Stop Shooting for Clients—Start Shooting for You with Lindsay Adler

Pat Miller: 00:00

I'm Pat Miller, and this is The Professional Photographer Podcast. Welcome to The Professional Photographer Podcast live from Imaging USA in Dallas. I'm your host, Pat Miller. Thanks for tuning in. This is the Creative Play Series, which means I get to sit down with the best of the best and talk to them about how they do creative play to inspire you to do it too. And we're gonna get some serious inspirations today because we have a major league guest. Lindsay Adler is on the show today. She takes this super seriously and she will inspire you. She'll be on set here in just a moment. Now our entire getup is sponsored by Sony, and the folks at Sony went all out. We're using their cinema line cameras. These things are unbelievable, and everything is fed into this brain center. Their app, the Monitor & Control app, making the recording super simple. So thank you to Sony for setting us up here at ImagingUSA. Now, Lindsay Adler. What do you say about Lindsay Adler besides awesome and ready to teach you something? We're gonna talk about creative play and how she sets it up. Because if you're just waiting till you're not busy to do creative play, you're not gonna do it frequently enough. The way that she collaborates with other professionals, the way that she gets her team ready to get stuff that she needs to go out and feed the beast of social media marketing, and to get enough of what she's trying to shoot so that she gets hired to shoot it more frequently, you're going to love this episode. So let's get her on set. Lindsay Adler, welcome to The Professional Photographer Podcast. How are you today?

Lindsay Adler: 01:38

I'm wonderful. Thanks for having me.

Pat Miller: 01:39

Now you say you're a morning person. What does that mean? What is your morning routine like?

Lindsay Adler: 01:43

So typically what I do is I wake up and nobody judge me. I'm not supposed to do this.

Pat Miller: 01:49

No judging, no judging.

Lindsay Adler: 01:50

But I cuddle my dog for a minute and then I basically get up, brush my teeth, and then I do thirty minutes of emails. But the reason I do that is I get urgent things done, and then I can go be, you know, fresh for the day. And then I'll do some stretching and make myself a tea, and then I figure out what the task for the day is. So I usually have, like, two to three major things I'm trying to switch between to get through that day, and that's not counting shoot days. So my team doesn't love that my call times are usually 8AM.

Pat Miller: 02:21

Oh, wow.

Lindsay Adler: 02:23

But I'm if I'm recording and talking, I am really dumb after 3. So we have to start at 8.

Pat Miller: 02:30

Yeah.

Lindsay Adler: 02:31

So sorry for you then. I'm a morning person.

Pat Miller: 02:33

I can relate with that. And you're fresh in the morning. So we're gonna get just the grade A Lindsay this morning, which is great.

Lindsay Adler: 02:38

Pressure.

Pat Miller: 02:39

No pressure. Come on, please. We're talking creative play, which I know is one of your big things. Let's talk about the concept. If someone's not taking the time for creative play, how would you describe it? Why is it so important?

Lindsay Adler: 02:49

Yeah. Well, so creative play, the big picture for me, is the time you take for yourself to advance your photography when it is not on a client's dime or time. And it can be anything. It's defined by you. But why I tell people that it's so important is–completely true story–is when I first started my career in photography. I was in a small town and I photographed some babies. You know, the people needed baby photos and easy enough, but then my portfolio had pictures of babies. So I got more pictures of babies in my portfolio, which means people ask me to shoot more pictures of babies, and then you know what I don't like shooting? Babies. I really don't. Also, I remember the first time. I never grew up around kids or anything like that. I remember the first time that they pooped everywhere, and I was just, like, shocked. There was quite a moment. So that has nothing to do with creative play. My point is when I've been when I actually was able to shoot the type of work I actually wanted to be hired for was because I set aside time to do creative play days where I shot sample images of what I wanted to showcase for my talent and say, like, I can do this for you if you hire me. And now I shoot things, like, a lot of times, I'd say, like, a good portion of the work I get hired to do, I would do for fun. Like, I would do for free. It's things that I like. So that's the idea behind creative play day is crafting your career instead of having a career that evolves on accident.

Pat Miller: 04:11

Oh, yeah. And you get a chance to explore on the creative play day. I'd like to do more of this, so I'm gonna shoot more of this.

Lindsay Adler: 04:16

Totally.

Pat Miller: 04:17

Okay. So you're conquering the world. We get to see you everywhere, which is awesome. How are you finding time in your schedule to do creative play?

Lindsay Adler: 04:24

Yeah. So I treat my creative play days as a marketing day. So it's not that I find time; I make time. How would you find time for anything? You choose what your priorities are and you schedule it in. So every single month, I schedule at least one creative play day. And my team knows it's coming. Like, I work with hair, makeup, wardrobe, but that's, you know, the work that I do. So I schedule it about a month out. And, the reason I treat it as a marketing day is; a. I could be shooting literal what they call expect shoots. I'm shooting an image that's meant to look like, oh, it fits this brand. It fits this company, and then I can pitch it to them. Or I treat it as a marketing day because we all know social media content, we need to feed the beast. And so basically, I could post a couple images basically every day for and, you know, endlessly because I set aside those days and we shoot so much. So either way, I need it. And then last but not least, it's a marketing day because I'm getting new skill set, which they can market to help me get new work. So it's not that I treat it like all business, but it is. Like, it's play, but it's business play.

Pat Miller: 05:28

But it serves a purpose. So let's talk about breaking down that marketing beast because it's not just the final product image that you get on a creative play day. You're telling the story of your setups. You're going way beyond just the final image for the marketing beast.

Lindsay Adler: 05:42

Sure. So there's different segments of this. So, obviously, I'm a photo educator, so that's part of it. Even if it's real or behind the scenes or just little snippets of what my life looks like. But also, even in the commercial world of photography, it is suddenly morphed where people really do wanna see you on set. They don't just wanna see the final images. They wanna see what kind of productions you can handle, what your creative process looks like, who you are as a person. And so my creative play days are another way for me to do that. So it's actually kinda hits it from all points. It's great.

Pat Miller: 06:11

Yeah. It's like a reality show.

Lindsay Adler: 06:12

I swear some of the characters that I have on set would be perfect for that. You should see my team. They're amusing. We'll say that.

Pat Miller: 06:20

Yeah. We'll make that happen.

Lindsay Adler: 06:21

And talented.

Pat Miller: 06:22

Do you hear from people that watch your stuff, oh, the way that you did this thing that you thought was just not a big deal, but they noticed something in your creative play, like the way you lit a subject or the the way that you organized the day that they found super unique and took something out of it that you think was just like that's how I do it, but it was unique to someone who watched.

Lindsay Adler: 06:39

I think all the time something like that happens because someone's peeking in on something, and everyone's coming from a different perspective. I actually think it will happen sometimes with a commercial job when they're going back through my stuff, just like doing their research, and then they might not be photographers. So they're catching, oh, I loved when you did XYZ. Can you do that for us? It all feeds into each other. It's like, it's one giant machine.

Pat Miller: 07:02

Yeah. Let's talk about the day itself. Because like you say, you're planning in a month out. You're bringing in other professionals. And you're purposely– you shared with me that you're purposely mashing yourself up with people that challenge you. Can you talk through how you set up your creative day?

Lindsay Adler: 07:14

1000%. So I wanna hit a couple of things. The first thing I was gonna say is that my creative play days, I'm talking from my perspective as a fashion photographer, but I did this when I did portraits. I did this when I did weddings. So I don't want people to think like, oh, this is something that a fashion photographer did. Like, that's how I got out of shooting babies is I did creative high school senior portraits and then I marketed that. So first and foremost that. It has evolved into something that are productions and so I work with a hairstyles, makeup artist, and wardrobe stylist. And what I usually do for a creative play day is, like I can get specific, basically we're showing up at 8, and we're there till 6. Like, it is a long full day and we shoot a minimum of six different concepts, like 6 different executions. Honestly, we've probably hit 12 in a day. But what I do is no one's getting paid. Like, everybody is working for the images. And so, yeah, you know, they are getting paid in the experience, but that only goes so far. So what I like to do is I say hairstylist, what are one to two concepts that you need for your book? Either you wanna try out something experimental with hair or there's this client that you wanna capture their attention with this particular style that you do. And then I say the same thing to makeup and the same thing to wardrobe. So what it means is not all of the creative concepts are on me, and it also means everybody feels like they are being compensated. It's not just like let's just play. They're getting something out of it they can use. So I usually shoot two to three different models, 6 to 12 different looks and we just knock it out. But it's nice because I don't have to get a certain number of looks. Like, there's no one, you know, breathing over my shoulder. And so if we go one direction and we're like, this is awesome. Let's evolve this, then we'll scrap the rest of the plan for the day and, like, just follow where that was taking us. That's where I get some of my favorite images, honestly.

Pat Miller: 08:58

Does it get the vibe of a jam session that when the hairstylist does something that you get fired up, then they get fired up, and the models get fired up?

Lindsay Adler: 09:05

Yeah. Well, because everybody brings their skill set and so then, even if it's–a perfect example how it often happens, wardrobe styles brings cool stuff. And then I'd be like, oh, God, I love this piece. The makeup artist goes, oh, I'm gonna build some makeup off of that piece and bring in the color. And then the hairstylist goes, I think this shape, this silhouette is going to be perfect and then there's something incredible in front of my lens. So, again, I'm not like, they did the work for me. They put something amazing in front of me and then I'm figuring out what photography does to compliment rather than overtaking it. And is it a more is more situation, which is true with me a lot? Where I'm like, let's do gels, let's do sparkles, let's do smoke, or is it just about, wow, that amazing sculptural hair, let it speak for itself, and I'm just gonna do simple lighting, which does happen sometime.

Pat Miller: 09:47

I want you to think back to the last time you all creatively jammed. Someone brought something, got you fired up, and you got the shot. Okay. So you had the day. I mean, you had a creative play day. You got the shot. How do you wind down after that? Do you celebrate? Do you go home and collapse? What's the afterwards look like for you?

Lindsay Adler: 10:05

So, as I mentioned, I'm a morning person. Yeah. So I am like, as soon as we're done well, it's funny because I'll be in the shoot and I'm really hyped, and then it goes off. Then I am just a zombie in the corner, and I'm just melted slowly eating like a Reese's peanut butter cup and, like, waiting for people to pack up. Like, that's what it looks like. And it's also true, just as a side note for people, when I do workshops, I'll give, like, 110%. And then as soon as I'm done teaching, then I just melt in the corner. And yeah, that's just how my brain works. It's it's on or off for the most part.

Pat Miller: 10:35

We're learning from you on your website. You're showing people how to do this stuff. But sometimes it can feel a little intimidating because, well, I live in Milwaukee. I don't have fashion designers. I don't have someone that I collaborate with consistently for hair and makeup. Talk to that person about how they can take your concept and make it work for them.

Lindsay Adler: 10:52

Yeah. I actually think one of the things that often challenges me in a good way is when I have boundaries or restrictions put on myself. Sometimes, when there's all the choice in the world, then how do you make a decision of which direction to go? I did not start off in New York City. I did not start off with hair, makeup, and wardrobe. I started in a small town in Upstate New York, and I still did the same thing. So I would take high school seniors, maybe somebody I already shot, and we would do a play day. And what we would do is I would either, I'd go to the florist around the corner and be like, I'd like to collaborate. Let's make a flower wreath around the head, or I'd go to the local vintage shop, or I'd buy and return from something. Or I've since learned how to drape fabric to look like a dress. And I've collaborated with cosmetology students, and I don't mean this to be mean, but whatever, there are restrictions in small areas, but if you let it stop yourself, you put that restriction. Like, they're great images to be made. Plus, your goal probably isn't to make images that look just like mine. If you want the incredible sculptural hair, yeah, that's with a hairstylist. Like, you do need that, but that doesn't mean that's what you have to shoot. Plus, if it's intended for learning, it could be paint with light with your significant other, and that's your creative play day. And I literally did paint with light with a significant other 12, 13 years ago in a bedroom. And then later on, the techniques I learned from that, I used in my first editorial in Vogue.

Pat Miller: 12:17

Really?

Lindsay Adler: 12:18

That's a true story. I just remembered that.

Pat Miller: 12:19

Okay. Now, I need to hear that story. Tell me that story.

Lindsay Adler: 12:21

No. I mean, I remember I had done paint with light when I was really young, like 16. I learned paint with light. It's because it's awesome. You know, it's such a cool concept. But I was painting trees outdoors at night and barns and things like that. And then I remember it was probably fifteen years ago, I was like, I wanna do this on people, and I'm not saying I'm the one who invented that. There were other people doing it, but I hadn't seen it. And we would just close the curtains in the bedroom, and then I'm painting with lasers and fiber optics and little pen lights, things like that. I made a really beautiful editorial right around that time that was shot in my makeup artist's kitchen. I still love those images. And when I say kitchen, I'm in New York. So, like, we're talking this. So I basically shot in between, and then the door in the background was the wall. And I loved those photos. And then years later, I got this amazing designer. This was, you know, a couple years ago, I got this amazing designer that agreed to shoot with me, and she did these really structural amazing pieces and I was like, they look like a sculpture. I wanna paint them. And so that was my first editorial in Vogue is what it was. It was two lights on the background for a white background. They'd fire and then I'd come in with a small flashlight and I'd paint the subject. And now those images are, yes, they're in Vogue, but they're also huge in my studio and the lighting wasn't expensive. It was the concept in front of it.

Pat Miller: 13:50

So how long did it take you through playing to learn how to paint with light? Was that a couple of weeks, couple of months? How long did it take for you to really develop that skill?

Lindsay Adler: 13:58

So here's the thing. Any skill, I'm okay at relatively quickly. But good at, could be a very long time. Yeah. You know? I would say, honestly, I was decent at it in probably, like, a year of playing around. And now I can do really cool stuff with it. And but it has nothing to do with my style. It's just something that it excites me, and it's another tool in the toolkit. And one day, I'll pick a flashlight. One day, I'll pick a laser. One day, I'll pick a beauty dish. Like, it's having the tools at my disposal, and then I pick the right one for the job or honestly, whatever I'm feeling that day that, like, gets that jam session going.

Pat Miller: 14:32

Well, and it sets the expectation. That's why I asked because if someone has never done a style or a technique before, if they don't get it right the first time or maybe even the second time, that's okay. Like, it's gonna take a minute to get good at what you're trying to do.

Lindsay Adler: 14:44

And now I'm better at getting good faster. Because I have a lot more skill set behind it. This is something that I talk about often with people. I don't think I took my first good. Okay. Like, good photo that I would be proud of for I wanna say 8 to 10 years of shooting. Like and I don't mean, like, shooting once in a while. I mean, like, shooting, like, shooting, shooting. I'd say it was probably, like, the 8 to 10-year mark of where there's something that I was, like, this is a strong image. I am proud of this. So yeah. And now we're, you know.

Pat Miller: 15:17

Here we are.

Lindsay Adler: 15:18

Yeah. Much further along.

Pat Miller: 15:19

Yeah. This has been really helpful. Let's talk about learnwithlindsay.com and how you teach people and show them creative play all the time. Can you describe if someone wants to learn more how they can get plugged into how you're showing them to do it?

Lindsay Adler: 15:30

Yeah. So Learn with Lindsay is my educational site, and there's a ton of tutorials on there. But in particular, there's one section called Learn+. What I do is it's creative play days. Like, that is what it is. And so every single month, I pick a different topic. So I just filmed the topic on creative filters. And there's education in it for sure, but I do 6 different concepts where I go, okay. We're gonna play with this filter. We're gonna play with this idea. I've done old Hollywood. I do challenges with other photographers, which is really helpful. So I've had a lot of different guest photographers. And then they inspire me because their process is different from me. So then I learn from them. So I treat these as times where you watch me experiment, I provide what knowledge I have, I challenge you, and then I get to learn. So it's my creative play days that are recorded and I'm communicating what I'm doing. So yeah. I love doing it. I really do. I'm sure you can, if you watch one, you can tell.

Pat Miller: 16:25

Well, I can tell by talking to you that this is one of your happy places, which is fantastic. And thank you for sharing everything. Last word on creative play. If someone's not making time for it or not being as serious or intentional as they should be, give them the motivation why they should be taking time to do this.

Lindsay Adler: 16:38

Yeah. Well, so photography is meant to bring you joy. If it does not bring you joy, then maybe photo wasn't the thing to do. There are plenty of other things that pay better and are less stressful. So if you're doing photography and it's not feeling fulfilling, it's, you know, why is that? And especially if it's the things you're not shooting. So I really–and I said this in the beginning–I encourage people to craft their career, and so figure out what it is that brings you joy, what it is and it doesn't have to be just aesthetically. It could be the types of people that you're working with. And so set aside the times to create those images to then use for marketing. And plus, those days, they're counted as business, but they make me happy. Like, they're a reward to myself. They're a business vacation in my own studio.

Pat Miller: 17:23

Yeah. Lindsay Adler, thanks for coming on the podcast. I appreciate it.

Lindsay Adler: 17:25

Thanks for having me.

Pat Miller: 17:26

Thanks for tuning in to the Professional Photographer Podcast live from Imaging USA 2025. And a big thanks to Sony for making this look great. Well, as great as you can make this look, but we appreciate you being here. So here's what's next. You need to like and subscribe to this podcast feed because we release this show every week where I get a chance to sit down with the leaders in the industry, and our point of view is to help you build a better photography business. So like and subscribe, and if you want bonus points, I'll email them to you. You'll get bonus points if you leave a comment on this episode. What did they share on the episode that you wanna make sure that you're going to put into your business so you can get further down the road? One other way you can get further down the road, become a member of PPA. If you're watching this and you're not a PPA member, come on, bro. You are missing out of all the good stuff that PPA provides. I'm talking about equipment insurance, top notch education, and a community of photographers around you that are serious about improving their craft. If you wanna know more, go to ppa.com. That's ppa.com. At PPA, you belong here. Thanks again for tuning in to The Professional Photographer Podcast. I'm your host, Pat Miller. We'll see you right here next time. Talk to you soon.