More Than Photos

If Josh Helton is going to create something, it has to answer bigger questions: What’s life about? What matters most? That instinct has shaped A Little Long Distance since Josh and his wife, Jess, began making wedding films in 2013. Their films reach beyond the wedding day into home movies, family history, loss, memory, and the people who made a couple who they are. Eventually, those same question...

Most success stories are told years after the climb. When a photographer has already reached the pinnacle of their journey. This one is a little different. Dalton & Breanna Upchurch are in the middle of a season that's changing the trajectory of their business, and we had a front-row seat to the last year of it. When they joined our Mastermind , they were already making beautiful wedding films...

You want to make better work. So you save photographs. Study photographers you admire. Build mood boards. Buy the camera. Try on editing styles... And somehow, you still feel stuck. In this episode, Brad shares his own journey of trying to grow creatively, including the mentoring experiences that changed how he saw his work, 3 days in Brooklyn with Ritual Collective, and the realization that his c...

A few years ago, Sav & Cam found themselves in a place a lot of photographers know well. The business was working, but the work didn’t feel like where they wanted to stay. That realization started a pretty massive shift. In this episode, we talk with Sav & Cam about what changed over the last few years, from the weddings they were photographing and the work they were making to the opportun...

What makes a photograph last? Reni Maria has spent years thinking about that question, both through her own work as a documentary wedding photographer and as the founder of Counterpart Photos, a collective celebrating some of the most distinct voices in wedding photography today. In this conversation, we talk about learning to notice, trusting your instincts, finding your own way of seeing, and wh...

There’s a frustrating point in business where things are working, but it starts to feel like there’s nowhere obvious left to go. You’re making good work. You’ve raised your prices. You’ve built a reputation. But you’re still being compared to the same photographers, competing for the same couples, and wondering how much further your market will let you go. In this episode, we’re talking about what...

What does it actually look like to raise three kids, homeschool, run a business, work from home, and still have a life? We’re sharing a behind-the-scenes look at what’s worked for us, what hasn’t, and what we’ve learned after nearly 10 years of parenting while running our business. We talk childcare, routines, quiet time, Sunday planning, outsourcing, marriage, decision fatigue, and why we’ve stop...

This week Brad & Jen sit down with Austin Trenholm, a wedding photographer of nearly two decades and the co-founder of Good Light Presets. Between shooting weddings across the country and building editing tools with his business partner Cody, Austin has had a rare front row seat to how thousands of photographers edit, the trends they chase, and the styles they grow into. That vantage point mak...

What if the biggest opportunities in your business don't come because you're finally "ready"… but because you've spent years preparing before they ever arrived? This week we're joined by Kellie and Caitlin of Fulton Events for one of our favorite conversations to date. On the surface, it's the story of three years that changed everything. But underneath, it's a conversation about believing in a fu...

This week's episode is a little different. Brad & Jen are recording from the road instead of their usual studio, but the conversation couldn't wait. If you've ever stared at a new inquiry wondering, "Do I send pricing? Do I email first? Do I schedule a call?" this episode is for you. What starts as a conversation about discovery calls quickly becomes something much bigger. Why are photographer...

This week Brad & Jen sit down with Emilie White, a French wedding and editorial photographer whose life has stretched across seven countries, two careers, and a constant pull toward something more than the photography itself. Before she ever picked up a camera professionally, Emilie spent 7 years in law, working in international law and intellectual property across Paris, Ireland, and the Midd...

What actually helps photographers grow? After years of coaching photographers through every stage of business, we've noticed something surprising. The biggest breakthroughs rarely come from finding more information. They come from clarity, community, personalized guidance, and having the confidence to take the next step. In this episode, we're pulling back the curtain on the lessons we've learned...

This week Brad and Jen sit down with Perry Vaile, a destination and editorial wedding photographer, historian, educator, and creative whose life stretches far beyond the wedding industry. What begins as a conversation about Perry’s mountain home in North Carolina quickly turns into something much bigger: ambition, success, identity, community, social media, and what it means to build a life that d...

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by photographer and artist Sophie Lin Berard. Known for blending documentary honesty with editorial sophistication, Sophie’s work draws from a wide range of influences including street photography, fashion, commercial work, architecture, and fine art. In this conversation, we explore what it actually takes to become a versatile photographer and why some of th...

AI is changing the way we work, create, and communicate, but what if the most important response isn’t learning how to use AI better? What if it’s becoming more human? In this episode, Jen shares 3 simple skills she’s intentionally investing in during an AI era. Skills she believes they’reare becoming increasingly rare, and therefore increasingly valuable. Books Mentioned Theo of Golden - Allen Le...

This week Brad is sitting down with Kate Thompson for a conversation about creativity, parenthood, burnout, ambition, and the discipline of protecting the parts of yourself that make meaningful work possible in the first place. Over the last several years, we’ve watched Kate intentionally refine her work and her business, but what surprised us most in this conversation wasn’t hearing about “leveli...

Previews. Sneak peeks. Whatever you call them… this conversation keeps coming back around. In this episode, we unpack why so many photographers feel stuck in the tension between artistry and expectation and why the question “should I do previews or not?” might actually be the wrong place to start. Instead of giving a formula, we invite you into a different way of thinking. One rooted in ownership,...

Hey everyone! This week on the podcast we’re joined by photographer, educator, and artist Anni Graham for a conversation that goes far deeper than photography, pricing, or building a luxury brand. What began as a conversation about growth, reinvention, and moving into a higher-end market quickly became something much more honest - about the inner life of being a creative, the private tensions many...

This week on the podcast we’re joined by Roma Vera , whose films have become some of the most recognizable and influential in the wedding world. In this conversation, we talk about originality, creative discipline, and what it takes to build work that still feels fresh after 16 years. Roma and Vera share their journey from a small town in Siberia to Moscow to Spain, the surprising influences behin...

Hey everyone! This week on the podcast, Jen is walking through a handful of ideas that have been reshaping the way we think about goals, happiness, and what it actually looks like to move forward in life and business. What We Cover: Why goal setting doesn’t need to revolve around a new calendar year The shift from “have, do, be” to “be, do, have” How happiness actually drives success (not the othe...

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by photographer Tejas , whose work has quietly become some of the most thoughtful and distinctive in the wedding and documentary space. In this conversation, we talk about the long arc of becoming an artist, the discipline of creating before sharing, and how to build a body of work that actually means something. Tejas shares how he discovered photography in h...

Hey everyone! This week Brad is diving into a conversation that many photographers wrestle with but rarely talk about. Why is it that so many talented photographers eventually plateau? Why does momentum slow down even when the work keeps getting better? In this episode, we explore a hidden tension that lives inside many creative careers: the discomfort artists feel when effort becomes visible. In...

This week on the podcast we’re joined by husband-and-wife photography team Andrew and Mashaida , the creatives behind Mashaida . Known for their deeply relational approach to weddings, their work is rooted in a simple belief: great photographs are the byproduct of great relationships. In this conversation, we talk about building a photography business around people rather than algorithms, cultivat...

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by wedding photographer Sarah Bradshaw. We talk about building a value-led brand, resisting the pull of constant attention, and creating a business that supports a full life instead of slowly draining it. Sarah unpacks her “fireplaces vs. fireworks” metaphor, shares how faith and intentionality guide her decisions, and explains why defining “enough” may be th...

Hey everyone! This week on the podcast we’re doing something a little different — an AMA episode pulled straight from your DMs. What We Cover: • Why low-budget inquiries aren’t the real issue • The shift from “How do I stop this?” to “How do I attract differently?” • Common positioning patterns that attract general-market budgets • The continuity gap between social, website, pricing guide, and dis...