Matt talks with psychologist Zahra Ciardi, founder of Ascendant Bali, to explore the inner life of the creative person: why so many photographers feel their work isn't truly theirs, the limiting beliefs that keep artists stuck, and how to put your work into the world without being ruled by validation.

By the end of this episode you'll understand why your photography stops feeling like yours, and what it takes to create from your true self instead of your need to be seen.

Zahra works in trauma recovery and peak performance, and she breaks down the psychology of high achievers, the anatomy of avoidance, the inner critic, and how childhood shapes the way we create as adults.

Other things discussed:

• The "bus" model of the self and why the inner critic ends up driving
• Highly sensitive people and why creatives feel everything so intensely
• Over-diagnosis, self-diagnosis, and the bigger problem of under-treatment
• Self-neutrality as the realistic first step before self-love
• Graded exposure for photographers afraid to share their work
• Using social media intentionally instead of being used by it
• Whether healing costs you your creative edge
• How childhood memory is stored in the body, not just the mind
• The single values exercise Zahra says works every time

Zahra's links:
www.ascendantbali.com
www.zahraciardi.com
https://www.instagram.com/zahra_ciardi/

____________________

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Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more.

The MOOD Insiders Community
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Cristina Mittermeier is a National Geographic photographer, co-founder of SeaLegacy, and author of "Hope." Her work has been featured in National Geographic's series "Photographer" and in publications around the world. Cristinais the photographer who coined the term "conservation photography," co-founded SeaLegacy, and made the starving polar bear image seen by an estimated 2.5 billion people.

In this episode Matt and Cristina discuss how to find your photographic voice that actually means something, why a point of view separates an artist from a craftsman, and the one principle Cristina has built her life around: to show up.

- Join the Mood Insiders for ad-free extended episodes, monthly masterclasses, the weekly book club, and much more (link in notes below) -

Other things you will take away from this episode:

• The "glorious amateur" and why expertise is not a prerequisite for meaningful photography
• The full story behind the starving polar bear photograph and the backlash that followed
• How the social media algorithm punishes beautiful and important photography
• The idea of the photographer as a "membrane" rather than a messenger
• Why storytelling now matters more than the photograph itself
• "Enoughness" as a personal answer to consumerism
• Building a real portfolio of physical work instead of living on Instagram
• A personal handbook of ethics for photographers
• Why AI will make human-made photography more valuable, not less
• Legacy, ego, and shedding the need to be exceptional
• SeaLegacy and the next decade of conservation photography
• Practical advice for emerging photographers starting out today

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Cristina’s platforms:
Website - https://www.cristinamittermeier.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mitty/
SeaLegacy - https://www.sealegacy.org/

____

Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation!

Support the show

Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more.

The MOOD Insiders Community
https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders

Learn with me
https://mattjacob.co/learn

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In this episode, Matt sits down with Rich-Joseph Facun, a celebrated American documentary photographer, former photojournalist of 15 years, and founder of the independent publishing imprint Liars Corner.

In this conversation we discuss his three monographs: Black Diamonds, Little Cities, and 1804, the ethics of street and portrait photography, photographing strangers in Trump-era Appalachia, walking away from photojournalism, finding your photographic voice, and why the global photo book industry urgently needs more marginalised and Indigenous voices.

Other things we discussed:

• Street portraiture, approaching strangers, and consent in documentary photography
• Growing up in a Southern Baptist military family and door-to-door evangelism as training for portrait work
• Photographing Trump-supporting Appalachia as a person of colour with a trans child
• The viral portrait of a stranger with a damaged forehead tattoo crying on the street
• Quitting photojournalism after 15 years and the identity crisis that followed
• Why he stopped using Rembrandt lighting and the decisive moment in his portrait work
• How to find your photographic voice after mastering the craft
• Self-publishing a photo book vs pitching to independent publishers
• The making of Black Diamonds, Little Cities, and 1804
• Launching Liars Corner as an Indigenous-owned photo book imprint in Appalachia
• Elitism, gatekeeping, and barriers to entry inside the global photo book publishing industry
• Mentoring emerging documentary photographers and funding their first monographs
• Why awards, accolades, and staff photographer positions stopped mattering

Rich-Joseph Facun
Instagram: https://instagram.com/facun
Website: https://facun.com
Imprint: https://liarscorner.press

____________________________________

Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation!

Support the show

Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more.

The MOOD Insiders Community
https://www.mattjacob.co/insiders

Learn with me
https://mattjacob.co/learn

My Newsletter
https://www.mattjacob.co/archive

Website:
https://themoodpodcast.com

Socials:
IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay