Dalton Johnson 6/7/26 Dalton Johnson 6/7/26

How to Pitch Yourself as More Than a Photographer

The brief that changed my career in 2024 never would have found me if I had kept calling myself just a photographer.

That sounds simple. It is not. Most photographers spend their entire careers describing themselves by the tool they use. I am a photographer. I shoot landscapes. I do commercial work. The camera is the identity. Everything else is secondary.

But the market does not buy tools. It buys solutions. And the photographers who are landing the most interesting work right now are the ones who figured out how to describe themselves by what they solve, not what they shoot with.

Here is how I learned that, and what it actually looks like to make the shift.

This project for Crazy Creek I was the producer and photographer.

The identity problem.

Six years into my commercial photography career I hit a wall. Work was still coming in but I could feel the industry shifting underneath me. Brands were asking for more than images. Digital publications were hungry for content that came packaged with visuals already built in. The market was rewarding people who could deliver a complete campaign, not just a folder of selects.

I was standing in a kitchen at my grandma’s eightieth birthday, talking to my mom, confessing out loud that I was not sure the photography career was going to hold the way I had built it.

The problem was not my photography. My photography was good. The problem was that I had built my entire professional identity around a single skill in a market that was increasingly looking for combinations.

I had been a storyteller my whole life. As a kid I wrote stories for my dad as father day presents. In college I gravitated toward anything that involved words, almost completing a minor in creative writing (yet my major was math). But when I started my photography career I buried all of that. Told myself a photographer's job was to take pictures. That writing was a hobby. Something for later.

After that conversation in the kitchen I stopped waiting for later.

Adding the skill is only half of it.

I started writing. Consistently and seriously, like it actually mattered to the business, because eventually it would. I pitched magazines. Editors said yes. The clips started building.

But here is what most photographers miss when they add a new skill: adding the skill does not automatically change how people see you. You have to actively pitch the combination.

Nobody was going to look at my photography portfolio and assume I could write. Nobody was going to call me for a hybrid brief just because I had started writing on the side. The market does not guess at what you can do. It responds to what you tell it you can do.

Pitching yourself as more than a photographer means leading with the combination, not burying it.

This image comes from a project where I was the photographer and writer covering cruise travel aboard clipper cruises in the Greek Island... dream job to say the least, am I right?!

What that pitch actually looks like.

When I started positioning myself as a photographer who could also write the story, everything about my outreach changed.

Instead of sending a portfolio and saying here are my images, I started sending case studies. Here is a project where I photographed the location and wrote the article. Here is the reach it generated. Here is what the client got that they could not have gotten from hiring a photographer and a writer separately.

That framing does something specific. It removes the mental work from the client's side. They do not have to imagine what it would look like to hire you for a hybrid brief. You have already shown them exactly what it looks like.

The Rivian project at the end of 2024 is the clearest example I have. A PR agency reached out needing someone to take a week-long road trip through Northern California, stop at the newly opened Groveland Outpost, document the adventure, and write the story for a digital publication.

That brief only landed with me because I had been pitching myself as both for eighteen months. The agency knew what they needed. They searched for someone who could deliver it all. My positioning put me in their path.

One week of shooting. One written article placed in a digital publication. Behind the scenes UGC clips across social media. Over a million trackable views across the campaign.

That result is not possible if I show up as just a photographer.

CASE STUDY: Rivian Motors Road Trips Northern California

Why photographers resist this.

There are two things that hold photographers back from pitching themselves as more than photographers.

The first is imposter syndrome. You have been a photographer for years. You have one skill you feel genuinely confident in. Adding a second skill and leading with it publicly feels presumptuous. What if someone asks you to prove it and you cannot?

The answer is: you build the proof before you lead with the claim. You do not pitch yourself as a photographer and writer the day you decide to start writing. You spend six months writing, building clips, publishing work. Then you pitch the combination with evidence behind it.

The second thing is fear of confusion. You have spent years training the market to think of you in a specific way. Introducing a second skill feels like it might muddy the water. What if people stop taking your photography seriously because they think you are now trying to do too many things?

This fear has it backwards. Adding a complementary skill does not dilute your photography. It makes your photography more valuable by giving clients more reasons to hire you and fewer reasons to look elsewhere. The combination is harder to replace than either skill alone.

How to start pitching the combination.

You do not need to overhaul your entire brand overnight. You need to start showing up as the combination in specific contexts.

Update how you describe yourself in your bio. Not just photographer. Something like: photographer and writer covering adventure travel, or photographer and storyteller working with outdoor brands. The words matter. They tell the market what to call you when they refer you to someone else.

Build one case study that shows both skills working together. A shoot where you also wrote the article. A project where you delivered images and a newsletter. Something concrete that a prospective client can point to when they are deciding whether to take a chance on a hybrid brief.

Then lead with that case study in your outreach. Not your portfolio. Not a list of clients. The case study that shows exactly what it looks like when you do both.

The first time you pitch yourself this way it will feel uncomfortable. That discomfort is not a sign you are doing it wrong. It is a sign you are doing something new.

Because I can write, I’ve landed projects far greater than just photos. Prime example was this project in Venice for Tamron which included photos and video.

What it compounds into.

When I look back at the trajectory of my career, the decision to add writing and pitch the combination is the single clearest inflection point I can identify.

The work got more interesting. The briefs got more specific. The clients who reached out were the ones who valued the full package and were willing to pay for it. The referrals started coming from people who described me as a photographer who could also write the story, which is a much more specific and memorable description than just a good photographer.

The market rewards specificity. It rewards people who solve a complete problem instead of just contributing a piece of one. And it rewards people who tell it clearly, early, and often exactly what they are capable of.

You are more than a photographer. The question is whether you are pitching yourself that way.

Reflection questions:

How are you currently describing yourself to prospective clients? Does that description reflect everything you actually bring to a project?
What skill do you already have alongside photography that you have been treating as secondary?
What would one case study that showed both skills working together look like for you?
Who in your current network would hire you for a hybrid brief if they knew you could deliver one?

This lesson comes from my ebook The Adventure Photographer's Playbook and it costs $10. Why so cheap? The goal is to help as many new to mid level photographers as possible go from nothing to getting booked in 18 months:

The Adventure Photographer's Playbook

$10.00

The Adventure Photographer’s Playbook is an e-book created by full-time photographer Dalton Johnson to help new photographers go from nothing to booked in the adventure photography space.

This adventure photography e-book goes over the business and what “making it” as a photographer in the outdoor space requires. Covering topics such as pricing, marketing, building a body of work, reflection questions, and everything you need to know to make a career out of adventure photography.

Updated: June 2025

Invest In Your Photo Career Today

How to Pitch Yourself as a Writer Before You Feel Ready

Nobody feels ready.

That is the thing nobody tells you when you are sitting on the edge of something new. You are waiting for a signal that you have done enough, learned enough, practiced enough. That the work is good enough to show someone. That you are legitimate enough to call yourself the thing you want to be called.

The signal does not come.

I spent years wanting to write. I had been a storyteller my whole life. As a kid I wrote stories for my dad. In college I gravitated toward anything that involved putting words together. When I started my photography career I was drawn to the narrative behind every image, not just the image itself.

But I did not pitch myself as a writer for a long time. Because I did not feel ready. Because I told myself that writing was something other people did. People with journalism degrees. People with clips. People who had already been published somewhere that mattered.

What I did not understand then is that the clips come from pitching. The legitimacy comes from doing the work. The readiness never arrives on its own. You manufacture it by moving anyway.

Here is what I learned from finally doing it.

The moment I stopped waiting.

Six years into my commercial photography career I hit a wall. Work was still coming in but the industry was shifting underneath me. Brands were asking for more than images. Digital publications were hungry for content. The market was rewarding people who could deliver a complete package, not just a folder of selects.

I was standing in my grandma's kitchen at her eightieth birthday, talking to my mom, confessing out loud that I was not sure the photography career was going to hold the way I had built it. That conversation cracked something open.

After that night I started writing. Not for anyone yet. Just writing. Getting the muscle moving. Learning what my voice actually sounded like on the page versus what I assumed it sounded like. There is a difference, and it takes time to close the gap.

A few months in I decided to pitch a magazine. Not because I felt ready. Because waiting was not working.

What a pitch actually is.

A lot of photographers overcomplicate this.

A pitch is not a resume. It is not a portfolio review. It is not an application. A pitch is a short, specific proposal for a story you want to tell. It answers three questions: what is the story, why does it matter to the readers of this publication, and why are you the right person to tell it.

That last part is where photographers have a built-in advantage that most writers do not.

You have already been to the places. You have already met the people. You have already lived the stories that publications want to tell. You are not pitching something you researched from your desk. You are pitching something you experienced with a camera in your hand.

That is not a small thing. Editors want writers who can show up and produce both the story and the visuals. Finding someone who does both well is genuinely difficult. If you are a photographer who can write competently, you are already ahead of most of the writers in their inbox.

The pitch I sent that changed things.

I will not pretend my first pitch was polished. It was not. It was too long and tried to explain too much. But it had a real story at the center of it, a place I had actually been to, people I had actually met, images I had already taken. The editor could see the whole thing in her head because I gave her something concrete to look at.

She said yes.

That first yes did not mean I was a writer. It meant I had one clip. One clip is enough to get the next pitch read with more attention. The second yes comes faster than the first. The third faster than the second. The legitimacy you were waiting to feel before you started is built in the doing, not the waiting.

What to pitch and where to start.

Start with publications that already cover the subjects you shoot.

If you shoot adventure travel, pitch adventure travel publications. If you shoot outdoor gear, pitch outdoor lifestyle magazines. If you shoot hospitality, pitch travel and food publications. You are not starting from zero on these subjects. You have been living inside this world professionally. You know the brands, the locations, the people, and the stories that readers of these publications actually want to read.

The pitch does not have to be complex. It can be as simple as: I just spent a week photographing a road trip through Northern California and came back with a story about what it actually feels like to travel sustainably through landscapes most people only see in photos. Here is my angle. Here are two or three images. I can deliver both the text and the visuals.

That is a pitch. Short. Specific. Concrete. With a built-in visual component that most writers cannot offer.

The worst they can say is no. Most of the time they do not even say that. They just do not respond. And that is fine. You move to the next one.

How the clips build on each other.

Once you have one published piece, your next pitch is not starting from scratch. You are not just a photographer who wants to write. You are a photographer who has written for a publication. That distinction matters more than it should, but it does matter.

Every clip makes the next pitch more credible. Every published piece trains your voice. Every editor relationship is a door that can open to another door. The publication you pitch today might refer you to a brand that needs a writer. The brand that needs a writer might refer you to a PR agency. The PR agency might call you for a job that only exists because you are the complete package.

That is exactly how the Rivian project came to me at the end of 2024. A PR agency reached out needing someone who could photograph a week-long road trip through Northern California and write the story for a digital publication. That brief only landed with me because I had spent eighteen months pitching magazines and building clips that proved I could do both.

The brief found me. I did not find the brief. That is what building the body of work does over time.

The practical steps.

Make a list of ten publications that cover the subjects you shoot. Do not aim for the biggest ones first. Aim for the ones where your specific experience is most directly relevant.

Read three to five issues of each one. Understand the tone, the length, the kinds of stories they tell, and the kinds they do not. A pitch that shows you understand the publication gets read differently than a generic story idea.

Write a pitch for each one. One paragraph describing the story. One paragraph explaining why it fits their readers. One sentence about who you are and why you have access to this story. Two or three images that show what the visual component looks like.

Send them. All ten.

Some will not respond. Some will say no. One or two might say yes. One yes is enough to start.

You will not feel ready when you send them. That is not a signal to wait. That is just what pitching feels like before you have done it enough times to be used to the rejection.

The photographers who are writing for publications, landing hybrid briefs, and building careers that compound over time are not more talented than you. They are not more credentialed. They just sent the pitch before they felt ready.

Send the pitch.

If this resonated, subscribe below for more on building a photography career that compounds over time.

Reflection questions:

What story from your last six months of shooting could you pitch to a publication today?
Which ten publications cover the subjects you already shoot? Have you ever actually read them cover to cover?
What is the real reason you have not pitched yet? Is it skill, or is it the feeling of not being ready?
If you landed one writing clip in the next 90 days, what door would that open that is currently closed?

The Adventure Photographer's Playbook

$10.00

The Adventure Photographer’s Playbook is an e-book created by full-time photographer Dalton Johnson to help new photographers go from nothing to booked in the adventure photography space.

Updated: June 2025

Invest In Your Photo Career Today

Why One Shoot Should Never Just Be One Deliverable

Most photographers hand over a gallery link and call the job done.

I used to do the same thing. Shoot the job, edit the images, deliver the files, move on. That was the workflow. That was what the client asked for. That was the whole transaction.

It took me years to realize how much I was leaving on the table. Not just money. Reach. Impact. The kind of results that make a client call you back and refer you to someone else.

The Rivian project at the end of 2024 was the clearest proof I have seen of what changes when you stop treating a shoot like a single deliverable and start treating it like the raw material for an entire campaign.

If you are a photographer still handing over a gallery and walking away, this is for you.

Quick Note: If you find this article helpful, the idea come from my ebook, The Adventure Photographer's Playbook, and it costs $10. Why so cheap? The goal is to help as many new to mid level photographers as possible go from nothing to getting booked in 18 months. If that is you, check it out.

One shoot contains multitudes.

Think about what actually happens on a commercial shoot. You show up with your camera. You spend hours, sometimes days, in a location with a subject, a product, a vehicle, a landscape. You capture thousands of frames. You see things from angles no one else will see. You experience the story firsthand.

And then you deliver 50 selects and disappear.

That experience you just had? It was a magazine article. It was a newsletter. It was a series of behind the scenes social clips. It was a short film. It was a blog post. It was a quote card. It was a YouTube video. It was a podcast episode waiting to happen.

None of that requires going back to the location. None of it requires a second shoot day. All of it lives inside the work you already did.

The shoot is not the deliverable. The shoot is the source.

Exploring Tioga Pass with Rivian. Photo by Dalton Johnson

What the Rivian project actually produced.

The brief was straightforward on the surface: take a week-long road trip through Northern California in the fall, stop at the newly opened Groveland Outpost, document the adventure on a sustainable electric vehicle, and write the story for a digital publication.

One week. One vehicle. One location.

But here is what that actually became.

The professional photos went to Rivian for press use, PR campaigns, and marketing materials. High resolution. Polished. Exactly what a brand needs when they are launching a new outpost and want visuals that hold up in a magazine spread or a billboard.

The written article was placed in a digital publication. That article told the story of the road trip, highlighted the fall colors in Yosemite and around Lake Tahoe, introduced readers to weird little towns scattered through Northern California that most people have never heard of, and documented what it felt like to charge an EV at a brand new outpost and be among the first people to use those chargers. The article was not a press release. It was an actual story. People read it because they wanted to, not because they had to.

The behind the scenes iPhone footage became UGC clips for social media. Raw. Unpolished. Real. The kind of content that performs on Instagram and TikTok precisely because it does not look like an ad.

The combination of all three — professional photography, longform writing, and social UGC — generated just over a million trackable views. Not from a single platform. Across all of them, each format feeding the others.

That is what one shoot looks like when you stop treating it like one deliverable.

CASE STUDY: Rivian Motors Road Trips Northern California

Why photographers leave this on the table.

There are a few reasons this does not happen more often.

The first is scope. Most photographers are hired to shoot. The brief says photography. The contract says photography. So they show up and shoot and deliver photography and go home. Nothing in the engagement asked for anything more.

But here is what I have learned: the brief is almost never the full opportunity. It is just the thing the client knew how to ask for. If you can show up with more, most clients will be thrilled. They did not ask because they did not know it was possible from a single hire.

The second reason is skill. Writing is a skill. Editing video is a skill. Building a distribution strategy is a skill. If you only have one of those skills, you can only produce one of those outputs. This is exactly why skill stacking matters. Every skill you add does not just open a new revenue stream. It multiplies the value of every shoot you ever do.

The third reason is habit. Photographers are trained to think in images. The frame is the unit of work. But a frame without context is a beautiful file sitting in a folder. Context is what makes it travel. And context requires words, narrative, and distribution.

Road-side pit stop because it was just so pretty! Photo by Dalton Johnson

How to start thinking differently about your next shoot.

Before your next job, ask yourself this question: if this shoot were the source material for a four-week content campaign, what would that campaign look like?

Map it out. The hero images go here. The behind the scenes clips go here. The written story goes here. The short-form social content goes here. The email newsletter goes here. You do not have to produce all of it on every job. But knowing what is possible changes how you show up on set.

You start capturing differently. You think about the behind the scenes moments that will make sense as a clip. You keep a voice memo running in your pocket so you can capture your thoughts in real time for the article you will write later. You ask yourself what the emotional arc of the story is, not just what the shot list says.

None of this adds significant time on set. It adds intention.

The compounding effect.

Here is what most photographers do not see until it is already happening: when you deliver more than images, your clients start talking about you differently.

You stop being the photographer they hired for that one job. You start being the person who made that campaign work. The distinction matters enormously when the next brief lands on a desk and someone asks who they should call.

Clients do not just come back to photographers who delivered good images. They come back to photographers who made their jobs easier, their campaigns stronger, and their results measurable. A gallery of 50 selects is a deliverable. A million views is a result.

The Rivian project opened doors not because the photography was exceptional in isolation. It opened doors because the photography was part of something bigger than itself.

That is the shift. One shoot, treated as source material, becomes a campaign. One campaign becomes a case study. One case study becomes the reason the next brief lands with you instead of someone else.

Stop handing over the gallery and walking away.

The shoot is just the beginning.

If this resonated, subscribe below for more on building a photography career that compounds over time.

Reflection questions:

Think about your last three shoots. What other formats were hiding inside that work that you never produced?
If you had to turn your next shoot into four different types of content, what would they be and where would each one live?
What skill are you missing right now that is limiting what you can pull out of a single shoot?
What would it mean for your client relationships if you started delivering results instead of just deliverables?

The Adventure Photographer's Playbook

$10.00

The Adventure Photographer’s Playbook is an e-book created by full-time photographer Dalton Johnson to help new photographers go from nothing to booked in the adventure photography space.

Updated: June 2025

Invest In Your Career Today

I Stalled For Two Years. Here Is What Pulled Me Out.

Never stop learning. I know that sounds like something you read on a motivational poster. But the connection between growing publicly and landing better clients is one of the most direct things I have experienced in my career.

I stalled for about two years in the middle of my career as a commercial photographer. Not because work dried up. Work was still coming in. I stalled because I saw the writing on the wall. Photography was changing and I was not keeping pace with it. That feeling sat heavy on me for a long time.

Some of my best automotive work has happened along this road and the collision of fall colors and sunset really make this work for Rivian stand out.

So I made a decision. As a kid I always wanted to be a writer. I loved storytelling. I loved words. What if instead of ignoring that, I leaned into it? Not instead of photography, but alongside it. I started writing. Consistently. Seriously. Like it actually mattered to my business, because eventually it would.

Eighteen to twenty months later something clicked. Photography and writing collided in a way I could not have planned. Together they became a tool I could not have accessed with just one skill alone. The combination opened doors that neither could open on its own.

Then Rivian came calling. Inbound through a PR agency. They needed someone to photograph the Groveland Outpost and the surrounding area, then take a five day road trip and write the story using those photos for a digital publication. That job existed because I had become a complete package. A photographer who could also write the narrative. Digital publications do not just want images. They want images with a story wrapped around them. Companies with blogs need both. Social media managers are starting to understand SEO and they need someone who gets the full picture.

This project was more than a road trip, it was an opportunity to push the vehicle both on and off the road.

The moment I stopped treating writing as a side skill and started treating it as core to what I do, everything shifted. The work got better. The briefs got more interesting. The clients who reached out were the ones who valued the full story, not just the photographs hanging in isolation.

Your job is not to be perfect at one thing. Your job is to stay curious and keep adding skills that make you more valuable to the people you actually want to work with. The photographers who are building sustainable careers right now are the ones who refused to stop at the edge of what they already knew.

Getting to do this project with my new puppy and girlfriend was a huge added bonus!

Now, Let’s Make This Article Helpful For You

Sit with these honestly. There are no right answers. Just use them to get unstuck. Grab a coffee, find a quiet spot, and give yourself fifteen minutes with these questions. Do not rush through them. The answers you avoid are usually the most important ones.

When did you last feel genuinely excited about a project? What made that project different from what you are working on now?
What skill have you been curious about but keep putting off because it feels outside your lane?
If a dream client called you tomorrow, would your current skill set be enough to land the job? If not, what is missing?
Are you marketing the work you want to be hired for, or the work you have always done?
What would you do with your career if you knew you could not fail at it?
Who in your industry is doing work that makes you jealous? What do they offer that you do not yet?
What did you love doing as a kid that you have completely abandoned as a professional?

This lesson comes from my ebook "The Adventure Photographer's Playbook" and it costs $10. Why so cheap? The goal is to help as many new to mid level photographers as possible go from nothing to getting booked in 18 months:

The Adventure Photographer's Playbook

$10.00

The Adventure Photographer’s Playbook is an e-book created by full-time photographer Dalton Johnson to help new photographers go from nothing to booked in the adventure photography space.

Updated: June 2025

The Photography Business Is Changing. Here Is What I See Working Long Term.

I have been a commercial photographer for the last decade. Patagonia, Ford, Rivian, Four Seasons, and over a hundred and sixty other brands. Every single year the game changes. Some years I adapted well. Other years I did not. That is just the honest truth about this industry.

This year I spent a long time rethinking my business model from the ground up. What I found surprised me in some ways and confirmed what I already suspected in others. If you are a photographer trying to build something sustainable, this is what I want you to hear.

1) Be More Than A Photographer

If you are only taking photographs, you are going to become obsolete. That sounds harsh but it is the reality. The photographers who are winning right now are the ones who bring more to the table. That means being a producer and a photographer. It means being someone who can not only create a campaign but actually distribute it to a real audience. It means picking up a video camera and learning how to tell stories in motion. The more you can offer, the harder you are to replace.

2) Small Productions Might Have Higher ROI

Big productions do not always mean big payouts. I learned this the hard way. A massive shoot with a giant crew and a long logistics chain does not automatically mean more money in your pocket. Sometimes the leanest, most focused projects are the most profitable ones.

I photographed the release of the Groveland outpost for Rivian, which included taking a Rivian for a week long road trip through Northern California and visiting Yosemite National Park

3) Use AI To Your Advantage

AI is a real tool and you should be using it. I know some photographers feel weird about this but I am not one of them. AI has genuinely sped up my workflow and helped me work smarter. Get familiar with it and use it to your advantage before someone else does.

4) Market Yourself

Marketing matters but not all reach is created equal. A million views from people who will never hire you means very little. Focus your energy on building an audience that actually makes sense for your business. Quality of attention beats quantity every single time.

Some brand work for Solo Stove for their release of the cookwear… hard not to enjoy a good breakfast while camping when you bring this along.

5) Build A Brand That Helps Others

Info products can make you money but do not expect overnight results. My ebook sells a few copies every month. We are talking twenty to fifty dollars. That is not going to change my life but over a year that is two to six hundred dollars that buys Christmas presents or funds a spec project. Small passive income stacks over time.

6) Never Stop Learning

The last one is the most important and I know it sounds cliche. Never stop learning, asking questions, and growing. I stalled for about two years because I stopped pushing my creative knowledge forward on social media. The moment I refocused on that, work started coming in fast. The connection between showing up, growing publicly, and landing clients is real and it is direct.

Hopefully this helps somebody out there figuring out their next move. If it does, drop a comment or send me a message. And if you have questions, ask away.

The Adventure Photographer's Playbook

$10.00

The Adventure Photographer’s Playbook is an e-book created by full-time photographer Dalton Johnson to help new photographers go from nothing to booked in the adventure photography space.

Updated: June 2025

The 50-Day Marketing Challenge That Will Change Your Photography Business

Every photographer I know goes through the same cycle.

You get busy. Work comes in. You stop marketing because you don't have time.

Then the work dries up. And you panic.

I've done this more times than I want to admit. The fix is always the same: stop waiting for work to find you and start putting yourself back in front of people every single day.

I call it the 50-Day Marketing Challenge. And it has pulled me out of every slow period I've ever hit.

Before I get into it — I put the full breakdown of how I market my photography business inside a $10 ebook called The Adventure Photographer's Playbook. If you want the whole system, check it out here.

Why 50 days?

30 days is too short. You won't see results in 30 days because the sales cycle in this industry is long. I've connected with a brand in January and not made money with them until April. That's normal.

90 days is the real cycle for pitching and landing work. But 50 is the entry point — long enough to build momentum, short enough to commit to without burning out.

What the challenge actually looks like:

Every day for 50 days you do all of the following:

Send at least one pitch. Email, Instagram DM, LinkedIn message, cold call if you can find a number. It doesn't matter. Send something to someone who could hire you.
Post something. A photo, a behind the scenes, a story, a lesson. Show up somewhere publicly.
Follow up on something. An old lead, a past client, someone who went quiet. One touch per day.

That's it. It sounds simple because it is. The hard part is doing it every single day when you're tired, busy, or convinced it isn't working.

The most important thing I learned:

The work rarely comes from where you expect.

You'll pitch 50 brands and hear nothing. Then someone you emailed three months ago will reply out of nowhere. Or a brand will find you through a post you forgot you made. Or a past client will refer you to someone you've never heard of.

You don't know where the yes is coming from. You just have to be in enough conversations for it to find you.

That's the whole game.

How to start:

Make a list of 50 brands you want to work with. Not dream brands — realistic ones. Brands whose aesthetic matches your work and who are actively creating content.

Day one: pitch five of them.

Then pitch, post, and follow up every day for the next 49.

Track everything. Who you contacted, when, what you sent, what they said. Most will say nothing. Some will say no. A few will say yes.

And some of those yeses will come from places you never saw coming.

One last thing:

I still do this today. Every time I can see a slow period coming — when I know I've been heads down on a project and let my marketing slide — I start the clock again.

50 days. Every day. All of the above.

It has never not worked.

Reflection Questions

When did you last actively market yourself every single day for more than two weeks? What happened when you stopped?
Write down 10 brands right now that you could pitch this week. Not someday — this week. What's stopping you from sending those pitches today?
What does your follow-up system look like? Do you have one, or do you rely on memory?
If you committed to 50 days of daily marketing starting tomorrow, what would success look like at the end of it?

The Adventure Photographer's Playbook

$10.00

The Adventure Photographer’s Playbook is an e-book created by full-time photographer Dalton Johnson to help new photographers go from nothing to booked in the adventure photography space.

Updated: June 2025

The Photography Career Is a Numbers Game. Here's What That Actually Means.

I used to think the best photographers got the most work.

They don't.

I learned this the hard way — as a substitute teacher editing photos in the back of a classroom, pitching 100 brands a day just to keep the lights on.

Not 10. Not 20. 100.

Instagram DMs. Emails. Cold calls when I could find a number. LinkedIn messages. I sent images, ideas, spec shoots, trip concepts — every single day to anyone who might say yes.

Almost nobody responded.

If I got a no, I was happy. At least someone opened it.

One person a week said yes. One out of 700.

That ratio sounds brutal. But here's what I learned: it's not rejection. It's math.

I wrote down everything I figured out over the last decade in a $10 ebook — The Adventure Photographer's Playbook. If you're trying to go from nothing to booked, it's the fastest shortcut I can offer.

Here's the part nobody tells you upfront:

If one out of 700 says yes, you don't need to get better at photography. You need to send more pitches.

The photographers who make it aren't necessarily the most talented. They're the ones who stayed in the game long enough for the numbers to work in their favor.

Here's what that looked like in practice:

Early career: Every yes was a kit deal. A brand would send gear, buy a few photos, and call it done. Not glamorous. But each one was a relationship. And relationships compound.

Mid career: The ratio got better. Not because I got lucky — because I got known. People started recognizing my name before I pitched them. The 1 in 700 became 1 in 200. Then 1 in 50.

Now: Most of my work is inbound. Brands reach out because they've seen what I build. But I never stopped pitching. I still create projects and bring brands into them. The model hasn't changed — just the conversion rate.

Three things that actually move the needle:

1. Volume beats perfection. Send the imperfect pitch. The brand who never sees your work can't hire you.

2. Spec work is your proof. Don't wait to be hired to create. Go make something worth sponsoring then ask brands to be part of it.

3. Play the long game. I connected with one brand in 2023. Didn't make money with them until 2025. That's normal. Stay in touch.

The numbers game never ends. It just gets more efficient.

The Adventure Photographer's Playbook

$10.00

The Adventure Photographer’s Playbook is an e-book created by full-time photographer Dalton Johnson to help new photographers go from nothing to booked in the adventure photography space.

Updated: June 2025

Why Your Hotel's Content Isn't Working (And What Story-Driven Marketing Actually Fixes)

You have great photos. A solid Instagram presence. Maybe even a short brand video that came out well. And yet — bookings aren't where they should be, and you can't quite figure out why your content isn't moving the needle. Here's the honest answer: you probably don't have a content problem. You have a story problem.

Ready to build a content strategy that actually converts? Book a discovery call →

The Ameswell Hotel in Mount View, CA has a free bike rental program for all it's guests.

Most Hotel Marketing Is Built Around the Wrong Question

The question most hotel marketing teams ask is: what do we need to show people? The rooms. The pool. The restaurant. The views. And so the content becomes a catalog — beautiful, polished, and completely forgettable.

The right question is: why would someone choose us over every other hotel within a hundred miles?

For most hotels competing on amenities, that question is almost impossible to answer through photos of a well-made bed. But if you're an experiential hotel — one where the experience you offer is genuinely different from what's down the road — that question is the beginning of a story. And stories are what actually sell.

Stillpoint Lodge is a luxury adventure lodge in Alaska offering daily adventures you can’t do anywhere else in the world, like kayaking with iceburgs.

The Experience Is the Story. Most Hotels Just Aren't Telling It.

Think about what makes your property worth choosing. Maybe it's the guided backcountry ski tours you run in winter. The chef who sources everything within thirty miles and takes guests foraging on Tuesday mornings. The location on a stretch of coastline that only a handful of people in the world actually know how to navigate by sea kayak.

That's not an amenity. That's a story.

The problem is that most hotels treat these experiences as bullet points in a features list rather than narratives worth following. And there's a massive difference between listing an experience and showing someone what it feels like to live it.

Story-driven content starts with the experience itself — not the photography brief, not the shot list, not the social calendar. It starts with: what is actually happening here that is worth documenting? What is the moment, the person, the place that someone would genuinely want to witness?

When you build content from that starting point, something different happens. People don't just see your hotel. They imagine themselves there.

Story-Driven Content Works Because It Moves People Through a Decision

Here's something that most hotel marketing teams don't think about explicitly but feel all the time: content does different jobs at different stages of a guest's decision.

At the very top of the funnel — social media, short-form video, quick imagery — the job is simple. Get someone to stop scrolling and think that looks incredible. This content can be fast, visceral, emotional. It doesn't need to explain anything. It just needs to create a feeling.

The next layer is where the story deepens. Someone has seen your content, followed your account, maybe signed up for your newsletter. Now they want to understand who you are. This is where longer-form content lives — a short film about your guided experiences, a written essay about the place itself, a photo series that follows one guest's journey from arrival to departure. The job here isn't to go viral. It's to build a relationship.

And then there's the moment that actually matters — when someone is sitting at their laptop, comparing you to three other properties, and trying to make a decision. At this stage, the story you've told determines everything. If they've spent the last three weeks encountering your content and it's made them feel something — made them feel like your place is the one that gets them — the decision is already made before they hit book.

That's what story-driven content actually does. It doesn't just fill a content calendar. It builds the kind of familiarity and trust that makes a booking feel inevitable.

Castle Hot Springs literally has a hot spring on property!

The Mistake Most Hotels Make Once They Have Great Content

Even hotels that invest in quality content often leave most of its value on the table. Here's why: a single well-produced shoot generates far more usable material than most teams realize, and if you don't have a strategy for deploying it across every layer of your funnel over time, you're essentially getting a fraction of the return on what you spent.

One shoot — even a single day in the field — can produce short-form social clips, longer YouTube or website videos, newsletter photography, website hero imagery, ad creative, and editorial pieces. But only if the work was captured and edited with distribution in mind from the beginning.

This is what separates a content partner from a photographer. A photographer gives you files. A content partner thinks about where those files are going to live, how they're going to be deployed, and what story they're going to tell across every touchpoint — from the first scroll to the final booking confirmation.

Rancho Santana, a surf retreat, has 7 beaches on property and two of which are iconic surf breaks in Nicaragua.

What This Looks Like in Practice

The hotels I work with best aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets. They're the ones who are willing to start with the story — to sit down and ask honestly: what is the experience we actually offer, and why does it matter to the person we're trying to reach?

From that conversation, everything else follows. The visual language. The narrative arc. The distribution strategy. The content that lives at the top of the funnel and the content that closes the deal.

If you're running a hotel where the experience is genuinely worth documenting — and you suspect your current content isn't doing it justice — that's the exact conversation I want to have.

Book a discovery call and let's talk about your story →

Dalton Johnson 2/28/26 Dalton Johnson 2/28/26

Staring Into The Yellow Eyes of a Short Eared Owl

By no means do I consider myself a wildlife photographer, but, yesterday, I had the chance to "chase" this owl around for about an hour.
Zipping past the bird on a fence post, I said to Kristin, "hey look, an owl."
"Wait, where? I didn't see it." She responded in disappointment.
So, I flipped the van around and checked out the owl.

as always, the full gallery is at the bottom, so skip there if you don’t care about the words

Zipping past the bird on a fence post, I said to Kristin, "hey look, an owl."

"Wait, where? I didn't see it." She responded in disappointment.

So, I flipped the van around and checked out the owl.

Then, it dawned on me. I packed my Tarmon 150-500 lens and should put it to use. So, I swapped lenses and attempted to walk towards the owl to take some photos.

It flew away.

Follow Dalton on your favorite platform: @storiesbydalton

Watching the owl hunt, I was a bit disappointed I didn't get a shot, but alas, that happens.

Loading back into the van, I drove off.

Almost back to the highway, "do you want to go back and find the owl?" I asked Kristin.

"If that is you asking for permission to do so, yes, go ahead and turn around." She knows me :-) and with the permission I flipped the van around and drove back to find the owl.

Scaring it away not one, not twice, not thrice, I new I needed to change up the approach.

What I Brought On Today’s Photo Walk:

No more walking up to the bird, I needed to stay in the van.

If somebody else would have saw this, they would be laughing and call me an idiot, but it worked.

Hanging outside of the the driver window, I inched forward in the van. Snapping photos every chance I could get just in case it flew away.

Snap. Snap. Move. Snap. Snap. Move.

Until, finally, I got close enough to capture this image with the 150-500mm lens. Now, the waiting game for the owl to turn its head.

Then, snap, snap, snap.

I got it!

Again, thank you to anyone and everyone reading this. If you have enjoyed this journal entry, shoot me an email to say hey: dalton@dalton-johnson.com

✌️

Additional Reads You Might Like:

The Day’s Gallery

FAQ About Photographing Owls:

1. What is the best time of day to photograph owls?

Most owls are crepuscular or nocturnal, meaning they’re most active at dawn and dusk. During breeding season, you may also see daytime activity. Great horned owls and burrowing owls are often visible in early morning light, while barred owls may hunt just before sunset.

2. What time of year is best for photographing owls?

Late winter through early summer is ideal. During breeding season, owls are more vocal and active as they defend territory and feed young. Spring also offers better light and cleaner backgrounds before dense foliage fills in.

3. What lens do I need to photograph owls?

A telephoto lens between 400mm and 600mm is ideal. Owls are sensitive to disturbance, so longer focal lengths allow you to keep a respectful distance while still filling the frame. I use the Tamron 150-500mm, however a 70-200mm with a 2x converter would also serve you well.

4. What camera settings work best for owl photography?

Start with:

Shutter speed: 1/1000 or faster for flight
Aperture: f/4–f/6.3
ISO: Adjust for available light (don’t be afraid of higher ISO at dawn or dusk)
Continuous autofocus (AI Servo / AF-C)
Burst mode for action

5. How do I find owls to photograph?

Listen first. Many owls announce themselves before you see them. Research local species and habitat preferences. For example:

Great Horned Owl prefer wooded areas and open edges.
Burrowing Owl live in open grasslands and desert flats.
Barred Owl favor wetlands and dense forests.

6. How close can I get to an owl?

As a rule: if the owl changes behavior because of you, you’re too close. Use long lenses and let the owl remain relaxed. Ethical distance ensures natural behavior and protects nesting birds.

7. Is it ethical to use owl calls or playback?

Playback can stress owls, especially during breeding season. Many wildlife photographers avoid it entirely. If you use it, keep it minimal and stop immediately if the owl shows signs of agitation.

8. Can I use flash when photographing owls?

It’s strongly discouraged. Flash can disorient nocturnal birds and disrupt hunting behavior. Natural light or high-ISO performance is a better choice.

9. What shutter speed do I need for owls in flight?

Aim for 1/1600–1/2500 for sharp wing detail. Owls fly silently and smoothly, but wings still move fast, especially during takeoff or hunting dives.

10. How do I photograph owls at night?

Use:

A wide aperture (f/2.8–f/4)
High ISO
Silent shooting mode
A stable tripod or monopod

Focus on backlit silhouettes at dusk rather than full darkness whenever possible.

11. Why are my owl photos soft?

Common causes:

Too slow shutter speed
Missed focus on the eyes
Heat distortion over long distances
Shooting wide open at too close a focus distance

Always prioritize eye sharpness.

12. What is the best autofocus mode for owls?

Continuous autofocus (AF-C / AI Servo) with animal eye detection (if available) works extremely well, especially for perched birds that may suddenly take flight.

13. How do I photograph owls without disturbing them?

Move slowly. Avoid direct eye contact. Stay low. Don’t approach nests. If an owl is repeatedly looking at you, puffing up, or shifting position, back up.

14. Are owls protected by law?

Yes. In the United States, owls are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes it illegal to harm, harass, or disturb them — especially during nesting.

15. How do I photograph burrowing owls responsibly?

Stay far from burrow entrances. Never block access paths. Shoot from your vehicle when possible. These small owls are particularly sensitive to disturbance.

16. What weather conditions are best for owl photography?

Cold, clear mornings are excellent. Owls often perch visibly to sun themselves after cold nights. Light snow can also create beautiful contrast against darker plumage.

17. How do I photograph white owls without blowing highlights?

If photographing a snowy owl, slightly underexpose (-0.3 to -0.7 EV) and protect highlights. Use your histogram rather than relying on the LCD preview.

18. What’s the biggest mistake beginner owl photographers make?

Getting too close. Ethical distance should always outweigh getting the shot. A calm owl is a photogenic owl.

19. How do I compose better owl photos?

Look for:

Clean backgrounds
Eye-level perspective
Catchlight in the eyes
Natural perches (avoid distracting manmade elements)

Leave space in the frame for the direction the owl is looking or flying.

20. How do I photograph owls in snowy environments?

Use exposure compensation to prevent gray snow. Watch for white balance shifts. Shoot in RAW to recover highlights and maintain feather detail.

21. Do owls return to the same perch?

Often, yes. Owls are creatures of habit and may use the same hunting perches repeatedly. Observe patterns rather than chasing them.

22. Is it better to shoot handheld or with a tripod?

For perched owls at low light, a tripod helps. For flight, handheld shooting provides more flexibility and tracking ability.

23. How do I tell if an owl is stressed?

Signs include:

Head bobbing
Feather puffing
Repeated scanning of you
Flying off repeatedly

If you notice these behaviors, give the bird more space.

24. What’s the best way to improve at owl photography?

Spend time observing before shooting. Learn their behavior. Scout locations without your camera. The more you understand the owl, the better your images will become.

About Dalton:

Dalton Johnson is a photographer, filmmaker, and writer.

Over the last 10 years, Dalton’s creative work has taken him to every continent, above the arctic circle, and below the antarctic circle.

His travels are documented in a free, weekly newsletter called UnBound, which is written for those daring to build their dream life.

Dalton Johnson 12/5/25 Dalton Johnson 12/5/25

7 Lessons I Learned While Creating My Newest Adventure Documentary; 14ERS

There was no intention of making this documentary, but as the summits ticked and I kept pressing record, a story unfolded. I guess that is the luck of the draw when you put yourself in the right position. If you are here as a fellow peak bagger, I hope you enjoy the film. If you are here as a filmmaker, I hope these lessons help you along your journey.

1) Filming a documentary as a crew of two was dumb.

While the end result of 14ERS is something I can be proud of creating, the origin story of the project started with a simple question:

"Can we summit all of these peaks in the time window we have?"

There was no goal of making a documentary, but I did have my camera, so why not film the process, right?

At least that is what I thought.

Turns out, filming yourself is freak'n hard and WAY more work! Also, the downside of not being able to move the camera makes creativity a bit harder. What do I mean? Since we were filming ourselves, the camera movements are very simple/created in post.

Most of the movement shots are done via POV. Making this film have very natural feel. However, the mix of VFX and graphics really bring the overall quality of the film from a basic vlog to a film.

A few tips for filming yourself:

b-roll is key, so set up time lapses, talk to the camera, and film your surrounding area
have a good tripod
be willing to attach the camera to things for POV / fixed shots in weird places like a water bottle, hiking pole, etc.

2) Making a documentary takes about 2 to 3 years... with all the resources at hand, maybe 18 months. If you are about to embark on this journey, here's what I wish I knew at the time investment.

I just released my second documentary and I've started to notice a pattern for the creation timeline, so here's a rough timeline streamlined:

3-6. months planning, researching, getting permits, aligning people
6-12 months finding investors/sponsors (optional and done at same time as planning)
2 months to film (just fyi you might need to wait a few seasons to film, slowing the process)
1-3 months to outline footage and create first draft
3 months for edit and revisions
1 month sound and VFX
2 weeks exporting and creating marketing materials
2-3 months promotion (assuming you are not doing a film tour/film festival circuit)
1 day release

If all of this is perfectly aligned, you might be able to finish in 18 months. Expect for this to take longer is you are solo editing and make sure to leave time away from the project so you can look at it with fresh eyes.

3) These were the 5 most challenging parts of making my most recent documentary:

filming is the fun part, but sitting down to create the story arc takes time and collaboration
the process is slow and revisions take a while to get them right
publishing is much harder than another round of edits
finding sponsors vs investing your own money
promoting the film can make or break the investment (especially if this is a personal project)

4) Reaching the metaphorical (and physical) summit isn't really worth the hype.

I've chased summits for nearly 10 years and have more than 100 under my belt, but I don't remember most of them. Hell, if it wasn't for photos I don't even know if I would remember standing on the summit of the peak. So, thankfully I have photos, right?!

So, what is climbing a mountain about?

That's personal, but here are a few principles that apply to physical and metaphorical mountains you can climb:

1) CURIOSITY - can you start that business and make it profitable? can you push through the burning in your thighs? can you snap a photograph that will tell a story?

2) VISION - you have an idea and don't want to stop until you see it for yourself. This goes beyond curiosity because you already have the belief you can do it, it's just about following through

3) EDUCATION - if anyone told you climbing a mountain was pointless, they are not wrong, but you can still learn from pointless things. The mountains have taught me far more about who I am and what I can do than any classroom I have been in. It's the school of hard knocks, but dang the mountain is a great teacher.

These three words (I call principles, but maybe I am using that word wrong... yes I did look up the definition) are the truth as to why you should embark on a journey to a summit you choose.

Instead of letting others tell you to climb this mountain or that mountain. Pick your own and go climb it.

Wow... I didn't expect that ending lol

5) Distribution is key for funding a project

The longer I am in this industry the more I loath the question, “so, where is this filming going to end up?” Since I am not an established filmmaker with a track record of winning emmy’s the answer is, “I don’t know.”

However, the get investors interested in a film, they want to know what the ROI is going to be. So, building out a stream of distribution channels can be huge. This doesn’t have to be OutsideTV, Netflix, etc. Distribution can come in all shapes and sizes.

Here are a few of the places I look to distribute:

film festivals (duh)
podcasts
short form social (this gets views and leads to longer video)
blogs and newsletters
specialty websites

Together, these can scrap up at least a million or more views if deployed correctly.

If you want to read more on this system, I call it the “Follow the Journey” system and have a longer article about it.

6) There were so many doubts in my mind the entire project length.

At first, I didn't even know if we would be able to summit every peak, let alone film it, then turn the clips into something worth watching.

I was filled with internal doubt the entire time:

Was I wasting my own money?
Was this project going to be fun if I filmed the entire time?
Did I have the knowledge base to even make this dream come to life?

All of these internal questions battled inside of me for almost two years, but last week, I released the full documentary.

You can watch it here if you want: https://youtu.be/P8VzC7_85MI?si=P773MNdvbKXMes86

Turns out, I can do it.
Turns out, I have the knowledge.
Turns out, that risk was worth while.

Now, for the next steps of the process:

1) submitting to film festivals (kinda doing it backwards, but that's okay with me)
2) landing/submitting to streaming platforms
3) learning how to marketing a film once it is published

For now, I'm just taking one step at a time, but, I am excited to see where this goes in the end.

7) Finding the joy in the smallest of moments, that might be the greatest take away from this project.

I used to think the only thing that mattered were the incredible shots that took somebodies breath away. However, throughout the course of this project, my mindset around this shifted.

Instead of focusing on perfect light, I focused on what actually mattered, the journey.

Yes, you still need those banger shots to tell the story, but without:
the flowers on the side of the trail
the trailhead signs
the silence and stillness not often found on the trail
the grand views during "poor light" you see while summit 14ers

the story would have fallen flat.

Instead, I leaned into the journey, the process, the experience one gets while on a mountain.

That made this project feel very human, elevated the project, and made it into the documentary it has become today.

About Dalton:

Dalton Johnson is a photographer, filmmaker, and writer.

Over the last 10 years, Dalton’s creative work has taken him to every continent, above the arctic circle, and below the antarctic circle.

His travels are documented in a free, weekly newsletter called UnBound, which is written for those daring to build their dream life.

Dalton Johnson 12/4/25 Dalton Johnson 12/4/25

This System Gets Me 1M Views Every 90 Days

Over the past 10 years I have developed a distribution system I call, “Follow the Journey” to bring viewers along virtually on these kinds of trips. While I don’t have a massive following, 50-something thousand in total, this distribution system is designed to engage viewers over and over again through a variety of formats as well platforms. The secret is staging and diversity.

Over the past 10 years I have developed a distribution system I call, “Follow the Journey” to bring viewers virtually along content trips. While I have not built a massive following, roughly 50k+ in total (check out my media kit for up to date data), this distribution system is designed to engage viewers over and over again through a variety of formats as well platforms.

The secret is phasing the release of content and diversity of content delivered.

My idea for this began in 2020 when I started to realize people wanted to follow a journey, but didn’t want to work to follow. So, I created this system to showcase and encourage casual viewers to return time and time again. Keeping up with the adventures I was personally going on.

Now, I use this model to distribute content and get millions of views from the projects I am creating for myself, or clients.

An selfie from the creation of 14ERS, a documentary that took viewers along for the ride to the top of each 14er in the Sawatch Range over 20 days. Follow Dalton on your favorite platform: @storiesbydalton

Phases of the Content:

I have found how I release content to in phases to be more important than what I am releasing. Not to say you can just release crud into the world, but the platforms algorithms are so good at finding an audience, when you put it out into the world, the dreaded algos will do work for you, finding the audience the content fits.

So, here is how I publish content in phases that brings viewers along for the journey and keeps them interested. Meaning, they come back time and time again:

Getting Started: Provide a BTS look at getting ready and building suspense for the trip. Showcasing how people can follow along and why they should follow along. Introduce the stories you are going to tell and what people can expect when they follow.
The Journey: Showcase daily POV of the trip “in real time”, recaps at the end of every day across platforms while planting easter eggs for long form content, and share slightly longer weekly round ups across several platforms with more easter eggs. The easter eggs here are key to keep the interest going. Note: this doesn’t have to be complicated. Just a cliff hanger or say “I’ll be sharing more on this in a separate post”, etc.
Post Trip: Debrief the trip to the audience who has followed along, share what is to come and how you will do this, but in the mean time provide ways for followers to binge the highlights and BTS of what was done. This is great for the new people seeing you for the first time. Also, tease what is coming up and how it will get done. Examples: how you edit the finished trip, how you process traveling, what does it look like to continue the journey, etc.
Long Form Reminders: Share the long form with those who have followed along, getting everyone re-excited for the trip. This is the full circle moment for the viewers. They lived the journey with you, now they want to join. This could be a film premier, a showing, IRL event, or as simple as releasing the video on YouTube.

Leaping into the freezing waters of a glacial fed lake while on a project in Alaska. Follow Dalton on your favorite platform: @storiesbydalton

Diversity of content, with average numbers for all you data driven people out there:

Being everywhere at one time is taxing and doesn’t lead to the best content, but being in the places that fit what you are doing can create significant impact. So, when distributing content, I try to be in several places that make sense for me and not focus on being everywhere. Below is the breakdown of where I am with the average daily views this brings.

UnBound, the weekly newsletter:

37k+ weekly readers = 5k/day
if you are not signed up I highly suggest checking it out: Click to Sign Up For UnBound
creates long form articles: grows over time with SEO (I don’t include these numbers as it is hard to track for a specific series)

Social media (sharing BTS, posts, reels, stories, etc. throughout the trip):

LinkedIn: 3-4k/day
Instagram: 1-2k/day
YouTube: 3-4k/day
Reddit: 4-10k/day
Pinterest: I use it, but don’t count these numbers
Threads: I use it, but don’t count these numbers
TT: not on the platform, but considering
X: not on the platform

Leveraging earned media:

Digital Magazines
Podcasts
Newsletters
Tourism Boards
Collabs with local pros, tour operators, guides, influencers, etc. across social media
Blogs (this one isn’t as impactful anymore)

Paid media (for an extra push or if needed):

While it has not happened to me yet, if everything flops I will put my own money behind the content to get it over the 1M mark if I am required to via contracts.
With 40-something projects of this kind under my belt, I have not had to do this, yet, when I include projected viewership numbers. Fingers crossed I still don't have to, but if I did, it means two things:
- first, I over-estimated what I could accomplish and gain
- second, what I am putting out is not worth viewing
- in both cases, that is on me, so understand these for yourself

So, tally that up, not including earned media, paid media, or long for article views, we are already at 1.1M organic views in 90 days.

Kristin enjoying a not so casual catamaran ride in Nicaragua while on an assignment for Rancho Santana Nicaragua. Follow Dalton on your favorite platform: @storiesbydalton

There you have it, the “Follow the Journey” system I use to gain returning viewers of longer projects.

While this method doesn’t lead to follower growth, it is a great way to increase your visibility as a creative and start gaining fans who want to follow your journey in this creative life.

If this was helpful for you, or you want to connect, shoot me an email: dalton@dalton-johnson.com

About Dalton:

Dalton Johnson is a photographer, filmmaker, and writer.

Over the last 10 years, Dalton’s creative work has taken him to every continent, above the arctic circle, and below the antarctic circle.

His travels are documented in a free, weekly newsletter called UnBound, which is written for those daring to build their dream life.

Dalton Johnson 10/28/25 Dalton Johnson 10/28/25

Here's Why Day Rates Are Dying and Where They Still Exist In Photography

Ripping along the OHV trails of Sedona, AZ for Polaris Adventures. Connect with Dalton on your favorite social platform: @storiesbydalton

Who still uses day rates when hiring a photographer? This is what I'm seeing...

Part of the industry is clinging to day rates meanwhile another part of the industry is looking towards photographers to be the producer, creative director, editor, photographer, etc.

In other words:
1/2 the industry still relies on the "old model"
1/2 the industry is looking for a new model

Now, that is a bit confusing so, let us dive into which half is doing what.

The 1/2 of the industry using the old model of day rates, photo reps, etc. are the legacy brands and agency world. So, think Satchi & Satchi, Coca-Cola, Ford, Oglivy, Garmin, etc. Why? Because it is the model they have built and it works. Moreover, they are more confined to budgets given to them and set day rates let them know if they can afford the photographer.

Meanwhile, the brands who are social first, or just a younger more agile brand, are moving away from day rates with photographers because they are handing over a full project to the photographer and letting them "do their thing". This is most common in the social space, but larger and larger brands are following this model. So, what does it really look like?

Brand has an idea, reaches out to the photographer and says, "We have $5k, can you build a library of images for us to use on social around product x?"

The photographer can negotiate, but for the sake of simplicity, let's just say they agree. That photographer is now acting as a solo-agency (assuming they don't have a team), so they are;
-storyboarding
-finding models and paying them
-location scouting and doing the permitting
-getting things approved by brand
-building and paying for the team
-shooting the project
-culling the images
-editing
-delivering

That's the life of a solo-agency owner…

Want to learn more about the adventure creative space? Grab your copy of my e-book below, it’s $10 and this tip comes from page 34.

The Adventure Photographer's Playbook

$10.00

The Adventure Photographer’s Playbook is an e-book created by full-time photographer Dalton Johnson to help new photographers go from nothing to booked in the adventure photography space.

Updated: June 2025

Here's Permission To Scratch Your Creative Itches

There are stupid ideas and then there are creative itches you have to scratch. This hike to a "hidden waterfall" in Alaska was kinda both.

There are stupid ideas and then there are creative itches you have to scratch. This hike to a "hidden waterfall" in Alaska was kinda both.

Kristin packed a dress in her backpack and mine was full of camera gear.

Leaving the trailhead, there was no obvious way to this waterfall. In fact, you cross a tiny "bridge" then just hop off the side into the wash.

After crawling through some bushes a crazy wooden ladder that feels like it is going to disintegrate under your feet appears and you crawl down it. Then, you repeatedly crawl down ropes or ladders or slippery slopes until you start getting sprayed by water and hear a roar similar to that of a jet engine from around a corner.

Approach with caution, but finally, you have arrived.

Just remember, you have to crawl back out to get home!

The end result:
1) a great time wandering through the woods
2) I wrote my highest performing blog about this hike and it makes a few dollars a day (for the past three years straight)
3) licensed a handful of images to Big Agnes, a travel company, and a tourism board
4) a memory I look back upon fondly and dream of making more memories like this

Aka that silly itch really blossomed into a great outing.

Dalton Johnson 10/28/25 Dalton Johnson 10/28/25

Breaking Free From Creative Lows

Many of us return from a trip, drop our gear on the floor of our now dusty rooms, and head for a quick shower hoping to feel whole again. While the hot water feels great, processing a trip doesn’t happen that fast. But, clean is always a better feeling than being dirty. Yet, the “to do list” when arriving home is lengthy:

To the UnBound Reader,

unpack
laundry
import images to your drive & back them up
maybe start editing a few
let your friends know you are home
flip through the pages of your journal
prepare for the upcoming work in your near future

I know I am forgetting some, but the length already give me anxiety so there is no reason to make it longer. Did you notice where that list left off?

Paddling towards a gigantic iceberg arch in Antarctica. Thank you for reading, please consider connecting on IG @storiesbydalton

“Preparing for the upcoming work…”

Well, if your career is as unstable as mine, preparing for uncertainty is hard. Not in a play a sad song on the violin kinda thing, but more of an analysis by paralysis kinda thing.

The freelance life of a photographer, filmmaker, and/or writer ebbs and flows upon so many factors it’s easy to get overwhelmed in the sea of things to do. However, for the last year, I’ve been trying to refine my systems and I’ve finally landed on one that works.

Exploring the foothills of the Pacific North West during blueberry season, only to be met with a thick layer of fog. Thank you for reading and consider connecting on IG @storiesbydalton

I call it, “The 100, 100, 100.” You’ll see, I’m very original as I explain a bit deeper. After a little bit of reflection, my career was stalled by three bottlenecks; posting, editing, & networking. So, I started blocking off three 100 minute blocks of time to make my days at home look like:

4:30 - 5:00am: wake up
5:00 - 5:30am: stretch and take care of dog
5:30 - 6:00am: journal
6:20 - 8:00am: writing & scheduling posts (block 1)
8:30 - 10:10am: editing projects (block 2)
10:40 - 12:20pm: networking (block 3)
12:30 and onward: all other things life throws my way

At first glance, this looks like a terrible schedule, but it has given me enough structure to get ahead, make great connections, and turn an unstable career into something a bit more predictable. With that said, I’m still digging my way out of a sinkhole of unshared projects. As in 18 projects, from this year alone, that have not seen the light of day, so wish me luck, right?

Anyways, please, steal this for yourself and/or hit me with some ideas on how this system can be improved.

Keep Exploring,

Dalton Johnson

The Small Things That Help

Thank you for taking the time to read UnBound. I hope the images and stories have scratched your mid-week wanderlust itch. If they have, would you please consider forwarding this newsletter to a friend?

If you haven’t done so already, consider following me on your favorite social platform:

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Dalton Johnson 10/27/25 Dalton Johnson 10/27/25

This Side Hustle Has Failed Five Times, Yet I Keep Pushing On

Sitting here on my couch, feeling excited and a bit bummed, I’m reflecting on why I keep trying to make this failing side hustle work. Again and again and again and again and again, it has failed in one way or another. Yet, I keep iterating and grinding away hoping to make this side hustle a reality.

So, what they heck is this side hustle? I’ll give you a hint, my childhood goal has always been to travel the world and tell stories. In short, that’s the side hustle, but how it takes shape is now on its sixth iteration. Here are my previous five failures and what I learned from them.

Before I dive in, I want to quickly acknowledge my main career is commercial and editorial photography & filmmaking. I love the career, the access it provides, that I’m good at it, and the creativity, yet, I’ve always been a bit disenchanted with financial security being tied to clients whose needs vary year to year. The ups and downs of a photo/filmmaking career is why I have put time and effort into this side hustle.

A selfie of me ashamed to admit these failures, so I hope they help some of you.

Failed Attempt 1 of 5:

In 2015/16, I started an IG account ( seekshangrila - terrible name, I know, but it meant something to me) to share my travels and adventures in one place, meanwhile connect with other people doing the same thing as me. In just a few months, that account grew from 0 to 10k by posting iPhone snaps while cycling around New Zealand and backpacking in Yosemite National Park. The images are cringe worthy now, but the growth in followers confidence I should invest in a camera.

I bought the Sony a6000 and started focusing on creating images.

At some point, I realized I could make money from snapping images and sharing them to social media. So, I changed the focus of the account over time from iPhone snaps for people to enjoy with a longer caption about the adventures to “I’m a professional photographer, look how amazing my photography is! Hire me!”

Then, that account hit a plateau around 12k, I had renamed the account daltonjohnsonmedia, and just went all in on sharing photos like other professional photographers. And guess what, I faded into oblivion like all the other people who just push how great they are at using a camera.

So, I did what any logical millennial would do, I started a blog.

I didn't know anything about blogs, or blogging as a business, so these "blogs" were really just IG captions with a few photos. So, looking back I'm not surprised it didn't work, but I tried and I learned.

Writing daily to see what would happen. Nothing. But, my writing did get better. At times I had a few articles perform, most of them never did anything.

Secretly, I thought I was the best writer on planet earth and just didn't understand why nobody was reading. It must have been Google's fault (eye roll), but, I chugged along. Cranking out articles. I even started to submit article ideas to magazines, but they didn’t respond.

At some point, I realized blogging was not working, so I decided to educate myself and started reading blogs. Turns out, I had everything wrong.

I tossed in the towel, turned that site into my portfolio, and let it sit. Eventually, a few articles ranked on Google, providing some traffic and job leads for photo and video work.

What I Learned Looking Back:

An audience doesn’t care how you make money (as long as it is ethical) and surely don't want to hear about it, unless that is the content you share
Leaving your core audience behind because you feel like doing something different isn’t helpful
Ego destroys all good things
You need a business model to make something sustainable, but that also means you need to know what a business model means
Diversity of outlets only works if you spend time nurturing them all

Failed Attempt 2 of 5:

Roughly 2017 till 2020, I continued pushing on with the writing and posting to IG, there wasn't really a business model (I didn't have the vocabulary at the time) but I was landing clients off and on for photo/video as well as editorial work. So, I figured I would just go all in. That IG account grew to 17k, I started a newsletter (a recommendation of a college buddy), and kept the website chugging along. The newsletter grew to about 1k, maybe 1500, but then I fell off the map because commercial and editorial camera work exploded. Then, COVID hit, and well I recouped at my parents place for month to reset, learn, and figure out what I was going to do because everything stopped.

Failed Attempt 3 of 5:

2021, I spent a year learning more about business, business models, marketing, etc. I still had the IG account, the blog, and the newsletter, but I had no momentum. The IG account was going backwards, starting the year roughly at 15k and losing followers daily. The blog wasn't really getting any traffic and I wasn't sharing my newsletter because I just didn't care. I was licensing images and selling prints, but nothing was really popping. No growth, just meh.

But, Jan 2022 I got a call to produce/DP a documentary on Denali, accepted the job and road tripped from Baja to Denali. Recorded the film and booked a few photo gigs that paid well enough to linger around Alaska for a few months.

During that time, I figured I would give YT a shot, but why not, right? Well, that was an epic fail. YT travel videos take a ton of work (more than making a documentary), have a cadence that isn't for a sane person, and make no money LOL until you have a massive catalog of footage that generates income via ads and brand deals. But, at least I tried, right?

The YT dream went on for about a year with almost nothing to show for it.

Failed Attempt 4 of 5:

2023 - 24: I got a random DM on LinkedIn, "Can you write as well as you photograph?"
"Yup, I've been published in national magazines like Men's Journal (sent link of story)"
"Cool, meeting tomorrow, what time works for you?"
sent time and booked a call

A few months later, I was running a vertical of Men's Journal (turns out the random DM was a VP at MJ's parent company) and was looking to expand MJ into adventure travel.

I was their guy.

I went hard and built that site from nothing to roughly 450 articles and 170k UMV in just 8 months (it took 4 to launch).

I literally went to every continent, above the arctic circle, and below the antarctic circle for assignments.

Then, the parent company got into trouble, VPs moved companies, and the program I was running got axed.

Ironically, they couldn't even quote my contract correctly during my termination email LOL

Failed Attempt 5 of 5:

mid/late 2024: For some reason, every article that was published was "given back to me", the IG account (now totally destroyed) was handed back to me, and I started The Adventure Travel Network.

At first, it did really well and grew quickly online. Traffic skyrocketed to roughly 500k in a matter of months, it was epic.

Then a Google update hit and I went from making $2,000-3,000 a month of passive ad income to $300/mo. Then $200/mo. Then $100/mo.

Dead.

In early 2025, I pushed for about two months will affilates and trying to figure things out, but the writing was on the wall. This wasn't going to work, so I integrated the site into my portfolio website and continued my work with photo and video.

Attempt 6, Will It Finally Work?

The call to share great stories can't be shaken.

A few weeks ago, while I was swimming in Lake Tahoe and beating myself up mentally, the phrase “unbound” popped into my head. A mantra of sorts that showcased, in a single word, a life not attached to the status quo. In fact, it would be the opposite, a life full unbound and willing to give a middle a finger to accepting the chains of societal norms.

Aggressive? Yes, but that chip on my shoulder is unavoidable and who doesn’t like that movie scene in Top Gun of Maverick giving the Mig pilot the middle finger? I have loved that scene since I was a wee-little-lad.

So, I rebranded the newsletter, mapped out a list of stories that have been denied through magazine submissions, and just decided I would try this thing myself.

And, that’s how UnBound was born.

But, I’ll be honest, right now it makes $100/mo and I don’t have much of a business model to figure out how and where it should go. Yet, I am taking it slow enough that I don’t fully have to worry about that, for right now, as $100/mo covers the costs of doing business for now.

Dalton Johnson 10/7/25 Dalton Johnson 10/7/25

We Both Took a Massive Risk To Build a Hospitality Portfolio

Four years ago, I photographed my first hotel, for free, to start a hospitality portfolio.

Chips and guac table-side at the beach for Rancho Santana Nicaragua. Photo by Dalton Johnson

Four years ago, I photographed my first hotel, for free, to start a hospitality portfolio.

They had it all going on, but their marketing was terrible. Like stock photos and pixilated phone images from guests. That kind of terrible, yet they were charging between $1500 and $2000 a night!

One cold pitch later, we had four nights in a standard cabin (which was far from standard) and 1 night in the VIP cabin, which came with its own helicopter pad.

The shoot went really well, I worked 15 hours days for 5 days straight, and even created a new 1-minute video spot for them. All for free.

Before you get your panties in a ruffle about under cutting the market, blah, blah, blah... they took a serious chance on me. I had never photographed a hotel, or shot video of a hotel. They had to put me in a room because the place was off the grid. They had to send a boat to pick me up, feed me, and pay for everything from air plane rides to see glaciers to halibut fishing. And, there was no guarantee I would deliver.

But, I did.

Then, out of nowhere that adventure lodge was recognized with not 1, but 2 Michelin keys.

Which put them and my work center stage in the luxury world for adventure hotels.

Since there acknowledgments, their guest list has grown and so has my client list. Instead of begging to give away free work, I'm booking a few tourism boards and experiential hotels (state side and international) every year.

A prime example, this boutique surf lodge in Nicaragua - Rancho Santana Nicaragua

A full week of surfing, zip-lines, food that melted in my mouth, exploring workshops and coffee farms, sailing on a catamaran, motoring across a lake so large they feel like the ocean, volcanoes, and so much more.

All of that started because of a cold email and doing some free work.

P.S. These images come from the first 4 hours of being on property, check out the full gallery from this surf lodge in Nicaragua:

Check Out Full Nicaragua Gallery

Dalton Johnson 9/30/25 Dalton Johnson 9/30/25

Case Study: Trails & Tails for B.F. Goodrich

As far as smooth productions go, this one was clean and easy, after a few hiccups to start. Getting the tires on the Ford Bronco was a challenge as the car arrived late to the shop, delaying the scouting day. Good thing we booked two scouting days and I had visited this area countless times for rock climbing!

Client: B.F. Goodrich

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi

Talent: Andrew Muse and Kicker Muse

Brief: Showcase the relationship between human and dog while ethically hitting the trail.

Location: Joshua Tree, CA

A Little BTS:

Stuck in San Diego waiting, we pulled out computers and used Google Earth to showcase/highlight the tires in action. Andrew was totally gung ho for any and all ideas. Apparently, he was sent to a Ford Bronco driving course and was ready to do anything we asked in the vehicle. Because of this, our options were wide open.

Quick note: at the time of production (2021), our crew met the requirements for a “low impact production” so location permits for the area was not required.

Once the rig was ready, we immediately left the beach life of San Diego for a cold and cloudy vibe inland. While this weather was not what we were hoping for, it did provide us with the mud we wanted for the shoot.

Day one: very muddy

Day two: sun came out, but still muddy. Thick mud

Day three: we got the Bronco cleaned and detailed, the tires sparkled

Day four: perfect sunny day, lots of lifestyle images on the trail with the dog

Image Gallery:

Collab Posts:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Andrew Muse (@andrew__muse)

Dalton Johnson 9/26/25 Dalton Johnson 9/26/25

The 5 Stages of Visiting Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

With the timed entry into Rocky Mountain National Park, access to Bear Lake at sunrise takes a little bit of planning. While there are day of permits available, they seem to be impossible to land. So, if you are making the trek out to Rocky Mountain National Park, I suggest you secure your entry permit months beforehand.

Before diving into the 5 stages of Bear Lakes, here’s a little backstory you should know before visiting Bear Lakes for yourself:

With that said, Kristin, my partner, was able to land an entry permit for the morning slot, the night before, during late-summer in the middle of the week. I think we were lucky, but who really knows?!

Now that your permit is secured, it’s time to set your alarm the night before and try to sleep, crossing your fingers you wake up to an early alarm, drive through the dark to the trailhead, and walk the .5 of a mile to Bear Lake.

Yup, the walk is very short, so no need to rush.

I suggest bringing a warm beverage to keep you warm, even if it is the summer as the lake sits at 9,449 feet. From there, set up your camera, enjoy the alpine glow on the cliffs, and push that shutter button.

You can walk around the lake to create different images, I liked the alpine glow in the morning from the eastern bank of the lake and the northern bank of the lake around mid-morning when most of the lake was in full sun.

Now, let’s explore the 5 stages of visiting Bear Lakes:

1) Arriving In Pitch Black Wondering Where Bear Lake Is At

Camera: Sony a7r4
Lens: Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 G2
Focal length: 44 mm
Aperture: f/5.0
Shutter-Speed: 1/40 second
ISO: 400

2) Patiently Waiting For The Alpine Glow To Start

Camera: Sony a7r4
Lens: Tamron 16-30 f/2.8 G2
Focal length: 16 mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter-Speed: 1/30 second
ISO: 400

3) Standing In Excitement The Glow Has Arrived, But Also Realizing You Are Cold From Sitting To Long

Camera: Sony a7r4
Lens: Tamron 16-30 f/2.8 G2
Focal length: 16 mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter-Speed: 1/100 second
ISO: 400

4) Realizing There Is More To Bear Lake And Start Walking Around, Feeling Hard Core FOMO You Didn’t Do This Before

Camera: Sony a7r4
Lens: Tamron 16-30 f/2.8 G2
Focal length: 16 mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter-Speed: 1/320 second
ISO: 250

5) Looking Over Your Shoulder And Thinking, “Dang! Bear Lake has it going on!”

Camera: Sony a7r4
Lens: Tamron 16-30 f/2.8 G2
Focal length: 30mm
Aperture: f/5.0
Shutter-Speed: 1/320 second
ISO: 250

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The identity problem.

Adding the skill is only half of it.

What that pitch actually looks like.

Why photographers resist this.

How to start pitching the combination.

What it compounds into.

Reflection questions:

Read More From The Photographer’s Playbook

The moment I stopped waiting.

What a pitch actually is.

The pitch I sent that changed things.

What to pitch and where to start.

How the clips build on each other.

The practical steps.

Reflection questions:

Read More From The Photographer’s Playbook

One shoot contains multitudes.

What the Rivian project actually produced.

Why photographers leave this on the table.

How to start thinking differently about your next shoot.

The compounding effect.

Reflection questions:

Read More From The Photographer’s Playbook

Now, Let’s Make This Article Helpful For You

Read More From The Photographer’s Playbook

1) Be More Than A Photographer

2) Small Productions Might Have Higher ROI

3) Use AI To Your Advantage

4) Market Yourself

5) Build A Brand That Helps Others

6) Never Stop Learning

Read More From The Photographer’s Playbook

Why 50 days?

What the challenge actually looks like:

The most important thing I learned:

How to start:

One last thing:

Reflection Questions

Read More From The Photographer’s Playbook

Here's the part nobody tells you upfront:

Three things that actually move the needle:

Read More From The Photographer’s Playbook

Most Hotel Marketing Is Built Around the Wrong Question

The Experience Is the Story. Most Hotels Just Aren't Telling It.

Story-Driven Content Works Because It Moves People Through a Decision

The Mistake Most Hotels Make Once They Have Great Content

What This Looks Like in Practice

What I Brought On Today’s Photo Walk:

Additional Reads You Might Like:

The Day’s Gallery

FAQ About Photographing Owls:

1. What is the best time of day to photograph owls?

2. What time of year is best for photographing owls?

3. What lens do I need to photograph owls?

4. What camera settings work best for owl photography?

5. How do I find owls to photograph?

6. How close can I get to an owl?

7. Is it ethical to use owl calls or playback?

8. Can I use flash when photographing owls?

9. What shutter speed do I need for owls in flight?

10. How do I photograph owls at night?

11. Why are my owl photos soft?

12. What is the best autofocus mode for owls?

13. How do I photograph owls without disturbing them?

14. Are owls protected by law?

15. How do I photograph burrowing owls responsibly?

16. What weather conditions are best for owl photography?

17. How do I photograph white owls without blowing highlights?

18. What’s the biggest mistake beginner owl photographers make?

19. How do I compose better owl photos?

20. How do I photograph owls in snowy environments?

21. Do owls return to the same perch?

22. Is it better to shoot handheld or with a tripod?

23. How do I tell if an owl is stressed?

24. What’s the best way to improve at owl photography?

About Dalton:

1) Filming a documentary as a crew of two was dumb.

2) Making a documentary takes about 2 to 3 years... with all the resources at hand, maybe 18 months. If you are about to embark on this journey, here's what I wish I knew at the time investment.

3) These were the 5 most challenging parts of making my most recent documentary:

4) Reaching the metaphorical (and physical) summit isn't really worth the hype.