Photography Breakthrough System

A First Look at Nikon's New NIKKOR Z 120–300mm f/2.8 Welcome back to the show. I'm your host, Matthew Jordan Smith, and today we're gonna change things up a little bit. It's Monday, November 2nd, 2026. And yes, I think this week, maybe more than ever, we need to focus just for a moment on something that's fun. It might be a heavy week, so let me distract you from everything you'll be hearing this...

You’re Doing Better Than You Think I know it is hard to believe, but here we are. October 26, 2026. If you are listening to this podcast on the day it comes out, this is the last Monday of October. The year has flown by. And maybe you are beginning to look back at your year and wonder: Why wasn’t it better? Why didn’t I accomplish more? Why am I not further along? But here is the thing: You are pr...

Why Everyone Else’s Success Is Making You Question Your Own Creativity Welcome back to the Photography Breakthrough Podcast. Today, I want to talk to painters, photographers, writers, designers, filmmakers, musicians, actors, illustrators, and anyone who has ever tried to make something creative and put a piece of themselves into the world. I want to begin with a simple question: Have you ever ope...

Don’t Compete With AI. Become More Human. Welcome back to the Photography Breakthrough Podcast. I hope you listened to last week’s episode. If you didn’t, I want you to go back and listen to Part One first, because today we’re going deeper into that conversation. And I want to begin with one question: What can you give people that AI cannot? Think about that for a second. What can you give people...

AI Is Changing Everything. But Your Creativity Still Matters. Welcome to the Photography Breakthrough Podcast. As we begin October, I want to talk about something I know is sitting quietly in the minds of a lot of creatives: artists, designers, writers, photographers, filmmakers, voiceover artists, and creators everywhere. It’s AI. And more specifically, it’s the fear surrounding AI. Maybe you’ve...

How to Stop Fearing Rejection Speaker: Hello, and welcome to Photography Breakthrough Podcast. Speaker: Today, I wanna talk about a word that nobody likes, no. Speaker: No, thank you. Speaker: Not right now. Speaker: We decided to go in another direction. Speaker: We're looking for something different. Speaker: We'll keep your information on file. Speaker: Everyone knows what this feels like, espe...

Stop Waiting to Feel Ready Speaker: Wait, wait, no, I'm not ready yet. Speaker: Uh, oh, we're on? Speaker: Oh. Speaker: Today, I wanna talk about something that stops a lot of very talented people, waiting. Speaker: Waiting until you feel ready. Speaker: Waiting into your work is better. Speaker: Waiting until you have the right tools, waiting until you have more money, waiting until your website...

What If They Hate It? The Courage to Create Anyways Speaker: Fear, Courage, and Creative Breakthroughs Speaker: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. This is your host, Matthew Jordan Smith. I want to welcome you to the Photography Breakthrough Podcast. And today, I wanna talk about fear. Not the kind of fear that comes when you're physically in danger. We all know about that Speaker: And...

Speaker: Hello and welcome back to the show. Speaker: I'm photographer Matthew Jordan Smith Today we're going to talk about representation Today we're gonna talk about representation, race, power, and the photographer's gaze Let me begin with a question that every photographer should ask. Speaker: Who has the power when a photograph is made? Speaker: If we think back in history to images that we c...

Speaker: A few months ago, I did a shoot with a friend who came to visit. Speaker: The first time I photographed her was about 20 years ago, and back then, we had a lot of fun. Speaker: We used an incredible makeup artist. His name is Samuel Paul. Speaker: He is truly an artist, a painter who is also an incredible makeup artist. Speaker: Back in the day, we'd come up with incredible ideas, and no...

Speaker: Welcome to the debate. You know, when we look at an old silver gelatin photograph, we instinctively trust it as a sort of physical fossil. Speaker 2: Right. Yeah, like a tangible artifact. Speaker: Exactly. We assume a physical law occurred, right? Light from a real sun or a real flashbulb bounced off a real physical object, passed through a piece of glass, and burned a permanent record i...

Speaker 1: Welcome to the debate. Speaker 1: So I want you to imagine you are walking along a beach, right, early in the morning, and you find a solitary footprint in the wet sand. Speaker 2: Mm-hmm. Classic scenario. Speaker 1: Right. In that exact moment, you have this absolute proof, undeniable physical evidence that someone walked there before you. Speaker 1: The sand was physically displaced...

Speaker: Welcome to the Photography Breakthrough Podcast. Speaker: I'm your host, Matthew Jordan Smith, and this week we're diving deeper into the AI conversation. Speaker: Last week, we went into Part One. Speaker: This is Part Two, going deeper into the AI conversation as it deals with photography. Speaker: This is a big one, and it deserves more than just one episode. Speaker: We'll start today...

Speaker: Today's topic is one that I never thought we'd be talking about. Speaker: If you're listening to this podcast, I'm assuming you're a photographer or like photography in some way, shape, or form. Speaker: So, think about some of your favorite photographs. Speaker: What if those images were never created with a camera? Speaker: Today, we're diving into AI-generated imagery. Speaker: Are the...

Summer Mojo_Reconnect and move forward Speaker: Have you ever heard that Stevie Wonder album, Hotter than July? Well, here we are, the end of July And summer can do something strange to your energy. The days are longer But somehow you feel slower. The sun is out But your motivation sometimes can feel hidden. People are traveling, clients are distracted, schedules are different, routines fall apart...

Special Interview with artist Louie Jones Speaker: I want you to put yourself in a very specific, deeply uncomfortable room for a second. Speaker: Just picture it. Speaker: Okay, I'm here. Speaker: You are sitting at a desk or you know maybe standing at a workbench and right in front of you is this passion project. Speaker: Oh right, we've all got one of those. Speaker: Exactly, it could be the fi...

Fixing the Client Consistency Leak Speaker: There is one word that has quietly killed more dreams than failure ever has. That word is later. I'll fix my business later. I'll get back to you later Speaker: I'll take that course later. I'll watch that YouTube video later. Later sounds responsible. Later sounds calm Later sounds like you're not saying no. But most of the time, later is just fear dres...

Client Consistency Audit Live Invite Speaker: Hi, and welcome back to the podcast. Tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow, I want you to bring your numbers, not your perfect answers. Tomorrow, I'm going live for the client consistency audit. I want you to be there 'cause this is for you Speaker: Now, I wanna say something very clearly before we begin Speaker: You do not need perfect numbers Speaker: Yo...

Did she lie to you too? Have you ever looked at the mirror and thought, "I'm fine. Nothing's really changed"? You know, the mirror has a way of, of comforting us All right. Today, let me start by asking you this question. How many times have you looked in the mirror today? Stop and think about that. Now, have you ever looked in the mirror and thought, "I'm fine. Nothing's really changed"? You see,...

The Human Moment in Photography Speaker: Welcome back. Today's reminder is simple. The human moment, that's your competitive advantage, not your newest lens Not your preset pack Speaker: Not the camera bag you bought because someone on YouTube said it would change your life. And now it mostly holds granola bar wrappers And twelve mysterious cables. Your advantage is the human moment Speaker: It's...

Trust-Building in the AI Era Photography Breakthrough Speaker: Welcome, welcome. Speaker 2: Today we're going to talk about AI Speaker: Yes, AI. Can now make beautiful images in about 12 seconds, which is really rude when you think about it. Some of us spend years learning light, composition, posing, editing, And how to pretend we are calm when Lightroom crashes But here's the good news. Speaker:...

The Gift Beyond the Camera Speaker: Welcome back to the Photography Breakthrough podcast. Today, I want to give you some relief Because if you're a photographer watching AI get better and better, you might be quietly asking yourself, "What happens to me if beautiful images become easier to create?" Silently, I think a lot of us are thinking that same thing, wondering, " What's gonna happen to me?"...

Building Emotional Connection with Clients through Questions Speaker: For those of you who study with me, you learn this right away. How to build an emotional connection Speaker: The other day, a client came in town and-- let me back up because she never hired me before, so she wasn't a client. But we met a few months ago at a dinner party. We exchanged cards, and then she came back to town becaus...

Day Three: Client Conversion Challenge Finale Speaker: Wow. Now that was a fantastic week. Were you there? Last week we did part one and part two of the Client Conversion Challenge, and I've got to say, number one, thank you to everyone who showed up. If you missed it, you actually missed a lot. Speaker: Last week in the podcast, I talked about trust because here's the truth, it's not about your w...

How do they know who you are? Speaker 2: Let me ask you a question. How does someone know you're a photographer? I want you to think about that for a second. Speaker 2: How do they really know you're a photographer? Is it just because you say so? Speaker 2: Today is gonna be a different type of podcast. Speaker 2: And for those who can hear me, Speaker 2: I truly hope this resonates because this e...