De Donkere Kamer

Kaat Celis

Welcome to De Donkere Kamer podcast! I'm Kaat Celis and my mission is to support and inspire as many photographers and photo enthusiasts as possible and to make photography a must have in everyone's life. In this podcast I take you into the fascinating world of photography, storytelling & entrepreneurship. And I uncover the stories behind all those images. Whether you are an established photographer or still at the beginning of your career or just crazy about photography? Get inspired and motivated! Come on, I'll take you with me.

  1. 11H AGO

    #250 ENGLISH - The choice every photographer eventually has to make

    In this episode I’m recording from our house in France. I’m sitting in my office, looking outside as the first signs of spring slowly start to appear. At first it seems like nothing is happening, yet underneath the surface everything is quietly beginning to move. Growth in photography and entrepreneurship often works the same way. Many photographers want more freedom, more income, or more recognition for their work. At the same time, doubt and fear often get in the way. Before their real plan even has the space to unfold, an exit strategy is already waiting in the background. In this episode I reflect on a question that can feel uncomfortable: how fast can you become wealthy? Not from the perspective of shortcuts or promises, but from something else entirely, focus, commitment, and the way you relate to money and to your own work. I share a few personal stories from my own entrepreneurial journey and talk about why people who move forward in their careers tend to put most of their energy into one direction. I also explain how constantly keeping a plan B in your head can quietly slow down your growth. At the end of March I’ll reopen the doors to my program Photography, Money & Mindset. I only open it once a year, with a financial discount and several bonuses for photographers, including a new chapter about AI in photography. If you’d like to be the first to hear when the doors open, you can join the waitlist.

    18 min
  2. 4D AGO

    #248 DUTCH - Bastiaan Woudt: fotograaf, ondernemer en eeuwige beginner

    Wat gebeurt er wanneer nieuwsgierigheid het kompas wordt van een kunstenaarspraktijk? In deze aflevering ga ik in gesprek met de Nederlandse fotograaf Bastiaan Woudt. Een maker die zijn eerste camera kocht na de geboorte van zijn zoon, en sindsdien een heel eigen universum heeft opgebouwd rond fotografie, kunst en ondernemerschap. We spreken elkaar in zijn studio in Alkmaar. Een plek waar zijn kenmerkende zwart-witportretten ontstaan, maar waar ook nieuwe experimenten vorm krijgen. In ons gesprek hebben we het over: • hoe een autodidact fotograaf internationaal doorbreekt• waarom nieuwsgierigheid misschien wel de belangrijkste eigenschap van een kunstenaar is• hoe technologie en AI een nieuwe laag kunnen toevoegen aan een fotografische praktijk• waarom ondernemerschap en kunstenaarschap volgens hem onlosmakelijk verbonden zijn• en hoe hij een maand lang de 88 tempels van de Shikoku-pelgrimsroute in Japan fotografeerde voor zijn nieuwe project Henro Wat mij vooral opviel: Bastiaan beweegt voortdurend tussen disciplines. Fotografie, boeken, podcasts, AI, reizen, uitgeverij. Niet vanuit een strak plan, maar vanuit nieuwsgierigheid. En net daar zit voor mij de kracht van dit gesprek.Creatief werk ontstaat niet altijd uit zekerheid.Heel vaak groeit het juist in de fase waarin je nog aan het aftasten bent wat het precies wil worden. Volg Bastiaan op zijn site. En dit is de plek van zijn uitgeverij. Werk je als fotograaf en voel je dat je volgende stap scherper mag? Via mijn 1-op-1 mentoring traject werk ik zes maanden intensief met fotografen aan hun praktijk. Van portfolio en positionering tot strategie, tentoonstellingen en ondernemerschap. Alle info vind je hier. En ben je op zoek naar inspiratie? Volg dan mijn gratis webinar waarin ik de 5 patronen blootleg die succesvolle fotografen consistent toepassen om telkens te kunnen groeien. Schrijf je hier in.

    1h 35m
  3. MAR 4

    #246 ENGLISH - Delphine Diallo on the female gaze, power, and portraiture

    What happens when you stop “capturing” a portrait and start treating it as an exchange? In this episode I sit down with Delphine Diallo, Brooklyn-based artist and photographer (French and Senegalese roots), known for a visual language that turns the women around her into something unapologetically powerful, sometimes even divine. We recorded this conversation in my tiny hotel room in New York, which feels fitting, because New York is where Delphine found something she didn’t find in Europe: space to become, to shift, to lead, without being reduced to how she looks or where she comes from. We talk about the history of photography and the male gaze, about why “capturing” is a loaded word, and why Delphine sees the face as “the architecture of the soul”. We also go into her relationship with discipline (kung fu), intuition, the elements, and how her practice has expanded beyond photography into AI, where she works in collaboration with a self-named entity, Emma, as part of building a new kind of story world. This is one of those conversations that moves between art, identity, power, and the question underneath it all: what does it take to stay sovereign in your own vision? Listen now, and if this episode resonates, subscribe and leave a review, it genuinely helps the podcast travel. PS: In the middle of the episode I briefly mention my free webinar about the five patterns I consistently see in photographers who keep growing. You’ll find the link here.

    49 min
  4. FEB 26

    #244 ENGLISH - The reason you’re not growing as a photographer (and it has nothing to do with talent)

    What if your biggest block isn’t your technique, not the market, not even your talent, but the way you show up in your own life and business? In this episode, I take you into a period where my energy was low and I was forced to slow down. That pause brought clarity. About priorities. About leadership. And about the patterns I keep seeing in photographers who say they want to grow, yet keep sabotaging themselves along the way. I talk about a photographer who disappeared after an intense conversation. About someone who walked away from paid sessions and later left a negative review. And about what that actually reveals. Because how you do one thing is how you do almost everything. The way you communicate. The way you set boundaries. The way you make decisions, or postpone them. The way you prioritize yourself. It all seeps into your photography and into your business. Many photographers think they have a strategy problem, when in reality they are stuck in limiting beliefs, people pleasing, doubt, or procrastination. Success in photography isn’t just about making stronger images. It’s about taking responsibility. Making clear choices. Showing up consistently. And stopping the habit of shrinking yourself. If you feel this is about you, and you don’t just want to listen but actually break patterns, join the waiting list for my program Photography Money & Mindset. Inside, we work not only on positioning and revenue models, but on the mental foundation that determines how far you can really go. You can join the waiting list here. The launch price and bonuses are temporary and limited. The reason you’re not growing as a photographer, and it has nothing to do with talent.

    23 min

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About

Welcome to De Donkere Kamer podcast! I'm Kaat Celis and my mission is to support and inspire as many photographers and photo enthusiasts as possible and to make photography a must have in everyone's life. In this podcast I take you into the fascinating world of photography, storytelling & entrepreneurship. And I uncover the stories behind all those images. Whether you are an established photographer or still at the beginning of your career or just crazy about photography? Get inspired and motivated! Come on, I'll take you with me.

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