Photography

On one hand I'm grateful for the YT gear reviews, as when new kit comes out it's good to know the ins and outs. There are several reviewers that I trust, such as Gerald Undone.

But if I'm not in the market for new gear, those YTers aren't very useful.

Many of them have said, yeah, we do gear reviews. Yeah we do clickbait titles... but that's what works. People want gear reviews, if you use clickbait more people will watch. If you're trying to make a living off of YT that makes sense for them to follow that.

There are YTers that don't really do gear reviews (or don't do many) that I really enjoy.

Peter Coulson is one. He's an Aussie and he has a great series on how he coaches models, how he does lighting, etc. I like his style.

Grainy Days is another one. I love his dead-pan delivery and self deprecation. He takes photography seriously without taking himself seriously, which I appreciate.

Mike Gray does a lot of portrait/editorial style work.

I’m a big fan of Peter Coulson on Yt.

James Bell Photography this guy is quite local to me and I like his relaxed style, very chilled.

Pat Kay
Sean Tucker

Morten Hilmer, Thomas Heaton, James Popsys, etc

Some of my favorite channels do some gear related once in a while, but those are far and in between. For example Ted Forbes (The Art of Photography), Thomas Heaton, Nigel Danson, e6 Vlogs, First Man Photography, Hudson Henry, Mike Smith Photography

Nick Carver. Basically only film and mostly large format.

My channel is split between wildlife/landscape/nature photos/video and climbing content. https://www.youtube.com/@johnoutdoorvideos

Joanna Kustra has some great videos. Can't remember who but I found her from a recommendation here a couple of weeks ago. Great information about using colour that can apply to any shoot and portraits.

Nigel Danson

The Photographic Eye

I like Mads too. He talks more about composition than anything else honestly.

The real sir robin is often good

My choice is Kyle McDougall, Chris Chu, Faizal Westcott (he sometimes talk about gear but not in a review way but rather a user standpoint), KingJvpes, Matt Day and Willem Verbeeck.

Besides Faizal, the rest of these guys are film focused though so they focus more of the shooting and the experience rather than the gear themselves because they only use the gear they have and not whats given to them.

The Photographic Eye - Others have mentioned it, for good reason. All about the art, spirit and philosophy of photography. His videos are a fun way to discover great photographers of the past who are worth studying.

Newcastle Photography College - My favorite recent discovery. Love to find small YouTube channels with great content.

Australian photographer and instructor. Great tutorials on lighting and off-camera flash. I don't think there's a single gear review on his channel lol.

He's one of those photographers who's done it for so long he has an amazing mastery of light. He's done photo shoots with flashlights, cheap lamps, reflectors and windows and gotten good pictures.

Take & Make Great Photography with Gavin Hoey - Playlist under the Adorama channel. He does promote Godox lighting gear (which I recommend anyway), but not aggressively, just through excellent demonstrations. I feel like I owe Gavin money for how much I've learned from him about off-camera flash.

The 505 Podcast - Three young creatives sharing the business side of being a creative. One is a photographer for DJs, one is a sports videographer for the NBA and one is a commercial car photographer/videographer.

They're fun, cool and a blast to watch. Being an old fogey, I don't understand all of their modern slang. So if you're a young person, you'll get more than me, ha ha.

If you sort the videos by "Oldest," it's a step-by-step course in how to become a full-time creative.

Shoot Your Shot Podcast - Duo, one's a filmmaker/travel creator and the other is a photographer. One of the hosts said her goal was to "spill the tea" that other content creators won't talk about.

The Moe and O Photo Show - Omar Gonzalez (the “O” in the show) is my favorite photography YouTuber. Great teacher, great sense of humor, fun personality.

In the podcast he and Moe get to do more in-depth discussions compared to the quick videos on Omar's main channel. Omar is a bar mitzvah and portrait photographer, and his passions are street, travel and bird photography.

They're childhood best friends, and it shows in their banter.

There is gear talk, but I think they have a reasonable attitude toward gear. They don't make you feel like you need to have the newest camera or your pictures will suck.

Cassidy Lynne - Wedding photographer. My favorite episodes are where she shares embarrassing horror stories and confessions that photographers have submitted to her. Things that have gone wrong during photo shoots.

The Frugal Filmmaker - I recommend sorting the videos by "Popular." This guy was the MacGyver of creators.

Mark Holtze - This is a gear channel--about vintage lenses. It can be a fun rabbit hole to go down. How to get unique, quirky looks by using old lenses.

###Videos

Individual videos, not channels, but I thought they were too good to not share. Insights from people at the top of their game.

Chat with FAMOUS Wedding Photographer Joe Buissink - Joe gets paid up to $50,000 per wedding and he shoots on an old camera (Canon 5D Mark III), so you know it's not about the gear.

He does share about how he pitches clients and positions himself as a high-end photographer. But he shares so much more: about the mindset of how a photographer at that level thinks and stays inspired (hint: it's not YouTube, Instagram or social media).

Michael Muller - Out of the Box - I cued it up to my favorite example of a personal project. He shares how he used a personal project to break into shooting superhero movie posters for Hollywood studios.

Platon reveals power through his portraits of global leaders. For someone with his giant reputation, I expected an aloof genius type. I thought he was hilarious.

The self-talk he gave himself when he broke the rules on the magazine’s demand for nice elegant headshots of a U.S. President to do his signature crazy wide-angle shot is one of the most inspiring things I’ve heard. Dare to be yourself.

1960: How did Orson Welles make Citizen Kane? - I cued it up to my favorite part. Welles' answer to the interviewer's question totally caught me off guard, ha ha. It’s such a great motivator when I’m feeling doubtful, imposter syndrome, etc. Turn your weaknesses into strengths.

Hope this helps.

Paulie B I love his Walkie Talkie series

https://youtube.com/@PaulieB?si=d3sxhW-z_f6q3TXA

The photographer playlist on the Louisiana Channel is great for getting into the photographic art side of things. Highly recommend.

Here is the link for the specific playlist that includes photography https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQjV1I6KfcocFAciXsmPJAbywDrTbmfoV&si=7zchvO4I7S8nSGIY

Thanks for this

I’ve got one, if you like the NZ landscape and processing tips.

if anyone puts Peter Mckinnon in here, i will loose my shit!

Darren J Spoonley Photography, for landscape photography.

I like Matt Day and Joe Allam

Paulie B for street. Behind the lens

He does talk about gear, but how to use the gear and how to use inexpensive things to do a job.
For instance, instead of buying stand bags, he said get grocery bags and fill them with rocks and tie it to your lightstand.

He claims to shoot in 8 bit jpg - not raw.

https://www.youtube.com/@MarkusPix/videos

Let me know what you think...

Nobody mentioned Michael shainblum?

Nev Cartledge. Rarely uploads but always worth a watch.

I’ll add The Photographic Eye because it’s a lot about finding yourself as a photographer, getting through slumps, etc. and is not very much about gear and technique. He concentrates on the art and beauty with many examples. It’s mission seems to be to inspire.

I like Evan Ranft's Youtube a good bit.

He does more or less equal measures of technique, editing, gear, photog business/marketing, and just personal stuff. All really high-quality, insightful content; and best of all he doesn't constantly hawk e-books, and courses, etc.

Also have run into him around town a couple of times, and he seems like a pretty chill guy, and very gracious.

e6 vlogs.

No gear, no cameras, just composition, lights... https://www.youtube.com/@CameraClubLive/videos

and another one:

https://www.youtube.com/@ThePhotographicEye/videos

I really enjoy Frederik Trovatten's videos. Very chill and informative. The ones where he teaches about a specific photographer and tries to imitate them are my favorites, you can get a lot out of it

Sean Tucker is probably more favourite Youtuber for photography. He does this interview series and asking photographers about their process and ways of thinking- less focus on gear and more on creating and great results. Love his style and he communicates really well

Schaller just started one that’s super informative and funny. https://youtube.com/@alan_schaller?si=aDcUnTNSuNDp3e8w

I’m a big fan That Icelandic Guy. Lots of his videos are tutorial based but he really walks through his thought process on landscape photography.

https://youtube.com/@THATICELANDICGUY?si=IZC43ToDzRaxPCsu

I really like JP Morgan's channel, The Slanted Lens there's some equipment discussion, but his process for strobes and lighting, and how to stop the camera from fighting you are gold. He's got a lot of material going back a long ways, more focused on portraiture and product shots.

Not YT, but a podcast. 'Lenswork'

Anybody got any suggestions for ICM photography?

The videos from Chase Jarvis channel from around ten years ago. When he was just a photographer.

Thanks !