HeyJaredMake Art. Make Money.
You’ve got the creative eye, now here’s how to turn it into a career. I’m Karen Williams, photo director & author of The Photo Hustle. This newsletter is your no BS guide to getting booked, getting paid, and thriving in commercial photography and beyond.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 8
- Latest publication
- Sep 28, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 8, 2026
Latest issues
The BVQ Exclusive- Issue #25 (opens the original)
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Welcome to issue #25 of The BVQ Exclusive! 🎉We’re back with issue #25, and I’m really pulling back the curtain on one of the more “unspoken” aspects of the hiring process: the shortlist. If you can’t get yourself on this, you’re never going to win that pitch, and getting yourself shortlisted is way more complicated and subjective than most photogs realize. So I’m gonna let you into my process so you can better understand what it takes to be the kind of photog that you see getting hired over and
The BVQ Exclusive- Issue #24 (opens the original)
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Welcome to issue #24 of The BVQ Exclusive! 🎉We’re back with issue #24, and the pro tip I’m covering this week may seem to go against everything that BVQ stands for…but I’m going to need you to hear me out. We’re going to talk about declining work and why it might be key to your long-term growth and success as a professional photographer. It’s one of the trickier topics in the business, but I think I can break it down for you in a way most people won’t…And as usual, a
Vertical by Default: How a Phone-Native Generation is Reshaping the Photographer’s Eye (opens the original)
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The BVQ Exclusive- Issue #23 (opens the original)
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Welcome to issue #23 of The BVQ Exclusive! 🎉This week, as we head into the hustle and bustle of fall and the “harvest,” I’ve been thinking about how building a sustainable, fruitful career comes down to one thing: your rate. I’m breaking down how to know your number, hold it under pushback, and negotiate without losing the job.Because your real rate is probably higher than you think, and that gap is often standing between you and the life you ultimately want.The Call Sheet</st
The BVQ Exclusive- Issue #22 (opens the original)
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Welcome to issue #22 of The BVQ Exclusive! 🎉We’re back with issue #22, and this week’s Pro Tip is something that I’ve dealt with a lot as a photo director who’s constantly combing through a, frankly, entirely too-full inbox on a daily basis: the reality that I simply can’t get back to everyone.I get it, it can really hurt and be anxiety-inducing to not get a reply to your pitch or inquiry. So i’m breaking down exactly what to do when you don’t hear back — what’s really happening on my end, when
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