked this episode, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review!
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
This week, in true Throwback Thursday fashion, we are getting a blast from the past, whatever you wanna call it, of one of the highlights from last season where we had the chance to talk to Rachel and Daniel from Mango Street!
If you’re a photographer, I feel like you don’t need this intro as you probably already know who they are from their moody, cinematic photos and tutorials that quote “don’t waste your time.”
For those who aren’t familiar or are new here, Rachel & Daniel from Mango Street started their YouTube channel at the beginning of 2017 and amassed over 500k subscribers in their first year, and over 1 million to date. ‘
We talk about the power of being intentional with what you’re doing, and how that contributed to the success of Mango Street. We also go over how they manage their creative partnership and branching off into their own interests with the recent launch of their own personal YouTube channels.
I certainly remember fangirling so hard about this, so I’m so excited to bring it back around again for you all. This is a good one, so let’s jump right into it!
Follow Mango Street: https://www.instagram.com/mangostreetlab/
Today in the episode, we talk to one of our Pexels photographers, Zeeshaan Shabbir, who is a photographer/ videographer residing in New York City. Zeeshaan picked up a point-and-shoot camera for the first time growing up, like most photographers, and dabbled in various forms of photography from fashion to film, but it wasn’t until he moved to New York City where he really found a passion for street photography.
We talk about what the creative landscape looks like there, where he draws inspiration from to create moody, cinematic shots of the city, and how to navigate the current social media landscape as an artist - being able to balance patience and purpose when it comes to creating photographs that are truly meaningful.
This episode gives you an inside look at how a street photographer finds inspiration in his surroundings. So without further ado, let’s get the conversation started!
Follow Zeeshaan: https://www.pexels.com/@zeeshaanshabbir
Today I am joined by Amanda Soriano, who is a Toronto-based wedding photographer and host of the Legit Photography Podcast.
In 2019, she booked 23 weddings with little to no portfolio and has since created her own communities on her podcast and Facebook group to share what she’s learned in hopes to help aspiring photographers looking to book dream clients and work on projects that they are passionate about.
We talk about what it takes to be a dedicated, creative entrepreneur while also balancing personal life and wellbeing and the importance of building community as a way to grow your business. Amanda is such a sweetheart and so generous with her knowledge and expertise so I’m sure you guys will be able to take away some useful nuggets in this episode.
Follow Amanda: https://www.instagram.com/_amandasoriano/
Amanda's Website: https://amandasoriano.com/
Kammeran is a 22-year-old photographer, born and raised in the Hawaiian Islands. He found his passion in the ocean at an early age and soon combined his passion of the ocean and photography at the age of 16 and has been photographing and sharing images of the raw power and beauty of the ocean ever since. He’s one of our own Pexels Heroes who’s become quite a household name in the community - winning several challenges from Pexelspalooza to the Ocean Life Challenge.
This episode gives us an intimate look inside the day in the life of a surf photographer - the high risks and high rewards when it comes to working with natural elements. Kammeran’s lessons of humbleness and resilience that he’s learned through being around the ocean can be applied to any photographer - no matter where you are and what you shoot.
Follow Kammeran on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kammerankeola/
Follow Kammeran on Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/@kammeran-gonzalez-keola-3137381
Follow Pexels on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
If you’ve ever seen the work of our guest today, Jeffrey Czum, you can describe it as minimal magic. Jeff is a freelance digital creator from Buffalo, New York, and was featured as one of our Heroes of the Week on our blog a while back, talking about his "minimal makeovers,” where he creates fantastical worlds out of everyday scenes by removing distractions from a shot to highlight the most important elements. If you haven’t seen his work yet, you HAVE to check it out.
We talk to Jeff about how he finds inspiration in the most common places, and how he found his signature style from learning photoshop during quarantine as an outlet to express himself during the pandemic. His work has been featured on the New York Times, Accidentally Wes Anderson, and the popular Tumblr blog This isn’t happiness.
The stories and thoughtfulness behind Jeff’s photos are absolutely incredible, and the way that he was able to teach himself a completely new skill during quarantine is so inspiring.
Follow Jeff on Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/@jeffrey-czum-254391
Follow Jeff on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffreyczum/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Follw
In this episode, we are joined by one of our very own Pexels Heroes, the one and only Luke Barky! Luke is a 26-year-old creative director, photographer, and videographer based in Cape Town, South Africa. Luke had his start in the advertising world 6 years ago before he started shooting professionally for the last 4. Luke’s energy and drive are absolutely infectious and we actually ended up covering so many topics, from how to find your style, to dealing with hustle culture and burnout, to the importance of community building in the creative industries.
Follow Luke: https://www.instagram.com/lukebarky/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Today on the podcast, we are joined by Fan Yang, the marketing manager at XP Pen, who makes graphics tablets, pen display monitors, stylus pens, and more. Fan will be telling us all about why every digital artist, no matter if you’re an illustrator, photographer, or graphic designer, needs an XP Pen tablet to take your creative journey to the next level.
Feeling lucky? We are giving away an Artist 24Pro tablet to one lucky winner over on our Instagram!
Win an Artist 24Pro tablet: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNIMuboFWla/
Video tutorial on the Artist 24Pro tablet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EETNlTfRhdo&t=15s
Learn more about XP Pen: https://www.xp-pen.com/page/about
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Our guest today is our very own, Ricky Esquivel! Ricky is our in-house videographer who will be helping us answer the question - what the f are NFT’s?
I’m sure you’ve heard about them everywhere on the news and social media, and it can be very confusing knowing whether or not to believe in the hype! But have no fear! This episode will cover all of the essential information you need to decide whether or not this is something you want to consider getting involved in.
We will be covering:
- What are NFT’s and why should we care?
- Who are the key players right now in this field?
- Can you tell us about your own experience with NFTs so far?
- What does this mean for the future of art & commerce, specifically for photographers?
Follow Ricky: https://www.instagram.com/rickyrecap/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
On this week’ episode, we are joined by Christy Laurence - the extraordinary founder of an Award-winning Global Social Media Suite, Plann, which helps millions of global brands find success online. Christy got her start in the Marketing & Advertising world, but after an unfortunate illness left her unable to continue working, she turned to posting and selling her illustrations on Instagram for income. That’s when her entrepreneurial lightbulb lit up, and the idea of Plann was born.
In this episode, we talk about how Christy creatively navigated being in the tech space with no previous background, and how she started Plann from the ground up with barely any outside support.
And if you’re interested in trying out Plann yourself, you can use the promo code "PEXELSxPLANN20" to help you get started.
Follow Plann: https://www.instagram.com/plannthat/
Follow Christy: https://www.instagram.com/christyladylaurence/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Today on the show, we have the lovely Angelina Hong! I’ve been looking forward to this episode for so long so I am personally super excited to share this one with you guys. Angelina was actually supposed to join us last season, but we had to reschedule because you know, life gets in the way sometimes. Nonetheless, she is joining us today and that’s all that matters!
Angelina is a photographer and entrepreneur who left an academically rigorous background to pursue her passion for photography and helping others feel their most beautiful self. On top of that, she is a social digital marketing expert, you’ll realize once you listen to this episode, who started her own business, AH Media, in 2018.
Angelina’s story on how she started on her self-taught entrepreneurial journey is so inspiring and really goes to show that you can do anything as long as you have the right mindset and put in the work.
Follow Angelina: https://www.instagram.com/angelinahongmedia/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Today on the pod, we have lifestyle & adventure photographer Jeremy Bishop joining us from sunny Central California. If you’re a regular Pexels user, there’s a great chance that you’ve probably come across Jeremy’s work. After all, his work has been seen by over 113 million people, and that’s just on Pexels itself.
He goes by @bluumind on Instagram, which is very fitting for his style that encapsulates that meditative feeling of sitting by the sea which is no surprise since he specializes in water photography & introducing brands to wild spaces.
He first began his journey in the creative industry by providing photography for free stock photography websites, and soon found a way to monetize his work in a disruptive industry. Since then, he’s worked for the legendary Chris Burkard and companies such as lululemon and Sperrys.
We talk to Jeremy about how his experience in the stock photography world has led him to where he is today, and give you a sneak peek of what it’s like being an adventure and travel photographer.
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Follow Jeremy: https://www.pexels.com/@jeremy-bishop-1260133
She is a designer, comedian, performer, and educator on a mission to make the world a better place through her Meg-Tastic personality, which resonates throughout all aspects of her work.
She has worked with the likes of Buzzfeed, Google, and Slack, just to name a few, but has also taken on stages across the world, including Adobe Max, to teach and inspire others.
For her to have gotten here was not an easy feat. We talk about her journey of self discovery and breaking free from status quos in order to make a career that is not only fulfilling, but truly genuine to who she is as a unique individual.
If you feel stuck in your current career and feel like something is missing, I encourage you to listen to Meg’s story. Even if you’re truly fulfilled in your life and just need an inspirational pick-me-up, I also encourage you to listen to Meg’s story. So I’ll stop talking now, and let’s get on with the episode.
Follow Meg: https://www.instagram.com/yourbuddymeg/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Jill is the Social Media Editorial and Content Marketer at Later and honestly the sweetest person ever!
Social content can be very daunting, there’s so much going on and with all of the new feature updates and social change, it’s hard to know where to start, and if you’re even doing the right thing. But have no fear! Whether you are running a business, working in social media, or need some tips for your own personal branding or project, we gotcha covered.
I had the pleasure of recording this episode with Jill on an early Thursday morning where we talk all about best practices for social media and how to stay on top of the curve by identifying upcoming trends.
Every time I feel stuck or don’t understand a new social feature, I can always rely on Jill’s articles on the Later blog to help me out so you know that you can rely on her expertise.
Let’s get into it!
Follow Jill: https://www.instagram.com/jillwrren/
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Today, we have David Suh joining us on the podcast! If you’ve been on photography TikTok, there is a good chance you’ve come across David’s videos. While he is a portrait photographer based in Sacramento, CA, David’s TikTok content revolves around helping everyday women feel like their most beautiful selves through his fun, detailed posing tips, and portrait tutorials.
Since launching his account during the start of the pandemic, David has grown his account from 0 to a quarter of a million followers in his first month and has since surpassed the 1 million follower mark.
But this wasn’t some hack, and while it seems like the closest you can get to overnight success, there is a reason why his content connects with people.
We talk about his story on how he found his purpose through honing in and understanding his own personal brand, and the power that comes from understanding social landscapes and building trust with clients.
If you’re a photographer or business owner of any kind, I believe you will have some great takeaways from this episode. So grab a notepad, grab a drink, and let’s dive into this episode!
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Follow David: https://davidsuhphotography.com/
Our guest today has founded his own company, been featured alongside Mercedes-Benz, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar released a course on how to get started creating 3D art and is on a mission to bring more sustainability and representation via virtual models through 3D art. Impressive? Well, he has done this all by the age of 16!
Lucas Klubb a Melbourne-based creative with a passion for graphic design in its 2D and 3D forms. He is the founder and artistic director of Klubb Visuals, which works on filter-creation, CGI avatar creation, and commercial graphic design. The young teen has worked with a multitude of clients and worked on many different passion projects throughout the years.
Lucas is wise beyond his years and shares valuable expertise on how he taught himself 3D art, the importance of passion projects, and leverage what you love as a way to generate leads, and gives us a snapshot into the possibilities of virtual reality.
Follow Lucas: https://www.klubbvisuals.com/
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Can't believe this is the last episode of Season 2! Just wanted to say a huge thank you to all of our amazing guests and listeners. Your support means the world and I hope this podcast has brought you some sort of inspiration over the past year. Here at Pexels, we are all about moving forward and staying optimistic about what’s ahead. In this episode, we say an ode to 2020 and give you a sneak peek of the top visual trends to look out for in 2021 so you can get a head start. We talk about Pantone's Color of the Year and what that means to photographers, some of the most innovative shoots we've seen, and how people have managed to keep the creative juices flowing with one another through the community.
It's been one heck of a year and we have so much more in store for Season 3 - so stay tuned!
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Follow Wendy: https://www.instagram.com/wendyhwei/
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Back again for the 2nd year is our annual Pexelspalooza! This year is bigger and better, with 10 epic challenges and $150000 in prizing to be won.
Our guest this week is one of our judges for our Masterpiece photo challenge, Ulrich Grill. Ulrich is a jack of all trades and a leader in the photography world, let alone a talented photographer himself who started shooting action sports. He is the founder of zooom productions, COOPH, and most recently, Red Bull Illume, known as “the world's greatest adventure and action sports imagery contest.”
We talk about the importance of finding your creative niche, and how that allowed him to craft a truly unique career path that marries all of his passions - sports, marketing/communications, and photography.
Follow Ulrich: https://www.instagram.com/grillulrich/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Enter Pexelspalooza challenges: https://www.pexels.com/pexelspalooza
This week's episode is short and sweet but comes with a mighty challenge. Photographers - I challenge you to step in front of the camera and try out some self-portraits! While we may not be able to execute our shoots as per usual, this is a great opportunity to get outside of your comfort zone and test your creativity, not to mention improve your own directing skills by building empathy for your models. I give you my 3 self-portrait tips that are tested and true, so you can do it too.
Submit your photos to our 2nd annual Pexelspalooza, where we are giving away $15,000 in prizing: https://www.pexels.com/pexelspalooza
Follow Pexels: www.instagram.com/pexels
Follow Wendy: www.instagram.com/wendyhwei
While in-person interactions may be limited, it doesn't mean your creative career has to be! In this week's episode, your host Wendy unpacks 3 easy ways in which you can start investing in your own career. We summarize the key patterns and findings through 20 hours of interviewing with ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things. Best of all, these easy tips don't require any startup costs, so you can start implementing them right away.
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Follow Wendy: https://www.instagram.com/wendyhwei/
Our guest today is the wonderful Jia Wertz! As a young adult, Jia found an interest in pursuing stories about those who were wrongly convicted. She left a successful career in the fashion industry after 20 years to pursue documentary filmmaking, specializing in investigating the inconsistencies of the American Criminal Justice system.
Upon graduating from the New York Film Academy, she released her debut film Conviction, profiling the story of Jeffrey Deskovic, who was wrongly convicted of rape and murder at the age of 16. The heart-wrenching documentary explores the aftereffects of growing up in prison and the fight for freedom. Since the release, her film has been featured on Amazon Prime and has been selected for numerous festivals.
In this episode, we talk to Jia about how she accelerated her film career by taking thoughtful, efficient steps, which led to how quickly she saw success after just starting in the film world.
Follow Jia: https://www.instagram.com/jiadocs/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Our conversation this week is with Anna Dickson, who is currently the Visual Lead at Google, formerly at The Wall Street Journal and The Huffington Post. In times of uncertainty, she is an advocate for positive change and moving forward. In this episode, we talk about how to identify emerging opportunities and the best practices for staying on top of industry trends.
More about Anna: https://anna-dickson.squarespace.com/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/2
How does a photography podcast work? This week's episode is a little bit different in that there will not be a special guest - just a one on one chat between me and you. I'll be spilling all the juicy details - from how podcasts have helped me make a career in music photography, landing me in front of Taylor Swift, John Mayer & Billie Eilish, to the inspiration behind Overexposed and how it can help you reach your own photography goals.
If you like our episodes, please consider leaving us a review!
Follow Wendy: https://www.instagram.com/wendyhwei/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Upload your photos: www.pexels.com
You know them for their moody, dynamic photos, and tutorials that don’t waste your time.
Mango Street currently has over 1 million subscribers on YouTube, covering topics like “3 Tips for BETTER Portrait Locations for Your Photography” and “How to Pose Friends Who Aren't Models.”This week, we talk to Rachel & Daniel from Mango Street about the power of being intentional with your creative endeavors, and how that contributed to the success of their YouTube channel.
Follow Mango Street: https://www.instagram.com/mangostreetlab/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Upload your photos today! https://www.pexels.com/
Meet Helen Tansey - a photographer, business owner, and a podcaster. Her photography work has been featured on Breakfast Television, the Discovery Channel, and Elle magazine, but Helen actually started on the other side of the camera as a professional model in Europe.
Throughout her photography career, she has taken headshots of actors, families, and celebrities, including none other than Gordon Ramsey himself.
Most recently, Helen has published her project, Sundari Women, a book that redefines beauty standards and celebrates the beauty of women and aging.
I am so excited to talk to Helen about how she went from being in front of the camera to launching an entire career behind it, how she works with her subjects to produce photos that are deeply personal, and why it’s so important to break the stigma of women and aging.
Follow Helen: https://www.instagram.com/helentanseyphotography/
Follow Pexels: https://www.instagram.com/pexels/
Upload your photos: www.pexels.com
Today, we are talking to filmmaker Lina Li. In 2017, she made the switch from business school to study film at Ryerson University in Toronto.
In 2018, she founded 100% Human - a human-centric mini-documentary series sharing authentic stories and raw emotions, which is fiercely relevant in today’s circumstances where physical connection is limited.
We talk to Lina about what inspired her to change career paths by breaking free of traditional cultural stigmas, how she actively pursued the creative life that she had always dreamed of.
Today, we are talking to worldwide, award-winning photographer and educator, Natalie J Watts. Since receiving her first camera for Christmas when she was 7, Natalie has since made her mark starting in fashion photography, being credited by Elle UK, Cosmopolitan, and Vogue, just to name a few.
Since then, she has graduated with a BA Honours in photography. For the past 5 years, she has mainly focused on weddings, which has taken her across the UK and all around the world, winning recognition along the way such as being named as one of the Top UK Wedding Photographers in 2020. Her work has taken her to destinations such as Hawaii, Iceland, Venice, Paris, NYC, Santorini, South of France, and Las Vegas. She has shot 219 weddings to date!
We talk to Natalie about how she built up her career as a young single mother, to now having a fully-booked calendar every single year.
Today, we are talking to Writer and Communications Strategist, Julia Rose. With a background in politics, research, marketing, and tech, her experiences have led her to help CEOs, Executive Directors, and leaders communicate about the world's most important topics. Her brand messaging and content strategies help leaders get the funding, engagement, and support they deserve.
Today, we are talking to Photographer and Journalist Rachel Claire, known as @fieldnotes__ on Instagram. While she was born and raised in Australia, her work has taken her all around the world, which you can tell from her dreamy, FOMO-inducing travel photos. Aside from her travels, she has worked with the likes of Canva, Converse, TripAdvisor, and many more.
We are so lucky to have this opportunity to talk to Rachel about her travels, how she fosters long term relationships with brands and dive deep into her story on how she built up her career as a renowned travel photographer.
Today, we are talking to design and branding extraordinaire, Christine Lieu, who is joining us from Toronto. She traded in climbing the corporate ladder for climbing mountains around the world. Now, she is a full-time freelancer and runs her own branding, web design, and social content studio called CL Designs. Christine is also the host of the Brand Party podcast, which made Top 10 Canada Design and Apple Podcasts' acclaimed New + Noteworthy List in both the Art & Design categories .
We talk about her journey as a content creator, how she runs her own design studio, why she traded climbing corporate ladders to climbing mountains around the world, and more!
Today, we are talking to Senior Graphic Designer and Creative Director, Juan Alfonso Solís Martínez. Juan has been a native Pexels user for the past few years as a designer, and has recently joined us as a photographer - offering up his beautiful, cinematic photos for free on his Pexels profile. He is known mainly as @thethinframe on Instagram, having amassed over 31K followers on his travel account, and 18K followers on his street photography account, @framingstreets.
We talk to Juan about how simplicity is the key to great design and how you can make a greater impact with your own work.
Our first double feature podcast collab! On this episode, we talk to agency founders and digital natives, Nick Klenchik and Chris Davis. Nick is the CEO and Founder at Kowala Creative, a digital marketing agency specializing in marketing and design based in Syracuse, New York. Chris is a digital marketer and graphic designer. He has also started his own venture in the agency world as the co-Founder at Revcarto, a sales and marketing company based in Philadelphia.
Nick and Chris joined forces earlier this year by launching The Creative Brief podcast, which we were featured on, so go check that out if you haven’t already!
We talk about how they balance running their digital agencies with consistently putting out content through their podcast, and valuable tips on how you can improve your own online presence
Today, we are talking to Oladimeji Ajegbile who is joining us from Nigeria. Oladimeji is an all-around creative who wears many hats - he is an architect, designer, podcaster, and one of our talented photographers on Pexels. A self proclaimed Brand Architect, Oladimiji designs brand identities and digital products for startups and established businesses. Besides creating brands for his clients, he shares his stories and motivational content on his YouTube channel and podcast, The Simple Creative.
In this episode, we will be talking about how he has built his own successful freelancing brand, how to engineer the life you want, and how he stays inspired to continue to create consistently.
Craig Dennis is a photographer who contributes to Pexels and a Product Designer who uses Figma.
After running into the problem of not being able to find a plugin to use images from the stock photo site for Figma, he decided to try and make his own using the Pexels API. He tracked his progress in a Twitter thread, where we found him, and started working together.
Figma plugins can be developed by anyone in the community—they offer a wide selection of plugins that make the design process easier, from plugins that improve workflow to niche tools for sorting colors.
We talk to Craig about his journey of how he brought this project to life.
We are so excited to be kicking off Season 2 of Overexposed, with Evgeny Tchebotarev! Ev is currently the Chief Growth Officer at Skylum and had previously founded one of the world’s biggest, most renowned photography communities, 500px.
Evgeny Tchebotarev got his first camera almost 20 years ago. In 2004, before social networking invaded all of our lives, Evgeny started a community for photographers by handwriting the code for the website during his university classes. While he is a talented photographer himself (and one of our very own Heroes), he dedicated over 14 years to helping other creatives master their craft. His efforts resulted in growing the 500px community to have currently over 15 million photographers.
After connecting with the Skylum team while he was in Asia travelling and consulting companies, Evgeny joined Skylum as Vice President of Growth, Asia. Evgeny combined his knowledge in building strong communities and experience living in Asia to help grow the company's presence in the Asia-Pacific market.
We talk about how his journey of leading a young startup, how he finds purpose in his work, and how the future of creativity is being challenged and shaped by current technologies.
Kishan Mistry is a photographer, videographer, and designer based out of Toronto, Ontario. Kishan got his start early on in his high school days playing around with all different forms and mediums of media. His love for “hoops & music” lead him to have worked with the likes of Drake, Migos, Travis Scott, and the Toronto Raptors. In this episode, we talk about the importance of 'the hustle' when it comes to pursuing a creative passion.
You can find his work at @_kishanmistry
This episode was a live recording from our Toronto event in partnership with Timbuk2. Panelists Ryan Bolton (Photographer), Lindsey Rebeiro (Artist Representative) and Colin Jaworski (Art Director/Graphic Designer) will be sharing their stories about how they got to their respective careers in the creative industries.
About Ryan:
Ryan Bolton is an award-winning, Toronto based photographer with a passion for telling stories. He has traveled around the world working with renowned clients like Apple, Red Bull, Spotify, WayHome Festival, Intrepid Travel, Universal Music, Me to We, the JUNO Awards, the Red Cross. His work has been published in Vice, Toronto Star, Fortune magazine, Applied Arts and Billboard magazine.
About Lindsey:
Lindsey is an artist representative who has been in the industry for over 10 years. Over the years she has been fortunate enough to work alongside some of the best in the business. Starting out as a stills producer and gradually moving on to her current role as rep she continues to strive for innovation and quality. She currently represents awarding winning photographers/directors and is based out of Toronto.
About Colin:
Colin Jaworski is currently the marketing and advertising designer at Penguin Random House Canada. He has collaborated with top photographers, illustrators, stylists, and editors to create innovative layouts on a monthly basis covering a range of topics from fashion, real estate, news, and politics. Colin's experience has lead him to work with the likes of Boston Magazine, MIT Technology Review, Rue La La, and The Improper Bostonian.
In September 2019, Pexels' content team embarked on the first-ever #PexelsTour through California! Our very own Pedro (Brazil Ambassador), Wendy (Social Media), and Ricky (Videography) sit down to talk about how they planned their road trip from San Diego to San Francisco, with no shortage of interesting stories along the way.
As a self-taught illustrator and designer, David Huynh has amassed nearly 100K followers on Instagram between his own account and Logo Goals, a design feature account he founded. In this episode, we talk about how David turned a creative passion for drawing into a profitable freelance business.
You can find his work at @davidhuynh__
Kishan Mistry is a photographer, videographer, and designer based out of Toronto, Ontario. Kishan got his start early on in his high school days playing around with all different forms and mediums of media. His love for “hoops & music” lead him to have worked with the likes of Drake, Migos, Travis Scott, and the Toronto Raptors. In this episode, we talk about the importance of 'the hustle' when it comes to pursuing a creative passion.
You can find his work at @_kishanmistry
Welcome to Overexposed: A Pexels Podcast. This podcast is for those with a dream, a side hustle, or just want to live their lives on their own terms.