The Nerdy Photographer Podcast

Nerdy Photographer
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Visual Arts
  • Updated Fortnightly

Host Casey Fatchett brings an often humorous look at the photography industry, offering advice, telling stories, and interviewing working photographers - all while going on adventures with the crew of the starship Fibonacci. He's also sure to include just a little bit of useless information in every episode.

  1. 6 days ago

    178 - The 10-Minute SEO Audit for Photographers

    You can be an exceptional photographer and still be completely invisible to the clients actively searching for someone like you. Not because your work isn't good enough, but because Google doesn't know you exist. Don't worry, though! This episode is going to make that problem go away. SEO for photographers isn't dark magic. For a local photography business, roughly 90% of what moves the needle comes down to three things: your H1 tag, your image alt-text, and your site speed. Your H1 is the main headline on your webpage and one of the strongest signals Google uses to understand what your page is about. "Capturing the Essence of Your Soul" is lovely — but nobody is searching for it. "Wedding Photographer in Austin" is what actually gets you found. Alt-text is the written description attached to every image on your site. Google cannot see your photographs — it reads the label you give them. A file named "_MG_5422.jpg" tells Google nothing. A file named "golden-hour-bride-groom-portrait-austin-texas.jpg" with a matching alt-text description tells Google exactly what it needs to know. Site speed is a documented Google ranking factor, and photographers are almost universally the worst offenders — uploading massive unoptimised files directly from Lightroom. Images destined for the web should be under 500KB. Free tools like Squoosh make this straightforward. I also recommend using a file format such as WebP to bring down file sizes. Finally, we cover Google Business Profile — the free local listing that puts you on the map, literally, when someone searches for a photographer near them. A complete, well-reviewed profile can outperform a first-page organic ranking for local search intent. Support The Nerdy Photographer Sign Up for The Power Up - https://nerdyphotographer.com/newsletter Get some artwork from the print shop - https://art.caseyfphoto.com Buy some Nerdy Photographer Merch - https://nerdyphoto.dashery.com Use our link to buy new gear from Adorama - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/adorama Use our link to buy used gear from KEH - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/keh Follow along with us on social media @thenerdyphoto About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

  2. 23 July

    Old Palaces and Glass Towers: Street Photography in Modern Seoul

    In this episode, Casey speaks with photographer, filmmaker, and DePaul University professor James Choi, who returned to Seoul after 46 years away and came back with the images that became Seoul Days and Nights, a new photo book from Trope. They dig into what it means to photograph a city holding ancient tradition and radical modernity in the same frame, the slow disappearance of the small family-run food shops that give neighborhoods their character, and how the Korean social concept of nunchi - the unspoken ability to read a room - shapes James's entire approach to working on the street. In This Episode How a six-month sabbatical in Seoul turned into a photo book Photographing the tension between ancient palaces and glass skyscrapers - and why Seoul makes that contrast feel surprisingly at peace The vanishing mom-and-pop food culture, and what gets lost when it goes What nunchi is, why James's mother always said he had it, and how it cuts both ways as a street photographer The ethical lines James draws on the street - when he holds back and why The one image in the book that reminded him of his grandfather What he hopes a first-time Seoul visitor takes from the book vs. what he hopes a local sees Episode Promos Seoul Days and Nights — https://amzn.to/4xSLRZz StyleCloud website templates for photographers — https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/stylecloud | Code: NERDYPHOTO15 for 15% off Luminar Neo photo editing software — https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/luminar | Code: NERDYPHOTO for $10 off SiteGround web hosting — https://siteground.com/go/nerdy Support The Nerdy Photographer Sign Up for The Power Up - https://nerdyphotographer.com/newsletter Get some artwork from the print shop - https://art.caseyfphoto.com Buy some Nerdy Photographer Merch - https://nerdyphoto.dashery.com Use our link to buy new gear from Adorama - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/adorama Use our link to buy used gear from KEH - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/keh Follow along with us on social media @thenerdyphoto About My Guest James Choi grew up a latchkey kid in Chicago. His parents immigrated from Korea when he was five and worked six days a week, so from age six and Seven he was alone taking the bus, walking the city, learning to read people and places and light. He didn't know it then, but he was already doing what he'd spend his life doing: observing. Photography and eventually filmmaking came from that. His work has earned Awards at SXSW, Slamdance and Chicago International Film Festival. As an educator, James is also an assistant Professor at DePaul University where he founded Indie Studio, supporting students making their first independent features. Seoul Days and Nights is in some ways a return to the beginning except this time he was walking a city that looked like him. Seoul Days and Nights is available now - you can get it on Amazon - https://amzn.to/3QTxq6R. James Choi can be found on Instagram at https://instagram.com/JCPOV. About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

  3. 16 July

    Bit Depth Demystified: The Math of Color

    You've probably been told you should shoot RAW. And I'm sure you've also thought - WHY? I'm just delivering a JPEG file anyway. What's inside a RAW file that makes it worth the storage space?  This episode gets into the numbers, and once you see them, the case for RAW becomes impossible to argue with. Yes, I knew it was your understanding that there would be no math, but, unfortunately, there's actually a lot of math behind what you see in digital photos. Bit depth is exponential, not additive. A standard JPEG is 8-bit, giving you 256 brightness levels per colour channel and roughly 16.7 million possible colours total. A 14-bit RAW file gives you 16,384 levels per channel — over 4 trillion possible colours. That gap is invisible straight out of camera. It becomes very visible the moment you start editing. We cover the staircase effect — what happens to smooth gradients in low bit-depth files when you push exposure or shadows in post. Those gaps between brightness levels stretch apart and become visible as banding: ugly, digital-looking stripes in what should be a smooth sky or a softly lit wall. In a 14-bit file, the steps are fine enough that normal editing simply can't pull them apart. We also break down the difference between lossless and lossy RAW compression. Lossless compression reduces file size without discarding any data — think of it like a ZIP file for your image. Lossy compression makes a permanent, one-time decision to discard some sensor data at capture. For many shots you'll never notice. For scenes with subtle gradients or heavy shadow recovery, you might. Support The Nerdy Photographer Sign Up for The Power Up - https://nerdyphotographer.com/newsletter Get some artwork from the print shop - https://art.caseyfphoto.com Buy some Nerdy Photographer Merch - https://nerdyphoto.dashery.com Use our link to buy new gear from Adorama - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/adorama Use our link to buy used gear from KEH - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/keh Follow along with us on social media @thenerdyphoto About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

  4. 9 July

    Art Comes From the Soul: Analog, AI, and Authentic Portraits

    Portrait photographer Craig Fleming has spent decades navigating the space between film and digital, celebrity commissions and working-class subjects, polish and truth. In this episode of The Nerdy Photographer Podcast, Craig joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about his process, his philosophy, and two ongoing personal projects — Quiet Men and Circus — that are reshaping how he thinks about legacy and the purpose of his work. We get into what it really means to balance film and digital photography, why Craig thinks returning to medium format gave him integrity back as a photographer — and made him better at digital. We talk about his strong feelings on AI and what it's taking from photographers and creatives. Craig also shares what he believes is the single most important element of a great portrait — and it has nothing to do with your camera. Episode Promos Siteground Web Hosting - https://siteground.com/go/nerdy Stylecloud Website Templates - https://stylecloud.co/ref/380/ Luminar NEO Photo Editing Software - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/luminar Support The Nerdy Photographer Sign Up for The Power Up - https://nerdyphotographer.com/newsletter Get some artwork from the print shop - https://art.caseyfphoto.com Buy some Nerdy Photographer Merch - https://nerdyphoto.dashery.com Use our link to buy new gear from Adorama - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/adorama Use our link to buy used gear from KEH - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/keh Follow along with us on social media @thenerdyphoto About My Guest "Portrait photographer. Stuck in the mid 20th Century." You can find Craig's workshops — in London, Rotterdam, and Venice — at https://craigfleming.net, and follow his ongoing projects on Instagram at https://instagram.com/craigflemingphoto About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

  5. 2 July

    The "Why" Behind Your Aperture – Beyond the Bokeh

    Many photographers learn aperture in two steps: wide for blur, narrow for sharpness. It's a reasonable starting point, but it skips the physics that actually determines how sharp your images are, and it leads to a habit that's quietly costing you image quality. And if you know anything about me at this point, you know I'm down for a physics discussion. We start with diffraction — the optical phenomenon that makes f/22 softer than f/8, even though everything is technically "in focus." When light is forced through a tiny aperture opening, it bends and spreads rather than travelling cleanly to the sensor. The result is a subtle mushiness that no amount of post-processing sharpening can fully recover, because the data simply wasn't captured cleanly in the first place. From there we cover the aperture sweet spot — the range, typically two to three stops from wide open, where most lenses perform at their sharpest from corner to corner. This varies by lens, which is why the episode homework is designed to help you find your specific lens's optimal aperture rather than relying on a general rule. Finally, we tackle one of the most persistent myths in photography: lens compression. Longer focal lengths don't actually compress a scene — distance does. Understanding why changes how you think about lens choice for portraits and environmental shots. Support The Nerdy Photographer Sign Up for The Power Up - https://nerdyphotographer.com/newsletter Get some artwork from the print shop - https://art.caseyfphoto.com Buy some Nerdy Photographer Merch - https://nerdyphoto.dashery.com Use our link to buy new gear from Adorama - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/adorama Use our link to buy used gear from KEH - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/keh Follow along with us on social media @thenerdyphoto About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

  6. 25 June

    Building What Didn't Exist: Creating Space for Black Women in Nature Photography

    Nature photography is often associated with solitude, exploration, and connection to the outdoors. But for many photographers, especially Black women, entering those spaces hasn't always been welcoming - or safe. In this episode of The Nerdy Photographer Podcast, I sit down with wildlife and nature photographer Angela Ledyard to discuss the importance of representation in outdoor photography, building community, and creating spaces where more Black women feel encouraged to explore nature photography. We also talk about Angela's own photographic journey, the evolution of her work, and the long solo trips she takes in pursuit of wildlife and landscape images. Why Representation in Nature Photography Matters For decades, outdoor and wildlife photography spaces have lacked diversity in visibility, leadership, and community support. Angela discusses how that absence affects participation.  It affects who feels comfortable entering these spaces and who sees photography as being 'for them. Creating visibility matters because people often need to see themselves reflected somewhere before they feel they belong there. Through her work and community-building efforts, Angela is helping redefine what nature photography spaces can look like. Why Visibility Changes Possibility One of the most meaningful ideas from this episode is simple: visibility expands possibility. When photographers see others who look like them succeeding in a space, it changes what feels achievable. Angela's work not only creates photographs - it creates permission! Permission to explore, travel, take up space, and pursue creative work in environments that may have felt inaccessible. That impact extends far beyond photography itself. Episode Promos Siteground Web Hosting - https://siteground.com/go/nerdy Stylecloud Website Templates - https://stylecloud.co/ref/380/ On1 Photo Editing Software - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/on1/ Aftershoot AI Culling, Editing, and Retouching - https://aftershoot.com/?ref=nerdyphoto Support The Nerdy Photographer Sign Up for The Power Up - https://nerdyphotographer.com/newsletter Get some artwork from the print shop - https://art.caseyfphoto.com Buy some Nerdy Photographer Merch - https://nerdyphoto.dashery.com Use our link to buy new gear from Adorama - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/adorama Use our link to buy used gear from KEH - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/keh Follow along with us on social media @thenerdyphoto About My Guest Angela Ledyard is a nature and wildlife photographer whose work focuses on birds, landscapes, macro subjects, and the quiet details of the natural world. Her photography is shaped by a deep love of travel, exploration, and time spent outdoors, with images inspired by experiences across the United States, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and parts of South america. She is especially drawn to moments that connect beauty, behavior, and place. In addition to creating her own work, Angela has led photography tours on the West Coast and in Alaska, helping others slow down, observe more deeply, and build confidence behind the camera. Through her photography, travel, and storytelling, she aims to inspire curiosity, connection, and appreciation for the natural world. You can view Angela's work on her Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/angelaledyard.photography/ - or connect with her on her Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/AngelaLedyard About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's work at https://caseyfphoto.com   If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

  7. 11 June

    The Power of Black & White: Your Photo Archive Through the Monochrome Lens

    Most photographers have thousands, or even tens of thousands, of forgotten images sitting on hard drives. But what if some of your best work is already there, waiting to be rediscovered? In this episode of The Nerdy Photographer Podcast, I sit down with photographer Ian Plant to discuss the process of revisiting a massive photographic archive and selecting images to convert into black and white. What begins as a conversation about monochrome photography quickly becomes something deeper: a discussion about how changing the way you see an image can completely transform the way you evaluate your work. Why Revisit Your Photography Archive? Most photographers move forward constantly - new shoots, new gear, new edits, new projects. Rarely do we stop and revisit older work with fresh eyes. Ian discusses the surprising experience of combing through tens of thousands of images and realizing that photographs overlooked years ago suddenly carried new emotional or artistic weight when viewed differently. Distance matters. As photographers grow creatively, their ability to recognize strong composition, light, texture, mood, and storytelling evolves too. Images that once seemed ordinary may reveal entirely new potential years later. Key Takeaways from the Episode Your archive may contain some of your strongest unseen work Time and distance can completely change how you evaluate images Black and white photography emphasizes composition, light, and emotion Revisiting older work helps refine your creative voice Not every image needs color to be powerful Episode Promos Learn photography at your own pace - https://nerdyphotographer.com/learn StyleCloud Photography Website Templates - https://stylecloud.co/ref/380/ Siteground Web Hosting - https://siteground.com/go/nerdy Luminar NEO Photo Editing Software - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/luminar Support The Nerdy Photographer Sign Up for The Power Up - https://nerdyphotographer.com/newsletter Get some artwork from the print shop - https://art.caseyfphoto.com Buy some Nerdy Photographer Merch - https://nerdyphoto.dashery.com Use our link to buy new gear from Adorama - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/adorama Use our link to buy used gear from KEH - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/keh Follow along with us on social media @thenerdyphoto About My Guest Whether hanging over the rim of an active volcano or braving the elements to photograph critically endangered species, Ian Plant has spent the past two decades traveling the globe in his never-ending quest to capture the beauty of our world with his camera. Ian has reached hundreds of thousands of people in his mission to inspire and educate others in the art of photography. Ian is the author of dozens of books and instructional videos, an instructor for KelbyOne and other photography education outlets, and founder of Photo Masters, a site dedicated to photography education and inspiration. You can view Ian's work on his website Ianplant.com - learn from Ian at photomasters.com - or find him on Instagram @ianplantphoto About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

  8. 4 June ·  Bonus

    Colorizing an Icon - The Danziger Gallery's Moonrise Controversy

    Some stories in the art world land with a quiet thud and then just keep reverberating louder and louder. The decision by Danziger Gallery to display, and sell, an AI-colorized version of Ansel Adams' Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico at this year's AIPAD Photography Show in New York is one of those stories. It touches something raw about authorship, consent, the art market's relationship with living artists, and the particular discomfort of watching a technology reshape the legacy of someone who can no longer speak for themselves. I sat down with Helen Stoilas — former Contributing Editor at The Art Newspaper and current freelance art journalist, who has reported on political and social issues affecting artists and institutions since 2003 — to work through what actually happened and what it means.  Helen brings her long experience covering the art market and artist rights to all of this — including where this fits in the broader pattern of AI entering spaces built by and for human artists, and what the art world's institutions are and aren't equipped to do about it. You can check out more of Helen's work at https://helenstoilas.com or listen to her podcast at https://yourenofun.com/ Support The Nerdy Photographer Sign Up for The Power Up - https://nerdyphotographer.com/newsletter Get some artwork from the print shop - https://art.caseyfphoto.com Buy some Nerdy Photographer Merch - https://nerdyphoto.dashery.com Use our link to buy new gear from Adorama - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/adorama Use our link to buy used gear from KEH - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/keh Follow along with us on social media @thenerdyphoto About The Podcast The Nerdy Photographer Podcast is written and produced by Casey Fatchett. Casey is a professional photographer in the New York City / Northern New Jersey with more than 20 years of experience. He just wants to help people and make them laugh. You can view Casey's wedding work at https://fatchett.com or his non-wedding work at https://caseyfatchettphotography.com    If you have any questions or comments about this episode or any other episodes, OR if you would like to ask a photography related question or have ideas for a topic for a future episode, please reach out to us at https://nerdyphotographer.com/contact

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Host Casey Fatchett brings an often humorous look at the photography industry, offering advice, telling stories, and interviewing working photographers - all while going on adventures with the crew of the starship Fibonacci. He's also sure to include just a little bit of useless information in every episode.

Information

  • Creator
    Nerdy Photographer
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    212
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © https://nerdyphotographer.com/podcast-copyright-information/
  • Show Website
    The Nerdy Photographer Podcast

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