Shows
The Dead Pixels Society podcastA Camera, A Hustle, And Forty Years Of Reinvention with Kirk VoclainHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!Ever wonder how a “boring” photo of a metal part could move a seven-figure sale? Gary Pageau of the Dead Pixels Society sits down with veteran photographer Kirk Voclain to unpack four decades of pivots, from a cereal‑box Instamatic to seniors that paid the bills, then into commercial, industrial, and real estate work that sells outcomes, not megapixels. Voclain’s story is part grit, part curiosity, and entirely practical: market directly when gatekeepers want kickbacks, promise ROI to businesses who must buy, and turn eve...
2025-12-1837 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastHow 36Pix Uses Data To Elevate School Photography Quality At ScaleHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!Ever wonder how a school photo lab with 600,000 students a year keeps quality high when half the photographers are new each season? We sat down with Robert Ste-Marie, CEO of 36Pix, to explore Eva. This data-driven evaluation platform scores every image so managers can catch problems fast, coach with clarity, and tie rewards to real outcomes. No fluff—just the metrics that move sales: smiles, closed eyes, blur, glasses glare, face shine, and exposure repairability, according to the company.Ste-Marie walks us th...
2025-12-1132 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastThe IRS Has No Chill, But Your Receipts Should, with Tanya LawrenceHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!Taxes drain more profit than most owners realize, and that single fact changes how we build, run, and sell a creative business. The Dead Pixels Society sits down with accounting expert Tanya Lawrence to map out the moves that protect cash today and increase valuation tomorrow—without drowning in jargon or guesswork.She starts with the foundation: Choosing the right tax treatment as your company evolves. Lawrence explains why an LLC is a legal shell, not a tax status, and how to time a sh...
2025-12-0432 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastWhy Knowing Your Audience Beats Trend-Chasing Every TimeHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!What if the problem isn’t your logo, but the foundation under it? We sit down with brand strategist Jessica Adanich to explore how real positioning, consistent visuals, and honest storytelling turn a business from forgettable to first choice. Adanich’s journey from sculpture and glass blowing to leading marketing at Mace, then launching Design Pod Studio, sets the stage for clear, field-tested advice: Branding is the sum of every touchpoint, not a mark on a shirt.We dig into the brand discovery process—questi...
2025-11-2726 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastHow A Nightlife Photographer Invented A Proposal Planning Business In New YorkHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!A musician’s tour, a borrowed camera, and a rowboat on Central Park’s lake: that’s the unlikely path that led Ash Fox from nightlife photography to building a full-service proposal planning studio in New York. This interview digs into how a niche chose her, why proposals feel more honest than weddings, and the exact steps that turn a fantasy location into a smooth, unforgettable yes.Fox breaks down the difference between a proposal photographer and a proposal planner, and why most couples actually need both...
2025-11-2037 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastInside SPAC: The Largest Conference Shaping School, Sports, And Volume PhotographyHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!The Dead Pixels Society sits down with SPAC’s leadership, Coree Cooper and Calvin Harrell Jr., to unpack how a volunteer-driven nonprofit became the world’s largest gathering for school, sports, and volume studios—and why its focus on workflows, profitability, and community sets it apart.Harrell describes how SPAC evolved from film-era hotel meetups into a global hub with attendees from Europe, South Africa, and beyond. We get specific about what matters to operators right now: RFPs, data and captur...
2025-11-1333 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastHow Stewart Cohen Built A Photography Career Beyond The ShutterHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!What does it really take to build a creative career that lasts—from film backs and FedExed portfolios to AI search and virtual production walls? The Dead Pixels Society sits down with commercial photographer and stock photo library owner Stewart Cohen to trace a candid arc across decades of change, revealing what fades, what scales, and what never stops mattering.Cohen starts with the old-school apprenticeship: assisting legends, traveling light, and learning how to manage clients when the stakes are high. He explains why he...
2025-11-0641 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastPricing Confidence For Creative Businesses, with Miriam SchulmanHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!Pricing isn’t the problem—meaning is. We sit down with author and podcaster Miriam Schulman to unpack the mindset and mechanics behind selling creative work without racing to the bottom. From her journey off Wall Street into a thriving art career, Schulman shares a practical framework for moving past fear, charging premium prices with confidence, and helping buyers answer the real question on their minds: Am I worth this investment?Schulman explains the belief triad—belief in yourself, in your product, and in your b...
2025-10-3024 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastInside HistoryIT: Strategy, Metadata, And True Digital PreservationHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!What if your archive could fund your mission? We sit down with HistoryIT founder and CEO Kristen Gwinn-Becker to reveal why most organizations are far less “digital” than they think—and how a smart strategy can turn dusty boxes, dying tapes, and scattered drives into a living, searchable asset that powers storytelling, alumni engagement, and real fundraising results.Gwinn-Becker walks us through the essentials: Start with strategy, not scanners. We delve into why PDFs are not a reliable form of preservation, how master...
2025-10-2330 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastHow Audio Makes Photo Memories Stick, with Geoffrey Stern, VoiceGiftHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!What if your photo books could talk back? Not with another app or QR code maze, but with a small, tactile device that lets you record and play stories, songs, and memories at the press of a button. The Dead Pixels Society sits down with Geoffrey Stern, the founder of Voice Gift and the longtime audio mind behind Build‑A‑Bear’s wildly successful “sounds,” to unpack how voice transforms printed images into living experiences—and why that shift boosts both emotion and sales.Stern explai...
2025-10-1632 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastFrom Prints to Immersive: How Niche AI Reimagines Volume Photography for Schools, Events, and Theme ParksHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!What if the best photo you take is just the start? The Dead Pixels Society sits down with Heath Lassiter, founder of Niche AI, to explore how volume imaging is transforming from prints and proofs into living, brand‑ready media—think fusion assets mapped to body parts, refined face replacement, and motion‑from‑stills that parents and guests can’t wait to share. Lassiter's roots at Express Digital and deep work across schools, theme parks, events, and cruises give him a rare, pragmatic lens on what ac...
2025-10-0934 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastMistake-Proof Your Small Business, with William HolstenHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!Ever notice how a new boss “fixes” a process that wasn’t broken—and six months later everyone is quietly doing it the old way again? That loop is costly for small businesses, and we sought a more effective approach. William Holsten, a business mistake prevention specialist, author, and former brand leader, will unpack why errors repeat and how to prevent them with simple, durable habits.Holsten starts with the real first step after a leadership change: get out of the office and into your cus...
2025-10-0228 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastSpeed, Reliability, and Innovation: Why Dye-Sub Printing Still Matters with Jeffrey Huang, HiTi DigitalHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!The physical photograph is making a powerful comeback, and dye sublimation printing technology stands at the forefront of this renaissance. In this eye-opening conversation with Jeff Huang, corporate officer of Taiwan-based HiTi Digital, we explore how this 25-year-old company has positioned itself as a unique force in the printing industry by manufacturing both printers and consumables in-house.What makes dye sublimation printing superior to inkjet for event photography? According to Huang, it comes down to "speed, speed, and speed." While inkjet printers...
2025-09-2535 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastBuilding Emotional Brand Connections, with Jean-Pierre LacroixHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!Step into the psychology of branding with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, a veteran branding expert and leader of Shikatoni Lacroix Design, whose career spans creating iconic retail concepts like the Kodak Image Center. This eye-opening conversation challenges fundamental assumptions about what makes customers loyal to brands and why even industry giants sometimes catastrophically misunderstand their own value.Lacroix reveals true branding begins far deeper than logos or slogans – it starts with a clear value proposition that connects emotionally with customers. "80% of all bu...
2025-09-1839 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastReimagining How Parents Shop for School Photos and Yearbooks, with CapturaHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!The traditional world of school photography is undergoing a remarkable transformation, blending time-honored practices with cutting-edge technology and data-driven marketing approaches. In this revealing conversation, Tim McCain, Chief Evangelist of Captura, and Michelle Federschneider, VP of Commerce, take us behind the scenes of this evolution.McCain shares the fascinating journey of unifying multiple photography platforms (ImageQuix, PhotoLynx, Skylab, and others) into Captura's comprehensive solution. "It's like a big marriage of different families with different ways of thinking," he...
2025-09-1136 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastHumanizing Your Digital Presence, with Wes Towers, Uplift360Have an idea or tip? Send us a text!From construction industry websites to photography businesses, the digital landscape is transforming at breakneck speed – and those who adapt will thrive while others fade away. When Wes Towers received a business valuation three years ago, identifying AI as an existential threat to his company, he faced a pivotal choice: resist or evolve. His decision led to his most profitable year ever."We're calling it search everywhere optimization," Towers explains, describing how customer search behavior has fundamentally changed. People no longer search with disconnected keywords bu...
2025-09-0426 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastDigital Twins and Virtual Models: The BetterPic Revolution You Didn't See ComingHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!What happens when an entrepreneur with no background in photography or AI sees an opportunity in the headshot market? In this conversation, Ricardo Ghekiere, founder and CEO of BetterPic, reveals how he transformed a small startup he acquired for just $1 into a multimillion-dollar AI imaging company.Ghekiere shares his remarkable journey of growth, from setting what he thought was an ambitious goal of $50,000 monthly revenue to actually reaching $114,000 monthly in just one year. This dramatic underestimation of the market reveals just how...
2025-08-2828 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastYour Team Is Holding You Back, But Not In The Way You Think, with Brandon PfliegerHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!What's really holding your business back from reaching its full potential? The answer might surprise you. In this eye-opening conversation with Brandon Pflieger of Capital Growth Partners, we uncover the often-overlooked foundations of business growth and the uncomfortable truth that many entrepreneurs need to hear.Pflieger brings a refreshing perspective shaped by his diverse background spanning retail, marketing, fitness entrepreneurship, and business consulting. His "Turnaround Blueprint" cuts through the noise to focus on what truly matters: people, systems, offers, and strategic marketing.
2025-08-2132 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastThe Louisville Lensman Who Built Two Companies By Removing Customer FrictionHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!Ever wondered how successful entrepreneurs spot untapped market opportunities hiding in plain sight? Carl Armijo's journey from civil engineer to thriving business owner offers a masterclass in customer-focused growth.When COVID-19 disrupted traditional career paths, Armijo pivoted to real estate photography—a choice that perfectly balanced his need for family flexibility with pandemic-era social distancing requirements. Rather than approaching photography purely as a creative venture, he applied his engineering mindset to build systems that prioritize customer service, consistency, and frictionless experiences.What sets Armijo's bu...
2025-08-1429 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastStop Treating SEO Like Wizardry and Start Getting Results, with Steven SchneiderHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!Struggling to make sense of SEO for your photo business? You're not alone. Search engine optimization often feels like arcane wizardry to small business owners—a necessary evil that's either too complex to understand or constantly shifting beneath your feet.Steven Schneider, co-founder of TrioSEO, shatters these misconceptions in this enlightening conversation. "It's not all witchcraft and wizardry," he explains, revealing how quality content and authority form the scientific foundation of successful SEO. For photo retailers and photographers who rely on white-label pl...
2025-08-0725 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastPolar Bears and Piracy: How AI is Challenging Traditional Copyright with Dan MillerHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!The intersection of copyright law and artificial intelligence represents one of the most challenging legal frontiers of our digital era. In this thought-provoking conversation, Dr. C. Daniel Miller (The Copyright Detective) unpacks the complex world of intellectual property rights when machines can generate content indistinguishable from human creation.From his unique background spanning higher education, NASA projects, and over a decade in copyright clearance, Dr. Miller offers a balanced perspective on AI as both an innovative tool and a potential legal minefield. He explains that while...
2025-07-3126 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastAI, Retro Appeal, and Creator Economy: Navigating Visual 1st with Hans HartmanHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!In this interview, Hans Hartman describes the seismic shifts in the imaging industry and how the Visual 1st Conference stands at the epicenter of these changes. Moving to KQED's spacious headquarters for its 13th edition, this year's gathering promises an elevated experience with theater-style seating, immersive displays, and the industry's most forward-thinking voices.Visual 1st creates a uniquely candid environment for industry dialogue. Join us Oct. 28-29 in San Francisco to experience firsthand the technologies and trends shaping the future...
2025-07-2441 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastDigital Strategy in the AI Era: Tactics for Photo Retailers with Max DesMaraisHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!The digital marketing landscape has transformed drastically, forcing photo retailers and imaging businesses to rethink their strategies. In this illuminating conversation with Max DesMarais, Director of Strategy at Vital Design, we explore how small photo businesses can effectively compete against industry giants despite limited marketing budgets.DesMarais reveals a significant shift that's reshaping the marketing world: organic search visibility is declining as "pay-to-play is becoming more important than ever." With Google's expanded ad space and AI features consuming the search results page...
2025-07-1732 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastAbundance Mindsets and the Art of Selling Without Selling, with Marc Von MusserHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!What if everything you've been taught about sales is actually holding you back from extraordinary success? Marc Von Musser, sales expert and founder of Soar and Roar, challenges conventional wisdom with a refreshing perspective that could transform your approach to business.Growing up as the son of a renowned photographer who captured 150 national magazine covers in a single year, Von Musser learned early that success comes not from transactions but from capturing essence and creating value. This foundation, combined with his journey...
2025-07-1036 min
The Dead Pixels Society podcastEmotional Intelligence: The Untapped Resource in Your Workplace with Michelle HoweHave an idea or tip? Send us a text!The quiet power brokers in your organization aren't always who you think. Michelle J Howe, founder of Empath Evolution, reveals a startling truth on the Dead Pixels Society podcast: Roughly 25% of your workforce consists of highly empathic individuals who dramatically influence your company's energy, culture, and success.As Howe shares her transformation from structured accountant to empathic mentor, she uncovers the hidden dynamics playing out in workplaces everywhere. These empaths—people who can absorb and process others' emotions—often excel in sales, leadership, and rela...
2025-07-0335 min