Unscripted
A mix of two things. Written posts about the commercial photography industry and how it actually runs, and my Instagram reels, talking to camera with personal insights and the tips and tricks nearly twenty years on set have taught me.
These start as reels on Instagram. The full takes live here.
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August 2026 · From the office
What a Commercial Photo Shoot Actually Costs in San Francisco and Los Angeles
Real ranges from five years of my own estimates: creative fees, usage, crew, talent, styling, production, and five shoots from $1,500 to $250,000. Nobody publishes this. Here it is.
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July 2026 · From the garage
The Master Catalog: How I Keep 40,000 Images Ready to Send
The system that let me build a custom portfolio PDF on a flight to Mexico, and why I almost never touch an archived drive.
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July 2026 · From the garage
How Commercial Photographers Actually Get Hired: The Bidding Process
Lists, treatments, creative calls, and the triple bid: everything that happens before anyone picks up a camera.
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July 2026 · From the garage
Two Markets, One Funnel: The Thing I Used to Be Ashamed Of
I spent years hiding the fact that I work two very different markets. Turns out it's the reason I'm still standing.
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July 2026 · From the garage
The Thing About Being a Hired Creative Nobody Says Out Loud
A lot of my client work, I feel almost nothing when I look at it. Here's why that's normal, and what I do about it.
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July 2026 · From the garage
Are Photography Contact Lists Becoming Optional?
A prediction about Agency Access and Wonderful Machine, a Starbucks test that floored an artist rep, and the part that doesn't get replaced.
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July 2026 · From the garage
The Season the Lights Went Off
Everything was finally happening. Then the calls stopped, like a switch. What that silence taught me about identity and this industry.
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July 2026 · Sebastopol
The AI Dinner Party
Wine, laptops, five questions, and six women building with AI in completely different ways. The pressure dissolved by dessert.
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June 2026 · From the garage
AI Doesn't Suck, Your Onboarding Does
AI feels useless until you onboard it like a new employee. The brand blueprint I built two years ago still runs underneath everything.
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June 2026 · From the garage
Three Things That Changed My Resistance to AI
I resisted AI longer than I want to admit. Two of the shifts made practical sense. The third one I didn't see coming.
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May 2026 · From the garage
What Amazon Taught Me at 16 About AI
My mom built a million-dollar business from scratch. Watching the ground shift under it shaped how I'm facing AI today.
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April 2026 · From the garage
When You Have to Bid the Unknown
When a project is full of unknowns, the budget inflates to cover them. That's not padding, that's math. Here is the other way in.
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March 2026 · Sonoma County
The Feeling on Set Carries Through the Work
Two women told me the same thing after their documentary interviews. How I make the other side of the camera feel safe.
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March 2026 · From the garage
The Three Lanes Inside Every Campaign
Marketing, agency, production. Who holds the money, who holds the vision, who holds the schedule, and the mistake that taught me to track all three.
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February 2026 · From the garage
50-50: Why I Don't Always Announce We're Rolling
A DP I've known for twenty years taught me two words that capture the most authentic footage of the day, without the talent ever knowing.
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February 2026 · From the garage
As a Director, You Are the Engine
Everyone on set is reading the director. The exact communication chain I run when the vibe drops and something needs to change.
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February 2026 · From the garage
When the Shot Isn't Working
The question my mentor used to ask me mid-shoot, and why the person holding less pressure can usually see what you can't.
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February 2026 · From the garage
Shot Lists vs. Setups: The Number That Actually Plans a Shoot Day
Clients hand me a shot list. I immediately convert it to something else, and that shift changes how the whole day gets planned.
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February 2026 · On set
You Can't Direct a Baby
Part intuition, part logistics puzzle: backup talent, time limits, a producer you trust, and a camera that stays handheld.
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January 2026 · Sebastopol
Why We Wear Black on Set
What a yellow shirt does to a beauty shot, why stylists dress like stagehands, and the footwear rule nobody warns you about.
These takes land on my Instagram first. Follow along to catch them on your feed.