About Daniel Milnor
Daniel Milnor spent twenty-five-years as a full-time photographer but is currently “Creative Evangelist” for Blurb, Inc. the world’s premiere print-on-demand publishing platform. He splits his time between the smog-choked arteries of Southern California and the spiritual landscape of New Mexico where he’s been known to hike, paddle, climb, ski, ride and explore all the spaces in between. Milnor is a complete and total nonbeliever in social media and feels these platforms have done irreparable damage to human communication skills and attention span while unleashing a level of consumerism the planet simply cannot survive.
He currently works on a project-by-project basis with clients who are willing to spend the time required to create original artwork as opposed to trendy or temporary content. He also works as a creative adviser for companies with a story to tell. Milnor has taught at Art Center College of Design, Academy of Art University, The Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, The Los Angeles Center for Photography and the Photo Experience Workshops in Latin America. An early adopter of select technologies such as print-on-demand books and magazines, Milnor has created and published over two hundred unique titles.His work is in the collections of The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The George Eastman House and The Santa Barbara Museum of Art. He has lectured on photography and bookmaking in the United States, Europe, Canada, Latin America and Australia.
Show Notes
- Myth: Truly great photography happens all the time and is easy.
- Truth: Because photography is more accessible now than ever before, it seems to be easy and that great photography happens all the time.
- Just because an image has a lot of likes doesn’t mean it has high quality.
- Myth: Just because it’s shot with film, doesn’t mean that it’s good.
- Truth: Shooting with film is like cooking from scratch. It doesn’t mean you will end up with a high quality result in the end.
- Myth: You can make a living off of long form documentary work.
- Truth: You may lose money on every project, but you’ll have more control over projects that aren’t funded from the outside.
- Myth: You can live off your book sales.
- Truth: Books are great ideas but you need to make sure your realistic about potential profits.
- Myth: You need a coffee table book.
- Truth: There are so many other options for books.
- Myth: Talent is enough to carry you to success.
- Truth: Succeeding at being a good photographer means a lot of hard work, even when you’re highly talented.
- Myth: There are rules of photography composition that you have to follow to get good results.
- Truth: You need to judge for yourself what makes a good photographer for your situation
- Don’t get so hung up in the technical aspect that you never actually take photos
- Myth: There is nothing new to photograph because everything has already been done.
- Truth: People have said this for decades, but even photos that have been done can be new with your individual perspective.
- Photography is about showing your perspective and what you see.