SHOOT TO ILL™

The One About Lenses | Ep. 38 by Martin Depict

The End Is Near | Ep. 37 by Martin Depict

I'm Doing It For Me | Ep. 36 by Martin Depict

What goes in my camera bags for almost two weeks of photo and video work? My roller and weekender carry the working cameras, vlogging kit and SSD backups. Canon, Fujifilm and DJI each have a job here. SHOOT TO ILL, episode 35 — A Podcast for anyone with a camera. Keep shooting. 0:00 Packing for the shoot 0:59 Peak Design roller and cube 4:48 Canon R1 and X100VI 8:15 Video lens and filters 9:22 Fla...

I paid for ComplexCon VIP in Los Angeles, but the early access and perks didn’t feel worth what I spent. Here’s my experience, what I actually picked up, and why the weekend left me missing the streetwear community that brought me there. I talk through the Satoshi Nakamoto Vans drop I missed, how this VIP experience compared with previous years, and why I couldn’t turn the trip into the full vlog...

SHOOT TO ILL PODCAST EP. 33 My Insta360 Luna Ultra replacement finally arrived, but getting it back was harder than I expected. I walk through the support process, the problems I experienced, and what this taught me about choosing camera gear you can depend on. I unbox the replacement, explain the back-and-forth with Insta360, and talk about why buying FlexiCare left me expecting a smoother experi...

Can ChatGPT actually edit a podcast in DaVinci Resolve? For this experiment, I gave Cue, my ChatGPT editing assistant, control over the structure of a real SHOOT TO ILL podcast edit. That included identifying my A-cam and B-cam, switching camera angles, recognizing editing instructions inside the transcript, cutting dialogue, creating graphics, generating visual assets, and putting the episode tog...

I bought a second Insta360 Luna Ultra and retested it against the DJI Pocket 4P after my original camera repeatedly overheated and froze. The new unit changed the reliability story, but a separate problem raised a bigger question about quality control, brand loyalty, and what creators should expect after spending their own money. In Episode 31 of SHOOT TO ILL, I run the Luna Ultra through a 4K30,...

AI is changing graphic design, YouTube thumbnails, photography, and creator workflows fast, but what happens when it starts making the same creative decisions for all of us? In this episode, I talk about training my own AI model, using AI in my thumbnail workflow, the AI gold rush, and where I think these tools stop helping and start flattening the creative process. Before getting into that, I als...

Today I test the Insta360 Luna Ultra for overheating during a long recording and ask a bigger question: when do impressive camera specs stop being practical? With I-Log, tracking, the Insta360 Mic Pro, and the Battery Handle running, I measure the heat and compare the Luna Ultra’s reliability with the DJI Pocket 4P. This episode follows my Pocket 4P vs Luna Ultra comparison. I recreate the setup t...

Photography usage rights, image licensing, and AI training clauses can decide who profits from a photo long after the shoot ends. Martin shares how he protects his work, respects the people in his images, and avoids signing away more than a client actually needs. In Episode 28 of SHOOT TO ILL, Martin walks through his working approach to collaborative shoots, print sales, publication licenses, age...

I almost broke my Monday upload streak, so I went live before I was ready. The DJI Pocket 4P was supposed to arrive in time for a live unboxing, but when it was delayed, I had no video ready and felt like I was breaking a promise to myself. Instead of skipping the upload, I turned it into a last-minute test stream. In this episode of the SHOOT TO ILL Podcast, I talk about trying to stay consistent...

This episode is about finding the sound that finally made my videos feel right. After struggling with music, pacing, and how my edits landed, I started paying closer attention to how sound affects retention and mood, and whether a video feels forced or effortless. The bigger lesson is about learning through posting, dealing with perfectionism, and realizing that your creative voice usually shows u...

After two stressful weeks restoring over 60TB of files from the cloud, I had to keep working off my laptop, finish edits slower than normal, and deal with the kind of workflow problems that make every small mistake feel bigger than it should. In this episode of the SHOOT TO ILL Podcast, I talk about what happened after my RAID system died, what I learned from restoring everything through Backblaze...

After getting back from a shoot in Northern California, I came home to one of the worst things a photographer can deal with: my main RAID system would not turn on. No lights, no fans, no power. For a second, it felt like years of photo and video work could be gone. In this episode of the SHOOT TO ILL podcast, I talk through what happened with my G-RAID Shuttle XL, why Backblaze might be saving me...

This episode is the story of the worst client situation I have ever dealt with as a photographer. After years of working with someone I trusted, a major brand project slowly turned into late arrivals, rushed shoots, unprepared wardrobe, unpaid invoices, and work that made me look worse than the situation actually was. I kept trying to protect the client, but in doing that, I ended up protecting th...

In Episode 22 of the SHOOT TO ILL Podcast, I recap my Coachella 2026 Safari experience one last time before moving on from festival mode. This year was different. It was my 12th Coachella, my first time doing Safari, and the first one Luna and I experienced as an engaged couple. I also talk about what it felt like to vlog in public for the first time at that scale, the mistakes I made shooting wit...

This episode of the SHOOT TO ILL Podcast starts with a real check-in on what it feels like to stay consistent as a creator, even when life gets heavy. Martin talks about missing a vlog, pushing through stress, and still finding a way to upload by reworking a long tutorial into something tighter, more useful, and more intentional for the people actually searching for that information. From there, t...

Two weeks after talking about baby steps, Martin Depict returns to break down the small but real changes he’s making to become a better creator. This episode is about the practical adjustments that slowly raise the quality of your work over time. He also gets into the bigger picture of marketing yourself as a creative. Martin talks about consistency, why effort doesn’t always lead to instant resul...

In this episode of the SHOOT TO ILL podcast, Martin talks honestly about something a lot of creators experience but rarely admit: getting stuck in your own head. After two intense weeks of editing photos and staying consistent with uploads, Martin reflects on the pressure of trying to do everything right when building something new online. From constantly being fed YouTube growth advice to overthi...

New uploads on YouTube weekly. Podcasts available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify every other Monday at 3am PST. Follow SHOOT TO ILL™ on Patreon: www.patreon.com/shoottoill Support the podcast by getting official SHOOT TO ILL™ merch at: martindepict.com or shoottoill.com *Disclaimer: This video is not sponsored, nor am I being paid by any company to create this video Thank you for watching...

New uploads on YouTube weekly. Podcasts available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify everyother Monday at 3am PST. Follow SHOOT TO ILL™ on Patreon: www.patreon.com/shoottoill Support the podcast by getting official SHOOT TO ILL™ merch at: martindepict.com or shoottoill.com *Disclaimer: This video is not sponsored, nor am I being paid by any company to create this video Thank you for watching....

Available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify on Mondays at 3 am PST. Follow SHOOT TO ILL™ on Patreon: www.patreon.com/shoottoill Monthly Projects, BTS, and Exclusive content are available there. Support the podcast by getting official SHOOT TO ILL™ merch at: martindepict.com or shoottoill.com *Disclaimer: This video is not sponsored, nor am I being paid by any company to create this video Tha...

Austin Spencer is my first guest. We discuss creative evolution, taking risks, and Kendrick and Drake's rap beef. Available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify on Mondays at 3 am PST. Follow SHOOT TO ILL™ on Patreon: www.patreon.com/shoottoill Monthly Projects, BTS, and Exclusive content are available there. Support the podcast by getting official SHOOT TO ILL™ merch at: martindepict.com or sh...

In this episode I test my camera's ISO capabilities. This is another visual episode, please watch on youtube: https://youtu.be/xwTW6dxro7Q Available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify on Mondays at 3 am PST. Follow SHOOT TO ILL™ on Patreon: www.patreon.com/shoottoill Monthly Projects, BTS, and Exclusive content are available there. Support the podcast by getting official SHOOT TO ILL™ merch a...