The MOOD Podcast

Matt Jacob
  • 5.0 (85)
  • Visual Arts
  • Updated Biweekly

The MOOD Podcast is a long-form conversation series exploring photography, creativity, identity, and the inner life of artists. Hosted by Matt Jacob, the show moves beyond technique and trends to examine why people make work, how creative voices are formed, and what it takes to sustain a meaningful artistic life. Through thoughtful, unhurried conversations with photographers, filmmakers, and creative thinkers from around the world, the podcast explores themes of process, mental health, ethics, purpose, legacy, and the tension between art and industry. Episodes are grounded, reflective, and often philosophical, offering listeners provocation of thought rather than formulaic answers to copy. The MOOD Podcast is less about instruction and more about understanding, aimed at emerging and established creatives who care not just about what they make, but why they make it.  At its core, The MOOD Podcast is the art of conversation, one frame at a time. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mattyj_ay Instagram: @the_moodpodcast /@mattyj_ay Website: https://themoodpodcast.com.

  1. Why Photographer Ridwan Didot Asks Every Artist "What's Wrong With You?", E120

    5d ago

    Why Photographer Ridwan Didot Asks Every Artist "What's Wrong With You?", E120

    In this episode you'll learn how to tell whether your photography is actually art, why chasing technical perfection is holding your work back, and how to develop a photographic voice that's unmistakably your own. This week Matt chats with Ridwan Didot, a fine art documentary and wedding photographer from Indonesia who runs the studio Native Visual and approaches commercial work with the eye and patience of a documentarian. We get into one of the oldest debates in photography, whether there's such a thing as photography that is art and photography that isn't, and where that line actually sits. Ridwan shares why a photograph that still works in 50 years matters more than one that just looks good today, how 6 years photographing his own grandparents trained his eye more than any client job, and why he believes copying another photographer, or even copying your own past work, is genuinely impossible. This is a conversation about intention, sensitivity, function over aesthetics, and the slow work of finding a creative voice that's truly yours. Other things we discussed: Why your mother's old family photos might teach you more than any workshopThe "demolition" theory of creativity: learning to construct a photo so you can destroy itWhat Rick Rubin's The Creative Act gets right about making work without needing approvalHow Diane Arbus reframed the relationship between the subject and the photographWhy insecurity, used honestly, can be a tool rather than a weaknessAlfred Adler, the "neutral position", and how psychology shapes the photographerThe Photographer's Playbook and the danger of photographing feelings badlyWhy the love and care you put into a frame is visible in the final imageThe one question Ridwan asks every artist he meetsRidwan's profile: https://www.instagram.com/ridwandidot/ ___________________________ Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation! Support the show Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more. The MOOD Insiders Community https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders Learn with me https://mattjacob.co/learn My Newsletter https://www.mattjacob.co/archive Website: https://themoodpodcast.com Socials: IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

    1h 20m
  2. Your Body Decides the Photograph Before You Do - Photographer Tim Carpenter, E119

    Jun 11

    Your Body Decides the Photograph Before You Do - Photographer Tim Carpenter, E119

    Matt sits down with photographer, writer, and educator Tim Carpenter, author of 'To Photograph Is to Learn How to Die' and photobooks such as 'Local Objects', 'Little' and 'Christmas Day, Bucks Pond Road', for a deep conversation on the philosophy beneath the photographic image.  In this episode you will learn a way to understand why the form of a photograph, not its subject, is where its meaning and beauty actually live, and how working with a camera can teach you to make peace with a world that will never bend to your wishes. We explore the 'broken self' and the gap between the real and the ideal, why form is everything that is not in front of the camera, the difference between the depicted and the detected, how the body and the camera move through the world as a single instrument, why beauty in a photograph is a fleeting moment of equilibrium, and how a photographer can build a meaningful body of work and a real audience without chasing scale. Other things we discussed: Why great art resists interpretation, and the ethics of meeting a subject as something singularThe exposure test that reveals whether you truly care about formHow Tim moved from being subject-matter driven to understanding structureReading his own emotional distance in the photographs of Local ObjectsThe pinned butterfly problem in portrait photographyWhat Robert Adams wrote in a two-page handwritten letterWhy Susan Sontag and Roland Barthes may not help working photographersThe anti-solipsism machine, and how the camera refuses your projectionsThe loss behind Bucks Pond Road and the books that became a loose trilogyWhy you do not need a big audience to make work that mattersTim's links: Website: https://www.timcarpenterphotography.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timcarpenter ___________________ Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation! Support the show Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more. The MOOD Insiders Community https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders Learn with me https://mattjacob.co/learn My Newsletter https://www.mattjacob.co/archive Website: https://themoodpodcast.com Socials: IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

    1h 41m
  3. Zahra Ciardi - The True Self, Limiting Beliefs & Why Photographers Crave Validation, E118

    Jun 4

    Zahra Ciardi - The True Self, Limiting Beliefs & Why Photographers Crave Validation, E118

    Matt talks with psychologist Zahra Ciardi, founder of Ascendant Bali, to explore the inner life of the creative person: why so many photographers feel their work isn't truly theirs, the limiting beliefs that keep artists stuck, and how to put your work into the world without being ruled by validation. By the end of this episode you'll understand why your photography stops feeling like yours, and what it takes to create from your true self instead of your need to be seen. Zahra works in trauma recovery and peak performance, and she breaks down the psychology of high achievers, the anatomy of avoidance, the inner critic, and how childhood shapes the way we create as adults. Other things discussed: The "bus" model of the self and why the inner critic ends up drivingHighly sensitive people and why creatives feel everything so intenselyOver-diagnosis, self-diagnosis, and the bigger problem of under-treatmentSelf-neutrality as the realistic first step before self-loveGraded exposure for photographers afraid to share their workUsing social media intentionally instead of being used by itWhether healing costs you your creative edgeHow childhood memory is stored in the body, not just the mindThe single values exercise Zahra says works every time Zahra's links: www.ascendantbali.com www.zahraciardi.com https://www.instagram.com/zahra_ciardi/ ____________________ Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation! Support the show Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more. The MOOD Insiders Community https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders Learn with me https://mattjacob.co/learn My Newsletter https://www.mattjacob.co/archive Website: https://themoodpodcast.com Socials: IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

    1h 26m
  4. Cristina Mittermeier Explains Why Being A Good Photographer Isn't Enough Anymore, E117

    May 28

    Cristina Mittermeier Explains Why Being A Good Photographer Isn't Enough Anymore, E117

    Cristina Mittermeier is a National Geographic photographer, co-founder of SeaLegacy, and author of "Hope." Her work has been featured in National Geographic's series "Photographer" and in publications around the world. Cristinais the photographer who coined the term "conservation photography," co-founded SeaLegacy, and made the starving polar bear image seen by an estimated 2.5 billion people.  In this episode Matt and Cristina discuss how to find your photographic voice that actually means something, why a point of view separates an artist from a craftsman, and the one principle Cristina has built her life around: to show up. - Join the Mood Insiders for ad-free extended episodes, monthly masterclasses, the weekly book club, and much more (link in notes below) -  Other things you will take away from this episode: The "glorious amateur" and why expertise is not a prerequisite for meaningful photographyThe full story behind the starving polar bear photograph and the backlash that followedHow the social media algorithm punishes beautiful and important photographyThe idea of the photographer as a "membrane" rather than a messengerWhy storytelling now matters more than the photograph itself"Enoughness" as a personal answer to consumerismBuilding a real portfolio of physical work instead of living on InstagramA personal handbook of ethics for photographersWhy AI will make human-made photography more valuable, not lessLegacy, ego, and shedding the need to be exceptionalSeaLegacy and the next decade of conservation photographyPractical advice for emerging photographers starting out today____ Cristina’s platforms: Website - https://www.cristinamittermeier.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mitty/ SeaLegacy - https://www.sealegacy.org/ ____ Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation! Support the show Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more. The MOOD Insiders Community https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders Learn with me https://mattjacob.co/learn My Newsletter https://www.mattjacob.co/archive Website: https://themoodpodcast.com Socials: IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

    1h 44m
  5. The One Question That Helped Rich-Joseph Facun Find His Photographic Voice, E116

    May 14

    The One Question That Helped Rich-Joseph Facun Find His Photographic Voice, E116

    In this episode, Matt sits down with Rich-Joseph Facun, a celebrated American documentary photographer, former photojournalist of 15 years, and founder of the independent publishing imprint Liars Corner.  In this conversation we discuss his three monographs: Black Diamonds, Little Cities, and 1804, the ethics of street and portrait photography, photographing strangers in Trump-era Appalachia, walking away from photojournalism, finding your photographic voice, and why the global photo book industry urgently needs more marginalised and Indigenous voices. Other things we discussed: Street portraiture, approaching strangers, and consent in documentary photographyGrowing up in a Southern Baptist military family and door-to-door evangelism as training for portrait workPhotographing Trump-supporting Appalachia as a person of colour with a trans childThe viral portrait of a stranger with a damaged forehead tattoo crying on the streetQuitting photojournalism after 15 years and the identity crisis that followedWhy he stopped using Rembrandt lighting and the decisive moment in his portrait workHow to find your photographic voice after mastering the craftSelf-publishing a photo book vs pitching to independent publishersThe making of Black Diamonds, Little Cities, and 1804Launching Liars Corner as an Indigenous-owned photo book imprint in AppalachiaElitism, gatekeeping, and barriers to entry inside the global photo book publishing industryMentoring emerging documentary photographers and funding their first monographsWhy awards, accolades, and staff photographer positions stopped matteringRich-Joseph Facun Instagram: https://instagram.com/facun Website: https://facun.com Imprint: https://liarscorner.press ____________________________________ Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation! Support the show Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more. The MOOD Insiders Community https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders Learn with me https://mattjacob.co/learn My Newsletter https://www.mattjacob.co/archive Website: https://themoodpodcast.com Socials: IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

    1h 26m
  6. Pricing, Prestige & The Business Of Photography - Miriam Schulman, E115

    Apr 29

    Pricing, Prestige & The Business Of Photography - Miriam Schulman, E115

    In this episode, Matt sits down with Miriam Schulman, professional artist, art business coach, host of the Inspiration Place podcast, and bestselling author of Artpreneur (HarperCollins). Miriam left Wall Street after 9/11 to build a six-figure art business and now teaches photographers, painters, and visual artists how to price their work, sell art online, attract collectors, and build a sustainable photography business without relying on social media. In this conversation we cover photography pricing strategies, how to sell prints at higher prices, the psychology behind luxury art buyers, why charm pricing kills photography sales, how photographers can find art collectors, the truth about Instagram engagement rates for artists, AI's impact on professional photography, and how to transition from hobbyist photographer to full-time professional.  So if you are learning how to make money as a photographer, how to price photography prints, or how to build a photography business in 2026, this episode delivers the frameworks Miriam uses with her six-figure photography and art coaching clients. Other things we discussed: How to price photography prints using prestige pricing instead of charm pricingThe belief triad every photographer needs to sell high-ticket printsSignal excavation: how photographers find their unique artistic voiceHow to build an email list as a photographer (and why it beats Instagram)The $40 champagne pricing study and what it means for photography salesAI and photography: why photographers face more risk than paintersLinkedIn for photographers: the most underused platform for selling artHow to use local press and PR to sell photography printsThe five biggest mistakes photographers make when pricing their workHow to identify a production problem vs a pricing problem in your photography businessWhy marketing matters most when you believe your photography mattersThe wishy-washy pricing mistake that loses photographers paid bookings Find Miriam and everything she offers on her website: https://www.schulmanart.com/ _______________________________________ Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation! Support the show Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more. The MOOD Insiders Community https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders Learn with me https://mattjacob.co/learn My Newsletter https://www.mattjacob.co/archive Website: https://themoodpodcast.com Socials: IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

    57 min
  7. The Psychological Trap Quietly Destroying Your Photography - Moments of Mood 3.4

    Apr 22

    The Psychological Trap Quietly Destroying Your Photography - Moments of Mood 3.4

    In this Moments of Mood episode of The MOOD Podcast, Matt returns after a road accident left him physically immobilised for several weeks, unable to photograph, travel, or work, and uses that enforced stillness to examine one of the quietest but most destructive reflexes in modern photography: the need for proof. What happens to your photography, and to you as a photographer, when the images you make never leave the hard drive? When the algorithm stops rewarding your work? When self-doubt creeps in because no one has seen the photograph yet?  Matt draws on a recent conversation with fellow photographer Pie Aerts, a decade-long meditation practice, and the uncomfortable weeks spent away from the camera, to ask whether photography is a destination we're trying to arrive at, or a pilgrimage we're already walking without realising it.  _____________________ Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation! Support the show Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more. The MOOD Insiders Community https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders Learn with me https://mattjacob.co/learn My Newsletter https://www.mattjacob.co/archive Website: https://themoodpodcast.com Socials: IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

    15 min
  8. Mark Power - 14 Years Photographing America, The Democracy of Photography & Why Stillness Matters More Than The Decisive Moment, E114

    Apr 15

    Mark Power - 14 Years Photographing America, The Democracy of Photography & Why Stillness Matters More Than The Decisive Moment, E114

    In this episode, Matt sits down with Magnum photographer Mark Power for a wide-ranging conversation about long-term documentary photography, creative process, and what it means to spend 14 years photographing America as a foreigner. Mark discusses the origins of his landmark five-volume series 'Good Morning, America', why he's drawn to photographing the ordinary and overlooked rather than the spectacular, and how a woman quietly crying at a Don McCullin exhibition changed the trajectory of his entire career. From nearly quitting photography to becoming one of the most respected members of Magnum Photos, Mark shares honest reflections on self-doubt, creative longevity, and the discipline of looking slowly in a fast world. Other things we discussed: Why photography is more democratic than painting and what that means for artists todayThe moment Mark's father finally validated his career, just before his deathHow the Postcards from America project at Magnum evolved into a decade-long obsessionWhy Mark believes the most exciting subjects make the worst photographsHis thoughts on the word "storytelling" and why he thinks it's lost all meaningThe stillness and silence he deliberately pursues in every imageWalking into a room of his heroes at Chico Review and expecting nobody to know his nameWhy he spends far more time looking at photographs than making themEditing and sequencing five books as a work in progress without knowing the endingWhat's next: photographing Brighton by bus pass and an ambitious new project in ChinaMessage me, leave a comment and join in the conversation! Support the show Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more. The MOOD Insiders Community https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders Learn with me https://mattjacob.co/learn My Newsletter https://www.mattjacob.co/archive Website: https://themoodpodcast.com Socials: IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

    1h 32m
See All (148)

5
out of 5
85 Ratings

About

The MOOD Podcast is a long-form conversation series exploring photography, creativity, identity, and the inner life of artists. Hosted by Matt Jacob, the show moves beyond technique and trends to examine why people make work, how creative voices are formed, and what it takes to sustain a meaningful artistic life. Through thoughtful, unhurried conversations with photographers, filmmakers, and creative thinkers from around the world, the podcast explores themes of process, mental health, ethics, purpose, legacy, and the tension between art and industry. Episodes are grounded, reflective, and often philosophical, offering listeners provocation of thought rather than formulaic answers to copy. The MOOD Podcast is less about instruction and more about understanding, aimed at emerging and established creatives who care not just about what they make, but why they make it.  At its core, The MOOD Podcast is the art of conversation, one frame at a time. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mattyj_ay Instagram: @the_moodpodcast /@mattyj_ay Website: https://themoodpodcast.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Matt Jacob
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    148
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Mood Moments Productions Ltd.
  • Show Website
    The MOOD Podcast

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