The Photography Pod

In this mid summer check-in, Steve and Nick reunite after a hectic few weeks of weddings, travel, house moves and an ill-advised afternoon involving several IPAs and very little food. The conversation covers recent wedding adventures, working together as photographers for the first time, thoughts on new camera gear, and a completely unscientific "Photography World Cup" to crown the best...

Steve and Nick are joined for this episode by photographer and YouTuber Hannah Young. Hannah talks about her journey into photography, from landscapes to travel and street photography. She describes her equipment choices, how she makes her YouTube videos, and what would her dream photography trip.  Steve and Nick speculate on the rumours of a 67MB Sony A7R6 and the soon to be released DJI Osmo Poc...

One 30-second Instagram Reel sparks a full-blown photography debate, and it starts with a phrase designed to annoy the internet: “Da Vinci Got It Wrong.” We break down why the “perfect bell-shaped histogram” advice is so sticky, why it’s often wrong, and what the histogram is actually good for when you’re trying to nail exposure. We talk dynamic range, highlight clipping you can’t recover, why cru...

We asked ChatGPT for 10 controversial photography questions - we got some suprising results! Nick and Steve debate some interesting and thought provoking topics around street photography, weddings, analogue photography and sharpness in lenses.  Resources: Nick Church Creative Academy - https://nickchurchcreativeacademy.com/ Fujifilm Instax Camera - https://instax.com/mini_evo_cinema/en/ Joel Merow...

Content creators are becoming more common at weddings, but will they replace photographers and videographers? And has camera technology plateaued - can they get any better? And, if you are thinking of turning pro, have you considered all the fixed costs you will have - can you afford to do it? Nick is moving house, but can he take his studio with him? And where is Steve off to next in his world tr...

If Nick and Steve could have any photography trip or job, paid or unpaid, what would we each choose? Nick is spying on people coming to buy his house, whilst Steve is packing his bags for lots of business travel over the next few weeks, starting in Dallas. Nick live streams a town hall for thousands of financial advisers, and what kit should Steve take for his trips for when he has a little spare...

In this first show of 2026, Steve Vaughan and Nick Church discuss various aspects of photography and travel with guest Julian Elliott, a professional travel and landscape photographer. They explore personal updates, photography journeys, equipment choices, travel experiences, safety considerations, cultural insights, and the intricacies of planning photography tours. Julian shares his passion for...

For this last show of 2025, Steve and Nick look back on 2025 and their respective year of professional photography. They also pay tribute to Martin Parr, who passed away recently, with Steve sharing personal reflections including a much treasured photo Martin took of Steve's now late brother at the Black Country Living Museum.  The guys also discuss their plans for 2026, before the obligatory...

With the Sony A75 now officially launched, Nick and Steve have a special guest in Luke Vaughan (no relation to Steve!), a professional rock and metal photographer who shoots Sony. The panel discuss the pros and cons of the new Sony camera, particularly versus the Lumix S1 II, which Luke now uses to deliver both widescreen and social media format video to his clients.  Luke Vaughan Photography  htt...

In this episode of The Photography Pod, wedding photographers Steve Vaughan and Nick Church discuss the upcoming new Sony Alpha 7M5, scheduled for launch in early December. They discuss the pro's and con's of the rumoured specification, particularly for hybrid photo/video shooters. The guys also discuss their approach for shooting hybrid at weddings, including using the DJI Osmo Pocket 3...

In this episode of the Photography Pod, hosts Steve Vaughan and Nick Church discuss various aspects of running a photography business, including pricing strategies, understanding costs, and the impact of VAT. They share insights on efficient culling techniques, camera settings, and the challenges of high ISO photography. The conversation emphasizes the importance of community, continuous learning,...

Steve and Nick are joined by Karl Taylor, a renowned advertising, fashion and beauty photographer with over 25 years experience of working with some of the leading global brands. From his studios in Guernsey, he specialises in precise and exquisite control of lighting. He is also the founder of Visual Education, an award winning on line education platform with over 1m followers and nearly 300,000...

Steve and Nick's guest for this week's show is  Michał Korta, an award winning Polish portrait and documentary photographer, who shares his artistic approach, creative process, and unique projects. He is from a new generation of photographers who seek projects from both historical and every day life. He has published two photobooks, including Balkan Playground, a study of the complicated...

Nick is back from his vacation in Croatia, and used his phone for his holiday photos! Is a smart phone all you need when on holiday? Steve is contemplating (another) new camera, but which Sony should he buy? And what are Sony up to with the camera line up? Plus the legalities of taking street photos in Paris.  Support the show The Photography Pod is twice monthly photography podcast for both worki...

Steve and Nick's guest this episode is Marcus Ahmad. Marcus has had a long and varied career in photography, including fashion, advertising and now brand photography. He is also a qualified  senior lecturer in fashion and advertising photography. Marcus somehow also finds time to play bass guitar for a variety of bands and venues.  Steve is nursing a hangover from sampling real ales in Birmin...

Steve and Nick are running on empty through a busy wedding season! In this show they look at their respective collection of Sony fit lenses. Do we really need that F1.4 aperture? And what else do they look for when choosing and using Sony lenses. The guys also look at their back up strategies for wedding raw files, do we have a blind spot in our workflow? And, at what stage do we break out the fla...

Nick and Steve put wedding photography awards under the microscope with Luke Simon, the curator and founder of the International Wedding Photographer of the Year awards. The International Wedding Photographer of the Year showcases the work of Wedding Photographers worldwide and has become the new benchmark for Wedding Photography competitions. Nick, Steve and Luke discuss judging criteria, the imp...

Steve and Nick delve back into their bulging camera bags and discuss the favourite - and least favourite- Sony photography and video gear.  Steve has been meeting podcast royalty at an unlikely location, whilst Nick has been getting lost in North Oxfordshire. Plus, is LinkedIn a place for photographers to get bookings? Sony microphone that Steve couldn't remember the model number of (!)  ECM-...

Steve and Nick are both now fully into wedding season, but Nick manages to fit in a trip to Ireland before the season gets crazy! The guys discuss the pros and cons of shooting JPG's professionally, and should you convert your propriety raw files into DNG.  Steve has been using film simulation JPG's on his Ricoh GR3x and Samantha's X100VI, and discusses the merits of Sony film simul...

For this episode Steve and Nick are joined by Jan Willem Van Konijnenburg, one half of Creative Depiction Studio, a Gloucestershire based wedding photographer and videographer, whom Nick often works with a weddings. The three of us discuss those all important non-camera gear stuff we always take to weddings, and we couldn't be without! Nick has been working hard on the Nick Church Creative Ac...

Nick and Steve's guest for this week's show is Jay Farrell, a Nashville, TN based photographer who specialises in photographing abandoned building throughout USA. He is also a successful author, with 15 published books of abandoned buildings and his travels. He recently self published is own book, Route 66 Roadscapes. He tells Steve and Nick: How he got started photographing abandoned bu...

For this week's show Steve becomes the guest and Nick the interviewer, as Steve, with his wife Samantha (Sam) tell Nick how they photograph weddings, and what gear they use on the day. With over 450 weddings behind them, Sam and Steve have been photographing weddings from their home in North Oxfordshire for 15 years. They describe how they work together on the wedding day as joint photographe...

Nick is flying solo on this latest episode of The Photography pod, as Steve is away. Nick's guest is Courtney Victoria,     a British Landscape and Outdoor Photographer currently based in South West England . They explore Courtney's journey into photography, the impact of COVID-19 on her career, her preferred camera equipment, and her approach to both landscape and macro photography. The...

Nick becomes Steve's interview guest in this episode of The Photography Pod, as we delve into the deep and murky depth's of Nick's camera bag.  The show features an in depth discussion on how Nick photographs weddings including his choice of cameras and lenses, his approach to the different phases of the wedding day, his post processing and the CRM he uses to book the wedding. In ot...

Steve and Nick's guest this week is Francesco Gola, a fine art landscape photographer, who shares his journey into photography, his love for long exposure seascapes, and the emotional connection he feels with the sea. Francesco  shares his insights on landscape photography, emphasizing the importance of planning, adapting to nature, and capturing emotions through weather. He discusses the too...