187 - Turn Off Instagram: Building a Photography Style That's Actually Yours

Street and portrait photographer Tom Hoops joins us to talk about his unplanned path into photography, why he builds his portrait style around rawness instead of polish, and why he founded The Underexposed Community.

In this episode:

Tom's origin story: picking up a camera to shoot reference photos for paintings — and never going back to painting The early Flickr community (including photographers like Jack Davidson and Brett Walker) that shaped his eye Why he tells photographers starting out to avoid Instagram, other photographers' work, and how-to books until they've built their own body of work His case against the "corporate headshot" look and what he's chasing instead Shooting underexposed on purpose, working on location, and why he sets his lights once and then forgets about them What actually separates working photographers from hobbyists (hint: it's not the gear) The industry problem of shrinking access time on assignments — and what publishers get wrong Why he started The Underexposed Community and what it offers photographers looking for real peer connection Timestamps:

3:33 — Introduction and dice-breaker question 4:41 — Tom's background and path into photography 9:09 — The moment he knew photography was his profession 10:54 — Looking back at early work, and the fashion photography learning curve 16:52 — Why he tells new photographers to avoid studying other photographers early on 23:22 — Why lighting setups matter less than people think 25:05 — Rejecting the corporate headshot look; shooting subjects "powerful" instead of polished 30:55 — Where the "raw" feel actually comes from: direction, location, editing 39:01 — Advice on turning photography into a full-time living 44:15 — Founding The Underexposed Community 56:55 — Tom's advice to photographers just starting out (or to his younger self) Episode Promos

Nerdy Photographer Contract Templates - https://nerdyphotographer.com/product-category/contracts/ On1 Software - https://nerdyphotographer.com/recommends/on1/ Format, websites for creatives - https://format.partnerlinks.io/nerdy Retouch4Me - https://retouch4.me/ - remember to use promo code "nerdy" to get 20% off About My Guest

Tom Hoops is a portrait and fashion photographer known for his distinctive, emotive style and ability to capture raw human character. Working between studio and location, Tom's images blend strong composition with a cinematic use of light, creating work that feels both contemporary and timeless.

His photography