The MOOD Podcast

In this episode, Matt sits down with Rich-Joseph Facun, a celebrated American documentary photographer, former photojournalist of 15 years, and founder of the independent publishing imprint Liars Corner. 
In this conversation we discuss his three monographs: Black Diamonds, Little Cities, and 1804, the ethics of street and portrait photography, photographing strangers in Trump-era Appalachia, walking away from photojournalism, finding your photographic voice, and why the global photo book industry urgently needs more marginalised and Indigenous voices.
Other things we discussed:
Street portraiture, approaching strangers, and consent in documentary photography
Growing up in a Southern Baptist military family and door-to-door evangelism as training for portrait work
Photographing Trump-supporting Appalachia as a person of colour with a trans child
The viral portrait of a stranger with a damaged forehead tattoo crying on the street
Quitting photojournalism after 15 years and the identity crisis that followed
Why he stopped using Rembrandt lighting and the decisive moment in his portrait work
How to find your photographic voice after mastering the craft
Self-publishing a photo book vs pitching to independent publishers
The making of Black Diamonds, Little Cities, and 1804
Launching Liars Corner as an Indigenous-owned photo book imprint in Appalachia
Elitism, gatekeeping, and barriers to entry inside the global photo book publishing industry
Mentoring emerging documentary photographers and funding their first monographs
Why awards, accolades, and staff photographer positions stopped mattering
Rich-Joseph Facun
Instagram: https://instagram.com/facun
Website: https://facun.com
Imprint: https://liarscorner.press
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Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more.

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In this episode, Matt sits down with Miriam Schulman, professional artist, art business coach, host of the Inspiration Place podcast, and bestselling author of Artpreneur (HarperCollins). Miriam left Wall Street after 9/11 to build a six-figure art business and now teaches photographers, painters, and visual artists how to price their work, sell art online, attract collectors, and build a sustainable photography business without relying on social media. In this conversation we cover photography pricing strategies, how to sell prints at higher prices, the psychology behind luxury art buyers, why charm pricing kills photography sales, how photographers can find art collectors, the truth about Instagram engagement rates for artists, AI's impact on professional photography, and how to transition from hobbyist photographer to full-time professional. 
So if you are learning how to make money as a photographer, how to price photography prints, or how to build a photography business in 2026, this episode delivers the frameworks Miriam uses with her six-figure photography and art coaching clients.
Other things we discussed:
How to price photography prints using prestige pricing instead of charm pricing
The belief triad every photographer needs to sell high-ticket prints
Signal excavation: how photographers find their unique artistic voice
How to build an email list as a photographer (and why it beats Instagram)
The $40 champagne pricing study and what it means for photography sales
AI and photography: why photographers face more risk than painters
LinkedIn for photographers: the most underused platform for selling art
How to use local press and PR to sell photography prints
The five biggest mistakes photographers make when pricing their work
How to identify a production problem vs a pricing problem in your photography business
Why marketing matters most when you believe your photography matters
The wishy-washy pricing mistake that loses photographers paid bookings

Find Miriam and everything she offers on her website:
https://www.schulmanart.com/
_______________________________________
Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation!
Support the show
Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more.

The MOOD Insiders Community
https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders

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In this Moments of Mood episode of The MOOD Podcast, Matt returns after a road accident left him physically immobilised for several weeks, unable to photograph, travel, or work, and uses that enforced stillness to examine one of the quietest but most destructive reflexes in modern photography: the need for proof. What happens to your photography, and to you as a photographer, when the images you make never leave the hard drive? When the algorithm stops rewarding your work? When self-doubt creeps in because no one has seen the photograph yet? 
Matt draws on a recent conversation with fellow photographer Pie Aerts, a decade-long meditation practice, and the uncomfortable weeks spent away from the camera, to ask whether photography is a destination we're trying to arrive at, or a pilgrimage we're already walking without realising it. 
_____________________
Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation!
Support the show
Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more.

The MOOD Insiders Community
https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders

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In this episode, Matt sits down with Magnum photographer Mark Power for a wide-ranging conversation about long-term documentary photography, creative process, and what it means to spend 14 years photographing America as a foreigner. Mark discusses the origins of his landmark five-volume series 'Good Morning, America', why he's drawn to photographing the ordinary and overlooked rather than the spectacular, and how a woman quietly crying at a Don McCullin exhibition changed the trajectory of his entire career. From nearly quitting photography to becoming one of the most respected members of Magnum Photos, Mark shares honest reflections on self-doubt, creative longevity, and the discipline of looking slowly in a fast world.

Other things we discussed:
Why photography is more democratic than painting and what that means for artists today
The moment Mark's father finally validated his career, just before his death
How the Postcards from America project at Magnum evolved into a decade-long obsession
Why Mark believes the most exciting subjects make the worst photographs
His thoughts on the word "storytelling" and why he thinks it's lost all meaning
The stillness and silence he deliberately pursues in every image
Walking into a room of his heroes at Chico Review and expecting nobody to know his name
Why he spends far more time looking at photographs than making them
Editing and sequencing five books as a work in progress without knowing the ending
What's next: photographing Brighton by bus pass and an ambitious new project in China
Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation!
Support the show
Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more.

The MOOD Insiders Community
https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders

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Listen to part one here
Watch part one here
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In Part 2 of this special Chico Review 2026 episode, Matt continues documenting his week inside one of photography's most respected portfolio review events. Featuring conversations with Odette England, Daniel Arnold, Tim Carpenter, Matthew Genitempo, Jesse Lenz, and Lindokuhle Sobekwa — plus fellow attendees pushing the edges of documentary, photobook, and fine art photography.

Notable topics:
What Jesse Lenz actually looks for as a publisher — and why finished work is a turn-off
Daniel Arnold on 13 years protecting his creative spark and why he dreads making books
Tim Carpenter's review philosophy: never say good picture or bad picture
⁠Odette England on slow processing and what makes her eyes change during a review
Matt Genitempo's approach to giving reviews and spotting talent
⁠The broken economic models of editorial, photobooks, and commercial photography
"Commercial documentary" as a survival strategy for photojournalists
How feedback on "poetry vs narrative" shifted one attendee's entire practice
A photographer who enrolled in photojournalism school at 48 after surviving cancer
Grief, bookmaking as chemistry lab, and dismantling perfectionism
⁠Closing reflection on ego death, creative identity, and thinking about a project like music
Why the shutter is only 10% of the work — and what happens after
Practical advice for future Chico attendees: go deep, not wideListen to part one here
Listen to part one here
Watch part one here
________________________
Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation!
Support the show
Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more.

The MOOD Insiders Community
https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders

Learn with me
https://mattjacob.co/learn

My Newsletter
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Website:
https://themoodpodcast.com

Socials:
IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay