The Terrible Photographer

Have you ever shared something you were excited about only to have it met with "yeah, maybe" or "how are you going to monetize that?"

In this episode, I sit down with a story that's been eating at me for weeks — a conversation at a coffee shop that revealed something uncomfortable about regret, haunted creatives, and the ghosts of unmade work.

This isn't about toxic positivity or hustle culture. It's about understanding the difference between someone who's tired and someone who's haunted. Between love and regret. Between the people who will protect your ideas and th...

You ever buy a twenty-two-dollar airport sandwich and convinced yourself it was worth it?

That’s what this week’s episode is about — except the sandwich is a photography competition.

In Gold Star, Patrick unpacks his love-hate relationship with the American Photographic Artists’ Untitled competition — and what it reveals about the creative world’s obsession with approval. From spreadsheets of judges to award-show absurdities like the Oscars and Grammys, this episode digs into why artists still crave validation from systems they don’t even believe in.

It’s funny, frustra...

Why creatives stay stuck, even when the door’s wide open.

We all want freedom. Creative freedom, emotional freedom, professional freedom. But here’s the thing nobody tells you:

You can be free… and still live like you’re caged.

In this episode, I break down the three invisible cages every creative person ends up pacing:

A milestone. And maybe the most uncomfortable episode I've made so far.

A few weeks ago, I sent an email to thirty photographers I know. I asked them one question: What's your dirty little secret? The thing you'd never admit publicly. The thought that lives in the back of your brain at 3 AM.

I told them it would be anonymous. I just wanted the truth.

And I got a lot of responses.

This episode is about those secrets. The ones we carry alone. The ones that make us feel like frauds...

Have you ever had a day where you told yourself you were “busy”… but couldn’t actually remember what you did? I know I have. Hours lost to scrolling, inboxes, half-finished tasks — and somehow at the end of it, I’m exhausted but nothing’s really done.

In this episode of The Terrible Photographer Podcast, I go after the two liars in my head who keep me trapped in that fake middle ground:

What if the most radical thing you can say about your creative work is: it’s okay?

In this episode, Patrick dives into the beige middle of creative life — the 80% of days that aren’t fireworks or disasters. He tears into LinkedIn’s toxic lobster-and-champagne highlight reel, confesses his late-night burger-level Photoshop grinds, and introduces us to Sarah, a catering coordinator who redefined what “ordinary work” can mean.

Along the way you’ll hear:

A New York–based commercial portrait photographer (big clients, covers, immaculate work) asked to talk. What came out wasn’t a portfolio review—it was a confession: he hasn’t made anything for himself in over a year, and he’s exhausted from performing passion he doesn’t feel. This episode is a permission slip for the photographers—and all creative workers—secretly pricing escape routes at 2 a.m. We talk about the unsaid epidemic of burnout, the grief under AI “efficiency,” and three practical permissions to help you stop performing and start feeling again. If you need someone to say it: you’re al...

One meditation. One burning question. One reminder you’re not alone. Every Wednesday in your inbox — shorter, sharper, and more honest than I could ever be in a long essay.

Subscribe to Pub Notes: terriblephotographer.com

Some days the world is too loud, too endless. You don’t need another lecture. You need a pint, a hard truth, and a line you can actually carry into tomorrow.

This week’s episode is an experiment I’m calling Pub Meditations — three acts, two meditations per act. Six in total. Each...

Every kid asks their art teacher, “Is it good?”—and most of us never stop. In this episode, Patrick sits in Lucy’s middle-school art room and realizes he’s still chasing the same answer on high-stakes sets: watching client faces, parsing murmurs behind a monitor, riding the narcotic of approval.

We get into the modern authorities—clients, algorithms, mood boards—and the way we internalize them until we’re grading ourselves before anyone else can. We talk Gordon Parks, who lived the tension between immaculate Vogue spreads (noble, beautiful, necessary) and dangerous truth-telling (American Gothic...

A podcaster recently told me this show was "really dark." So today, we're leaning into that darkness—because that seemed way more fun.

This episode is about shadow work. Not the Instagram version. The real version. The kind that happens when you realize the thing limiting your creative work isn't technical skill—it's the parts of yourself you've been hiding from.

Through David Bowie's near-destruction during his Thin White Duke era and his eventual disappearance to Berlin, we explore what it actually looks like to confront the buried parts of creative identity. Plus the story of a...

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Share Your Story: Have you experienced professional compartmentalization? The cognitive whiplash between personal crisis and work demands? Share your story—email or leave us a voicemail

What happens when you have to switch from consuming apocalyptic news to selling creative services in the span of 10 minutes? Patrick explores the cognitive whiplash we've all learned to navigate—that jarring ability to temporarily forget the world's chaos and foc...

Sometimes creativity has fuck-all to do with your job title.

In this episode, Patrick explores why the most dangerous creative minds often don't call themselves artists—they're teachers buying classroom supplies with grocery money, middle managers translating executive gibberish into human language, and baristas solving problems that million-dollar consultants couldn't crack with PowerPoint.

Through the story of surgeon Atul Gawande's surgical checklist revolution, we examine how creative problem-solving becomes subversive when it works too well, threatening systems that profit from keeping things broken.

What You'll Learn:

Every photographer needs permission to suck. And I mean that literally. In this episode, I explore the difference between accidental failure and strategic failure, and why that difference will determine whether you spend your career playing it safe or actually growing into the photographer you're meant to become.

From my own lighting disaster at a corporate shoot to Jerry Seinfeld's brutal honesty about audience judgment, we dive into how the greatest creatives use failure as a laboratory for growth. Learn why test shoots are your creative lifeline, how Roger Deakins broke convention to create cinematic magic in...

One phone call. One late invoice. One moment of controlled but very real rage. In this episode, I unpack a recent client conflict that left me feeling powerful, anxious, vindicated—and deeply uncomfortable. It’s not about being right. It’s about what happens when your nervous system hijacks your ethics, and you end up blowing up the wrong bridge.

Social psychologist Jamie Hughes joins to help me understand what the hell happened inside my brain—and how anger, justice, trauma, dopamine, and freelance stress all get tangled up when money’s tight and respect fe...

There are shoots where everything clicks.

The light is magic. The client is chill. The work feels effortless.

This episode isn’t about those.

Instead, we’re going into the plumbing.

Literally.

From overflowing toilets in luxury villas to Fortune 500 invoice purgatory, from last-minute gear fails to moments that remind you why you ever picked up a camera in the first place — this one’s for every photographer (and creative) who’s quietly asked themselves:

What happens when the thing you made in the dark suddenly ends up in the spotlight? This week, Patrick gets personal about the strange pressure of being “featured,” and why attention might be the most creatively dangerous drug of all.

From a viral photo in the dunes to the slow collapse of chasing relevance, this episode dives into the algorithm’s indifference to honesty, the myth of momentum, and what Johnny Cash’s American Recordings can still teach us about making art that matters.

This is for the ones who stil...

"I thought the work would save me. I was grossly mistaken."

What happens when a stranger on Clubhouse calls you a technician instead of an artist? Patrick breaks down the brutal midnight conversation that cracked open everything he thought he knew about his photography career. From the golden handcuffs of corporate work to the humbling reality of freelancing for $650, this episode is about dismantling the fantasy of what creative success looks like.

No metaphors. No inspiration porn. Just the uncomfortable truth about technical skill versus authentic voice, and why sometimes the thing you...

Everyone loves a comeback story. But what about the part where you’re just… sitting in a garage at 2 a.m., surrounded by half-charged batteries, broken gear, and a growing sense that something inside you might be cracking?

This episode isn’t about triumph. It’s about that strange, quiet middle, the one nobody posts about, where you’re not broken, not healed… just angry. Angry at the industry. Angry at yourself. Angry at the space between who you are and who you thought you’d be by now.

But that anger? Maybe it’s not a pro...

What happens when you still love photography but start to wonder if there’s any place left for you in the industry?

In this raw, vulnerable episode, Patrick Fore gets brutally honest about what it means to be a working photographer in 2025. From a moment of personal crisis in a cluttered garage to the soul-draining grind of cold outreach and algorithm-chasing, this episode pulls back the curtain on the emotional and existential cost of staying in the game.

You’ll hear:

Episode Title:

Why Shapes How

On Intention, Execution, and the Lie of Objectivity

Description:

You can nail the lighting. Get the shot. Hit all the settings.

But if you don’t know why you’re making the image, it’s just visual noise.

In this episode of The Terrible Photographer Podcast, we dig into the lie at the heart of modern photography — that technical mastery is the pinnacle of the craft. It’s not. Intent is. And most people are scared of it.

This episode wasn’t planned.

But with federal troops deployed in Los Angeles, students arrested, immigrants targeted, and journalists silenced — it felt dishonest to pretend everything was normal.

In this special essay-style episode, I explore the role of photography in moments of protest and power:

I also share a powerful on-the-ground reflection from LA-based photographer @chelsealaurenla, whose words remi...

At some point, every artist has to choose:

Keep making work that gets likes.

Or make work that actually says something.

This is an episode about the quiet uprising.

The moment you stop painting for the academy.

The moment you realize you’re not burned out from doing too much,  you’re burned out from doing too much that means nothing.

We start with a true (and strange) story from 1863, when fourteen painters staged a creative rebellion and changed the art world...

This week, I throw out the episode I was planning and respond to an email from Carri, a baby photographer from Michigan, whose words hit like a punch in the face. We’re talking about a different kind of burnout. Not from hustle, but from creative absence. From stillness. From not getting to do the thing you love.

This is for the photographers, and all creatives, who feel the slow ache when the work dries up, and the silence gets loud. If you’ve ever questioned your worth when the gigs disappeared, this one’s for...

You ever clean your entire house and still smell something rotting?

This episode is about that. Except the smell is coming from your portfolio.

In Episode 10, we’re talking creative decay — that slow, invisible rot that sets in when your work looks good but feels dead. From personal stories (including one involving a bathtub and a topless model reading Vogue) to a breakdown of the 60/40 Rule for survival, this is a brutally honest reflection on boredom, brand, and the danger of playing it safe for too long.

We dig into:

Some nights, what keeps you up isn't anxiety,  it’s the quiet ache of misalignment. In this episode, we dive into the emotional and economic toll of creative work: the burnout, the spirals, the slow erosion of joy when your art becomes your paycheck. Patrick opens up about nearly quitting photography, the paradox of making a living off your creativity, and what it really means to protect your spark in a world that constantly demands more.

We explore Rick Rubin’s philosophy of creativity as a muscle,  not a resource to be drained, but a force to be nur...

We all start by imitating. That’s human. But somewhere along the line, many of us stopped making work we love — and started making work that just looks like it belongs to someone else.

In this episode, Patrick tells the strange, slightly heartbreaking story of Klarbinnax-7, an alien who crash-lands in California and becomes a crude copy of a workshop guru named Brad. Through this fictional tale (that’s not so fictional), we dive deep into the psychology of conformity, the cost of mimicry, and how to find your voice again when everything around you screams “just do...

this episode is a love letter to color. Not just as an aesthetic choice—but as psychology, science, culture, and storytelling.

We start with a fictional moment on a busy New York City street, then dive into a 5-minute crash course on color theory (Bill Nye style), unpack cultural associations across time and geography, and land on practical ways to use color intentionally in your work. Whether you’re new to photography or 10 years deep into your career, this episode will challenge you to see color not as decoration, but as direction.

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This one’s personal.

In this episode, Patrick shares the story of a full-blown burnout that ended behind a dumpster — and why it didn’t start there. We talk about what burnout really looks like (spoiler: it’s not just being tired), how the body reacts to prolonged stress, and how that quiet voice telling you you’ve “lost it” might just be your nervous system waving a white flag.

With insight from Dr. Michelle Hagel, a breakdown of chronic fight-or-flight, and a challenge for anyone teetering on the edge, this epi...

This week’s episode isn’t about trends, trolls, or gear. It’s about something quieter — the part of you that refuses to give up, even when the work feels impossible.

We explore the idea of creative resistance, the myth of “falling behind,” and why showing up (even in small ways) is its own kind of creative power. There’s a story about trees, Biosphere 2, and why life’s “wind” might be shaping you more than you think.

We also talk about:

You’re not missing a magic lens. There’s no course, preset pack, or algorithm trick that’s secretly holding you back. The truth is less glamorous — but way more powerful.

In this episode, Patrick peels back the myth of overnight success and calls out the industry’s obsession with shortcuts. Through stories from world-class kitchens, overlooked jazz clubs, and forgotten film sets, he explores why consistency beats charisma — and how real careers are built, not handed out.

If you’ve ever wondered when your “break” is coming, this one’s for you.

In this raw and unflinching episode, Patrick explores the psychology behind creative self-doubt and why your inner critic might be the biggest obstacle to your growth. Drawing from neuroscience research and brutally honest personal stories, this episode tackles the uncomfortable truths about self-criticism that most creative podcasts won't touch.

Warning: This episode contains frank discussions about mental health, financial anxiety, and the psychological realities of creative work. It's designed for mature audiences who want real talk, not feel-good platitudes.

Key Topics Covered

The Neuroscience of Self-Sabotage

Patrick calls out the toxic gatekeeping culture that's suffocating creativity in photography — and offers a better way forward for anyone tired of comment-section warriors and gear snobs who've confused being an asshole with having standards.

Episode Summary

From unsolicited critique bros to insecure middle-aged men treating Instagram like academic journals, photography has a gatekeeping problem. This episode explores why photographers can be unnecessarily cruel, how it stems from fear and insecurity, and why the most successful photographers are actually the most generous.

Patrick shares his own experience of being publicly torn apart fo...

Welcome to the first episode of The Terrible Photographer — a podcast for working photographers and creative humans who are done with fake positivity, influencer bullshit, and pretending they have it all figured out.

Episode Summary

Patrick shares the brutal Clubhouse critique that sparked this entire podcast, explores why "terrible" might be the most important phase of your creative development, and introduces the psychological framework every photographer needs to understand: Mount Stupid vs. The Valley of Despair.

This episode sets the foundation for the entire series — examining the messy, honest, human side of maki...

A show about creativity, survival, and making work that actually means something.

Hosted by commercial photographer and reluctant philosopher Patrick Fore, this podcast isn’t about gear, presets, or going viral. It’s about the tension of making honest work in a curated world — and what it means to stay inspired when you're burned out, broke, or creatively adrift.

Every episode blends storytelling, creative coaching, and just enough sarcasm to keep it human. You’ll find tales of test shoots and client chaos, deep dives into visual identity and artistic voice, and unexpect...